instructor
kevin eric depew
office bal 4042
phone 757.683.4019
e.mail kdepew@odu.edu
web.page http://www.odu.edu/~kdepew
office hours m
2:00-3:30pm & by appointment
skype k.e.depew
quick
links
calendar
google.drive
resources
course.goals
English
664 has been designed using a praxis framework in which theory
informs the practice you develop and you should see the practices you
adopt–especially in specific contexts–contributing to the
knowledge of the field. You will begin the semester with an introduction
to composition studies' history and the field's theoretical movements;
then you will learn how to design writing pedagogy and assess how your
students respond to this pedagogy. To develop a better understanding of
the field and the various students populations you will encounter in your
teaching careers (mainstream, African-Americans, and second language writers),
a tri-focal lens will be used to help us understand most topics and issues.
In this
course you will learn ...
- praxis
and the relationship between pedagogical theory and practice
- how to
respond to various issues of student diversity; including those experienced
in the developmental writing classroom
- the history
and movements of composition studies
- to think
about the local contexts and local students you will be teaching
- about
writing processes
- to question
assumptions about literacy development
- to develop
your own informed teaching philosophy
- how to
teach with different writing technologies
- about the considerations when teaching online
- how to
write collaboratively
- to design
assignments and units
- how to
assess and respond to students' writing
course.materials
Other readings
will be retrieved from...
major.assignments
Research Blog Entries (50 points) & Threshold Concept Post (50 points): By reading above and beyond the assigned readings, you will
have the opportunity to acquaint yourself with the fields of composition.
For this assignment, you will find and review five academic articles/chapters
related to the teaching of composition. Your research should be geared
towards a problem or issue you are interested in and should inform the
work you will do in the subsequent assignments. You will also be required to read the entries of three or four of your peers. After all of you have written your blog entries, you will write a 1000 word blog entry explaining your understanding of the field of writing studies considering the age of the articles and the ideology of the authors.
Sample Assignment (50 points): You will draft an assignment sheet,
the document that provides your students with guidelines for an assignment.
As you draft this document, you will need to consider your own goals and
your student audience. Your assignment sheet will be accompanied by a
one-page explanation.
Semester Syllabus (150 points): In this course you will develop teaching
materials for a sixteen week (T/TH) composition course. You will outline
the assignments and the daily activities. In addition to the syllabus,
you will submit a 1500-word explanation that justifies the pedagogical
practices of your syllabus.
Evaluation Simulation (100 points): Each student will be given a sample
of student writing with the prompting assignment. You will be given 2
hours to read a student writing sample, comment on it, assign it a grade, and write
a theoretical justification for your practices. This theoretical justification
should draw upon the course readings.
Three
Means of Failing the Course related to Major Assignments
- Not completing
a major assignment
- Major
assignments will be given no credit if the assignment is not turned
in prior to the instructor returning the respective assignment to the
class. This becomes the equivalent of not completing a major assignment
- An act
of plagiarism (or other forms of academic dishonesty)
grading
Major
Assignments
I will be
looking for evidence of each student's progress towards professional level
work. More specifically I will be looking for evidence of...
- well
supported and "original" work that responds to a specific
context
- an understanding
of literacy, rhetoric, composition theory, as well as the current discussions
of its application
- an ability
to generate sound teaching materials and justify their pedagogical use
- addressing
your audiences appropriately, including fulfilling generic expectations
- prewriting
and planning
- professional
quality work, in terms of mechanics, design, and
protocol
Grade
Scale
Your
final grade (400 points) and assignments will be graded on the
following point scale*
:
|
A
=92-100 % |
A
-= 90-91.9 % |
B+
= 87-89.9 % |
|
B
= 82-86.9 % |
B-
= 80-81.9 % |
C+
= 77-79.9 % |
|
C
= 72-76.9 % |
C-
= 70-71.9 % |
D+
= 67-69.9 % |
|
D
= 62-66.9 % |
D
-= 60-61.9 % |
|
|
F
= 0-59.9 % |
|
|
*
= The instructor reserves the right to adjust this scale based on the
students' performance throughout the semester. Any adjustments will 1)
apply to the entire class and 2) never deny a student the grade that she/he
earns based upon this posted scale.
attendance
Students
are required to attend every class. If you miss a class, for whatever
reason, you are responsible for making up any missed work.
In this
class, you will do a lot of work and discussion of ideas in the classroom.
Therefore the attendance policies are:
- you
are allowed the equivalent of the two absences, excused or unexcused.
More than two absences will result in failing the course. The
following scale is used to determine equivalency:
-
being late to class will be marked as a tardy and considered when
your final grade is tallied.
