Using Non-Fiction as a Critical Thinking Exercise

1
Using Non-Fiction as a Critical Thinking Exercise

• Jayne Braman, CSU San Marcos and Palomar College
• Leanne Maunu, Palomar College
• Martha Stoddard-Holmes, CSU San Marcos
• Sue Zolliker, Palomar College
• Strengthening Student Success ConferenceOctober
  4, 2007San Jose

2
Background on our Group

• First meeting February 2005
• Initial focus on areas of misalignment
• Group goal a more effective transition for our
  students as they move from one level to the next

3
The Emperors New Clothes Project

• Last years project
• Working on critical thinking skills
• Story was not as representative as we had hoped
  it would be for what our students have trouble
  with
• Also wanted to explore what kinds of texts our
  students need to learn to read non-fiction

4
Group Focus

• How do our students react to a difficult piece of
  prose?
• At what grade level should we expose our students
  to challenging non-fiction texts?
• Does repeated exposure to the same text make a
  difference in our students ability to analyze
  non-fiction?

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Terry A. Breckenridge

• Sullivan Middle School
• Bonsall, California

6
Participants

• Two classes of 6th grade English Language Art
  students
• A.M. core includes students who are performing
  from below grade level up to grade level
• P.M. core consists of a mixture of below grade
  level, at grade level and GATE students

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Purpose

• Expose 6th grade students to a high level text to
  determine their ability to analyze, annotate,
  think critically and become involved in a
  discussion concerning the text
• Create questions which would encourage and
  promote critical thinking
• Show increased understanding of text after
  discussion

8
Initial Analysis of the Process

• Sixth grade students had great difficulty with
  the vocabulary and thus had difficulty managing
  the text
• Questions reflected the knowledge level
  indicative of most 6th graders
• Discussion of the deeper meaning gave way to
  the lack of basic vocabulary knowledge

9
Student Responses

• The highest rating given to a sixth grader based
  on the rubric used, was a two..a four was the
  highest rating
• This first two responses represents the highest
  level of responses for the sixth grade group.
• Questions
• 1. What does prejudice mean?
• 2. What does it mean when they refer to people
  asserting
• heat?
• 3. How do opinions turn into prejudice?
• Before our discussion I didnt know what a
  prejudice was and now. A prejudice is an opinion
  made without knowing the facts. I also now know
  what it means to do something with passion or
  rage. I also now know that people can be very
  prejudice now and always.

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Student Response cont.

• Questions
• 1. What was the entire point of the passage?
• 2. Why is it fashionable to respect prejudices?
• 3. How does everything tie into the title The
  Rights
• of Women
• Response
• This paragraph was confusing. There were some
  things I completely understood, some I knew the
  basics of, and some that completely stumped me.
  Like the whole thing about asserting heat. I
  only knew that that meant to do something
  strongly. I had no idea about the whole passion
  and opinions. I also was confused abot opinions
  turning to prejudices. But I found out that a
  prejudice is an opinion formed without the facts.
  So, now, I am more the wiser about this
  particular excerpt.

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Student Responses cont.

• The next two responses were rated at a 1.5 and a
  one
• Questions
• 1. I thought this was about womens rights, but
  to me its about opinions, why is this?
• 2. What does prejudice mean?
• 3. What is mental activity?
• Response
• At first I didnt understand what prejudice
  meant. I now know the definition. Its kind of
  like an opinion. For example, men thought that
  women were only good for cooking and cleaning.
  Thats a prejudice. To me its not true.

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Student Responses cont.

• Questions
• 1. What are mental and bodily activities?
• 2. What is a fundamental principle?
• 3. What does prejudice mean?
• Response
• I learned that bodily activity is being active
  and using your body. I also learned that
  prejudice is like a rumor or opinion that usually
  insults someone. We learned how different
  prejudices will affect different people in
  different ways. We also learned of womens
  rights, that we are just as good as men. Maybe
  even better!

