English 5800, Practicum in the Teaching of English

Fall Semester, 2005

Mondays 12:20-2:15 in Lind 305

Mentor groups will decide on their meeting times and will continue in Spring 2006

There are two strands for mentor-group discussions—one for TAs whose Fall assignment is in literature, language, or creative writing, and the other for those who will be teaching composition.  Both groups meet in general sessions during the even-numbered weeks to discuss the topics listed below.

This is a two-credit course The required readings and writing assignments will be available from the Paradigm copy center in the Dinkydome the week before classes.  Students should do the readings for September 19 BEFORE that class meeting. You should buy Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1993.  This has 49 short and very helpful chapters which move nicely from "Preparing or Revising a Course" to "The Last Day of Class."  Familiarize yourself with the table of contents, and read the relevant chapters as the issues arise in your course.  I have noted some of those chapters in the list of readings for this course, but we won't go over them during the class, since they explain themselves.

There is a pass-fail (S/N) and letter-grade option; students can decide which they prefer at the start of the course. No exams.

In order to receive credit students must attend seven of the eight mentor-group meetings and six of the seven Practicum sessions in the fall, and four of the five mentor-group meetings in the spring and participate in the visiting program.* Students who meet the passing criteria for Fall will receive an "X" grade in English 5800 which will be changed to the earned "A/N" or "S" after they meet the spring criteria.  (Obviously, we will take attendance for all meetings.)

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    * EngW 1101 TAs will have weekly mentoring sessions before the Thursday lecture.  No more than two absences will be accepted.

This course is closely coordinated with the mentors and mentor groups.  This schedule and topics could change as participants' interests and needs emerge.

"Extended" mentor groups - People who are teaching Creative Writing 1101 in the fall have Maria Fitzgerald as their mentor.  Since they will be teaching assistants in literature courses in the spring, they will have a literature mentor for that term; they will be invited to meet with the expanded group during fall semester.

Spring 2006 Mentor Group Topics and Activities - Tentative

Visiting policy -

*  Those in the first year will be visited by their mentors in fall or spring semester, or both. 

*  Teaching Assistants and Graduate Instructors after their first year will exchange peer visits once a year. (If the lecturing professor visits classes, that is an extra benefit.)

Exemption for the course –

If you took  similar "official" (credit) course at the University or elsewhere, please send a syllabus to Donald Ross. However, people exempt from English 5800 must still attend the mentor sessions from the week before classes through spring semester.  The point is to have everyone become familiar with the pedagogical styles, practices, and policies of our department.

Readings for the Practicum

         The readings were set in consultation with the Graduate Student Organization and the Center for Writing, but I made the final decision. 

         Part of the charge was to have readings which were in some way theoretical; in practice that involves two quite different kinds of theories—pedagogical theories which often use empirical studies to arrive at generalizations or at least to explain those generalizations and literary-philosophical theories about the natures of texts, contexts, readers, writers, etc. 

         The mentor groups will discuss practical (classroom) issues in the specific context of the course you are teaching.  The mentor sessions complement the formal practicum course.  As a result, few of these readings are clear on the practical relevance of what is claimed or asserted.

         Other important criteria for selecting these readings were length (trying to keep the readings for every other week at 30 pages or fewer), and scope (trying for articles or chapters which refer to writing by other scholars and teachers).  The footnotes or bibliographies give you plenty of avenues to explore for those topics which you find especially important.

         You will notice that most of the readings are from and about composition rather than creative writing or literature-language.  This reflects a rather uncomfortable reality – theories or even practical advice about the teaching of the latter two subjects are rare; when they do exist, they tend toward the inspirational and anecdotal.  In order to work around that limitation, for each week, three participants will be assigned to make brief (5 minute) speeches on the works on the table.  The speeches will be on what the works mean or imply from the perspective of teachers and students in creative-writing, literature-and-language, and composition.

1. Why Teach English?

Louise M. Rosenblatt, "The Quest for 'The Poem Itself,'" in Contexts for Criticism, ed. Donald Keesey, 2^nd ed.  Mountain View CA: Mayfield, 1994, pp. 129-36.

Josephine Donalvan, "Beyond the Net: Feminist Criticism and Moral Criticism, " in Contexts for Criticism, ed. Donald Keesey, 2^nd ed.  Mountain View CA: Mayfield, 1994, pp. 214-25.

Catherine Belsey, "Literature, History, Politics, " in Contexts for Criticism, ed. Donald Keesey, 2^nd ed.  Mountain View CA: Mayfield, 1994, pp. 436-44.

Patricia Bizzell, "'Contact Zones' and English Studies" in  Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader, ed. Victor Villanueva, Jr.  Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of English,  1997, pp. 735-42.

