The teaching-focused research question I propose to study next quarter is, “What type of teacher feedback generates substantial student revision?” For this study, I will require revision for two assignments: the literacy narrative and the research proposal. The literacy narrative provides an opportunity to dive deeper into creative writing and work on storytelling elements. The […]
Author: dulanij
Reflective Annotated Bibliography on “A Grounded Theory Approach for Studying Writing and Literacy.”
Farkas, Kerrir R.H., and Christina Haas. “A Grounded Theory Approach for Studying Writing and Literacy.” Practicing Research in Writing Studies: Reflexive and Ethically Responsible Research, by Katrina M. Powell and Pamela Takayoshi, Hampton Press, 2012, pp. 81–95. Summary of the article: In this article, authors Kerrie R.H. Farkas and Christina Haas, provide an overview of what […]
How to Generate Substantial Student Revision: A Study on Effective Feedback (And Related Assignment/ Rubric Structures)
Teaching English 101 this quarter has ignited many questions for me regarding what pedagogical approaches advance student writing, specifically in the realm of feedback and revision. My motivation to understand best practices in regards to how to give effective feedback and how to assign and evaluate revision, is rooted both in wanting to provide students […]
Accountability: A Necessary Component for Both Students and Teachers in the Classroom
I don’t believe that the relationship between students and teachers is inherently negative, however the power dynamic between students and teachers cannot be denied. This power dynamic can lend itself to a somewhat adversarial relationship; students yielding to the demands of the teacher out of necessity can create natural feelings of contempt. In terms of […]
Reflections on Student Disengagement
When I think of toxic behavior, I think of behavior that is at best unhealthy and at worst abusive. In a classroom setting, this could look like comments that undermine the safety and dignity of people or of the classroom itself as a respectful learning environment. Fortunately, I have not had instances like this occur […]
Feedback for Student C (On Their Response to Rose’s “Rigid Rules”)
Feedback: Dear Student C, Your essay response to Rose’s article was self-reflective and engaging. You successfully demonstrated what from the essay resonated with your own experience and process. Where you lost points in the rubric were in demonstrating an understanding of Rose’s primary message. For example, the first paragraph of your essay conflates the rules […]
Towards De-mystifying Writing
Many students in their original letters stated they weren’t good writers or that writing wasn’t their strong suite. I’ve tried to revisit this notion in mid-term conferences and gauge how students feel about their original statement. While I haven’t gotten through many mid-term conferences yet, many students have said that they simply have not had […]
Belief in Transformation; Agency & “Liberation as praxis”
I can imagine the most powerful impact of teaching first-year writing being inciting a curiosity and drive related to reading and writing; one that is both connected to one’s own voice and self-discovery as well as rising from the work of other authors. This would mean creating a classroom for students that supports an increased […]
Limited Glimpses
I would love to know more about and the scopes of these worldviews. I have had limited glimpses into my student’s worldviews. These have come from their literacy timelines and narratives and to some extent their research topics. In their literacy timelines, it was interesting to see what political events they mentioned during certain years. […]
Identity in the Classroom
What makes me different from all of my students is that I am older than them and from a different generation. What makes me different from some of my students is that I am a brown trans person from a working-class immigrant family. These differences are facts, not in my control. The extent to which […]
Feminist Pedagogy
Jarratt, Susan C. “Feminist Pedagogy.” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies, Tate, Rupiper, Schick, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 113-131. Summary This essay traces key questions and insights in the field of Feminist Pedagogy. The author synthesizes multiple perspectives on a number of inter-related issues through the lens of gender including: language and genre; discourse in […]
Valuing Writing as a Means of Discovering and Communicating Meaning
As a writing teacher, I believe inherently in each student’s ability to be a writer – and by “ability to be a writer” I mean someone who can access writing as a means of communication and apply the skill of writing to achieve related goals. My personal philosophy as a writing teacher is that writing […]
“Questions of Intent: Communication Disorder, Transfer, and Writing Pedagogy.”
Vallis, Gina L. “Questions of Intent: Communication Disorder, Transfer, and Writing Pedagogy.” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture 15.3 (2015): 441-457. Web Summary This article examines communicative intent in the writing classroom through applying lessons from both personal reflections and studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The author discusses problem-solving from a […]
Bodies, Histories/Identity, and Futures
I am conscious of being a short brown queer feminine-masculine person when in front of the class I teach. I am conscious of every moment of hesitation I have that my students witness and how they witness it in the context of my being a brown queer person in a position of authority. The manifested […]
Speculation on the Role of English 101 at Western
Reading Crowley and contemplating the context at Western of having English 101 be a required class makes me think that the traditional views of what English 101 is (focused on grammar, structure, general preparedness for the rest of college, i.e., a gatekeeping post) is very much at play here at Western. In other words, having […]
Reflections on Limiting Feedback to Students and Normalizing Failure
The two additional chapters I read were: “When Responding to Student Writing, More is Better” by Muriel Harris and “Failure is Not An Option” by Allison D. Carr. The piece by Harris discusses the expectations surrounding extensive written comments in response to their writing and the conviction that students learn from these comments. Harris argues […]
Illuminating the Path Towards An Ease with Teaching
When I told my friends that I would be teaching English 101, I alluded to it being absurd or ironic as I joked with them, “I don’t know English.” Having moved to Chandigarh, India when I was ten years old and subsequently completing 6th through 10th grade in India, I returned to the States with […]