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Reflection/Conclusion

• Critical thinking about high-level pieces of
  literature was greatly impacted by vocabulary
  skills
• As is the reality at all grade levels, there were
  students who asked questions that were beyond the
  basic vocabulary level, but for sixth graders
  their numbers were few
• With sixth graders, the concept of annotation had
  to be taught before proceeding with the text
• Although it is important to continue to challenge
  students by exposing them to high-level text, it
  is also important to consider the level of
  difficulty
• We must build upon the skills of annotating, and
  thinking critically, with continued exposure to
  materials of this nature

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Reflection/Conclusion cont.

• As reflected in the overall results, the level of
  critical thinking and active discussion looks
  different at various grade levels thus reflecting
  a typical developmental process
• Not using the same rubric to score may need to be
  given some thought for future endeavors
• I was hoping for higher level questions and
  discussions with my sixth graders, and the
  abundance of basic needs seemed to just zap the
  energy needed for the higher level interactions
• Less difficult pieces of literature should be
  used to begin and develop the process of analysis
  and critical thinking with sixth graders

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Rosella Childers

• Sullivan Middle School
• Bonsall, California

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Course participants

• 3 classes of 8th grade English

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Course Objectives

• We were hoping to learn if 8th grade students
  would be able to
• Read/annotate high level text for main ideas,
  obscure meanings, new vocabulary
• Paraphrase Wollstonecrafts main ideas and
  supporting evidence
• Create questions to stimulate critical thinking
  and discussion
• Show increased understanding of piece in
  post-discussion follow-up writing.

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Student Response(3 on a 4 point scale)

• (High level from 8th grade English class)
• Now I understand that people state their opinions
  with great anger when they doubt their opinions.
  I also understand that some people are lazy and
  cant think of their own opinions so they are
  pressured to believe in someone elses opinion
  because they think that its cool. I understand
  that when you have a discussion you must give
  reasons for your opinion so that you are not
  prejudice. People take out their anger in
  opinions when they are insecure and that is
  prejudice. Opinions that people strongly believe
  can be prejudice if there is no reason for the
  opinion. People try to make others believe their
  opinions so they dont doubt them.

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Low Response(1 on a 4 point scale)

• Before asking questions I didnt understand
  anything about this article. When I read the
  title, I knew it would be something about women.
  But when actually reading it, I couldnt
  understand anything. After asking questions, I
  then knew the article was about peoples thought
  and how people argue about it. Some people are
  also prejudice to others just because of thought.
  Today whatever people say, most dont say
  anything because they are lazy, or dont want to
  look dumb. But people can still say what they
  want, no matter what they think or who they are.

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Reflection

• After taking the Holt Publishing Companys Entry
  Level Test, this 8th grade class of twenty six
  students at Sullivan Middle School proved to have
  the most balanced range of results
• there were 10 Advanced
• there were 9 On-Level
• there were 6 Having Difficulty
• there was only 1 Intensive (Below 50)
• Therefore, I chose to use this class as a
  representative group of 8th graders to score Mary
  Wollstonecrafts The Rights of Women.
• I told the students they were going to read a
  college-level essay, discuss it, and then write
  about it. They were told that their work would
  be read by high school and junior college
  teachers and university professors.

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Reflection continued

• The students took the assignment very seriously
  and worked diligently on their responses.
• When I scored it, using the rubric, the results
  for that class of 24 was the following
• 11 scored a 1
• 7 scored a 2
• 6 scored a 3
• 0 scored a 4
• Considering the difficulty of the material I felt
  a number of the students showed surprisingly good
  insights.
• I was pleased with all of their attempts. This
  exercise also drew my attention to some important
  facts
• 1. Many students at 8th grade level are ready
  for very challenging reading.
• 2. It is important to have students respond to
  what they read in open essays.
• 3. They like discussing questions they had
  generated.

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Conclusion

• Students need exercises such as this to become
  thinkers.
• This format is a great platform for the GATE
  student to use when dealing with informational
  essays.
• This format can lose the below level or low
  average student who relies on factual questions
  and answers.

