Thank you for sharing this, Brett (and John). I'd like to pick up on the point about being stuck, because I agree that this is a place where students often don't get enough - or the right kind - of support.
To provide that support, it's important to think and talk with our students about why writers get stuck. In doing so, it's important to distinguish between different kinds and causes of stuck-ness. Different kinds of stuck may call for different strategies for getting un-stuck.
For example, we might be stuck because:
1. We're alienated from the work. Getting unstuck is a matter of finding our way to a more meaningful kind of work and/or a more meaningful relationship with it.
2. The resources that we need to do the work have been depleted by (mostly) external factors. Getting unstuck is a matter of dealing with adversity and adapting to our environment.
3. The resources that we need to do the work have been depleted because we've been approaching our work in a way that grinds us down. Getting unstuck is a matter of developing a more sustainable practice.
4. We don't have an effective strategy for doing the work (i.e., we don't know where to start or what to do next). Getting unstuck is a matter of developing a more effective process.
5. We're encountering intellectual difficulties that are intrinsic to the task. In this case, we may want to get not unstuck but "stuck in."
Of course, we often get stuck for more than one reason at once, but even when that's the case, it can be helpful to break our stuck-ness down into its component parts and try to understand how they interact.
The thing that I think is crucial to understand is that getting stuck in any of the ways outlined above can lead to really valuable learning moments. The goal, I think, should be to create an environment where students can recognize the potential value of getting stuck and work through it in a constructive way, rather than an environment where getting stuck is understood simply as an obstacle to delivering an end product.
Thank you for sharing this, Brett (and John). I'd like to pick up on the point about being stuck, because I agree that this is a place where students often don't get enough - or the right kind - of support.
To provide that support, it's important to think and talk with our students about why writers get stuck. In doing so, it's important to distinguish between different kinds and causes of stuck-ness. Different kinds of stuck may call for different strategies for getting un-stuck.
For example, we might be stuck because:
1. We're alienated from the work. Getting unstuck is a matter of finding our way to a more meaningful kind of work and/or a more meaningful relationship with it.
2. The resources that we need to do the work have been depleted by (mostly) external factors. Getting unstuck is a matter of dealing with adversity and adapting to our environment.
3. The resources that we need to do the work have been depleted because we've been approaching our work in a way that grinds us down. Getting unstuck is a matter of developing a more sustainable practice.
4. We don't have an effective strategy for doing the work (i.e., we don't know where to start or what to do next). Getting unstuck is a matter of developing a more effective process.
5. We're encountering intellectual difficulties that are intrinsic to the task. In this case, we may want to get not unstuck but "stuck in."
Of course, we often get stuck for more than one reason at once, but even when that's the case, it can be helpful to break our stuck-ness down into its component parts and try to understand how they interact.
The thing that I think is crucial to understand is that getting stuck in any of the ways outlined above can lead to really valuable learning moments. The goal, I think, should be to create an environment where students can recognize the potential value of getting stuck and work through it in a constructive way, rather than an environment where getting stuck is understood simply as an obstacle to delivering an end product.