Created by: Ben Moats
Teaching Project Presentations (Discourse 200):
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Similarly to the multi-genre project, this assignment combines writing and some speech
components. For this work, however, the students are required to construct and present
teaching materials based on the subject of their final research essay. As I write in the
syllabus, “In my experience (and in the experience of many of my colleagues) preparing
to teach a given subject (and then actually teaching it) greatly enhances one’s own
understanding of the topic.”
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To the best of my ability, the assignment assessed the following SLO’s:
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Identify factors defining cultural identities and analyze how these are employed in a
variety of discourse.
Use written and oral discourse to develop and present meaningful and interesting
ideas that show the students’ voices, a willingness to take intellectual risks, and an
ability to enter an academic conversation.
Communicate competently in several genres and in response to the needs of different
audiences.
Construct effective research strategies and arguments, use resources effectively,
evaluate a broad range of sources, including library resources, cite information
sources in compliance with established norms, and weave such scholarly sources into
a longer interdisciplinary research project.
Appropriately cite sources using a consistent professional style (MLA, APA,
Chicago, etc.) at an intermediate level.
Teaching Project Presentations
In my experience (and in the experience of many of my colleagues) preparing to teach a given
subject (and then actually teaching it) greatly enhances one’s own understanding of the topic. For
this final project, therefore, you are being asked to construct teaching materials and plans related
to the topic of your research paper. In other words, you will be constructing prompts and
activities that you could actually use were you to teach this subject in a college classroom. You
will present your material in class on Wednesday, May 7th, and you will turn in the final draft of
the written component for this assignment with your revised research paper during finals week.
The more specific requirements are listed below:
Presentation Component Requirements
1. One of your teaching components must be a course schedule that covers at least three
weeks of class. This schedule should include reading assignments and due dates. Like our
class, we will assume that the course you are teaching meets twice a week.
2. You must also create at least one detailed and thoughtful major assignment prompt.
3. You will also need to construct at least two prompts for in-class activities.
4. You will need to construct at least one daily schedule. In other words, this would detail
your plans for one class meeting.
5. You must also construct at least one prompt or activity that utilizes multimedia.
Please Note: You will not be giving a speech like we did earlier in the semester. Instead, during
our last class meeting on Wednesday, May 7th, you will all set up your presentation within our
classroom. In other words, our classroom will look like a small science fair, and you will be
encouraged to invite your friends and family to view our teaching projects on that day.
More Important Information:
1. You may use PowerPoint at your stand, but this will not count towards one of your
required teaching components.
2. The teaching components listed above are only the minimum requirements. You are
encouraged to create more prompts and activities in this regard.
3. Just like with writing and speech giving, your presentation/science fair-like stand should
clearly establish credibility and appeal to logos and pathos.
4. Along with the writing component, the most important part of this assignment as far as
your grade is concerned is the effort you put into it. It will be clear to your peers and me
whether or not you have put forth a great effort to construct a thoughtful, creative, and
interesting final project.
Writing Component Requirements
On the same day that you turn in your revised research paper, you will also submit the final draft
of your writing component for this assignment. (A rough draft of at least 600 words is due on the
day you present your teaching components.) For the writing component of this assignment, you
will simply need to construct an essay that implicitly answers questions like those listed below.
While this essay should be cohesive, it does not have to be thesis-driven. It must be at least 1,200
words in length, and it must implicitly answer questions like those listed below:
1. How would you approach the classroom pedagogically? In other words, would you
utilize something like the banking concept of education? Would you use the problem-
posing method? Would your course be a combination of the two or something completely
different? Describe your pedagogical approach in this regard, and explain why you would
approach the classroom in this particular way.
2. With regard to your major assignment prompt, what are your educational goals in this
regard? What are you hoping to accomplish with this particular assignment? What are
you hoping the students will gain from completing this work?
3. With regard to the other components within your presentation, what are your educational
goals here? Again, how will these activities help your students grow educationally?
4. How will you utilize multimedia in the classroom, and how will this benefit your
students?