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Heidi Paul

• Mission Hills High School
• San Marcos, California

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Course participants

• 2 classes of 9th grade College Prep English
• 1 class of 9th grade English Honors

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Course Objectives

• We were hoping to learn if 9th grade students
  would be able to
• Read/annotate high level text for main ideas,
  obscure meanings, new vocabulary
• Paraphrase Wollstonecrafts main ideas and
  supporting evidence
• Create questions to stimulate critical thinking
  and discussion
• Show increased understanding of piece in
  post-discussion follow-up writing.

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Student Response

• (High level from 9th gr. C.P. English class)
• What she is saying is that, first of all, a lot
  of times people adopt other peoples opinions and
  ideas because they respect that person or like
  the idea. When you state that something is true,
  you should use your own ability to reason to
  question or improve the idea. Sometimes, ideas
  must change because the situation changes. A
  prejudice is a simple feeling or liking, one that
  cannot be backed up, while if you can prove an
  idea can be true then it is no longer a
  prejudice.
• She says that in order to to learn or improve,
  you must doubt, that straight yes or nos wont
  solve things as thoroughly. You must understand
  and back up your

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High response continued

• Principles or thoughts. What I think she means
  when she says Principles are sometimes true in
  theory, but false in practice is that some
  things are hard to prove, or cannot be given an
  example. She also says that many times pride
  drives people to argue all the harder for their
  cause when they begin to doubt it themselves.
  However, this doesnt say much as, by this point
  the argument will have driven them to try harder
  no matter what they think.

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Low Response (2 on 4 pt. scale)

• People make opinions about others that are not
  prejeduce in your mind but might be on the
  opposing end. She talks about reasoning and if
  what people call prejeduce is really prejeduce or
  just is what they believe because it is what the
  person had grown up hearing. She talks about
  fact on your side and the others in arguments.
  Are they really just what you know as facts. And
  do you have faith in your argumentive so called
  facts or do you doubt your own thought, so is it
  really she is saying to think of the words you
  speak and the responds you make.

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Reflection

• Comparing grade levels
• First, the only major difference between the
  Honors and regular levels of 9th grade English
  was the formers level of commitment to writing a
  complete and coherent response. They also seemed
  to taking the question-writing portion more
  seriously, given the number and level of qs
  produced.There was little difference in the level
  of understanding, however, and most students
  scored low (1 or 2) on the rubric.

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• After reading some powerful responses from Beths
  11th grade AP classes, I wondered if those
  students were once on the level of most of the
  present 9th grade honors students.

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Reflection cont.

• Follow-up writing
• The follow-up writing rarely showed an increased
  post-discussion understanding of the piece.
  Perhaps students said it all in the first writing
  and felt obligated to tack on the extra piece of
  writing. Orperhaps students glommed on to
  something in the discussion and made a tangential
  point rather than adding a new understanding.

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Considerations

• Whether or not our background info helped the
  students to respond (e.g.,who Wollstonecraft
  was).
• Whether or not our prompt shaped their answers.
  What if we asked about tone and audience, for
  example. And at what grade should they already
  be considering that in their questions for
  discussion?
• Did the quality of annotations determine the
  level of the response?

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Conclusions

• Many exercises similar to the Wollstonecraft
  exercise must be practiced with 9th graders
  before we can see rewards.
• We need to start 9th grade students off with
  documents that are simpler to analyze. Less
  lengthy reading and more discussion will increase
  students confidence in their analytical ability.
• More difficult pieces should probably be started
  at the beginning of the 11th grade year.

