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  • Teaching Reflections

    FYC Classrooms in the Digital Age

    Writing across multiple modes . . .

    Multimodality — it is a buzz word that tends to bring forth mixed emotions for both professors and students alike. Technology seems to be here to stay, and with the emergence of digital media platforms (social media, eBooks, blogs, and digital learning structures), it has become increasingly more imperative for English composition instructors to expose students to the conventions of writing in these types of mediums. As an incoming English composition teacher, I consider it my duty to prepare students for writing across the curriculum, as well as for life beyond the walls of an academic institution. In previous blog posts, I have thoroughly discussed my intention of structuring the course as a methods-process based design in lieu of product-based only. However, as Alexander Reid explains, “Some writing instructors view emerging technologies with great enthusiasm; others view them as a threat” (185).

    Being from a pre-technological advancement era, I understand the apprehension in embracing multimedia components in a college-level classroom focused on writing. With only sixteen weeks per semester and classes that last only fifty minutes three times a week, there is so much to be covered. The question becomes, how do I effectively teach students grammar instruction, writing instruction, composition theory (so they understand the why behind what they are being asked to do), as well as how to write for multiple audiences not only within varying genres but also across numerous modes of publications/platforms?

    How to introduce writing across multiple mediums?

    The question is actually quite daunting, and while I find myself in this very scenario, I try to remain focused on Reid’s perspective, “Writers write. A course that takes as its objective the development of writers must begin and end with writing as an activity, and the amount of writing that students do should not be limited by the instructor’s ability to respond to the writing” (187). Bingo! My takeaway is this — just keep students writing! Regardless of the platform used, genre, or audience targeted, all writing and assignments do not need to be instructor graded. Since writers write, what better way to continuously support the course objectives and learning outcomes than to consistently provide students the opportunity to . . . JUST WRITE!

    Just Write!

    Keeping the concept of “writing” in mind, while attempting to continuously expose students to multimodal writing, I have begun to design unit four of my English 1101 course design. The final project/essay will incorporate light research and multimodality. Students will research a topic (still working on the exact nature and/or origin of the topic) and compose an annotated bibliography to organize their research and prepare for English 1102 (the second course of the one-year sequence). Students will be expected to write a summary/analysis of research that will be relatively short, approximately 2-3 pages plus works cited page.

    Next, students will utilize the same research information from the essay and create a multimodal project.

    Examples of multimodal mediums that may be incorporated into the final product are blog posts, brochures, webpages, and PowerPoint presentations.

    Multimodal Writing . . .

    The purpose of the assignment is to teach students first-hand how writing can be adapted not only across various genres but also across varying mediums. Technology is here to stay, and finding a way to incorporate said technology in composition classrooms will only strengthen students’ confidence in the art of writing, as well as provide real-world examples of why the concepts taught in English composition are of vital importance to life outside of academia.

    Works Cited

    Altmann, Gerd. Pixabay, 2020, pixabay.com/illustrations/light-bulb-think-idea-solution-2010022/.

    Altmann, Gerd. Pixabay, 2020, pixabay.com/illustrations/interaction-social-media-abstract-1233873/.

    Pexels. Pixabay, 2020, pixabay.com/photos/adult-diary-journal-notebook-book-1850177/.

    Reid, Alexander. “The Activity of Writing: Affinity and Affect in Composition.” First-Year Composition: From Theory to Practice, edited by Coxwell-Teague, Deborah and Ronald F. Lunsford, Parlor Press, 2014, pp. 184-210.

    Tumisu. Pixabay, 2020, pixabay.com/illustrations/blog-blogging-blogger-computer-492184/.

  • Teaching Reflections

    Journal Prewriting for Academic Success

    Writing about Writing

    This week’s reading focuses on rhetorical situations and the types of activities that could be implemented in the first-year composition classroom to aid students in making real-world connections. Reading through the components of Aristotle’s primary modes of analysis (ethos, pathos, logos), the concept of prewriting caught my eye — it is something that I strongly identify with in my own writing process and something that I discuss with students that visit the campus writing center for tutoring sessions. As I mentioned in last week’s post, writing about writing (WAW) is a theory of pedagogy that I intend to incorporate in my classroom next fall. Put simply, teaching the methods and modes of the writing process itself will be my main focus.