- students
who miss between fifteen and eighty minutes will receive a half-absence
- students
who miss more than eighty minutes will receive a full absence
You
are not only required to to attend every class, but you are required
to come to class prepared. If you do not come to class prepared, you
will receive an absencewhether you stay or not. Therefore, it
is recommended that you pay attention to the calendar.
- submissions
due the day of an absence
- if
you plan to be absent the day an assignment submission is due, you
are encouraged to make arrangements to submit the work before the
class
- if
you cannot submit the work prior to class you are encouraged to
submit it at your earliest possible convenience, especially through
email
- the
last day to submit work for credit is the first day that you return
from an absence
To learn
what work you have missed consult the instructor or the calendar.
As a general
rule, a student missing a class assignment because of observance of a
religious holiday or participating in any official extracurricular activity
shall have the opportunity to make up missed work by following the guidelines
above.
electronica
Electronica
refers to digital technology-related issues.
Video Presence
Unlike your typical classroom experience in which you sit in university-assigned desks or at university-assigned tables, some of you will be taking this course via synchronous video media and have more freedoms to choose how you present yourself. Therefore, consider the fact that your instructor and your peers can see and hear you. You will want to think about how you present yourself and your environment. Sitting at a desk in a quiet room is an ideal way to take the course.
Work Submission
You will be submitting most your work via email. Work or inquiries submitted to the instructor's email account that are not submitted is a timely manner are the responsibility of the student.
E.mail
Accounts
You will want to establish a consistent
email account that you will use throughout the entire semester. It is recommended that you work with your ODU gmail account. At
the very least, you are required to forward your ODU mail to the account
you use most. To
get an ODU account go to ITS.
You are responsible for making sure that files and messages are successfully
received by the instructor and your peers; other email providers cannot
provide this security. Also you will want to be aware that some evaluated
coursework will be returned via email; if you are concerned about other
parties reading these messages, please make alternate arrangements with
the instructor.
E.mailing
Protocol
When emailing the
instructor or your peers make sure that you include a subject line
that includes the nature of the email. A subject line, such as "assignment"
is vague. Instead be specific and state whether it is an "assignment
submission," "need assignment clarification," or "assignment
problem."
Also
use the priority setting rhetorically; in other words, make your email
message stand out when you really need to draw the recipient's attention
to your message. Do not use the priority setting on your standard assignment
submissions.
Protecting
Your Work
Backup your document
files frequently. Also save all email transmissions for this course. Keep
your files on your home machine, flash drive, or in the cloud.
You can also email documents to yourself as a means of backing up your
work. The excuse "that was my only copy" is not a valid one.
Some tips for protecting your work–and yourselfare:
- Save
all English 664 work until the course is over
- Maintain
copies of drafts and work-in-progress
- Create
folders on your hard drive and in your INBOX (email) for this class.
- Keep
copies of your email messages related to the course as a record of your
work. For all messages that you send to the instructor, you should either
have the message sent to your "Sent" folder in your email
account or cc: yourself the message so that you have a copy for verification
Electronic
Ethics and Respect
Electronic media allows
us some freedoms that print media does not allow. Consequently, it is
also subject to abuse. Please be respectful of your peers throughout the
semester by not sharing, viewing, or posting web pages, files, or emails
that may make others uncomfortable. Violations of this respect can be
considered harassment according to university
policy and will be handled as such.
ethics&plagiarism
As per
the University's Honor
Code, you must do your own original work in this classand
appropriately identify that portion of your work which is...
- collaborative
with others
- borrowed
from others
- your
own work from other contexts
The university
defines plagiarism as follows:
“A
student will have committed plagiarism if he or she reproduces someone
else’s work without acknowledging its source; or if a source is
cited which the student has not cited or used. Examples of plagiarism
include: submitting a research paper obtained from a commercial research
service, the Internet, or from another student as if it were original
work; making simple changes to borrowed materials while leaving the
organization, content, or phraseology intact; or copying material from
a source, supplying proper documentation, but leaving out quotation
marks. Plagiarism also occurs in a group project if one or more of the
members of the group does none of the group’s work and participates
in none of the group’s activities, but attempts to take credit
for the work of the group” (pp. 13-14)
If you have
doubts about whether or not you are using your own or others' writing
ethically, legally, or correctly, ask the instructor. Follow this primary
principle: If in doubt, ask. Be up front and honest about what
you are doing and about what you have contributed to an assignment.
documented.disability
If you have
a documented disability, make sure you register with The
Office of Educational Accessibility (757. 683.4655). Once you
do so, feel free to talk to me about any special accommodations that you
may need to fulfill the requirements of this course.
course.evaluations
At the end
of the semester, you will have an opportunity to evaluate the instructor
and the course. This is very important for helping the instructor and
the department assess the course. Please take the time at the end of the
semester to do these online
evaluations.
last.updated
8.27.16 |