English 676

Spring 2007

 

Shannon Carter                                                                                                   

112 Hall of Languages

903-886-5492

Shannon_Carter@tamuc.edu

http://faculty.tamuc.edu/scarter/archive/

 

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Required Texts:

 

Carter, Shannon. Literacies in Context. Southlake, Texas: Fountainhead Press, 2007.

 

Dunbar-Odom, Donna. Defying the Odds: Class and the Pursuit of Higher Literacy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2007.

 

Sustein, Bonnie Stone and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater. FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006.

 

Yancey, Kathleen Blake. Reflection in the Writing Classroom. Logan, Utah. Utah State University Press, 1998.

 

(plus a handful of additional articles, most of which are/will be made available online)

 

Overview and Goals: Generally, this course is designed to support your teaching of the composition students populating our various programs (Basic Writing/First-Year Composition), teaching that takes place in two, deeply integrated and equally important learning spaces--the Writing Center and the classroom. Specifically, this course is about English 102, student research, and the curriculum designed to support this research and writing. We will be concerned here with the what of teaching these students in these ways, as well as the why and the how.

 

So the subject of English 676 is teaching and writing and the teaching of writing. To that end, we will spend much of our time reading about and writing in response to the projects assigned in English 102 (through Literacies in Context and FieldWorking) and reflecting on these projects and our students’ various literacies as displayed/articulated via these projects (through Defying the Odds and Reflection in the Writing Classroom, among other reading and writing assignments).

 

As with English 675, our first priority is your tutoring/classroom experiences and concerns. Bring those concerns so we can discuss them together and try to come up with some viable answers (or at least commiserate, which almost always helps); bring your student essays so we can mark them together; bring your successes so we can celebrate together. That’s what we are here for. Whatever we do, it is important to remember that we are working from the assumption that theory cannot be separated from practice, nor practice from theory. Teaching is complex; our seminar will continue to honor that complexity.

 

Grades: Like English 675, 676 is an S/U course.

 

Requirements: Along with weekly reading assignments, you will develop a handful of the very same writing projects assigned to your English 102 students (specifically, WA1 [LC, page 39], WA2 [LC, page 113], and a Research Proposal [see http://faculty.tamuc.edu/scarter/archive/research_proposal.htm] for a mini-ethnography you will not be expected to write up but will be required to research), one or two (short!) position papers and—as your final project—a series of activities (complete with handouts) future English 102 instructors/tutors can use to guide their students through one or more of the projects assigned in the current English 102 sequence.

 

Again, here’s a breakdown of the writing projects you will be required to complete this term—

 

o        WA1 (see LC, 39)

o        WA2 (see LC, 113)

o        Research Proposal (http://faculty.tamuc.edu/scarter/archive/research_proposal.htm)

o        Position Paper(s) (additional information available soon)

o        Final Project: Classroom Activities (complete with handouts and a description for future English 102 instructors/tutors about how to best make use of them)

 

It is an absolute requirement that you come to class prepared and ready to talk about the readings and about your experiences in the Writing Center and/or classroom. Participation is not optional.

 

Attendance: Of course, attendance is required. If you must miss a class, contact me before class. Because this is a graduate-level class and is very much a class in “professionalism,” attendance is extremely important.

 

Examinations: There will be no examinations in the colloquium. 

 

Communication: If at any time, you are unclear about the goals of the colloquium, are troubled by any aspect of your teaching or your performance in the colloquium, or just want to talk about stuff in general, please see me. Contact me via email. Give me a call. The primary purpose of English 675 and 676 is to support you and your teaching.

 

Student Conduct: All students enrolled at the University shall follow the tenets of common decency and acceptable behavior conducive to a positive learning environment. In addition, you are requested to turn off your cell phones before entering the classroom. Common courtesy says you do not receive or answer calls during class. If there is an emergency that requires you to leave your phone on, talk to me about it beforehand and switch the phone to vibrate so you don't surprise me when you leave class to take a call and you don't interrupt class when the call comes in. Also, Instant/Text Messaging is off limits.

Americans with Disabilities Act Statement:
Students requesting accommodations for disabilities must go through the Academic Support Committee. For more information, please contact the Director of Disability Resources and Services, Halladay Student Services Building, Room 303D, 903.886.5835.

 

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Tentative Calendar

 

I include here only the first two weeks of this course. Within the next week or so, I will complete our class schedule, which will be made available to you online at http://faculty.tamuc.edu/scarter/archive/676_syllabus.htm.

 

LC=Literacies in Context; FW=FieldWorking; DO=Defying the Odds; RWC=Reflection in the Writing Classroom

 

Week 1 (1/16)

 

                Discuss: LC, 1-2

 

Week 2 (1/23)

 

                Due: WA1

                Discuss: LC, Chapter 3; FW, Chapter 1

 

 

Week 3 (1/30)

 

                Due: WA2 (LC, page 113)

                Discuss: FW, Chapter 2-4

 

Week 4 (2/6)

 

                Discuss: LC, Chapter 4

 

Week 5 (2/13)

 

                Discuss LC, Chapter 5; FW, Chapter 5

 

Week 6 (2/20)

 

                Due: Draft of Research Proposal

                Discuss: Yancey, Delivering College Composition: The Fifth Canon (Chapter 1)*

                and RWC, Chapter 1-2

 

Week 7 (2/27)

 

                Due: Revised Research Proposal

                Discuss: FW, Chapters 6-7; RWC, 3-5

 

Week 8 (3/6)

 

                Discuss: RWC, Chapters 6-end; FW, Chapter 8

                Due: Position Paper 1

 

Week 9 (3/13)

 

                Discuss: DO, 1-3

               

Week 10 (3/27)

 

                TBA

 

Week 11 (4/3)

 

                Discuss: DO, 4-end

 

Week 12 (4/10)

 

                Discuss: Celebration of Student Writing and *“Young Scholars Affecting Composition: A                Challenge to Disciplinary Citation Practices” (Robillard, Amy E. College English, 68.3, January      2006)*

 

Week 13 (4/17)

 

                Due: Position Paper 2

 

Week 14 (4/24)

 

                Due: Final Project (Classroom Activities)

 

Week 15 (5/1): continued