Multigenre Musings

Romano, "Blending Genre, Altering Style"
"Create Flow"
Mary Styslinger, "Multigenred-Multigendered Research Papers"
Sara Biltz, "Teaching Literature Through the Multigenre Paper: An Alternative to the Analytical Essay"
Assorted Authors, BB examples, samples, bibliographies, and handouts

Say:
I'm coming back into this entry to revise some of my thinking based on tonight's class, specifically the concept of reader-response being the lining to the critical theories "coat" that Styslinger discussed. She mentioned that she thinks of theoretical approaches to literacy as different "coats" that she can put on as needed. I loved that analogy and will definitely be stealing it for my classroom. Now, obviously, anyone who spends any time with Dr. Sty quickly realizes that reader-response is her foundational approach to literature; she might put on different coats, but the lining of reader-response is always there. The reason I'm adding to this entry is because I realized through our conversation tonight that reader-response is my lining, too! I also think I double-line with formal analysis, but my go-to approach to any piece of reading or writing begins (and often ends) with reader-response. How could it not? Okay, addendum complete.

I had seen the multi-genre paper assignment in the syllabus and was quite reticent and unsure of it before this week's readings. I have never had personal experience with multi-genre, and I was nervous that it might be a challenging technological feat that was going to put me out of my comfort zone. Ha! Much to my delight, this week's readings take the concept of the formal, final assessment writing assignment and twist it full of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to turn it into the multi-genre paper.

Romano is the expert on the multi-genre, and he argues that it is a more creative and holistic way to access student's authentic learning and processing. Multi-genre approaches assessment as a fluid and reflective process; it is narrative rather than expository or paradigmatic, which (by the way) is closely aligned with both reader-response and transactional theory, and posits that students can demonstrate deep, critical thinking about texts if they are given freedom to express that thinking in a multitude of ways. Rather than completing a typical argumentative five-paragraph essay, a multi-genre project requires students to think about the themes and characters of a text with more precision, focusing in on artifacts and "genres" to convey their critical reflection and connection.

Sty's article describing the use of multi-genre to access student's understanding of gender was fascinating. It really opened my eyes to the usefulness and THOUGHTFULNESS inherent in the multi-genre paper. Perhaps using narrative forms allows readers and thinkers to go deeper than they might go with the traditional expository assignment; because multi-genre distances students from the false notion that "one answer is the right answer," those students can be courageous and free in making meaning from texts. I loved the examples she included and I am trying to figure out how many ways I can use multi-genre in my teaching next semester.

The readings included fantastic samples of multi-genre papers, lists of types of genres to use for a project like this, and possible rubrics to allow students freedom but also provide them with focus. I've downloaded a bunch and saved them for future use. This week was incredibly pragmatic and helpful.

Final Thoughts: The multi-genre combines reader-response, formal analysis, critical theories, gender and race perspectives, and the student-choice prerogative that research has declared so invaluable to authentic learning--these ingredients simmer together, marinating in student creativity and freedom, and eventually become gourmet feasts the likes of which few educators see. (see what I did there?)

Do:
Lesson Plan Addendum: This is a lesson that bridged the end of a unit, so students were finishing their papers at different rates. My CT loved the idea of including 3 Mini Projects that allowed students choice and creativity! After reading about the multi-genre papers, I realized that my three mini-projects look a lot like 3 pieces of a multi-genre project, so I added this lesson plan to the Do. Here is the handout I used for the Creative Choice Project.
Sample from Student Poem:

I went looking for more on Tom Romano, because he seems to be the guru for multigenre. The chapter we read this week were from his 2000 publication, Blending Genre, Altering Style, but I wondered if he'd written more. Here is a link to his page on Amazon.com:

The amazon page includes all six of his published books, including one I think will be very useful for my teaching library, a 2013 publication titled Fearless Writing: Multigenre to Motivate and Inspire.  It looks really interesting:

Also, I kept looking and found a Tom Romano that was recently published (October 2015). This work seems to be on the topic of writing, and I'm wondering if it will join the ranks of writers like Stephen King who have written on the craft and practice of writing... Only one way to find out, right?

I'm including these books in my Do this week because I need to make sure I keep up to date on all the research happening in education; I want to keep adding good books to my personal teaching library. Ayers once said that teaching is intellectual, challenging work, and I'm determined to continue learning beyond the confines of this graduate program.