One Best Thing - Photography Inspired Writing: Using iOS Photography to Inspire Struggling Writers was a very interesting read and I feel I have learned a fun new technique to use in my future classroom. Jim Harmon discusses his idea of using photography to inspire struggling writers. Harmon says that students who struggle with literacy tend to be more comfortable with visual technology. These students aren't comfortable with writing and fall into the trap of learned helplessness where they are unable to see themselves succeeding at a task. These students lose their motivation and therefore are unable to be confident in their writing abilities. The good news is that Harmon believes that this method can work to change struggling writers' perspectives on writing. As a future teacher, I found this method very interesting and I think all students of various writing abilities could benefit from it.
Harmon's process involves asking the students stem questions to frame their focus for writing. What is the purpose of school? What things help you succeed in school? What things impede your school success? Harmon focuses on student understanding of the idea that pictures can answer questions and not just text. The goal is for students to visualize pictures that they could take to answer questions. Once students are comfortable with this concept, they are able to begin their writing process. If students suffer anxiety over the thought of writing, Harmon says he finds it very beneficial to have individual meetings with the students to help them discuss their ideas and to become confident before they even start writing. After that, students are set to work and write about the photograph they took and it how it relates to the questions they were first asked.
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Jim Harmon is an English Teacher in Euclid, Ohio and an adjunct teacher educator at Baldwin-Wallace College. Harmon co-authored a book "Through Students' Eyes" that discusses writing and photography in schools.
Book Website: www.throughstudentseyes.org Twitter: @jimharmon Goggle+: Jim Harmon YouTube: harmonteach |
"These students could have a very different experience if their teachers remembered one common axiom: A picture is worth a thousand words. This classic cliche is the foundation for using iPhone photography for improved writing achievement." |