English 634: Teaching Composition
Spring 2012
Taylor 208/MLIB 442
Dr. Kim Jaxon
Office: Taylor Hall 116
Office Hours: W 11-12, TH 1:00-2:30, and by appointment
Email: kjaxon@csuchico.edu (best way to reach me)
Office phone: 898-6468
Twitter: drjaxon
Course Description
Teaching Composition is a graduate seminar designed to prepare participants for the
teaching of writing at the college level. It is also applicable to future teachers of writing
in other disciplines and at other grade levels. The course examines the history and
purpose of teaching writing, especially the influence of first year composition on how
writing has been taught.
Required Materials
 Reynolds, Nedra and Rich Rice. Portfolio Keeping: A Guide for Students.
Bedford/St Martins, 2006. (available at the Wildcat Store)
 Reynolds, Nedra and Rich Rice. Portfolio Teaching: A Guide for Instructors.
Bedford/St Martins, 2006. (available at the Wildcat Store)
 One book selected by your reading group in class (TBA). You can request your
selection through inter-library loan, order through our campus bookstore or
another bookstore of your choice.
 All other readings are available as pdf or links. You will download and bring on a
laptop or print.
 If you have a laptop, bring it to class.
Attendance and Class Participation. I expect us to be colleagues, professional
educators, who are thinking through theories of literacy, learning and the teaching
writing. My colleagues show up prepared and participate in conversations occurring in
the field; I assume you will too.
Chico State Non-Discrimination Policy. According to the University Catalogue, the
California State system does not discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation,
disability, race, color, or national origin. The CSU complies with both the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the American
Disabilities Act (1990). If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodation for
equal access to education and services at CSU, Chico, please talk with me or call
Disability Support Services (x5959). For other concerns about discrimination or
harassment, please talk with me, your advisor or department chair, or Student Judicial
Affairs (x6897).
Getting Accounts: aka jumping into the deep end of technology use
These are the accounts you will need to set up and work with this semester. Take a deep
breath if digital is not your thing. This class will be a safe, supportive space to try out
new digital tools. I’ll help. You’ll be fine.
Blackboard Learn: Log in through the Portal on Chico State’s home page or through the
direct link: http://learn.csuchico.edu/ Chico State’s learning management system will
act as our “hub.” This is the place to find content for our course or links to content. Since
all courses will move to BbLearn by fall 2012, I decided we should use it to prepare you
for potential teaching here at Chico State.
Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com
Tumblr is a place for us to blog using texts, video, audio, images, links, etc. We are going
to use Tumblr as our digital notebook and collaborative, discussion driven, space.
Google Docs: http://www.csuchico.edu/google
Most of your work in this course will be uploaded to or created in Google Docs. You will
also give and receive feedback in Google Docs with me and your peers. You can access
Google Docs and Google Sites from your Wildcat mail log in screen. You do NOT need a
separate gmail account. If you already have a gmail account, you won’t get to Google
Docs through that account; instead, we’ll be using Google Docs through your Chico State
account.
Diigo: http://www.diigo.com/
http://groups.diigo.com/group/teaching_comp
Diigo is a social bookmarking tool. We’ll use this site to share links to articles, videos,
webpages, etc that would be useful as we think about the teaching of writing and as we
design courses. By clicking on the first link, you’ll create an account in Diigo. You do not
need to worry about creating your own group. After creating your account, you’ll
request to join our Diigo group by using the second link.
(Optional) Twitter: http://twitter.com/
This is optional. But many of us in the English 130 and 30 Program are on Twitter
together. We use it to share current research and links. This class could be a place to try
it out to see if you like using it within a community of peers. If you’re interested, create
an account with the link above. Then, start following drjaxon by going to the “Find
People” tab and typing in drjaxon. You will also follow each other once you create
accounts. Twitter is a way for us to create community inside and outside of class. There
are a ton of resources and professionals on twitter to follow. Check out Listorious for
possible people and lists to follow as resources: http://listorious.com/
Assignments
Tumblr Blog
Post to Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/engl634
Due Dates: Tuesdays by midnight
10% (CR/NC)
Most every week of class, you will blog a response to the readings and conversations we
are having in class. These blogs posts will also include links to websites or videos that
help to explain or further enhance the readings or discussions. Think of the Tumblr blog
as a kind of science notebook or artist sketchbook—it’s a digital reflection of messy and
interesting thinking, ideas, concepts, dialogue.
Book Club
Collaborative
Post to: Google Doc plus short class presentation
Various due dates
10%
In groups of three to four, you’ll choose one of these texts:
 James Gee’s What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Language & Literacy
 Jane Stanley’s The Rhetoric of Remediation: Negotiating Entitlement and Access to
Higher Education
 Susan Miller’s Textual Carnivals: The Politics of Composition
 Roz Ivanic’s Writing and Identity: The Discoursal Construction of Identity in
Academic Writing
 Mike Rose’s Lives on the Boundary
I am open to other ideas; you need a couple of your peers to agree on the text you
choose and it should be a text familiar to someone who studies the teaching of writing
(And I reserve the right to say no or make other suggestions). Your book club group will
meet to decide how you want to read the text, you’ll talk about the book together in
class, and finally, collaboratively, you’ll write a review/bibliography entry to share with
the class and give a brief presentation.
