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last.updated 9.16.12

 

Composition in Movements

Purpose

As James Berlin demonstrates, the field of composition studies has been through several movements–most of these are responses to the Current Traditional Rhetoric pedagogy developed at Harvard in the late 1800s. Although the field of composition studies has experienced multiple paradigm shifts, many of these movements–to various degrees–still have a significant influence on the methods used to teach composition in the contemporary classroom. In his scholarship, Berlin, also argues that the degree to which these movements' principles underscore an instructor's pedagogy reflects how the instructor wants to teach the relationship between the writer, the audience, reality, and language. Therefore, as you develop your own teaching philosophy, you will want to think about how you conceive the writing process and rhetorical influence of the pedagogical principles you (and others) value.

Before Class

FreeWrite

Answer the following questions so that you can contribute to the class discussion. You have the first ten minutes of class.

What is the purpose of the composition course? As you answer this question converse (which includes agreement and disagreement) with the assigned readings?

Lectures I: Movements in a Nutshell

The instructor provide the philosophical underpinnings of the following movements using both broad brushstrokes and nuanced detail:

  • Current-Traditional Rhetoric (review)
  • Classical Rhetoric
  • Expressivism
    • Process Approach
  • Behaviorism
  • Social Constructivism

Discussion I: The Movements

We will discuss the readings for today's class. We may use the following questions to guide the discussion:

  • What questions do you have about the readings?
  • Should the composition classroom be solely focused on academic writing?
  • Is composition a necessary course for all students? If so, what should be the emphasis of the composition course (as articulated by these various movements)? Why?
  • What else can the university do to teach students literacy skills other than the traditional composition class?
  • Should composition pedagogy be solely focused on learning writing skills?
  • Which movements seems to address issues of diversity best? Explain.

Class Activity I: Scaffolding & Writing Assignments

We will begin this activity by listing different types of writing assignments that might get assigned. The instructor will then discuss the concepts of "scaffolding" and "sequencing." Finally, as a class, we will articulate our goals for a writing class and negotiate how we would design the class to acheive these goals.