The last few years I taught high school my teaching changed a lot because of the convergence of several ideas- grade conferences, changing how I thought about grades, which changed how I designed assessments, which led to more projects, unessays, station rotations.
My first two years in my university job I've carried these lessons with me. Each semester I've tried something different, tweaked things. I've now taught more semesters during the pandemic than I did not. I've learned that for online classes, some students dislike completing assignments just for practice and feedback with no grade associated. Some students really like suggested but no hard deadlines, others don't. Some really like only having their grade based on a final portfolio, others hate it. Grade reflections for assignments are harder online, no matter how much you guide. I'm looking forward to having students sit in front of me, show me their work, and talk about it.
Yesterday when I was on my walk, I was thinking about my Composition class. As much as I've tweaked and experimented, I've essentially kept the overall structure of my Composition class I learned in my PhD program at the University of New Mexico, the idea of major writing assignments scaffolded by low stakes assignments and, while I've changed the structure a lot, a final portfolio that involves revising and reflecting on the work from the semester. I realized something that is probably obvious to lots of folks- that when we start with change most of us start with changing within a known, comfortable, structure, but I imagine that many of us also come to a point where we realize that we need to get rid of the structure, clear the deck, and start over.
I started to think about what exactly the last year "told" me.
My students told me that the infographic/argumentative module, where they learn why we cite, how to research, use sources, would have been helpful if it'd been earlier in the course because that's stuff they'd use in all their other classes.
Some liked the themes (fairy tales, zombies), most did not. So I was thinking of things I think students should be exposed to. So I'm thinking of building mentor texts around that, and not theming.
- James Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers"
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "The Purpose of Education"
- Ava DuVernay's 13th
- The lesson of Henrietta Lacks
- Sandra Cisneros excerpt "My Name" from The House on Mango Street
- Rosenwald Schools
- Hawai'i and Colonization
- Wilmington 1898:
Our library has been closed for almost two years, and the English department does not have a dedicated writing lab so that has impacted how we design classes.
I like hearing from students on reflections, but the portfolios still feel chunky, don't do what I want, which is to get them to reflect, use revision.
My Advanced Composition class provided a lot of input on things that I need to move to Composition- they all really loved Murray's The Craft of Revision. They really appreciated How to Write Anything as a resource for them to use. How I taught citation.
Students like the choice of topic but want more models.
Students in general are surprised that there is not more focus on Black authors, Black history, given we're an HBCU.
So, I'm redesigning my Composition syllabus. I'll pilot these changes during my 5 week summer class, then continue next year. Here is what I'm going to do:
- I'm going to start class with a writing about writing, writing skills focus
- Not just asking what they think rules of writing are, what their past barriers and successes are, but focusing on skills
- Writing titles, thesis statements, including TAG
- Stealing idea about arguing for best movie using brackets to teach them about taking a stance and supporting it
- Teach why we cite, how to cite, different fields, different uses, how to find sources, evaluate them, interact with them
- Style guide on why language matters (many of my students learned a lot from this, said they'd never heard of ableist language)
- How to annotate
- How to ask questions
- Use Murray about how to revise, reflect
Next, instead of the type of final portfolio I've been using, I'm shifting to one that will look like a chart. In one column I'll put the skill, the next column they'll link to their best example of that, then the lst column will be their written reflection. The skills will be many of the ones we cover in the first module, then reinforce and practice throughout the semester. So the final "demonstrate knowledge" project would include:
- Provide an example of your best thesis that includes a TAG and shows a clear stance
- Provide an example of your best body paragraph that includes a clear topic sentence, textual evidence, correctly cited, and an explanation of how that textual evidence shows what you're arguing/analyzing in the topic sentence
- Provide an example of an annotated piece of writing from your field with questions
- Identify the rhetorical situation for one piece of writing AND explain how that rhetorical situation is shows in the writing
- Choose the piece of writing you're most proud of, write a reflection about your writing and revision process, what you learned, why you're most proud of it
For Composition I:
- For Informative/Argumentative, we'll cover these NC events, Black history, Black Past
- We'll cover what it says, what it means
- We'll talk about sources, how to summarize, how to quote, interact with
- We'll annotate and ask questions
- Their writing assignment will be to write a memo to their local school boards about why this should be taught
- For Rhetorical Analysis, we'll watch 13th
- We'll talk about identifying argument, supporting evidence
- We'll do double entry journals about describe --> analyze
- We'll read supplemental articles
- For their writing assignment they can either write about 13th or any other documentary, analyzing the rhetoric, using support
- For Narrative I want to center them
- Start with Sara K. Ahmed's identity webs
- Collage of their experiences/culture/family: jargon, food, events, milestones
- For their writing assignment they can create a podcast, project, presentation, write an essay on their identity
For Composition II:
For Informative/Argumentative, they'll choose an issue in their community
- They'll identify what community issue they want to write about
- They'll research problems and potential solutions including examples of those solutions in action
- We'll do a lot of the sources, research here
- I plan on using Evicted, and the accompanying website, to also teach them how to read and use graphics, infographics, charts, stats in their arguments
- Their writing assignment will be to write a memo to local town/government/state rep in a white paper format
- For Literary Analysis, I'm not sure what short story mentor text I want to use. I like the New York Times "Op-Eds from the Future" but I don't know.
- I'd like to use a piece, that they annotate, ask questions of, then form a thesis, use a double entry journal for evidence
- I'd like to use a piece that I can find a scholarly article on, so they can "see" what that work looks like. They'll mimic the previous week- but instead of writing their own thesis and filling out a double entry journal they'd identify the argument and identify evidence that supports
- For their writing assignment they can either a close reading or thematic paper on our short story/poem or one of their choosing
- For Narrative I want to center identity
- I want to pick sample narratives that focus on identity, but I also think I want to push them to find these, choose ones/find ones, that they think show them, are models for them
- Then talk about what they want to accomplish
- For their writing assignment they will write a photo essay, creative non-fiction
