COURSE:                  Engl 366--Teaching Writing
                                   MWF 1:05-2:20
PROFESSOR:          Jennifer A. Gehrman
OFFICE HOURS:     238 NH     MW 2:30-4:30  T 12:30-2:30
PHONE:                  247-7442
EMAIL                      gehrman_j@fortlewis.edu
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Students will study writing from a theoretical/disciplinary perspective.  We will examine the history of writing instruction, differing philosphies currently at play, the research and assumptions from whence these philosophies derive, and practical classroom strategies resulting from these philosophies.  Students will be required to write, both formally and informally, for a variety of purposes in this course.

REQUIRED TEXT:
Soven, Margot Iris.  Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools: Theory, Research, and  Practice.  Boston:
    Allyn and Bacon, 1999.

All additional reading assignments can be found on reserve at Reed Library.

GRADES:
Your final grade for this course will be comprised of the following components.  The course will operate on a 100 point scale.  We will consult together to determine how to weight each of the following components.

Responses to Readings
You will turn in a 1-2, page informal responses to the readings as noted in the syllabus below.  In these responses you may analyze the readings, compare and contrast the readings, or critique them.  These should be thoughtful, carefully informed pieces which demonstrate that a) you have read the assigned readings, and b) you are processing the information and applying it as we go.

Statement of Teaching Writing Philosophy 
This 3-5 page paper should be a clearly articulated, polished statement of your own, individual philosophy of teaching writing, suitable for inclusion into your professional portfolio.  It should reflect a clear understanding of the variety of theories available to you, but the focus of this paper should be on your own informed beliefs and intentions as a new teacher regarding the best way(s) to teach writing.

Journal Report
For this report you will collaborate with another student to look over one issue of a scholarly journal in composition studies.  Be ready to tell the rest of the class what the journalís mission is, what kinds of submissions it accepts, what articles, reviews, etc. Were in your issue and your evaluation of them, and whether you think the journal might be useful to you when you enter the profession, why or why not.  Your choice of journal should be drawn from among the following:

College Composition and Communication          Research in the Teaching of English
College English                                                 Writing on the Edge
Composition Studies                                         Written Communication
Journal of Basic Writing                                    English Journal
Journal of Advanced Composition                       Language Arts
 

Research Paper
This 7-10 page paper should explore an issue in composition studes that we do not cover in depth in class.  Possible topics include gender and writing, ethnicity and writing, the connections or disjunctures between high school and college writing expectations, or the role of emerging technologies in composition instruction.  You should try to cover a significant amount of the fieldís conversation about your topic, then go on to speculate how your knowledge of the topic may influence your teaching.  As a class, we will design a suitable rubric for the evaluation of this final paper.

EXTRA CREDIT
You can earn 1 point of extra credit for each day of service you provide at any local school or tutoring program over the course of this semester (up to 5 points).  To claim your extra credit points, I will expect you to turn in a brief reflective essay (1-3 pages) at the end of the trimester.  This essay should explain how many times you met with students, what sorts of academic work you helped them with, how you felt about the experience, and what you learned from the experience.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
M 1/8      Introductions/Reflections
W 1/10     Grading and Course Policies
                  Class will draft a ìconstitutionî articulating policies and procedures for attendance,   late or missing
                work, participation, distribution of grades, etc.  This will be our first   in-class, collaborative writing project.
F 1/12      Complete ìconstitutionî
 
History of Rhetoric and Composition Studies
M 1/15  ìGeneral Introductionî from The Rhetorical Tradition (Bizzell & Herzberg)
W 1/17 ìThe Classical Tradition and Composition/Rhetoricî (Winterowd)
F 1/19  ìWhere We Came Fromî  (Winterowd)

M 1/22  Standards for the English Language Arts (NCTE/IRA)
W 1/24 ìWhat English Teachers Need to Know about Writingî (Soven, Chpt. 1)
              First Response Statement Due
F 1/26  ìNew Goals for Writing Instructionî (Soven, Chpt. 2)

Philosophies of Writing Instruction
M 1/29  ìContemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theoriesî (Berlin)
W 1/31 ìWhere We Areî (Winterowd)
                  Second Response Statement Due
F 2/2   ìComposition Curricula: Four Approachesî (Soven, Chpt. 8)

M 2/5  ìTeaching about Sentencesî (Soven, Chpt. 4)
          ìGrammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammarî (Hartwell)
W 2/7  ìHow to Get Power through Voiceî (Elbow)
           ìTeaching the Other Self: The Writerís First Readerî (Murray)
              Third Response Statement Due
F 2/9  ìTeaching the Writing Processî (Soven 3)
          ìA Cognitive Process Theory of Writingî (Flower & Hayes)
 
M 2/12  ìWhat is Literacyî (Gee)
W 2/14 ìThe Idea of Community in Studying Writingî (Harris)
F 2/16  ìRhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Classî (Berlin)
              Fourth Response Statement Due

M 2/19  Peer Writing Workshop--Planning & Discussion of Teaching Writing Philosophy
W 2/21 Peer Writing Workhop--Drafting and Revising of Philosophy
F 2/23  Peer Writing Workshop--Editing and Proofreading of Philosophy
 
Prompting Student Writing 
M 2/26  ìWhy Writeî (Gage)
              Final Draft of Teaching Writing Philosophy Due
W 2/28 ìDesigning Writing Assignmentsî (Soven, Chpt. 6)
F 3/2      ìWriting about Literatureî (Soven, Chpt. 7)

3/5 - 3/9  Spring Break

M 3/12  Present Journal Reports
W 3/14  Present Journal Reports
F 3/16  Present Journal Reports

Working on Student Writing
M  3/19  ìCollaborative Learning and the ëConversation of Mankindíî (Bruffee)
                  ìConsensus and Difference in Collaborative Learningî (Trimbur)
W 3/21     ìThe Listening Eye: Reflections on the Writing Conferenceî (Murray)
                  Mock Conferences
F 3/23      Mock Conferences
 
Evaluating and Responding to Student Writing
M 3/26  ìThe Genre of the End Commentî (Smith)
W3/28  ìEvaluating and Responding to Student Writingî (Soven, Chpt. 5)
F 3/30      Peer Writing Workshop--Planning and Discussion of Final Research Paper

M 4/2  Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing  (NCTE/IRA)
W 4/4  Class will collaborate to construct a rubric for grading the final research paper.
            This will be our final collaborative writing project.
F 4/6  Peer Writing Workshop--Drafting and Revising of Research Paper
 
M 4/9      Six Trait Scoring (handout)
W 4/11    Six Trait Scoring
F 4/13      Peer Writing Workshop--Drafting and Revising of Research Paper

M 4/16  ìReflection, Research, and Teaching Writingî & ìJoining the Professionî
              (Soven 9&10)
W 4/18 Peer Writing Workshop--Editing and Proofreading of Research Paper
F 4/20  Final Research Paper Due