When I read the Guided Reflection Protocol and Critical Incidents Protocol, I initially thought "I have never done this before." But, actually, most teachers, in the case of the latter, have had informal discussions (which could occur anywhere--disjointed quips on the bus or subway or in a bar) which may qualify as the sharing of "critical incidents". The tricky part is to "create a narrative without judgment" to start the process. So often with teachers (including me!), we are quick to label blame on others when something goes askew. Last year I chose to follow the advice of a colleague without consulting others about a problematic group of students in my class. This ultimately backfired on me, but when I shared this story after the fact, I found myself way-too-often being a claimsmaker rather than a problemsolver. This is eternally flawed, and I was not following the critical incidents protocol from the get-go.
In regards to plagiarism, I would consider myself an inexperienced writer, so I was keenly interested in the anti-plagiarism measures cited in the two articles. Back in the nineties, when I wrote papers for sociology classes, it was second nature to use quotation marks for directly borrowed text. But, admittedly, my use of paraphrases was few and far between. As noted in class, plagiarism is a gray area. Gladwell's article discusses at length about a famous play which was stolen from a woman's work (and just slightly changed for dramatic effect--in a negative way for the woman), as well as music from popular contemporary bands like the Beastie Boys and Nirvana. Even as far back as Beethoven. Beethoven likely didn't have to worry about copyright laws in the same way that artists do today, but the question remains: How much copying (or sort of copying) is too much? In the field of journalism, there appears to be little wiggle room to copy, and based on Professor Reynolds' responses in class, plagiarism continues to be a hot issue (which is why we are tackling it so early on in the course). Since "courts are willing to grant more intellectual-property protections" today than ever before, writers must be very careful to produce authentic work. Point taken. Now I just have to figure out the right format to document another writer's words. But it's only week #2. So far, so good. It's good to be thinking about this stuff again. It's been a long time...
In regards to plagiarism, I would consider myself an inexperienced writer, so I was keenly interested in the anti-plagiarism measures cited in the two articles. Back in the nineties, when I wrote papers for sociology classes, it was second nature to use quotation marks for directly borrowed text. But, admittedly, my use of paraphrases was few and far between. As noted in class, plagiarism is a gray area. Gladwell's article discusses at length about a famous play which was stolen from a woman's work (and just slightly changed for dramatic effect--in a negative way for the woman), as well as music from popular contemporary bands like the Beastie Boys and Nirvana. Even as far back as Beethoven. Beethoven likely didn't have to worry about copyright laws in the same way that artists do today, but the question remains: How much copying (or sort of copying) is too much? In the field of journalism, there appears to be little wiggle room to copy, and based on Professor Reynolds' responses in class, plagiarism continues to be a hot issue (which is why we are tackling it so early on in the course). Since "courts are willing to grant more intellectual-property protections" today than ever before, writers must be very careful to produce authentic work. Point taken. Now I just have to figure out the right format to document another writer's words. But it's only week #2. So far, so good. It's good to be thinking about this stuff again. It's been a long time...
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