This 3-credit course is a practicum designed to support and enhance your teaching effectiveness and professional development during your first two semesters as a teaching assistant. Your participation in a week of meetings before the semester begins and weekly meetings during the semester is required as a condition of your appointment as a Teaching Assistant in the English Department.

Text: Our main text for 505A is Teaching in Progress: Theories, Practices, and Scenarios, .by Josephine Tarvers. We will also be discussing several additional articles on composition pedagogy. Writing and reading assignments in preparation for meetings during the week of orientation will require a large commitment of your time. Once the semester begins, the weekly Tuesday meetings will focus on your experiential learning as practicing teachers, so reading and writing assignments will be more limited. Some weeks you will be required to attend extended Orientation meetings with other mentor groups on Thursday mornings

Your syllabus and course policy statement: Give me a copy of your syllabus to review before you distribute it to your students. You must also submit a copy of your final syllabus to the Composition Office.

Evaluation of your teaching: At the end of the semester, I will prepare a written evaluation of your teaching. This evaluation will be based on both your teaching activities and your participation in mentoring group meetings. You will receive a copy of this evaluation; the evaluation will be a part of your record. The following activities and items will be considered in my evaluation:

• Participation in Mentor Group meetings: Members of the group benefit the most from the meetings when they are actively engaged in discussion of teaching issues and concerns. To participate in these discussions, you will need to complete reading and writing assignments for English 505A.
• Class visits by me: Plan to invite me to visit your classes twice during the semester--once during the third or fourth week and once during the last three weeks of the semester. These class visits are required, but you must take the initiative in scheduling the visit. Prior to my visit, you should give me a brief description of what your class will be doing on the day I attend. After the visit, we will have a follow-up consultation.
• Your visits to other classes: You should also plan to visit at least two other teachers' classes during the semester. This will give you a useful perspective on your own class and provide an opportunity to talk with other teachers about their philosophies and approaches. I will provide a form for recording these visits.
• Samples of your response to student writing: Twice during the semester you should give me some samples of your response to student papers. Each sample set should include at least three papers and represent the range of student writing for a particular assignment and the style of your response.
 

Orientation Week Schedule

Monday, August 16

9:00-12:00 Opening Plenary Meetings

1:00-4:00: Introductions

--Introduce one another
--Pre-view Orientation Week and Fall Semester's Weekly Meetings
--Discuss mentoring philosophy: Teaching as Reflective Practice
--Preview 505A text: Teaching in Progress: Theories, Practices, and Scenarios
--Overview desk copies of The Call to Write (CTW) and Instructor's Manual
--Discuss "Introduction to First-Year Composition Courses" student handout

Assignment for Tuesday:
1) Draft a story about an event in your process of learning to read and/or write (literacy narrative)
2) Reading assignment:

Tuesday, August 17
9:00-10:00 Teaching Assignments, Registration, Office Assignments
10:30-12:00 Computer Account Orientation

1:00-4:00: Review of Course Goals and Approach; Model Syllabus
--Exchange and discuss literacy narratives
--Discuss reading
--Set schedule for weekly meetings during Fall semester
--Review organization and approach of CTW
--Review model syllabus and model course policy

Assignment for Wednesday:
1) Draft an essay describing your process of composing a piece you have recently written
2) Reading assignment:

Wednesday, August 19

9:00-12:00 Teaching Writing as a Process
--Discuss model syllabus and sequence of assignments in reference to reading assignment
--Exchange and discuss writing process essays
--Collaborative Writing Assignment: "What is Good Writing?"

1:00-4:00: Responding to Student Writing
--Practice responding to and evaluating student writing

Assignment for Thursday
1) Draft a position statement on the question: "Should English 101 be a required course?"
2) Reading assignment:
 

Thursday, August 19

9:00-12:00 Small-group Writing Workshops
--Turn in syllabus and/or policy statement for review if different from models
--Discuss readings

1:00-2:00 Writing Lab Introduction

2:00-3:30 Mentor Group Meeting
-- Drafting a "First Day Script"

Assignment for Friday:

Friday, August 20,

11:00-12:00 Situated Performances of Classroom Scenarios

3:15-4:00: Situated Performances of Classroom Scenarios (cont.)
 

Weekly Meetings
Reading assignments will be made on a week-by-week basis. Group will meet each Tuesday, from 9:00 - 10:15 in HEAV 210. Group members will also participate in several Extended Orientation meetings with other mentoring groups on Thursday mornings.

Week 1 8/24 Topic: Reading Students' Sample Essays.
                        Bring two representative or problematic essays to discuss with the group.

Week 2 8/31 Topic: Leading Discussions on Reading Assignments

Week 3 9/7 Topic: Leading Small-Group Workshops
                      Bring a draft of something you are writing.

Week 4 9/14 Individual Class Visits and Follow-up Consultations with Mentor--no group meeting

Week 5 9/21 Topic: Responding to Student Writing
                        Bring two representative or problematic papers to discuss with the group.

Week 6 9/28 Topic: Conducting Student Writing Conferences
                        Bring a draft of something you are writing.

Week 7 10/5 Topic: Avoiding Gender-Biased Language

Week 8 10/12 Octoberbreak--no meeting

Week 9 10/19 Topic: Teaching Usage and Style in Context
                          Bring sample student papers.

Week 10 10/26 Topic: Open

Week 11 11/2 Topic: Designing and Planning a Writing Course

Week 12 11/9 Topic: Designing and Planning . . . (cont.)

Week 13 11/16 Individual Class Visits and Follow-up Consultations with Mentor

Week 14 11/23 Thanksgiving Break (no meeting)

Week 15 11/30 Topic: Portfolio Assessment: Principles

Week 16 12/7 Topic: Portfolio Assessment: Practices

Finals Week (no meeting)