Keywords - August 6

Genre Theory Focuses on writing as a social activity in response to a particular situation. Synthesizes theory and research about genre and provides applications that help teachers artfully address the challenges of teaching high school writing.

Feminism A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal rights for women.  

Modes of Discourse  Four traditional modes of discourse are narration, description, exposition, and argument 

Multiculturalism Philosophy about the proper way to respond to cultural and religious differences  

Paradigm Shift A change in underlying beliefs or theory 

Portfolio Collection or showcase of work in a subject; often used to summarize one’s career or apply for jobs 

Social Construction theories that consider how objects of consciousness develop in social contexts 

Style The manner in which you express yourself 

Student Learner

Teacher  One who provides an educational opportunity, whether formal or informal

 

Definitions: I feel like most of them relate to my course!!

Academic writing	Writing that fulfills a purpose of education in a college or university
Audience	The person or group you intend to reach and inform, entertain, or call to action on a topic
Basic writing	Remedial or developmental writing; came about because of open admissions. Leveling for college courses
Coherence	Logically in order; put together in an order that makes sense
Collaboration	To work together in a joint intellectual effort to produce a desired product
Collaborative learning	Situation when two or more people are attempting to learn something together

what is one assignment you will include in your syllabus assignment that uses collaboration and/or technology and/or other things Yancey and Bruffee and Shaughnessey have discussed?

I am excited to be using something that seems so basic, but I have not incorporated it into my classes at all: Facebook!

I will set up a Facebook page that is private and every student can request to join the page. I have not decided if it will be required for them to get a Facebook, because I have no clue how many students will not have one. That will be a question on the survey I give in the first few days of class. The goal of the Facebook page is to serve as a reminder for due dates, but more importantly, to get some discussion going. Students will be given bonus points for posting links to videos, articles, or other media about a topic we are discussing that week (like resumes or cover letters). Students will also receive points for commenting and discussing on the Facebook page.

Another thing I want to incorporate is doing a quiz question every other day or so. For example, if they have quiz 6 on Friday, Monday and Wednesday I may put up a question on the Facebook page (without the answer) to see how students are doing. It is essentially a freebee as long as they take the time to look up the correct answer and discuss it.

The class I teach is 90+ students, which is hard for them to get up and ask a question. I am hoping with the Facebook page they will either ask the question on there or feel comfortable sending me a question.

Define Literacy

Something I had talked about during a few points of class was agricultural literacy. But what makes ag literacy so important?

Merriam-Webster defines literacy in the following:

1. : the quality or state of being literate 

So what exactly is literate? 

a : educated, cultured  
b : able to read and write

a : versed in literature or creative writing : literary  
b : lucid, polished <a literate essay>  
c : having knowledge or competence <computer-literate> <politically literate>

The best way I could think of to define literacy was to look at a specific industry: agriculture. In ag communications we are constantly talking about the importance of ag literacy. Overall, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the concept. We wanted people to be able to understand and communicate about agriculture. But then I got to thinking, agriculture is a REALLY big field and can differ tremendously depending on what region one is in.

I found a great definition from Wikipedia (and while I normally stay away from it, they did mention Texas Tech so I figured they were on to something good!):

Agricultural literacy is a phrase being used by several universities (e.g., Texas Tech, the University of Arizona, and California Polytechnic State University) to describe programs to promote the understanding and knowledge necessary to synthesize, analyze, and communicate basic information about agriculture to students, producers, consumers, and the public. These programs focus on assisting educators and others to effectively incorporate information about agriculture into subjects being taught or examined in public and private forums, and to better understand the impact of agriculture on society.

So, ag literacy helps to inform educators. The goal is to see more agriculture in the classroom.

I believe that literacy is  understanding and knowing about a subject enough to educate others on that topic.

Assignment Review: Emily Gilbert

I decided to review Emily's project because I have taught a course that was completely computer based (design course) and one where you had to use a computer for the assignments. I was intrigued to see if the world had some of the same problems I did with the courses!

Emily did a great job of finding literature that was relevant to the topic. There is clearly a need for students to use technology in the classroom because it is a skill they will undoubtedly need for the future. One of the points I particularly liked was that FYC is a course that all students need to take for basic writing, so why not include technology? We seldom do anything that is hand-written anymore, so maybe that is how the courses should be structured?

My problem with that, though, is how do we REQUIRE technology? I had a course that required students to have a computer and a computer program and with only 30 students in the class, there were probably 20% that did not always have a computer or their program was down. It needs to be something that can be accessed by everyone, even just on school computers.

The one thing I wish I would have seen (and Emily did point out there was a lack of information on) is how to use it in the classroom? Facebook was mentioned, but other than posting assignments or giving students a chance to comment and interact, what purpose does it serve? It did make me realize that my students are more likely to check Facebook than they are Blackboard. I had one undergraduate course that had a Facebook page and it was extremely helpful during tests. It really has me thinking, how can we incorporate technology more? Outside of an online class, what applications will benefit them in the future?

Overall, great job Emily! Very thorough review of the literature. The presentation would have been great to a departmental meeting.

Online Anonymity

I have always been an advocate of online courses. I loved the freedom it offered and the flexibility in which classes could be taken. This summer was my first experience with using any type of interface where we actually meet and talk. I have participated in other courses where we have had discussions. There is a tremendous difference in the two methods. I feel like I know the personalities of those in the MOO (although I'll say I am more quiet so people probably do not see mine as much!) I think about that comparison to Skype or even in class. While I like that in class I can respond a little quicker (I feel like I have a learning curve with MOO). I love that MOO is completely unbiased. While I have background information on everyone in the class, I had no perceived notions about who they are, where there from, and because we are so diverse, it makes for an interesting dynamic. I love the saying that no one knows you are a dog online. I think of me in the MOO. Many people probably do not know my inexperience with teaching and especially in the English field. The fact that I am inexperienced is probably less obvious online. It helps me to soak in a lot of information without being worried about speaking up enough. Thinking about the comparison makes me greatful for my in class courses that are discussion based. But I love that I am able to be quieter (not my normal personality) and soak in all of the information!

