When I taught first-year writing, I wanted students to write a “This I Believe” essay, but the length was too short to use for one of the major assignments, and instead we did “My Turn” essays, which in retrospect, I like the idea of a lot better.
Today Joanna points to Liz Kleinfeld’s use of “This I Believe” audio essays in her course, which is pretty cool. I’m on our department’s technology committee, and we’re looking to spend some leftover funds from a grant; audio equipment is a possibility. Hmm….
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Hi, I just found your blog and saw that you linked to me. Thanks! I’ve been really happy with the This I Believe assignment. One thing I did this semester to address the length concern you mentioned was to have students take a longer essay they had written and condense it into a This I Believe essay.
Thanks, Liz. That’s a really good idea. It also addresses transfer, especially in regards to the transfer of ideas between modes and purposes. (Transfer has been something I’ve been thinking about a bit recently.)