An enlightening interview with educator and scholastic writer, Mark Hess, on his methods and inspiration for his writing
Mark Hess, currently a Gifted and Talented Teacher at Freedom Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the author of over 200 lessons and units, as well as a book. The topic of this interview, though, was his method of blending creative writing with technical writing to create informative, entertaining, and engaging articles for the National Association of Gifted Children and the National Social-Emotional Needs of Gifted. To see an example of how narrative is effective in an informative article, check out Hess' "I Used to be Gifted."
I asked Hess the following questions to understand his process, its importance, and how others can incorporate it into their fields.
1. What or who inspired you to blend narrative into your lessons and articles?
The inspiration came from presentations and in-services for adults—both as a presenter and an audience member. Weaving narrative into instruction is engaging. Think of your favorite teachers in school. Didn’t you relate to all of them on a personal level? Didn’t you feel like they somehow knew and understood you on a more personal level as well? People love a story—myself included.
2. What about using narrative and story-telling in your articles and lessons do you think makes them more effective?
It’s the same as good fiction. Storytelling in articles and presentations make them come to life just like good characterization and settings helps create personal references and connections for readers. Readers generate an emotional reaction to excellent fiction. We become invested in the characters. We dream along with them; we cringe at their bad decisions; we share their reactions to other characters and events. We share their heartbreak and are devastated by their losses. Ideally, it works the same way in articles and presentations and in sharing research and information.
3. Along the same lines, do you think creativity in articles in your field (or others) should be practiced more frequently? Why or why not?
I see a good mix of research and articles which blend narrative and poetic description in my field of gifted education. Writers and researchers in this field are passionate about gifted education, and most recently, the field has focused on the social-emotional aspects of giftedness. This focus lends itself to narrative and personal experience.
4. What advice would you give to writers or educators to add effective creativity to traditionally technical and informative topics or articles?
We all want to be novelists and poets, don’t we (preferably ones who make money, too!)? I always saw myself as a novelist and short story writer and never imagined I would end up writing what I write—mostly lessons and units for gifted learners. Building writing skills crosses genres, and if you want someone to read what you have written, then you must engage them. In a highly visual world, it’s easier and easier to put down the literature and watch the video instead. Don’t diminish the aspects and difficulty of technical writing, but don’t be afraid to be the poet, the humorist, or the storyteller inside of you.
Conclusion
I believe that in today's fast-paced, technological world it is important to remember the value of creativity in education. Technical writing has its advantages for spewing chunks of information, but stirring in elements, such as narrative in Hess' article "I Used to be Gifted," is vital to contributing to the art of writing and getting one's message across. I invite you to think on your own writing, fictional and nonfictional, and consider how a dash of creativity can improve it.
コメント