ENGL 5369: Topics in English - Composition Practicum
Section 001
Wed., 6:00-8:40 PM
BUS 258
Instructor: Dr. Stephanie Odom
Email: sodom@uttyler.edu (preferred method of communication)
Office: BUS 243
Office phone: 903-566-7349
Course website: https://blackboard.uttyler.edu
Office Hours: M and T 2-3:30 and by appointment
Course Description
This graduate-level course will cover course design, textbook analysis, writing assessment, and other
topics essential for teaching college writing. Because it is a practicum, more time will be spent looking at
artifacts of teaching and creating our own than is usually possible in a research-oriented graduate class.
If you have not yet taken ENGL 5390: Studies in Composition, you are strongly encouraged to do so.
ENGL 5369 will build on the history and theories of composition covered in ENGL 5390, giving you
opportunities to turn those theories into practical application.
Some of you may already have teaching experience, and some of you may have none. There is a place
for everyone in this course. The hallmark of a good teacher is the desire to improve one’s teaching—a
process that requires making an attempt, receiving feedback, and revising the attempt. As long as you
are open to new ideas and critical exchange with your peers in this class, you are on your way to
becoming an effective teacher.
Course Objectives
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
 Create syllabi, writing assignments, and assessment plans
 Analyze and critique textbooks, classroom observations, syllabi, writing assignments, and
assessment plans
 Lead discussion and present information in a classroom setting
 Write critical responses to scholarship in composition studies
 Demonstrate understanding of ways technology can aid writing instruction
Required Texts
Your textbook is available from the bookstore in the University Center or online. When reading is
assigned, bring the texts to class with you for discussion. This means printing out readings made
available online.
 A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers, 4th ed. Erika Lindemann. Oxford University Press, 2001
 Selected readings to be downloaded from Blackboard and printed out by students
1
Grading Policy
Papers and other assignments will receive letter grades on the +/- scale. Final grades will be assigned
whole letter grades.
Weekly discussion board posts - 20%
Classroom observation report - 10%
Textbook analysis I - 5%
Textbook analysis II – 5%
Syllabus - 10%
Assignment sequence - 10%
Comments on a student paper - 5%
Rubric - 10%
Leading discussion - 10%
Technology report - 10%
Final reflective paper and revised syllabus- 5%
Revision
Knowing how to revise based on feedback is essential for any writer, but our weekly schedule makes it
difficult to schedule multiple drafts of writing assignments. You’ll revise your textbook analysis according
to my feedback and your syllabus according to your accumulated learning throughout the semester, but
these are the only required revisions.
You may submit any other writing assignment (except for discussion board posts or your final reflective
paper) for revision. You must let me know that you plan to revise within one week of receiving the grade
and then I will take up to one week to provide you with substantial feedback. You will then have an
additional week to substantially revise the assignment for a new grade. I will devote a lot of time and
energy into giving you comments on how to revise your writing. If you turn in the same assignment
without substantial revision, you will receive a lower grade on the revised assignment than you did on
the original.
Students who provide written evidence of collaboration/peer review on any assignment can receive an
additional 1/3 letter grade on the paper. This includes visiting the writing center or having a classmate
comment on your draft.
Late Assignments
All papers will be submitted to me via Blackboard and due by class time unless otherwise noted. Each
day that a paper is late, a full letter grade will be detracted.
For example, for papers due at 2 p.m. on Monday:
-10 if turned in after 2 p.m. on Monday but before 1:59 p.m. on Tuesday
-20 if turned in before 2 p.m. on Wednesday, and so on.
Attendance Policy
You are expected to attend class, to arrive on time, to remain awake, to have prepared assigned reading
and writing, and to participate in all in-class editing, revising, and discussion sessions. You may miss two
2
classes without any penalty to your grade, though an absence for any reason counts against this total. If
you are the type of person who sometimes gets sick, has important appointments or family obligations,
or goes out of town, you should probably save your allowed absences for those times. Should you miss
the equivalent of three or more class meetings, your grade may be negatively affected.
If you find that an unavoidable problem prevents you from attending class, you should contact me as
soon as possible, preferably ahead of time, to let me know. When you must miss a class, you are
responsible for getting notes and assignments from a classmate.
Special consideration for absences due to religious observance or university-sponsored events and
activities is described in the UT Tyler policies below.
Scholastic Honesty
Turning in work that is not your own, or any other form of scholastic dishonesty, will result in a major
course penalty, possibly failure of the course. This standard applies to all drafts and assignments, so if
you have any doubts about your use of sources or collaboration, ask me for help before handing in the
assignment.
University Policies:
See attached, or go to http://www.uttyler.edu/academicaffairs/syllabuspolicies.pdf
Course Schedule
DB = Discussion board on Blackboard
Lindemann = A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers
Wk
1
2
3
4
5
6
Date
W
1/15
W
1/22
W
1/29
W
2/5
Reading for
Class
Selected
chapters from
Guide to Comp
Pedagogies
Selected
chapters from
Hillocks
Lindemann
252-266; WPA
Outcomes List
W
2/12
Sample syllabi
W
2/19
Rendleman
Assignments
Due
Class Topic/Agenda
DB post
Introduction to class and classmates;
brief in-class writing
Approaches to composition pedagogy
DB post
Observing teachers
DB post;
Classroom
Observation
Report
DB post
Creating syllabi
DB post;
Syllabus
Analyzing textbooks
Discussion Leader
Analyzing syllabi
3
7
W
2/26
8
W
3/5
9
10
11
W
3/12
W
3/19
14
15
16
DB post;
Textbook
Analysis I
DB post
Analyzing, developing writing
assignments
Connors;
Gabriel (NYT);
Karon (CHE)
DB post;
Writing
Assignment
Sequence
DB post;
Textbook
Analysis II
Teaching writing from readings; using
sample student papers
DB post;
Rubric
Responding to student writing;
analyzing sample paper comments
DB post;
Comments
on Student
Paper
Classroom management; “What If?”
exercise
W
3/26
Ambrose et al
Appendix D
W
4/2
Lindemann ch.
14; Straub and
Stancliff
articles in
Roen et al;
Texas State U
tips
Lindemann
266-279;
Ambrose et al
ch. 6
Keller;
Wysocki
12
13
Lindemann ch.
13; Ambrose
et al ch. 5
Lindemann ch.
12; Paton in
Roen et al
W
4/9
W
4/16
W
4/23
W
4/30
Final
Exa
m
Excerpts from
Odom
DB post;
Technology
report
DB post
Teaching revision, peer review and lowstakes writing assignments; discuss
revisions to Textbook Analysis I
SPRING BREAK
Assessing student learning outcomes;
analyzing rubrics (samples in Weigle)
Technologies for writing and for
teaching
Presentations of pedagogical
technologies
Analyzing course evaluations; prepare
for final
Final
reflective
paper and
revised
syllabus
4