Assignments in a FYC course

What assignments would I use to teach in a FYC course based on my teaching philosophy? I want my students to gain skills they will use for the future. No matter what field you go into, good grammar, spelling, and punctuation are important. Spelling tests are not relevant, but what has helped me was catching grammatical errors in real publications.

• Editor's Eye - Each week bring in three newspapers, magazines, etc. with errors in the assignment.

I also want students to pursue careers they have an interested in. As a freshman (or someone taking a lower-level composition class), the student may be unsure of what they want to do with their career. There is no better way to explore what they are interested in than by researching it! I had several friends who took Animal Science English (that's not what it was called but it focused on animal science and counted as English 1 & 2). The student's loved the course because it was relevant to their major!

• Have all papers follow their own personal common theme, so related to their major or future career choice. 

I was interested in everyone's comments about breaking down the assignment into much smaller chunks. That is something I am going to do for future courses.

• Assignment timelines - Each little piece of the project will have a deadline. Starting with the topic, resources, etc.

While there are still more that I would consider, these are the three that relate most closely to my teaching philosophy. 

Philosophy of Teaching

As a student, I loved teachers who would give me the information, turn me lose on an assignment, and above all, encourage creativity. These teachers were those who pushed me outside of my limits by encouraging me to take internships and experiences I was sure I was not ready for. Now as a teacher, I try to create some of these same practices with my students. I focus my classroom philosophy around:

·      Real-world learning experiences. The classroom should be the place to gain skills for the future.

·      Encouraging the pursuit of skills. Students often come to college unsure of what to do with their measure. I try to give them a wide-variety of experience, with the option to practice the skills learned in class.

·      Be a mentor. The teachers who strongly impacted my learning experience were those who always had an open door and great feedback.

We should see schools as safe arenas for experimenting with life, for discovering our talents... for taking responsibility for tasks and others people, for learning how to learn... and for exploring our beliefs about life and society. - Charles Handy.

In my classroom, I teach my students what they have to know in order to become successful in their following endeavors, but I strive to make it a safe learning environment. After the basics are taught, learned, and shown in practice, students are rewarded for their creativity and new ideas. My students are expected to be responsible for their own actions and hopefully, in return, learn skills that will help them to become successful.

I prefer to use the humanistic orientation approach to teaching. I give my students the information needed to complete the task successfully, and encourage them to complete the task. This approach helps me to see my student’s potential.  I hope that my students will take the initiative to complete the project, and always reward them for going above and beyond. It gives me a great opportunity to encourage them through the process, be there for support and questions, all while offering them the experience of having a boss who gives creative freedom.

The work experience I have had often resembled a similar experience: my boss gave me a task, requirements, and a deadline. After that, it was my responsibility to conduct the work and deliver the project. The more creative I was with the task, the better reviews I received. I try and facilitate a similar experience in my classroom.

We should train ourselves not to ask 'How intelligent he/she is?' but 'Which intelligence doe he/she have most of? - Charles Handy

Students may not know what it is that they want to do in life, but I have found that when they find something they truly enjoy, there is almost always a career for it. In the classes I teach, I look to use a wide-variety of tools and experiences in the hope that maybe one lesson will spark their interest. My lessons include guidelines and requirements, but I aim to make as many of them self-guided so that the students can cover a topic or subject that is of particular interest. In my experience, I see far better work from my students who work on a project that interests them.

No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he himself believes to be of value. -Bertrand Russell

My door is always open, and I strive to always be a mentor for my students to confide in. I have had an interesting background, one that was shaped from my experiences as an undergraduate student. One particular turning point in my education was the opportunity for a web design internship. Although I had only been in the web design course a few short weeks, my instructor was confident I could master it and I agreed to take on the project. It was at that point I realized I could do much more with my degree if I was not afraid to chase my dreams. I will always hold the encouraging words this instructor gave me and remind myself to encourage my students just like he did.

In the future, I hope to serve as much as a mentor to my students as I do their instructor.

What's the most difficult thing to teach?

The most difficult thing to teach in writing is.... THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITING! Few students understand that no matter what career they have, writing will play an important role. Even if it is simply emails or memos, students will have to write in their career!

I have only taught one class, which was technical writing. The first month is GSP, and the students fail to see the importance or think "I've learned this already." Luckily, we quickly get into resumes, cover letters, emails, memos, etc. Students at least see the value in resumes and cover letters because lets face it, everyone needs a resume! I tell them even if they are going to end up taking over the family business, they will be in senior seminar and will need a resume there.

I truly believe that 20 years ago, this class would be viewed as much more important. Or even longer ago, when if you really wanted to communicate you had to write. Today, businesses do business via Skype, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and those aren't exactly formal writing styles. The best way is to find out what that students wants to do and then find a way writing relates to that career path, help them to see the important connection.

Introduction to ENGL 5060

Hi fellow classmates! I am currently a Ph. D. student in Agricultural Communications and Education at Texas Tech University. I was fortunate enough to land an assistantship, so I work for the department as an instructor while working on my degree. I just completed my first year and look forward to two more. In the future I hope to obtain a job at a smaller university as either a communications or English instructor.

I define composition as arranging words to best suite the goals of your audience. You goal is to make it clear and easy to understand for them, not for the writer.