5 Writing Stations

Working from the premise that to hold our necessary courageous conversations can be very hard, we try to offer a variety of ways for students to interact with the work of critical pedagogy. Whole class discussions, readings, small group discussions with assigned questions and assigned roles/tasks, Jigsaw Puzzle and Expert Reader assignments (these are outlined below) are all strategies we employ. We also sometimes use Silent Writing Stations as a way of encouraging dialogue. Note: we are sharing several of the quotes we have used, but really, any quote or piece from an assigned reading, or even thought-provoking statement, will work.

We set up five or six writing stations around the room (our university classes are usually under forty students, and our rooms have tables and chairs rather than desks – some teachers might need to adapt these instructions slightly). Each table contains: two different coloured empty folders – let’s use red and blue for ease of understanding. Red is marked “For sharing” and blue is marked “Private. Do not read”. Also on the table are several copies of one quote; that is, each table has a different quote or statement, but on each table there are several copies of that one quote or statement. Last, a pile of blank paper is provided. Students are asked to go to a table, read the statement or quote, and then on a blank piece of paper, write their own thoughts/responses to it. After about five minutes, we ask students to change tables; before they leave where they are, each person decides whether they want to put their writing in the red folder or in the blue one. They may choose to put their name on their writing, but it is not a requirement. If they put their work in the blue folder, no one else will read it. Not even the teacher. It will go directly into the shredder at the end of class. If they put their writing into the red folder, the next students to come to the table now have two choices: they can read the statement/quote at this table and respond on their own, as per above, or they may read the writing of colleagues from the red folder, draw a line and write a response to the previous student. Generally, we move students about four times, or for about a half hour.

At the end of the silent writing process, we hold an open class discussion about any aspect students wish to share based on this experience.

Some quotes/statements we have used:

“While child-centred pedagogies tend to speak in terms of “the child,” critical pedagogies ask “which child?” …those most likely to be alienated from schooling are those on the margins of social power.” (Smith et al, 1998, p. 29)

“Simply caring about students, while necessary, does not constitute a critical pedagogy. The power dimensions must be brought to bear in a way that discerns and acts on correcting the ways particular students get hurt in the everyday life of schools.” (Kincheloe, 2008, p. 2)

“No emancipatory pedagogy will ever be built out of theories of behavior which view students as lazy, defiant, [or] lacking in ambition…” (McLaren, 2002, p. 93).