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Beth McNalley

• Mission Hills High School
• San Marcos, California

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Course participants

• 2 classes of 11th grade AP Language and
  Composition
• 1 class of Honors 9th grade English

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• High Level Response (11th grade AP) Scored a 4
• The assertion Wollstonecraft makes is that many
  people are content to take the opinion of others
  and modify and claim it as their own. Then, that
  person will argue their prejudices, even though
  they dont truly understand the opinion they are
  trying to convince others of. Because they are
  not convinced of their opinion, they often cling
  to these opinions in a way that would surprise
  the one who first came up with the idea. These
  types of people use round it out logic in an
  attempt to convince others the reason why this
  opinion (and often prejudice) is a thing to
  listen to and respect. When the person is
  confronted with the simple principles behind
  their logic, as well as the flaws and the
  realization that it isnt an opinion, but rather
  a prejudice they are expressing, they will
  bluster and blow to cover their lack of knowledge
  and their own doubts. response continues on next
  slide

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• High Level Response (11th grade AP, cont.)
• If the practice of something is true in theory,
  how can it be false in practice?
• Why is it that the person ignorant of the true
  nature of a specific prejudice will defend it and
  with more passion than the person who actually
  created it?
• An opinion is a prejudice, until it is given
  reason, then which it becomes and error.
  Logically, wouldnt the opinion be termed and
  error in thought, until reason convinces us that
  the logic is not flawed, rather it is prejudice
  instead of a mistake?

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• High Level Response (11th grade AP, cont.)
• A person will often accept the opinion of one of
  the loved die as straight out truth, and they
  will defend that opinion out of respect for the
  person instead of true belief. Because they do
  such things like that, their arguments will be
  weak. They will not listen to the opinions, and
  even facts, of others against their opinion,
  because what they believe is, in their own mind,
  right (cognitive dissonance). When Wollstonecraft
  refers to the simple principles which precede
  the prejudice, she could be referring to an
  older practice used by our ancestors that
  gradually formed the prejudice the person is now
  defending. It could be something like men and
  women cannot do all the same things, so they
  split work tasks. This could turn into a
  prejudice.

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• Teacher Commentary on High Level 11th Grade
  Response
• The student gives a full paraphrase of the
  Wollstonecraft excerpt.
• The students questions probe underlying issues
  raised by the excerpt, such as how a fundamental
  principle could be true in theory and false in
  practice.
• The student draws on new information from the
  discussion (a student familiar with psychology
  brought up the term cognitive dissonance) and
  integrates this new information into the ideas
  from the passage.

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• Low Level Response (11th Grade AP) Scored a 2
• In the piece by Mary Wollstonecraft, she makes
  many claims. She claims to what people believe to
  be a womans reasons. She supports her claim in
  how some believe women say they love someone or
  believe things just because, without reason. But
  in other parts in the writing she doesnt support
  her claims..
• Why does individuals tend to have prejudice
  opinions?
• Why do some humans give our ancestors blame for
  our prejudice?
• What is the differences between fundamental and
  simple principle?
• I now understand now from the first time
  reading how a prejudice opinion can be passed on
  from generation to generation. I also understand
  the different meanings of prejudice.

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• Teacher Commentary on Low Level 11th Grade
  Response
• The student shows a partial understanding of one
  of Wollstonecrafts claims that women may say
  they love someone or believe something but cannot
  give a reason.
• The students questions grapple with decoding the
  passage rather than probing its ideas more
  deeply.
• The students after discussion reflection does
  reflect more understanding of the passage (not a
  trend we saw overall in the student samples).

42

• High Level 9th Grade Response
• Throughout her writing, Wollstonecraft makes a
  point that a lot of people dont even know what
  theyre saying. Rather, they just say something
  stated by a respected person without actually
  knowing its purpose or the reason behind it. Then
  she speaks about when a person knows the phrase
  is wrong but refuses to believe anything else and
  gets vicious because they dont want to let go of
  it. She backs up her points by drawing out
  peoples actions.
• Why would someone go on believing something if
  they know its not true?
• How long must we sing this song?
• What drove the author to write such a piece?
• After discussion, I feel the same. A clear
  article has been made no different for me. There
  are parts I may be a little shifty about, but I
  have no desire to have my opinion challenged or
  discussed.

