course.goals
materials
assignments
grading
attendance
electronica
ethics
disability
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 & th 3:00-4:00pm & by appointment
im
kerdepew
skype k.e.depew
quick
links
calendar
blackboard
(email, collaboration, and readings)
resources
English 720/820 has been designed to prepare you to teach in multiple instructional contexts. Most English Studies faculty will begin their instructional careers in the composition classroom; English 720/820 will teach you how to build upon that foundation to design pedagogies for other types of classes and other instructional situations–from professional writing workshops to professionalizing composition instructors. To develop the strategies for designing these pedagogies, you will examine the past, present, and future trends of education and literacy instruction. Furthermore you will examine the various technologies that are shaping both how people write and instructors teach writing. Finally, we will survey different literacy instruction contexts as we develop pedagogical strategies for teaching in these contexts.
In this course you will learn ...
- what literacy is, as well as its tropes and its realities
- praxis and the relationship between pedagogical theory and practice
- what discussions education, especially literacy education, has been having and the new directions of these discussions
- about the rhetorical nature of teaching–how context and subject matter influence pedagogy
- how to do the writing of an instructor and articulate your pedagogical strategies to an academic audience
- how to design and justify pedagogical strategies for a specific context
- how to assess the success of the pedagogies you develop
- about various writing technologies and how they can be adopted for instructional purposes
- how to assess instructional tools–from textbooks to sourcebooks to digital writing technologies
- to think about the local contexts and local students you will be teaching
prerequisites
English 664 (Teaching College Composition) or equivalent are strongly encouraged, or instructor’s permission
course.materials
Multiliteracies:
Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures
Author(s): Bill Cope & Mary Kalantzis (Eds.)
Routledge
ISBN 0-415-21421-1
Literacy
a Critical Sourcebook
Author(s): Ellen Cushman, Eugene R. Kintgen, Barry M. Kroll, and Mike
Rose (Eds.)
Bedford/St. Martin
ISBN 0-312-25042-8
Other readings will be retrieved from...
Project Proposal (50 points): Early in the semester, you will draft a proposal outlining how you will fulfill the course requirements. Not only does this give you the opportunity to see if the work you want to do is feasible, the proposal gives you the opportunity to focus your inquiries for the semester and receive guidance from the instructor.
PedagogyWiki (Concept Entry; PhD students only, 50 points/Revisions; all students, 50 points): By reading above and beyond the assigned readings, you will have the opportunity to acquaint yourself with discussions related to teaching of English Studies courses. For this assignment, you will find first compose a concept entry, and then you will further contribute to the discussion by reading a total of five academic articles about literacy instruction and using them to revise the existing entries. Your revision research should be geared towards a problem or an assignment that you are interested in and informs the work you will do in the subsequent assignments.
Instructional Tool Review (50 points; PhD Students only): You will select and review an instructional tool with the intension of helping others in the class determine whether they should adopt it for the contexts they teach in. You will compose a 750-1000 word review and do a five minute presentation about this tool's value.
Pedagogy Project & Rationale (200 points): Taking into account sound pedagogical practices and contextual exigencies, you will develop the teaching materials for a course, a unit, or a workshop–preferably something that you anticipate putting into practice in the near future. In addition to the pedagogy, you will submit a 1000 word rationale that theoretically justifies the pedagogical practices of your materials.
Pedagogical Article & e-poster (200 points): You will write an article-length paper that uses current academic discussions to make an argument about English Studies pedagogy and curriculum. Consider examining a specific pedagogical situation–particularly inquiries about local instructional issues. You will develop an e-poster to display and discuss your the pedigogical approaches you developed during the semester.
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)
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 theories related to literacy, pedagogy and instructional design, as well as the current discussions of their application
- an ability to generate sound teaching materials and justify their pedagogical use
- an ability to demonstrate a contribution to an academic conversation
- addressing your audiences' expectations appropriately, including fulfilling generic expectations
- professional and scholarly persona
- prewriting and planning
- professional quality work, in terms of mechanics, design, and protocol
Quizzes
While there are no quizzes scheduled for this course, the instructor reserves the right to introduce them into the schedule if it becomes apparent that the course readings are not being done.
Grade Scale
Your final grade (500 points for MAs; 600 for PhDs) 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 engage in the 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 criteria is used to determine equivalency:
- being late to class will be marked as a tardy and noted when your final grade is tallied.
- students who miss between fifteen and ninety minutes will receive a half-absence
- students who miss more than ninety 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 absence–whether 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 a 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 the 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 refers to technology-related issues.
E.mail
Accounts
Having an email account
is required; a lot of information for this class will be exchanged via
email and Blackboard including some assignment
submissions and class updates. You will want to establish a consistent
email account that you will use throughout the entire semester.
Because Blackboard's "Send Email" function "talks to" your ODU account, it is recommended that you work with this 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 OCCS.
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 course work will be returned via email; if you are concerned about other parties reading these messages, please develop an account that is dedicated to just you (or come talk to the instructor).
E.mailing
Protocol
When emailing the
instructor or the class list make sure that you include a subject line
that characterizes 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, floppy disks, cds, campus h-drive, and/
or flash drives. 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 yourself–are:
- Save all English 720/820 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 displaying, 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.
As per the University's Honor Code, you must do your own original work in this class–and appropriately identify that portion of your work which is collaborative with others, or which is borrowed from others, or which is your own work from other contexts. Whenever you borrow graphics, quote passages, or use ideas from others, you are legally and/or ethically obliged to acknowledge that use, following appropriate conventions for documenting sources. In this class, the most serious form of academic dishonesty is to recycle another individual's major project under your own name.
If you have doubts about whether or not you are using your own or others' writing ethically and legally, 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.
If you have a documented disability, make sure you register with Disability Services (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.
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 8.5.09