Genre Pedagogies

The Genre Pedagogies chapter spoke to the English teacher in me, especially looking at genre critiques. It gets right to the idea that everything is a text, which is a concept I try to teach. I was struck by Coe and Freedman’s list of “critical, meta-rhetorical questions.” Teaching students to look at why a particular genre is used in a particular way, or at a particular time, can foster deep critical thinking of what all texts can do. That first question of the aforementioned list “What sorts of communication does the genre encourage, what sorts does it constrain against?” gets directly at the big idea of studying texts in general. If a student can come to understand how to critique genre, as opposed to simply regurgitate a particular genre, the odds are increased that the student will be better able to approach unfamiliar genres.

Of course, the biggest hurdle that arises out of genre critiques, and out of education in a broad sense is the transfer of skills. Students are getting so much thrown at them that it can be difficult for them to comprehend how learning a concept in First Year Composition can help in Biology. I see it on a daily basis with my students. The three points laid out by the chapter through Anne Beaufort’s case study are a wonderful place to start, but ultimately buy-in is always going to be the biggest hurdle. Reflective writing, not just on what they wrote, but on how and why they wrote can work well, but if the students are not convinced it is important, reflective writing is not going to help.

That being said, I find myself drawn to the idea of designing a course around many of the concepts found in genre pedagogy, because it works in my AP literature class as well as my regular English classes, and will work in AP Language next year. In fact, it is right up the alley of AP Language.