43

• Teacher Commentary on High Level 9th Grade
  Response
• The student shows a clear understanding of at
  least two of Wollstonecrafts main claims that
  people repeat the opinions of others without
  understanding them and that people become
  defensive when said opinions are challenged.
• The student puts these observations into his own
  words. Many of his classmates chose to quote
  Wollstonecraft rather than to paraphrase her
  ideas.
• The first of the students questions probes a
  fundamental issue in the piece. The second is a
  bit cryptic, but may suggest that the student
  sees the issues raised in this piece as ongoing.
  The third question cries out for a historical
  explanation that, sadly, we did not really
  address in our discussion.
• The class discussion, as he notes, did little to
  add to his original understanding of the passage.

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• Low level 9th grade response1? 2?
• It is now fashionable to respect prejudices.
  I think Mary means if you respect other peoples
  beliefs and thoughts, then many other people will
  do the same.
• What reasons did our ancestors base their
  opinions on?
• Why do people believe something, when they dont
  understand?
• Why dont people think for themselves?
• I now understand why people have doubts in
  their own opinions from this Wollstonecraft
  selection.

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• Teacher Commentary on Low Level 9th Grade
  Response
• The students initial understanding reflects a
  misreading of a citation. One of the trends we
  saw across the student samples was that students
  tended to quote Wollstonecraft rather than
  paraphrase her because quoting her was easier.
• The students questions actually reflect a
  stronger understanding of the passage than the
  initial writing (the part we actually scored)
  did.
• The students post-discussion comment also
  reflects more understanding of the passage than
  the initial response.

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Sue Zolliker, Palomar College
47
Course information

• First-semester composition course
• English 100/English Composition
• Transfer-level
• Expository and argumentative writing based on
  analytical reading and critical thinking

48
Selected Learning Objectives

• To read critically for main and supporting ideas
• To draw inferences from the text regarding the
  meaning of key terms
• To analyze and interpret the claims made in the
  selection
• To apply the ideas expressed in the selection to
  situations beyond the text students own ideas,
  behavior, and experience as well as broader issues

49
Selected Samples of Student Responses
50
Student 1
What Mary Wollstonecraft is saying is that many
people do or think things without good reason.
For example, someone might have a belief or
opinion but have no good reason at all for
believing it. Its like a building with no
foundation. Though it can seem good, there is no
foundation for it upon close examination. When a
person realizes their opinions dont hold water,
they become angry and try to convince others of
their validity. This is because there is comfort
in numbers, if more people agree with you, a
weaker mind might think that this makes their
opinion or belief more true.
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Student 1 (cont.)

• What time period would you guess the author
  wrote this essay in?
• Does mental activity get easier the more you do
  it?
• What does the author mean by the simple
  principles which precede the prejudices?
• What I now understand about the Wollstonecraft
  essay is that it is not good to blindly accept
  the opinions of your relatives.

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Student 2
Mary Wollstonecraft is saying that prejudice is
subject to our personal conflicts and desires,
and is an opinion based on air rather than solid
understanding. When someone subconsciously
discovers this, the prejudice becomes a voice
without reason, even to the speaker. Often
opinions with enthusiasm are the ones with the
most errors.
53
Student 2 (cont.)

• Why is respect for a person or people turned
  into prejudice without real reason?
• What is the difference (essentially) between
  prejudice and opinion?
• How is it possible to communicate the basic
  principles to anyone who will not listen to them?
• Prejudice can have good intentions behind it.
  Opinion is not always black and white. Often,
  the things we care about, or are even familiar
  with, become the very cause of our prejudice.
  When most hear the word prejudice they think of
  ignorant ideas. When in fact the word prejudice
  simply means accepted thinking.