    According to Lunsford et al., “ . . . prewrite by assessing your writing (that is, rhetorical) situation, asking ourselves questions such as the following: Who is my audience? What does the audience expect of me? What do I already know about this subject? What must I find out? How can I best arrange my information and ideas? How much time do I have? How long should the composition be?” (90). The simple questions that many writers ask themselves as they begin to compose are rhetorical in nature, even though, often students and writers don’t consider them as part of a “prewriting” process. When many students hear “prewriting” (myself included during my undergraduate years), they think of “outlining.” Prewriting can consist of many different tactics and styles to include freewriting, focused freewriting, dance boxes (which is a type of word association technique), keyword blast, etc. As Lunsford et al. further states, “Encourage your students to respond to these questions by ‘thinking with a pencil in hand,’ jotting down ideas in their writing logs” (90 – 91).

    Writing Journal

    Sometimes it only takes ONE keyword to bring forth a whole slue or landslide of ideas. In this case, it took me two words — writing logs — in the quote mentioned above to realize another practice I want to implement in my composition classroom next fall: writing journals. Since my primary pedagogy will be student-centered and revolve around the WAW concept, I want to implement processes that will aid students in being and feeling more successful in their writing, not only for this class but for many courses and professions in the future. By designing the curriculum to include processes, such as a writing journal, and freewriting activities, such as freewriting/brainstorming, my hope is students will become accustomed to a formalized process that will aid them in writing assignments yet to come. In other words, the primary methods behind a completed essay are the practices I want to strengthen and highlight for students. Below is a short video that describes the process of keeping a writing journal:

    Journaling for Success

    As I mentioned above, part of the goal in teaching a process-oriented approach for English Composition is to not only prepare students for future academic essays and assignments but to also prepare them for writing in professional careers. Douglas Hesse references four separate types of “domain” writing when determining how to structure a course: academic (genres of the academy with a particular emphasis on . . . thesis and support), civic (writing to influence opinions and decisions in public realms), vocational (genres used to transact work in business and professional settings), and aesthetic (writing to create engaging artifacts from memoirs to poems to literary essays). While Hesse acknowledges a thorough submersion of the four types of writing mentioned would be difficult at best in a fifteen-week course (49-50), I feel as though exposing students to the different genres of writing is of equal importance. Academic emersion is a given since students will compose narratives, research papers, and essays throughout their college years. Civic writing is something students may or may not be exposed to depending upon their specific degree of choice. By utilizing an argumentative essay assignment to incorporate the use of rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos) with topics involving civic discourse, students will have the opportunity to experience two distinctly different genre writing styles into one essay assignment; in other words, students will have the chance to multi-task in the composition classroom.

    In summary, this week’s readings brought forth a lot of “brainstorming” and “direct focus” for me in regards to considering not only how to implement writing about writing strategies into the course but also how to also expose students to various genres of writing without having to assign an overabundance of assignments. By strategically pairing process and content, my hopes are to prepare students for writing beyond my classroom.

    Works Cited

    Anson, Chris M. “Writing, Language, and Literacy.” First-Year Composition: From Theory to Practice, edited by Coxwell-Teague, Deborah and Ronald F. Lunsford, Parlor Press, 2014, pp. 3-19.

    Coxwell-Teague, Deborah, and Ronald F. Lunsford, editors. First-Year Composition: From Theory to Practice. Parlor Press, 2014.

    “Essay Writing for University: Starting a Journal.” YouTube, uploaded by Wendy Davis, 5 December 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSb6qZXeqcA.

    Gerd, Altmann. Pixabay, 2020, https://pixabay.com/illustrations/puzzle-planning-strategy-process-1686918/.

    Hesse, Douglas. “Occasions, Sources, and Strategies.” First-Year Composition: From Theory to Practice, edited by Coxwell-Teague, Deborah and Ronald F. Lunsford, Parlor Press, 2014, pp. 49-66.

    Lunsford, Andrea, Jeanne Law Bohannon, Alyssa O’Brien, and Lisa Dresdner. Teaching with Lunsford Handbooks. 3rd ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s: 2019.

    Pexels. Pixabay, 2020, https://pixabay.com/photos/arm-hand-desk-notebook-pen-1284248/.

