Fall 2007
English 675
Shannon
Carter, PhD
HL
112
903-886-5492
(by far, the best way
to reach me is via email)
Office Hours: T, 12-2
The
problem for institutionalized education, and the problem for the teaching and
learning of literacy, is that students bring with them different life
experiences. What they know, who they feel themselves to be, and how they
orient themselves to education varies because their lifewords
vary; because life as they have subjectively experienced it varies so markedly.
As a consequence, people experience education differently, and their outcomes
are different. (Kalantizis
and Cope, “Changing the Role of the Schools,” Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social
Futures, 121)
Course Description
and Objectives
In
the first semester of our teaching colloquium, we will begin talking, reading,
and writing about teaching—in the classroom and in the
Required Materials
Cope, Bill and Mary Kalantzis. Multiliteracies:
Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures. Routledge, 2000. ISBN: 978-0415214216.
Bruce, Shanti and Ben Rafoth. ESL Writers: A Guide for
Dunbar-Odom,
Donna. Defying the
Odds: Class and the Pursuit of Higher Literacy.
Graff,
Gerald. Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind. Yale UP, 2004. ISBN: 978-0300105148*
Murphy, Christina
and Steve Sherwood. St. Martin’s Sourcebook for
Writing Tutors. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007. ISBN: 978-0312442262
Packet of additional, relevant chapters/articles will be placed
online (below). Video/audio texts will be made available online. More info soon.
Course
Activities
Rhetorical Précis
(pray-see): You will develop several of these this term. The RP will offer
(1) a productive summary (for both yourself and your classmates) and (2) an
articulation of the potential application/relevance of the article’s key
ideas to one or more of the teaching contexts in which you are involved. What follows is the basic outline Margaret K. Woodworth provides
in the article from which this activity emerged: Sentence
1: Sentence
2: Sentence
3: Sentence
4: For our purposes, it
will be necessary to add a paragraph or two that applies the concepts
discussed in the article to one or more of the teaching contexts in which you
are involved (your writing groups, the Before the day we are scheduled to discuss the article/chapter
for which you have developed the Rhetorical Précis, you should make enough
copies for the group and be prepared to present these ideas to the rest of
us. Additional
support for the “Rhetorical Precis” available at
Oregon State University
(<http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/rhetorical-precis/sample/peirce_sample_precis_click.html>,
“Give Me Ethos or Give Me Death: Writing a Rhetorical Precis”
at
<http://aristotelianbirdseyeview.wordpress.com/writing-a-rhetorical-precis/>,
and <http://english.ecu.edu/~wpbanks/eng8601/8601precis.html>; for
justification and explanation, see Margaret K. Woodworth’s "The
Rhetorical Précis" (Rhetoric Review 7, 1988: 156-164.) Discussion: The heart
and soul of our course is the discussion that emerges from our readings, our
experiences with our students, and our previous experiences with literacy and
learning. That discussion will take place (formally) in two places: (1)
face-to-face (in our classroom each Tuesday afternoon) and (2) online (in eCollege). Before each face-to-face meeting, we will ask
you to answer some questions related to our readings. From these responses,
we will cull quotes and assemble them in a handout to be shared at our
face-to-face meeting. The idea here is that the online discussion will
provide additional fodder for our face-to-face discussions. Post your responses by noon on the Monday preceding the scheduled
face-to-face discussion. Final Project: You should observe at least four
different instructors throughout the semester. Write up the findings, which
you will then share with us during our final meeting. Additional information
about this project will be provided very soon. |
Grading
This
is an S/U course (satisfactory/unsatisfactory)
Plagiarism
Policy
The
official departmental policy: “Instructors in the Department of Literature and
Languages do not tolerate plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonestly.
Instructors uphold and support the highest academic standards, and students are
expected to do likewise. Penalties for students guilty of academic dishonesty
include disciplinary probation, suspension, and expulsion. (Texas A&M
University-Commerce Code of Student Conduct 5.b [1,2,3])
If you ever have any
questions about a particular use of a source, always ask your instructor. They
want you to avoid plagiarism, too, so they will help you do so whenever and
wherever they can. Do what you can to take advantage of this support—to look
innocent in addition to being innocent when it comes to charges of
plagiarism.
Additional
Official Statements
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,