why I ask students to blog
Below is the beginning of the assignment instructions that I will distribute to the students in MGMT 250. If anyone has any comments or suggestions, I would welcome your thoughts!
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Here’s what Hillary Johnson said about blogging in Inc Magazine:
“Most people think of blogs as public diaries kept by the kinds of egotists who make loud, inappropriate political comments at family barbecues or hog the discussion at book clubs, or wannabe journalists who post inflammatory stories with no fact-checking. … For me, a woman who didn't graduate from Stanford and doesn't live in Silicon Valley, reading blogs by other entrepreneurs provides unexpected access to a virtual peer group.”
Students in MGMT 250 this fall will be offered the option of maintaining a blog and commenting on the blogs of other class participants. Any student who wishes to earn a B or an A for their final course grade will need to complete this assignment. There are three goals of this assignment:
° To encourage students to reflect on what they are learning and what they want to learn about the management of organizations and people
° To provide valuable practice in written communication and impression management
° To facilitate the development of connections among students and between students and course staff that will deepen the learning experience
Reflecting carefully on your own thinking is a very important skill to cultivate. Whether you are planning to enter management or any other professional field, your learning will not end on the day you graduate from college. You will need to engage in lifelong learning, which involves developing a sense of how to sort through different sources of information and distinguish between facts, well-reasoned judgments or conclusions, and poorly supported opinions. To encourage you to develop this skill in reflecting carefully on your own thinking, this course blogging assignment will challenge you to go beyond simply stating your opinion, or quoting a source that you respect and accepting its assertions at face value. In your course blog entries, we will challenge you to state not only what you believe about managing organizations and people, but also why you believe it. Developing your skill in articulating and advocating for your beliefs will help you become a more effective manager or professional.
Comments
One suggestion that I'm planning to blog about soon for the Peer Writing Crew is that maintaining a blog can be a way to improve your writing. Might that be valuable to point out to your students?
Nicole, that's part of bullet point 2 in the three goals of the assignment. Thanks for reinforcing it, though!
Good grief. I know I read all that. How in the world did I miss that?!
I need sleep.
Sandy, I think this is a wonderful idea. Blog writing and reading can cultivate more than just flame wars and polarization. Used the way you suggest, they could be indispensible tools for teaching critical thinking and anaylsis, in all settings.
I look forward to reading more about how the assignment option works for your students. (BTW, I grew up in CT.)