March 20, 2007

• Notes from TETYC (Teaching English in the Two-Year College):
  > “Assignments by Design,” Kip Strasma – Having students “write an accompanying narrative for multimodal texts, where students explain their choices and reasons to the fullest extent possible” (251).
  > Idea for English 120: “A single survey developed by the class is deployed and summarized by each student, resulting in a database from which students can pull information for their own writing” (252). Essentially, in that online class, I could have students decide what they wanted to survey people on (people mostly in the class, perhaps). From there, they’d come up with questions (post ‘em to the class blog in eCollege). I would then (or students could) set up an online survey via surveymonkey.com. Students take the survey, and we publish the results in Doc Sharing of eCollege. Then, a paper would be designed around using the survey results plus additional research. Ex: Survey is created regarding euthaniasia, survey results are used in a paper and students can use the survey results to argue for or against euthanasia, etc. This may not give students enough choice in topic for a paper, but if they are all using the same source (the survey’s results) they may see the controversy in statistics – that they can be used in many ways. Would work the best in the fall?
  > Looking at Trends (English 120): Assignment description is on page 259 (Trendspotters’ Composition). Students, basically, observe trends, collect research, and then analyze causes. Ex: emergences of drive-thru coffee shops, use of instant messenging, lack of bumper stickers now compared to 10+ years ago, changing behaviors at church or schools (cell phone use or lack of respect for elders), etc.
  > Quote: “Literacy today is in the midst of a tectonic change. Even inside of school, never before have writing and composition generated such diversity in definition” (254).
  > Emergence theory: that we will become “much more creative about the ways in which [we] stage [our] disciplines” (254). Studying emergence “invites scholars to rethink existing patterns, shape new combinations, and be vigilant about new problems” (254-5).
  > (257) Having students “produce a reflective document that presents a case for their writing projects and portfolios.” Have them “argue that projects meet the objectives of the course syllabus via demonstration”, etc. “It is the most difficult of tasks for students in the course.” I bet. Reminds me of Emily’s (former TA friend & current instructor in CA) approach to the first day of class – Ask students to identify what they should be doing based strictly on the course’s objectives. She found they often assigned more to the course than she had.

  > “The Professional Email Assignment,” Martine Rife – Students receive an email from their instructor (a professional one to model what instructor expects), students then read articles about email (she lists a few found online & in journals, page 265), and from there, students compose their own email introducing themselves to the class. She uses these emails & the articles throughout to talk about digital literacies as well as informal versus formal writing. Genre is discussed too; what genres are more formal and why, etc. A rubric for grading the email assignment is found on page 269.

  > “Use of the Personal Interview as a Teaching Tool in English Composition,” Barbara Morris – I am in the middle of this essay, yet I have ideas already. Personal interviews could be used in English 105 (interview someone with the job you want), English 110 (interview someone – produce a profile on them), and English 120 (interview someone with the opposite viewpoint you have on a specific issue). Reminds me of Alisa’s Shakespeare Interview Paper she produced for Betsy’s class. She hypothesized that the readers in our family wouldn’t adore Shakespeare as much as the non-readers in the family. Through her interviews, she found she was correct. The paper was about each step, the hypothesis (and reason for it), as well as the interviews, other research/quote, and findings/conclusion.

  *I need to bring back the personal interview to my English 105 class, I think.
  *I’d like to sneak a few of these assignments into my fall courses. Could use the personal interview for Poetry, even!
  *With the emergence theory in mind, I need to revise using genres effectively in class, using reflective pieces, and revision – especially the Minute Paper of Corrections. Are students getting anything out of that assignment? Could ask in my student feedback forms.
  *Addition to syllabi = No flaming email will be accepted. If you have a problem with the class or me, talk to me in person.

  • 10:53 am
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