ENG/EDU
501: TOPICS IN TEACHING WRITING (2 credits)
Tell
Me About It: Responding to Student Writing
June 2009
College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of
English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism
Department of
Education
Instructor:
Tom Pankiewicz
Office:
Phone:
816-271-4156
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
ENG/EDU 501 Topics in Teaching Writing (1-2 credits each; may be repeated for a
total of four credits)
Writing seminar for teachers or pre-service teachers with senior standing at
MWSU which addresses a particular issue related to literacy teaching.
COURSE
PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES
“Tell
Me about It” is an inquiry-based workshop for teachers, K through13, interested
in studying the ways they respond to student writing. Through reading and
discussing professional publications, sharing their own teachings stories, and
examining student writing, the participating teachers will examine how they respond
to student work and why these ways of response work and discover additional
methods that could make response more effective. During this inquiry, teachers
will explore the following questions:
•
Do students understand teacher responses and apply them in future writing?
•
Do teachers respond to encourage critical thinking, to spark revision, to
assure correctness, to justify grades or to all of the above?
•
How do teachers overwhelmed by the paper load find time to respond to
individual student needs?
•
What role does class environment play in responding to student writing?
•
How do teachers respond to sensitive personal writing, even if such works are
off topic?
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS
GRADING POLICY
No individual
grades will be assigned for any activity, writing or inquiry demonstration;
however, each activity, writing, and inquiry demonstration will receive
critical responses from the instructor and from the workshop teachers. The
purpose of this Prairie Lands Writing Project course is to bring teachers
together to improve the teaching of literacy; those who have joined this
institute demonstrate a commitment to a reflective inquiry of their own
teaching. Frequent grades—an outside assessment of quality or effort—may damage
the reflective inquiry community that Prairie Lands hopes to establish.
We plan, therefore, to assign only
the grade of A. An “A” represents the following characteristics have been
achieved:
·
Community:
The teacher has participated fully in the activities of the course. The teacher
has shared writings, ideas, thoughts, and reactions, and has raised questions
to enhance the learning and understanding of the other participants in this
course. The teacher has contributed to the creation of a strong and memorable
course.
·
Expectations:
The teacher has met all course requirements or expectations published in this
syllabus.
·
Reflection:
The teacher’s writing and conversation explore connections between this course
and the teacher’s classroom and between this course and the art of teaching.
If
the instructor feels that a teacher is not achieving the characteristics of
Community, Expectations, and Reflection as described above due to absences,
late or missing work, inconsistent effort, or disruptive actions, the
instructor will meet with the workshop participant to discuss his concerns. A
failing grade will only be assigned to a teacher who fails to meet or refuses
to meet the characteristics of Community, Expectations and Reflection.
POLICIES
Academic
Honesty Policy and Due Process:
Academic honesty is required in all
academic endeavors. Violations of academic honesty include any instance of
plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s work, falsifying documents
or academic records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic
honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course,
or expulsion from the University. When a student’s grade has been affected,
violations of academic honesty will be reported to the Provost or designated
representative on the Academic Honesty Violation Report forms. Please see the
Western Student Handbook and Calendar for specific activities identified as
violations of this policy and the student due process procedure. This handbook
is also available online at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf
Attendance:
We expect you to participate fully
in every session. If you cannot make a
session, please call the instructor so he will know not to expect you. See
Grading Policy above.
Student
Disability:
Any workshop participant who has a disability that prevents the fullest expressions of abilities should contact the directors as soon as possible so that we can work to provide assistance as needed