2. Theories of Learning

John Heywood, "Learning Strategies and Learning Styles," chapter 9 from Assessment in Higher Education: Student Learning, Teaching, Programmes and Institutions.  London: Jessica Kingsley: 2000, pp. 219-245 [part]

Patricia Bizzell, "William Perry and Liberal Education" in  Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader, ed. Victor Villanueva, Jr.  Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of English,  1997, pp. 297-306.

[Tools for Teaching, § II. "Responding to a Diverse Student Body." pp. 31-59; § VI, "Enhancing Students' Learning and Motivation," pp. 177-201]

3. Teaching of Critical Reading

William A. Johnson, "Reading Cultures and Education" in Reading Between the Lines: Perspectives on Foreign Language Literacy, ed. Peter C. Partikis. New Haven: Yale UP: 2003, pp. 9-23.

Kathleen McCormick, "Reading Lessons and Then Some: Toward Developing Dialogues between Critical Theory and Reading Theory," chapter 18 in Critical Theory and the Teaching of Literature: Politics, Curriculum, Pedagogy, eds. James F. Slevin and Art Young.  Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1996, pp. 292-315.

From Teaching Argument in the Composition Course: Background Readings, ed. Timothy Barnett {Bdford/St. Martin, 2002. Jeanne Fahnstock and Marie Secor, "The Stases in Scientific and Literary Argument," pp. 58-73; Mariolina Salvatori, "The 'Argument of Reading' in the Teaching of Composition" pp. 349-58 [part]; and a dividend, if you are interested, Stephen Toulmin, from The Uses of Argument, pp. 124-32 [part]

[Tools for Teaching, § III "Discussion Strategies," pp. 63-95]

4. Teaching writing à Assignments

Toby Fulwiler, "The Argument for Writing Across the Curriculum" chapter 2 from, Writing Across the Disciplines: Research into Practice, eds. Art Young and Toby Fulwiler.  New York: Boynton-Cook, 1986, pp. 21-32.

Linda Brodkey, "Writing Permitted in Designated Areas Only" from Higher Education Under Fire: Politics, Economics, and the Crisis of the Humanities, Michael Bérubé and Cary Nelson, eds. New York: Routledge, 1995, pp. 214-37 [only 214-25 copied]

Peter Elbow, "High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing" from Writing to Learn: Strategies for Assigning and Responding to Writing across the Disciplines, ed. Mary Deane Sorcinelli, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997, pp. 5-13 [need proper citation]

Gerri Brightwell, "Pedagogical Issues in Creative Writing," unpublished manuscript, Minneapolis, May 10, 2004, 6 pp.

[Tools for Teaching, § VII "Writing Skills and Homework Assignments," pp. 205-235]

5. Power: Authority in the Classroom NOTE – I've included several complete chapters, but you only need to read the "focus on" pages in boldface.

Rebecca Moore Howard, "Collaborative Pedagogy" from A Guide to Composition Pedagogies, Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick, eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp.54-70 [focus on 54-58]

Greg Myers, "Reality, Consensus, and Reform in the Rhetoric of Composition Teaching" in  Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader, ed. Victor Villanueva, Jr.  Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of English,  1997, pp. 415-37.

Diana George and John Trimbur, "Cultural Studies and Composition" from A Guide to Composition Pedagogies, Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick, eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp.71-91 [focus on 71-86]

Ann George, "Critical Pedagogy: Dreaming of Democracy" from A Guide to Composition Pedagogies, Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick, eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp.92-112 [focus on 92-104]

Blythe McVicker Clinchy, "Issues of Gender in Teaching and Learning," from Teaching and Learning in the College Classroom, 2^nd ed., Kenneth A. Feldman and Michael A. Paulsen, eds. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 1998, pp. 163-71.

Rita Hardiman and Bailey W. Jackson, "Racial Identity Development: Understanding Racial Dynamics in College Classrooms and on Campus," from Teaching and Learning in the College Classroom, 2^nd ed., Kenneth A. Feldman and Michael A. Paulsen, eds. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 1998, pp. 193-204

[Tools for Teaching, § V "Collaborative and Experiential Strategies," pp. 147-165]

6. Teaching Writing à Response

Brian Huot, "Toward a New Discourse of Assessment for the College Writing Classroom," College English 65:2 (Nov. 2002): 163-80.

Lil Brannon and C. H. Knoblauch, "On Students' Rights to Their Own Texts: A Model of Teacher Response" in Harcourt Brace Guide to Peer Tutoring, ed. Toni-Lee Capossela.  Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1998, pp. 213-22.

Joyce MacAllister, "Responding to Student Writing" in New Directions for Teaching and Learning: Teaching Writing in All Disciplines, ed. C. W. Griffin.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1982, pp. 59-65.

Robert J. Connors and Andrea A. Lunsford, "Teachers' Rhetorical Comments on Student Papers," College Composition and Communication 44:2 (May 1993): 200-23.