54
Reflections

• Students, on the whole, were able to paraphrase
  the main idea of the selection prior to
  discussion
• Fewer students offered a more comprehensive
  paraphrase including supporting ideas
• Students were concerned with the context of the
  piece (title, timeframe, references to women)
  only a few students succeeded in drawing
  inferences on their own to understand the these
• Most students were most concerned with aspects
  of the selection that were personally relevant
  issues of independence vs. dependence,
  openmindedness vs. narrowmindedness, social
  conformity vs. personal truth

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Leanne Maunu, Palomar College
56
Course information

• English 203/Critical Thinking and Composition
  through Literature
• Second-semester composition course
• Transfer-level
• Analyze and interpret literature

57
Selected Learning Objectives

• To analyze a text on several levels
• To read critically for significant details in the
  story
• To begin to develop a vocabulary for analyzing
  non-fiction texts
• To extend the claims of the selection outwards,
  thinking about how the ideas apply to other
  issues in the world around us
• To formulate ideas about a non-fiction text
• To make more analytical/interpretative claims
  about the text, using details from the text to
  support that interpretation

58
Selected Samples of Student Responses
59
Student 1

• Wollstonecraft is asserting that opinions must
  have reasoning behind them, where prejudice is
  equal to blind belief. She believes that people
  should try to more deeply analyze their opinions,
  to find out why they are arguing a certain point.
  Laziness equals prejudice, and reason and
  intelligence must be employed to understand our
  opinions.

60
Student 1 (contd)

• How can we explore our opinions prejudices to
  find the true source?
• Wollstonecraft mentions a womans reason, but
  many men are guilty of the same offense. What do
  you think about the time period (1792) and
  attitudes towards freethinkers, especially women?
• How would you begin a useful discussion with
  someone and break down not only their prejudices,
  but your own as well?
• Think of examples from our modern times that
  exemplify Wollstonecrafts key points.

61
Student 1 (contd)

• Upon the first read, I felt I agreed tremendously
  with the selection. However, talking with the
  class made me realize that while I respect
  Wollstonecraft, there were definite holes in her
  logic, and aspects I didnt disagree with at all.
  I fell into the trap!

62
Student 2

• Mary Wollstonecraft is trying to say that when we
  make an opinion we must think if it came from our
  ancestors or better for the people in the time.
  We must think for ourselves or when we hear
  discussion about something one should not be
  convince because that is your friend. We have to
  think and see the reasons then it would not
  become a opinion.

63
Student 2 (contd)

• Does our government act as described in the first
  P? How so? Generally such a person has a high
  respect for the understanding of some relative or
  friend w/o fully understanding the opinions?
• How could we prevent ourselves from running into
  this opinion problem?
• How was this rightfully in place at the time
  (piece The Rights of Women)?

64
Student 2 (contd)

• I understand more of her point of view through
  the discussions. Especially w/opinions being
  prejudices. Through discussion if I read through
  the article one more time I will be able to
  understand it more clearly.

65
Reflections

• Students were better prepared than I had expected
  to encounter this text
• Most of them commented on how helpful our class
  discussion was

• Explaining the context was important for them
• Post-write showed an increased understanding of
  the nuances of the text

66
Jayne Braman, Palomar College CSU San Marcos
67
Course Information

• English 205/Introduction to Literature
• Second-semester literature course
• Transfer-level
• Analyze and Interpret

68
Selected Learning Objectives

• Develop skills as an analytical reader of
  fiction, poetry, and drama
• Develop an ability to respond to literary texts
  in writing and class discussion by reading widely
  and learning and practicing basic terms for
  literary analysis
• Develop and articulate ideas about literary
  themes
• Develop a deeper appreciation of the art of
  literature

69
Selected Samples of Student Responses
70
Student 1

• Mary Wollstonecraft asserts that ideas and
  beliefs can, and do, change overtime. However,
  sometimes progress is hindered by those who will
  voice a loud opposition. Too often, people allow
  others to do their thinking and speaking for
  them, and as a result, a persons personal
  beliefs and opinions can be lost amongst the
  masses. Wollstonecraft acknowledges the
  difficulty in instigating change and realizes
  that it may feel natural to believe that if
  something has always been this way, there must
  be a valid reason for it, and who are we to
  question ideals held for many generations?
• Wollstonecraft encourages her audience not only
  to think for themselves, but to assign some
  reason behind those thoughts, and to not be
  driven simply by emotion. When challenging long
  held beliefs and prejudices, there will always
  be opposition people thinking one way but
  behaving another.
• The author cites this criticism and loud
  opposition for ones position as a sign of
  encouragement, for the ones who are the least
  sure of their positions, and lack true rationale
  to validate their opinions, or prejudices, are
  the one screaming the loudest at the people who
  do.

