Composition Theory & Tutoring Pedagogy (ENG 387-387.1) AUCA Spring 2015 Writers begin to learn what they are writing about by writing…. —Donald Murray Prof. Irina Larionova Email: lirina@mail.auca.kg1 Office: Room 318 Office Hours: Monday, Friday 13:00-14:15 and by appointment Class Meetings: Monday, 14:30-15-45 Room 315 Friday, 14:30-15:45 Room 223 Course Description This writing intense course is designed for advanced writers who want to deepen their understanding of composition, rhetoric, grammar, and their role in the tutoring process. Topics will include composition theory, grammar and its role in the service of meaning and rhetoric, and revision in both theory and practice. We will address questions of composition pedagogy that inform successful models of individual tutoring—not in isolation as theory, but as a live and critical practice. Everyone will write and revise essays, provide feedback to fellow writers, observe a tutoring session, tutor, teach each other various aspects of grammar, and reflect on his or her own writing practice as a writer, reader, and tutor. In short, we will learn just how social the activity of learning to write really is. Course Objectives and Outcomes By the end of this course, you will have developed an understanding of some of the main strategies and approaches to composition pedagogy and how they inform the individual tutoring process. You will also be able to articulate the role of the Writing & Academic Center in the university setting, be able to draw on tutoring strategies that lead to successful learning opportunities for yourself and your peers, and be able to help your peers in the tutoring process understand and write a variety of sentence structures that illustrate an understanding of their underlying grammatical rules. You will also be able to articulate and understand how to assist another in the development of academic essays— reflective, persuasive, and research—and articulate the causes for and solution to plagiarism, as well as engage strategies for developing clear, sharp persuasive prose both in your own writing and in a tutoring session. Required Texts The primary texts for this course will be a variety of critical articles as well as your own writing. You will need a notebook in which to write as well as a folder in which to keep the class articles—you must bring the notebook and the folder to each class! Please, do not submit electronic versions of your papers by email. You may use my email address to contact me in case of emergency or to ask questions about readings or writing assignments. 1 Academic Honesty Anyone caught knowingly plagiarizing will be immediately expelled from the course. No exceptions. Your academic integrity is crucial to your role as a potential tutor and as a model for your AUCA peers. Grading: Participation: 20% Essays: 50% Short Writes: 10 % Tutoring Practicum: 20 % Class Participation: Completing all assigned readings and in-class writing; participating in whole-class as well as small-group discussions; in-class peer tutoring sessions and attendance. Additionally, we will have peer review workshops for written assignments throughout the semester. All are part of your 20% class participation grade. Absences: I expect perfect attendance. But because there are extenuating circumstances, I will allow 3 absences for the semester if you submit a medical certificate to justify your absence. If you do not have work done for a particular day—come to class anyway! What we do in each class builds on the prior class, so your attendance is absolutely necessary. If you miss a class, you are expected to contact a peer before the next session to find out what we did. Essays: There will be two short essays (3-4 pages) and one longer paper (6-7 pages). Each essay will go through a process of revision, peer review, and final reflection. In order to fulfill class participation requirements, you will need to stay on schedule with the revision and review process. 50% Short Writes: There will be frequent, typed, short writes or grammar exercises. These will be no longer than ½ page or 1 page. They will often involve just writing sentences. 