Classes will sometimes meet for shorter periods of time to compensate for attending colloquia the first Friday morning of each full semester month:
September: required, Friday the 2nd, Elizabeth Woodworth on reading strategies
October: required, Friday the 7th, Heath Fowler on grading
November: required, Friday the 4th, Lilian Mina on multilingual students
December: optional, Friday the 2nd, preparing for spring semester (Sabrina and Kim are required to attend)
(Some colloquia meetings will not meet the entire 2.5 hour stretch. To make up for lost time, students in this course are strongly advised to submit ideas to the AUM graduate symposium and be available to give a 15 minute presentation. Deadline for applications to Dr. Seth Reno is usually around October 1. This supports the course goal of establishing networks (and professionalizing your CV).
Wed, Aug 17: Introduction to course and themes of class and access
What does it mean to make something “accessible?”
“Where I’m From” activity: http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
Template http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm
The issue of the “pencil poem” at http://j-vibe.com/keeping-it-in-perspective/
HW: read “Keeping Close to Home” by bell hooks (PDF on Bboard) and article on “Multimodality in Motion” at http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/18.1/coverweb/yergeau-et-al/index.html /also schedule introductory meeting with mentors via email and introduce yourself
Wed, Aug 24:
Review homework readings
Issues of accessibility: both superficial and serious–
View http://abc13.com/society/problems-only-left-handed-people-understand/256675/
View “Why I Mind” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoNR6EWT7D4
HW: Contact mentor and set a date to observe mentor’s class in 2nd week of Sep/Read Sullivan’s “Composing Culture, A Place for the Personal” (on Bb), set up WordPress blog, and post 1st reflection (350-500 words) (if you’re in 6060, use same site for both this and Theories).
Consider the following items in your reflection:
Contradictions in the text: where is the author unsure or questioning? Explain the tensions in the argument rather than the easy answers.
Personal connections to your past classroom experiences in writing: what do you recall worked well for you and your classmates in college, high school, and even earlier? How does the text reflect this?
Ideas for your future classroom or consulting job: what about Sullivan do you like most, and what is portable/helpful for you to consider for your writing coaching or pedagogy? Any connections to your mentor’s approach?
Wed, Aug 31
Discussion of Sullivan and reflections
Observation writing and point of view
How we grade or assess formative activities such as this
Example of essay assignment on point of view
HW: read pdf of Robert Brooke’s “Underlife and Writing Instruction” and post reflection to WordPress–follow same structure as with Sullivan
Friday Colloquium on reading strategies
Wed, Sep 7:
Debrief colloquium –what do you think about the reading strategies and speech requirements discussed? (think aloud protocol–how do we use it?)
Alternatives to traditional reading quizzes
Discuss R. Brooke’s idea of the “underlife” of students–share blog entries w/each other
HW: read from Peckham’s Going North Thinking West 1-27 and write reflection (follow same structure as with Sullivan) /observe your mentor or peer teach, interview him/her about textbooks they use and HOW they use them
Wed, Sep 14:
Discuss Peckham and socioeconomic class–how might our class become more accessible to students from working class backgrounds? How does it impact formative and summative assessments? Class activities? Instruction?
Begin thinking about actionable goals for a writing classroom
HW: Read Peckham 49-75 and post reflection, write down 5 goals for an English composition course on a separate blog to share
Wed, Sep 21:
Continue discussing Peckham
Workshop your goals in class with my feedback. Begin breaking down design into units and assignments.
HW: Locate “content” you would use to achieve your objectives/look up potential textbooks, websites, and readings/read pdf of Peter Elbow’s “Ranking, Evaluating, Liking: Sorting Out Three Forms of Judgment” and post reflection
Mon, Sep 26: (optional) CELT workshop on disability services in Library Tower, 10th floor, 11am-12pm
Wed, Sep 28:
Issues of access continued–how to present lessons effectively in lecture formats
Introduction to assessment with Elbow’s process theory
Ideas from previous workshops: grading_aumversion_paperload
Grading unit essays and major projects
HW: read Nancy Welch’s “Sideshadowing Teacher Response” and write reflection, OR read Collins’s “Literacy Education and Disability Studies” and write reflection; begin thinking about and planning your units, which are due on Oct 12
Wed, Oct 5:
Using key terms in your units, creating continuity for learning, accessibility sections and ideas
Final questions about English 1010 unit due next week
HW: work on unit, check out list of things required on syllabi athttp://www.mnsu.edu/cetl/teachingresources/articles/syllabus.html, check out Margaret Price’s blog for info on how to address accessibility in a statement to students: https://margaretprice.wordpress.com/access-statement-for-presentations/
Fri, Oct 7:
Colloquium (on assessment/grading)–after colloquia, ask one seasoned instructor for an emailed copy of his/her syllabus (not your mentor this time)
HW: work on your final unit plan to be completed as midterm project
Wed, Oct 12:
Final unit plans due in hard copy at start of class
Share ideas from unit plans, discuss next unit possibilities
In-class blog on this piece: http://www.chronicle.com/article/Are-We-Teaching-Composition/237969
HW: read and blog about Karen Kopelson’s “Rhetoric on the Edge of Cunning” (pdf on Bboard); consider how this piece relates to issues surrounding election season as well as issues of gender performance
Wed, Oct 19:
Lisa Kent visits to give teaching presentation
Review Kopelson’s article carefully, discuss identity in the classroom, issue of neutrality
HW: read and blog about Richard Miller’s “Fault Lines in the Contact Zone” (pdf on Bboard); continue last observations of mentor classrooms
Wed, Oct 26:
Notes/comments about lesson plans (see also http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/opinion/my-syllabus-my-self.html?_r=1)
Discuss Miller and the politics of grading difficult essays
HW: read Jennifer Grouling’s “Resistance and Identity Formation” at
http://compositionforum.com/issue/32/resistance.php ; write reflection / also, download and read through the assignment sheet on “Teaching Demos” that is posted on Bboard
Schedule a final meeting with your mentor before Thanksgiving. Be sure to thank them! (Avoid observations past November 6 due to holiday insanity)
Wed, Nov 2:
Role of graduate student as teacher: navigating boundaries and responsibilities w/Grouling
Discuss teaching demos and teaching philosophies (due with final units–we’ll look at both my teaching philosophy and Naomi Perez’s philosophy in class)
HW: prepare teaching demonstration for next class (15-20 minutes)
Thurs, Nov 3:
(optional) CELT workshop on working with international students, 1-2pm, Taylor Center 223
Fri, Nov 4:
Colloquium at 9:30am with Dr. Mina in Room 224
Wed, Nov 9:
(optional) 9:30-10:30am CELT workshop on working with international students, Library Tower, 10th floor
Discuss final unit requirements
Teaching demonstrations, Part I
HW: work on final unit project
Wed, Nov 16:
Questions about final units
Teaching demonstrations, Part II
HW: work on final unit project that is due December 7
Exam/project will be due via email on the day the exam is scheduled. You will not report to class that night.
Make sure your name is on all documents, not just on the email you send. Please send the items as separate documents–philosophy, syllabus, schedule, assignment sheets.
Items required:
Teaching Philosophy (separate doc)
Syllabus for a Composition Semester, edited from questions asked at midterm
Schedule for Units 1 and 2 (from beginning of class to midterm, all one document)
Assignment Sheets for Units 1 and 2 (all one doc now)
Email your documents by 5pm on December 7. Unfortunately, grades are due very soon after this so no extensions are possible.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