  • Teaching Reflections

    Student-Centered Holistic Teaching Philosophy

    Writing is a Social and Rhetorical Activity . . . All Writers Have More to Learn

    One of my most rewarding experiences as a graduate teaching assistant in the Master of Arts in Professional Writing program at Kennesaw State University has been the evolution of self. Giving and sharing part of yourself with others requires great focus and reflection of not only where you are but where you have been. Looking back from this reflective contextual framework, I re-read a quote of mine that has now come to full fruition, “Writing, like life, is a series of events and experiences that lead the writer to traverse different paths. Often times, this exploratory process remains in the shadows, out of sight, and unbeknownst to each writer” (Grant, “Writing: Know Yourself”). At the time this blog post was written, I was completely submerged in the very process I was mentioning. Looking back now, at the end of the semester, I realize how fundamental those words have been in shaping my underlying philosophical methods of teaching.

    I began the master’s program this fall in hopes of one day becoming a successful professor of writing. The most eye-opening experience to date has been the realization that what works best for students, also works best for instructors. There is no magical one-size-fits-all when it comes to the teaching of writing. There is no magical one-size-fits-all classroom pedagogy and most definitely no one-size-fits-all student learning process. The one major takeaway from not only this course, Understanding Writing as a Process, but also from my experience across the graduate-level curriculum, is that learning should be a holistic and student-centered experience. I believe the purpose of education is to provide knowledge and tools from which students can use as a springboard for learning. As stated in a previous blog post, “the foundational approach to this style of instruction is concerned with the student’s ‘whole self’” (Grant, “Perseverance”).

    It is in this basic premise that I foster my teaching philosophy — that I am a facilitator of learning only. It is not my intention or my goal to tell students the “right way” to write. Instead, I want to provide them training and education in English composition so that they may grow and blossom in their own writing styles. In other words, I hope to provide the foundational materials necessary to gain confidence, skills, and classroom experiences that will enable students to pursue their unique paths. Writing is a part of every aspect of life, and no two people have the exact same style. I want students to expand their classroom learning experiences and develop personal and individual writing abilities as well as strengthen communication skills from those said experiences. Empowering others through the sharing of knowledge is very important to me. Helping foster confidence and expressivity of self through writing composition is the framework from which I have built and will continue to develop my classroom pedagogy.

    Student-Teacher Goals

    Students learn best by practice and hands-on experience. Memorizing and studying are necessary methods of learning retention, but learning through personal experience creates a stronger cognitive bond. Incorporating a student-centered approach is essential as not all students will present at the same juncture in their learning journey. By meeting students where they are academically, as a professor, I can then help promote confidence in the writing process. Overwhelming students and applying a one-size-fits-all framework will lead to insecurity and wilting of the blossoming process described above. My goals as a professor are as follows: to teach and foster writing habits that can be adopted across the curriculum; to teach the mechanics behind what can make writing powerful. In other words, my goal is to not only help students adapt various types of writing styles depending upon the end-user but to also teach them ways in which to make their writing present as more powerful to the intended reader. Ultimately, the utility of writing is a mode of communication. Therefore, learning strategic ways of self-expression through the written medium will only enhance communication skills, as well as strengthen written and multimodal rhetoric.

    My teaching philosophy is based heavily on Linda Adler-Kassner and Elizabeth Wardle’s classroom edition of Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies. This semester, as a small cohort, we studied the five threshold concepts of writing pedagogy, and I found myself intrigued and supportive of two main points to include:  all writers have more to learn and writing is a social and rhetorical activity. These two concepts alone represent the groundwork from which I will base my classroom instruction. Similarly, I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Amy Sandefur’s English 1101 course for a syllabus analysis project and was able to witness these concepts being implemented in her pedagogical approach. Because these concepts are so paramount in my teaching philosophy, I would like to discuss each one individually.

    Revision is key to successful writing

    All writers have more to learn. Such a short statement, yet so very profound in the instruction of composition. As a graduate teaching assistant at the Kennesaw State University writing center, I have had the opportunity to meet with students from various academic levels, from college freshmen through doctoral thesis work. Regardless of the writing abilities or educational level of writing, all students benefit from revising their work. Countless times I have experienced meeting one-on-one with a student that felt as though they were only in the writing center to make final line editing “proofreading” changes in their essay. However, after reviewing the assignment guidelines, reading through the polished essay, and discussing areas where global and local changes could be incorporated, students typically leave with self-directed modifications that lead to further revision. Through the revising process, students learn to view their writing not as an author, but as a reader. With each revision brings greater rhetorical focus and more targeted communication.

