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Current Approaches to Composition and Literature

ENGL 3360

Fall 2005

Course Description

ENGL 3360 is an amalgam of writing workshop, teaching practicum, and composition theory course. Its purpose is to introduce you to the current research in literacy, writing, and the teaching of writing to the end of helping to prepare you to be a more effective, reflective, and informed language arts teacher in either an elementary, middle, or secondary public school. To this end, we will complicate and question our ideas of literacy and language:

• What is literacy?
• In America today, what does it mean to be literate?
• How can we encourage and develop our students various stages and forms of literacy?
• As teachers, what are our beliefs about literacy and language, and how do they impact our roles/strategies in the classroom?
• How can we respect the various forms of literacy that students bring to our classrooms, at the same time that we are preparing them for the various cultural, professional, technological, social, and civic discourses that they will need to participate in to be fulfilled members of our society?

We will also build knowledge, materials, tools, and strategies to help you become an informed, confident, reflective teacher of literacy in your future/current position/degree.

Course Goals

• to recognize and understand the complex relations among literacy, learning, and language use.
• to become familar with local curricular guidelines and expectations, the TEKS, TExES competencies and expectations, national Standards for English language Arts (SELA), and a wide range of professional resources, locally and globally.
• to be able to apply the theoretical principles that inform the TEKS, TExES competencies, and the national SELA.
• to understand the ways that contexts for teaching and/or learning are influenced by global and local factors such as divergent notions of literacy; matters of race, gender, class, economics; cultural and environmental elements, and socio-cognitive development.
• to gain insight into process pedagogy and wht workshop model of writing instruction.
• to develop a critical vocabulary for teaching writing and literature at an age-appropriate level.
• to understand the multiple aims of writing assessment and teacherly response.
• to develop criteria for assessing student writing.
• to develop strategies for teaching writing and literature in a high stakes testing environment.
• to articulate the theoretical principles behind the methods that inform one's pedagogy.

Texts and Materials

• Calkins, Lucy McCormick. The Art of Teaching Writing. New Edition. Heinemann, 1994.
• Zemelman, Steven, and Harvey Daniels. A Community of Writers: Teaching Writing in the Junior and Senior High School. Heinemann, 1988.
• NCTE/IRA. Standards for the English Language Arts. NCTE, 1996.
• Intel Teach to the Future CD (provided)
• An active email account and a portable storage medium (e.g. flash drive) to save and transport files to and from class.
• Access to WebCT via Island Online.

Grade Distribution

Midterm Portfolio: 25%

1. Reflective Overview
2. Finished Writing
3. TEKS/SELA Analysis
4. Evidence of Learning
5. Evidence of Writing Process

Essential Question: 10%
Essential Question Rubric

Final Portfolio: 35%

1. Reflective Overview
2. Finished Writing(s)
3. Teaching Presentation
4. Unit Plan

Class activites: 30%
May include, but not limited to, readings responses, in-class writings, attendance/participation, workshops, quizzes.

Course Policies

Attendance/Participation
You must attend and be on time for class, because the work we will do during class will be crucial to your understanding of the material and your success in the course. In addition, English 3360 is a pre-professional course, and you are expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner. You have three "sick leave" days, for which you can be absent with no consequences other than missed in-class work. After three absences, your final grade drops by half a letter grade for each day missed. To be considered present, you must be in class on time, participate in all class activities, and remain in class for the entire period.

Late Work
I will not accept a late assignment unless you have made arrangements with me in advance of the due date. No work done in class may be made up for any reason. No late work will be accepted for any reason after the last day of class.

In-class Conduct
Please turn off all cell phones or other electronic communication devices while in class. Do not use computers or class time for anything other than English 3360 related work. Do not work on computers while someone (instructor or student) is speaking to the class as a whole. In general, treat each other and the instructor with respect and follow simple standards of common courtesy.

English Secondary Certification Students ONLY
Do not rush into the professional development segment of your career. You should

• finish at least 80% of the course work in the major before doing the field-based training and student teaching.
• Make an appointment to see the English Language Arts & Reading 8-12 TExES coordinator if you have not done so. Contact Dr. Vanessa Jackson(FC 286, x5828). She controls registration for the exam and the mandatory review sessions. Click here to obtain TExES Study Guides.

Academic Honesty/Plagiarism
The university will not tolerate plagiarism or any other form of intellectual/academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is a serious violation of departmental and University policies, but it is sometimes difficult to understand what plagiarism actually is. Often, students commit unintentional plagiarism (not citing sources properly, for example), because they are unaware of the standards that apply. Regardless, work that is turned in for the course that is plagiarized will be failed. If you are unsure about your use of sources, please consult with me or visit the writing center (in the TLC, in Library 216) for advice on source documentation BEFORE the item is due. For this course, you must use either APA or MLA citation style. Any grammar handbook and many web sites have directions on correct citation. Click here for an excellent review of the various forms of plagiarism, good for any teacher to review/use. It is long, but worthwhile.

Click here for site on MLA documentation rules.

Acceptance of Diversity
We are the most diverse campus, in terms of racial identity, in the Texas A&M system. This means that we are all meeting and working with people who are different from ourselves in terms of their identities: whether that is defined by their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and/or religion. Respecting and accepting difference is vital to your success in this class, on this campus, as a future teacher in your own classroom, and in the global community.

Student with Disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment which provides reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you are a student requiring an accommodation, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at 825-5816. Students with special needs (recognized and documented by the University) should notify me so we can discuss the availability of appropriate instructional aids or accommodations. These conversations will be confidential.

Questions?

If you have any questions or uncertainties regarding this syllabus, please speak with me as soon as possible. You are responsible for understanding and adhering to the policies of this course and TAMU-CC.

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