71
Student 1(contd)

• To whom is the author specifically targeting? Is
  it a general audience or is it intended for a
  particular group?
• Some arguments are a bit abstract. Is the author
  suggesting that feelings and passion have no
  place in intelligent conversations? Would she
  prefer robots who are clever with semantics?
• She speaks movingly of prejudice, but are all
  prejudices bad? Are there any that are good?
  What specific prejudice would she like to see
  eliminated?

72
Student 1 (contd)

• I feel I had a clear understanding of the article
  to begin with, therefore, nothing really changed.

73
Student 2

• One assertion that was found while reading
  Wollstonecrafts excerpt, indicates that the
  opinions of our ancestors have been taken as
  prejudices, just because they have been with us
  for some time. We are taught and brought up
  knowing certain ideas and when asked for
  justification we are unable to find the reason.
  The only remaining argument being just because.
  Wollstonecraft defends this argument by giving
  examples of a womens reason. Justification of
  thoughts is very important in any discussion or
  argument. If justification or reason cant be
  given for our words, then the validity and
  accuracy of your statements can easily be
  rejected by others. The true backbone of any
  argument is evidence and reason. Wollstonecraft
  implies that more modern prejudices have weak
  ideas because those defending them werent given
  reasons just beliefs.

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Student 2 (contd)

• What was the thought process behind our
  ancestors decisions? Was it more ideological or
  rational?
• Do we really lazily accept them, or are we told
  them as truths at a young age not knowing what
  else to believe?
• Why cant just because be a reason? Just
  because is based on feeling. Can feeling be the
  justification?

75
Student 2 (contd)

• The reason we so easily accept predjudice today
  is because everyone has it, and no one wants to
  offend each other. We are given a standard of
  beliefs when we are born, and Wollstonecraft says
  that unless there predjudices have reason, they
  are nothing more than worthless opinion.
• Just because is no longer a legitimate reason.
  People today want rationality and legitimacy,
  not opinions based on feelings. Why cant
  feelings be motivation of predjudice and opinion?
  We are trying to learn from our ancestors
  mistakes, and in having to find justification for
  reasoning, it makes ut think about the
  motivations of our opinions.
• Viewing this article in its original context of
  the time it was written in provides a clearer
  picture of Wollstonecrafts motives and reasons
  for this article.

76
Reflections
Reflections
Students had little contextualization, so they
focused mainly on her main points After our
discussion, most students did feel that the
historical context somewhat helped their
understanding
Many students were able to take some
interpretative leaps Post-write showed an
increased understanding of the nuances of the
text for some students however, a few really did
have a clear understanding of the text
77
Martha Stoddard Holmes, Cal State San Marcos
78
Course information

• Upper-division core Literature/Writing curriculum
  course
• LTWR 308b/Survey of English Literature II
  (1800--gt2000)
• Mostly juniors and seniors majors in LTWR and
  Liberal Studies
• Many plan to be middle/high school teachers
  and/or go on to graduate study
• Wide range of learning backgrounds/developed
  skills
• Many students transfer from Palomar

79
Selected Course Objectives

• Acquire/deepen awareness of
• significant authors/works/contexts
• chronological development of British literature,
  including textual relationships and
  poetic/aesthetic theories
• Review/learn/apply college-level approaches and
  terms for analysis/discussion of texts
  strengthen independent and collaborative critical
  reading, thinking, writing, speaking
• Develop a personal AND critically aware
  perspective on these texts and their value.