10% Tutoring Practicum: Each of you will complete 10 hours of tutoring (4 observation hours + 6 independent tutorials) in the Writing & Academic Resource Center. I expect you to do the first observation hour during week VI of the semester and to write an analysis of the observation on March 2 in class (it is your second short essay assignment). You have to plan to finish your practicum at least 1 week before the end of the semester. Tentatively, we will start developing the practicum schedule during Week X of the semester. At the end of the practicum I expect you to prepare and share a Tutoring Practicum Report. 20% Classroom Decorum: You are welcome to bring tea or coffee to class. Please use the restroom before class—we cannot repeat discussions for those who take a break. Bottomline: unless it’s an emergency, do not disrupt the class by getting up and leaving in the middle of a discussion. E-Course: Our e-course is located under the heading University Academic Activity. The course is titled, Composition and Tutoring Pedagogy. The enrollment key is ‘tutor2015’. I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus if necessary. All of them will be announced in class. Class Schedule Week I January 19 – 23: Introductions, Course Expectations, & Alex Johnson’s “Why…We’re Having a Bad Morning” Writing: “I am a writer who……” Grammar: IC. IC. Week II January 26-30: “Engaging in Dialogue” Writing: Due Mon: “I am a writer who…..”typed! Peer Review. Final Due Fri.: “I am a writer who…” Grammar: IC, cc IC. Week III February 2- 6: “The First Five Minutes” by Thomas Newkirk & “ Setting the Agenda” by William Macauley Writing: Due Mon: Statements into Questions & IC, cc IC. Sentences Grammar: IC; IC. Assign Essay #1 Week IV February 9-13: “Ethics of Peer Tutoring” by Gary Lichtenstein & “Minimalist Tutoring: Making the Student Do All the Work” by Jeff Brooks Writing: In-class Write (x2) Due Mon.: IC; IC. Sentences Grammar: IC; ca, IC. & The Thesis Statement Week V February16-20 : “A Critique of Peer Tutoring” by Linda Shamoon & Deborah H. Burns Writing: Due Mon.: Draft of Essay #1: Introductions & Theses Due Fri.: Revised Draft of Essay #1 Peer Tutoring & The Reverse Outline—Paragraph Focus& Radical Revision Grammar: IC; ca, IC.2 thesis statements & 3 other sentences Week VI February 23- Holiday, No Classes February27: “Organizing Ideas” by Alice Trupe Writing: Due Mon.: Revised Draft of Essay #1, Attribution & Clarity Due Fri. Final Essay #1 Week VII March 2-6: “Rethinking Writing Center Conferencing Strategies for the ESL Writer” by Judith Powers &“Trading Spaces: Looking Out and Looking” In, www.writinglabnewsletter.org/archives/v29/29.1.pdf Writing: In-class write—Essay #2: Reflection on Tutoring Grammar: DC, IC One-word sentence modifiers & prepositional phrase. Week VIII March 9 March 13: Holiday, No Classes “Guilt-Free Tutoing: Rethinking How We teach Non-Native EnglishSpeaking Students” by Susan Blau and John Hall, assisted by Sarah by Sharon A. Meyers& “Recent Developments in Helping ESL Writers” by Jennifer Ritter Writing: Fri.Due: Typed Draft of Reflection & Sentences Grammar: IC: appositive. March 16-20 Spring Break, No Classes! Week IX March 23 - Holiday, No Classes March 27: “Reading in the Writing Center” by & “Evaluating Ideas: An Introduction to Critical Reading” by Lee Jacobus Writing: Mon. Due: Final Version of Essay #2: Reflection on Tutoring. Grammar: Verb phrase, IC. Appositive, IC. Week X March 30-April 3: “Thinking in Education” by John Dewey. Tutoring Practicum Schedule Development. Writing: In-class Write Mon. Due: Grammar Sentences Grammar: IC with embedded DC: verb phrase & appositive Assign Final Essay Week XI April 6-10: “Talk to Me” by Muriel Harris & “Using Self-Disclosure. . . “ by Mary Hemmelgarn www.writinglabnewsletter.org/archives/v32/32.10.pdf Writing: In-class Generating topics—lists, clusters, maps….. Grammar: Who & Whom Week XII April 13-17: “Meeting the Writer” by Meyer & Smith Writing: Mon. Due: Who & Whom sentences Fri. Due: Topic of Choice & 2 outside articles Grammar: That & Which Week XIII April 20-24: “Revision Strategies of Student Writers & Experienced Adults” by Nancy Sommers Writing: Mon. Due: that & which sentences Fri. Due: Draft of Final Essay Radical Revision Grammar: IC with end of sentence verb phrase & appositive Week XIV April 27: grammar. May 1 – “Tutoring Writing As Career Development” by Sue Dinitz& Jean Kiedaisch www.writinglabnewsletter.org/archives/v34/34.3.pdf Writing: Mon. Due: Draft of Final Essay in final stages— reading for Grammar: Teaching your peers Holiday, No Classes Week XV May 4-8: Tutoring Practicum Reports Fri. Due: Final Essay.