    Writing is a Social and Rhetorical Activity . . .

    Writing is a social and rhetorical activity. The Conference on College Composition and Communication supports this theoretical concept and encourages teaching methods in the classroom that allow for social activities such as collaborative peer review throughout the drafting, writing, and revision processes. I have experienced this concept at work in the KSU writing center, as well. At times, students come into a session with no idea what to write or even where to start. Immediately, we begin by reviewing the instructor’s guidelines for the assignment. Generally, although students have already read the instructions on their own, they seem to have an “ah-ha” moment where they begin to understand the task at hand. The only aspect of the writing process that has changed since they entered the writing center was a conversation, a social activity. As Grant references, “communication is so ingrained in human nature that often times we don’t need to think or analyze our actions in response to verbal cues” (“The Essence”). As a tutor-student partnership, we then begin the brainstorming process, and within minutes, students seem to have a glow about them, and stress levels seem to wither away. The process of talking about the assignment and bringing every-day context to the task at hand enables the writing process to begin.

    Writing is a Process . . .

    Writing is just that — a process! Every process I have experienced and learned through my work in the writing center has led to understanding and believing that writing really is an actual process. In the beginning, it is crucial for students (and professors) to just get their thoughts expressed on paper or the flashing white, blank page on the computer screen. The initial process of letting the mind wander and documenting thoughts as they manifest is fundamental. For many students, this initial brainstorming will then lead to a workable outline from which students can reference as they begin the initial draft composition. This first draft is meant to establish a framework that students may then revise, participate in peer review, revise again, and so goes the recursive nature of writing. Helping students embrace this process of writing will lead to enhanced future success in all types of writing. Below is a video that explains this process in detail.

    How to Teach Writing as a Process

    Using these two threshold concepts of learning as well as my own writing center experiences, I fully plan to integrate and contextualize them into my classroom pedagogy. Students will experience and have the opportunity to participate in peer review, which supports all three of the theoretical platforms and fosters the recursive process of writing. Above all else, writing tends to cohabitate with a persona of difficulty for many students. My student-centered philosophy is aimed at de-stigmatizing the writing process, strengthening student confidence in their own writing processes, and supporting the learning process of a skill that students will utilize for the rest of their academic and professional careers, in addition to their personal lives.

    References

    Abdullah, Shahid. Pixabay, 2019, pixabay.com/illustrations/plan-do-act-check-system-workflow-1725510/.

    Adler-Kassner, Linda, and Elizabeth Wardle, editors. Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies, Classroom Edition. Utah State University Press, 2016.

    BibliU. “What Does ‘Holistic Learning’ Mean for Students?” YouTube, uploaded 1 Aug. 2019. youtube.com/watch?v=2aFIfCwSEnc&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 30 Nov. 2019.

    Cafaro, Lorenzo. Pixabay, 2019, pixabay.com/photos/correcting-proof-paper-correction-1870721/.

    “CCCC Position Statements.” Conference on College Composition, 22 October 2018, cccc.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions.

    Geralt. Pixabay, 2019, pixabay.com/photos/feedback-exchange-of-ideas-debate-2463927/.

    Grant, Melinda. “The Essence of Writing.” Whisperings, 9 Sept. 2019, mgailgrant.com/philosophical-thoughts/the-essence-of-writing/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2019.

    Grant, Melinda. “Perseverance in Writing.” Whisperings, 25 Aug. 2019, mgailgrant.com/philosophical-thoughts/perseverance-in-writing/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2019.

    Grant, Melinda. “Threshold Concepts in Action.” Whisperings, 2019, mgailgrant.com/projects-assignments/threshold-concepts-in-action/.

    Grant, Melinda. “Writing: Know Yourself.” Whisperings, 14 Sept. 2019, mgailgrant.com/philosophical-thoughts/know-yourself-through-writing/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2019.

    Kalhh. Pixabay, 2019, pixabay.com/illustrations/workshop-training-seminar-group-1425446/.

    NikolayFrolochkin. Pixabay, 2019, pixabay.com/photos/diary-office-work-pen-notebook-1974728/.

    Write On! with Jamie. “How to Teach Writing: The Writing Process.” YouTube, uploaded 2 May 2013. youtu.be/JPUh9mfSqWU. Accessed 30 Nov. 2019.