80
Selected Samples of Student Responses
81
Student 1
82
(No Transcript)
83
Wollstonecraft could be speaking to a group of
college students she encourages good
conversation, where opinions and reasonings are
shared with passion. Yet with the heart of the
matter lies a question of truth -- did you
yourself research the opinions you are spouting?
Where did the reasoning stem from and what were
the concepts of the time/era? What world events
were occurring then? What is happening now that
we can relate to? Be educated while having heat
in your opinions, know what why you are arguing
for. Be prepared to defend your knowledgeor you
may be accused of prejudice.
Student 1
84
Student 1, continued

1. Are the implications of a womans reasoning
   negative or positive? Could it be seen in the
   other light? Are (nt) emotional beliefs (just
   as) as powerful as reasoned ones?What is wrong
   with gleaning from the great minds of the past to
   base our own (today) opinions on?Why is it
   useless to talk with people who only use
   affirmatives and negatives?

85
Student 1, continued
Addresses a mixed crowd, accussing and
encouraging to be better
86
Student 2
Wollstonecraft is saying that society presently
is based on prejudices (beliefs without reason)
and that this is foolish. She is sure not to take
away any respect from the people who birthed
these ideas because, as she asserts, they were
true in their own time. She subtley moves for a
change in prejudice based social roles which I
imagine will establish her argument for the
rights of women. She places the blame on us by
using the word we in her writing and by doing
so, gives us responsibility to change these
prejudices.
87
Student 2, continued

1. Analyze the way in which Wollstonecraft makes her
   argument. In what ways is it effective and what
   might it be lacking? Do you agree with her
   argument at all?
2. Should society, as Wollstonecraft describes it,
   be malliable and flexible or rigid? Does this
   model and her solution to the prejudice based
   society make sense for an actual society? Is
   society fashionable?
3. How do you think her argument will move from this
   point? Do you think this is an effective base to
   argue from?

88
Student 2, continued
I think I felt more sure of my interpretation
before the discussion and after it gave me a
broader sense of the possible interpretations and
meanings. I dont think I have a better
understanding of any of it, but a broader one.
89
Student 3
I believe Wollstonecraft is trying to tell her
readers to be active participants in conversation
and in thought. She is trying to encourage others
to not take anything at face value that seems
unjustified. She wants her readers to be on the
same level/page when a serious conversation is is
begun. She is trying to persuayed her readers to
not be enslaved by verbal predjudice to be
aware of the reasons behind personal loves
opinions.
90
Student 3, continued

1. Why is it that prejudices cannot simply waste
   away with time?
2. After reading this snippet, do you think mental
   activity and bodily activity are separate
   entities at war? Why or why not?
3. What is wrong with loving just because they love
   it? (AKA why is reasoning so important when it
   comes to emotions?)

91
Student 3, continued
I learned/understand that there are many layers
that have to do simply w/who Wollstonecrafts
audience is. I also understand how deeply
passive/aggressive she is.
92
Reflections

• I am very interested in finding out the impact of
  each element of this learning activity
• Doing (or not doing) homework assignment on
  Wollstonecraft before this day.
• Reading Wollstonecraft earlier (___ on first-day
  survey claimed to have read her before)
• Teacher introduction/framing of
  activities/explanation of both Wollstonecraft and
  annotation process
• Multiple readings
• Being read aloud to
• Annotation
• Paraphrase after annotation
• Collaborative discussion -- I was both impressed
  and distressed with its power to set key terms
  for learning that day, i.e. audience and
  passive-aggressive
• Teacher comments during discussion
• In other words, I learned about how I want to
  redesign the experiment.

93
Group Analysis

• We need to present challenging texts like the
  Wollstonecraft piece to our students more
  frequently
• We need to supply a space where our students can
  discuss their ideas
• We need to do more process work in our
  classrooms

94
What next?

• Questions that still need to be explored
• What do our students questions reveal about
  their current critical thinking abilities?

95
Q and A