[Tools for Teaching, § VIII, "Testing and Grading," pp. 239-311]

7. Building Your Teaching Portfolio

John Centra, "Approaches to Teaching and Implications for Evaluation" chapter 2 from Reflective Faculty Evaluation: Enhancing Teaching and Determining Faculty Effectiveness, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993, pp. 20-46.

Mary Deane Sorcinelli, "The Evaluation of Teaching: The 40-Year Debate about Student, Colleague, and Self-Evaluations" chapter 16 from The Social Worlds of Higher Education:  Handbook for Teaching in the New Century, Bernice Pescosolido and Ronald Aminzade, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 1999, pp. 195-205.

Barbara Gross Davis, "Student Rating Forms," chapter 48, pp. 397-406 and "Self-Evaluation and the Teaching Dossier" chapter 43 from Tools for Teaching, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001, pp. 362-66.

Jill Stamm and Caroline Wactler, Philosophy of Education Workbook.  New York: McGraw-Hill/Primis, pp. 14,16,41-44, 48.

Kathleen Blake Yancey, "Postmodernism, Palimpsest, and Portfolios: Theoretical Issues in the Representation of Student Work. College Composition and Communication 55:4 (June 2004): 754-56 [part]

[Tools for Teaching § X, "Evaluation to Improve Teaching," pp. 345-366, and Ch. 48, "Student Rating Forms," pp. 397-406]

8. Bibliographies assembled by members of the Pedagogy Working Group

"Why English"

"Pedagogy of English Studies: Learning Theory/Styles," Alex Mueller

"Preliminary bibliography on critical reading pedagogy in literature courses"

"Writing"

"Doug Texter's suggestions for Practicum Readings/Resources"

"Teaching Resources for the Revised Practicum," Lesley Lydell

Writing for the Practicum

Everyone

Write a 50-100-word review of each reading for each week (except the readings on Portfolio) – where the review represents not necessarily the whole reading, but those ideas or themes which are important to your current and future teaching; use a phrase to define your perspective. Your audience could be a colleague who asks you "Have you read anything good about xxx?" These can be handwritten, but probably better to have them in your word-processor files for your future reference.

Following weeks 4, 8, and 12, write up a 2-3 page praxis paper which links the past two weeks' readings to classroom experience.  For example, describe a scenario from the class you are teaching where specific readings or themes from the readings improved the learning of your students.

Turn the abstracts and the essay in on the Mondays following the weeks noted.

For week 14 on the portfolio Bring to class – A one-paragraph anecdote about a successful teaching moment that happened this semester.  This could have happened in class, in one-on-one conference, or in the context of an assignment you gave, and the success could have been for all or many of your students or only one student.  Describing this sort of specific event is often a valuable part of a teaching philosophy statement, as well as your teaching portfolio.

Also bring your CV.

The readings are for general background on assessing and evaluating teaching, including self-evaluation.  We will discuss issues such as describing your approach to teaching (Centra and the Workbook) and the procedures and methods used for evaluating teaching (Sorcinelli and Davis).  We will also discuss the elements of a portfolio as outlined in the syllabus.

Consider putting your teaching portfolio on the web – that is probably where it should wind up when you are looking for a job.

Instructions for activating and using your personal web space are at:

http://www1.umn.edu/adcs/help/webpage.html

At the end of fall semester, write a one-page philosophy of teaching for an audience of professors on a recruiting committee.  Philosophy, objectives, strategies-techniques --

For S(N) or C —— in addition to the above

Put together the basic elements of a teaching portfolio –

1. Your statement or philosophy of teaching (either as is from the end of fall, or revised).

2.  The syllabus for your fall course and either comments on how you would change it the next time you teach it or a revised syllabus with notes on what you changed and why.  If possible, include one paper assignment with similar comments.  If it is (electronically) feasible, have this just be the substance of the syllabus – not including the "red tape" about absences, typing format, etc.

3.  A summary of student evaluations – Xerox the numbers you get back from Measurement Services (with any explanation you deem appropriate) and an extract of student comments (with any explanation you deem appropriate).

Due any time before the end of spring semester. (Remember you need to attend spring mentor meetings to pass the course)

For A/F – grade higher than C —— in addition to the above

Write a paper of 6-10 pages which puts the readings and teaching philosophy together to explain the theoretical basis for your approach to teaching.  This paper should include two or three examples of how theory informs an important element in your teaching – for example, the papers or readings you assign, how you evaluate students' reading, writing, or speaking, or how you put the pieces of a course together.

A 1-2 page prospectus for this paper is due the Monday after Thanksgiving, and I will evaluate it for both scope and content.

Due any time before the end of spring semester. (Remember you need to attend spring mentor meetings to pass the course)