Two short “papers”
Post to: Google Doc
First due: Feb 16
Second due: March 15
20%
Two “papers” are required: one at the culmination of the learning and literacy section of
the course and the other after we’ve read broadly about writing theories and practices.
The purpose of these papers is to pull together ideas from the readings, discussions,
and posts of your classmates’. “Paper” is in quotation marks because you are
encouraged to use digital discourse if you are inclined.
Observation Write-Ups (3)
Post to: Google Docs
First due: Feb 23
Second due: March 1
Third due: April 12
10%
Three observations write-ups, as part of the practicum of the course, are required.
These are informal, one or two pages long, and posted to Google Docs. One will be
written in class. Many of the observations will have an assigned focus.
1st Observation: Attend an English 130 section by week 4 (Feb 16).
2nd Observation: Attend Tom Fox’s 130P class. Lit Review Assignment. Feb 6 AND 15 OR
20
3rd Observation: Attend Tom Fox’s 130P class and Friday workshop. Proposal
Assignment. March 12, 14, 26, 28, then Friday workshops on April 6.
Tom class meets MW 2:00-2:50 in Langdon 300.
Tom’s Mixxt site: http://130ps2012.mixxt.com/
Link to Tom’s 130P Google Calendar:
https://docs.google.com/a/mail.csuchico.edu/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApcsfENlgAZUdE
xpQWJwblNzeXpOR2FBengzWDViU0E&hl=en_US#gid=0
Syllabus and Rationale
Post to: Google Docs
Various due dates
50%
The major assignment of the course is to write a semester-long syllabus for a writing
course: it will include a teaching philosophy/statement, syllabus, assignments with
rationale, and a daily calendar with rationale. Those students who plan on applying for a
teaching assistantship in CSU, Chico’s Academic Writing program will write a syllabus
for that program. Those who plan on teaching elsewhere or at another level will write a
syllabus that fits their context. Portions of the syllabus will be due in March, a full draft
in late April, and a final copy at the end of the semester.
Calendar: English 634
Spring 2012
Reading
Ideas &
Practices
Assignments
Thursday, Jan 26
Read Lunsford and Dewey in class together
Introduce
Inquiry/Learni
ng
Post to Tumblr-introduction and Ideas
about learning/Dewey
Feb 2
Read Wells’ “Dialogic Inquiry in Education…” and Gee’s
“Why are Video Games Good for Learning”
Inquiry/Learni
ng Continued
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening-Wells/Gee
Choose books—get
them ordered!
Find 130
class to
observe. Kim
will bring
schedules
and faculty
email.
Feb 9
Read Szwed’s “Ethnography of Literacy” and Scribner’s
Literacy
theory and
Observe Fox class
Monday, Feb 6 2:002:50
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening--
‘Literacy in Three Metaphors”
implications
for writing
instruction
Szwed/Scribner. Your
literacy practices.
Feb 16
Read Miller’s excerpt from “Textual Carnivals” and
Bartholomae’s review of Miller’s book
History of
composition
in the
university
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening-Miller
Short paper 1 due—
learning & literacy:
what I think so far…
Have book--BRING
What is FirstYear Comp
and who are
the students
who take it?
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening-Be ready to talk about
book
1st Observation
completed. Turn in
write up.
Bartholomae reading for next week is in hard copy. I’ll
hand out in class.
Feb 23
Read Crowley’s “A Personal Essay on Freshman
English”, Bartholomae’s “Inventing the University,” (hard
copy) and Sommers & Saltz’s “The Novice as Expert”
Work with
syllabi
March 1
Read Yancey’s “Made Not Only in Words: Composition in
a New Key” and watch Mike Wesch’s “A Vision of
Students Today”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&featur
e=relmfu and Wesch’s TED talk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwyCAtyNYHw
Comp in 21st
C. What does
it mean to
teach writing
now?
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening-2nd Observation Due
March 8
Wenger’s “Communities of Practice…” and Solomon’s
“Not Belonging:…”
Collaboration
and
Participation
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening--
March 15
Read Wiley’s “The Popularity of Formulaic Writing,” and
Fister’s “Why the Research Paper Isn’t Working”
Process,
skills,
practices
No Tumblr post
required during spring
break of course.
Short paper 2 due:
What I think about the
teaching of writing so
far…
Also: drafty draft of
ideas for syllabus and
assignment sequence.
Just have some notes
to talk from in class.
Spring break next week
March 19-23
March 29
Read Brandt’s “Sponsors of Literacy,” and Williams’
“Why Johnny Can Never Read…”
Focus on
reading and
its connection
to teaching
writing
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening--
Book should be close
to finished
Write about book
collaboratively in class
Book Club present
Start on assignment
sequence plus 2-3
calendar weeks
April 5
Read Jaxon’s “One Approach to Guiding Peer
Response,” Trimbur’s “Composition and the Circulation
of Writing” and “Peeragogy”: http://tinyurl.com/738jxlq
Peer
response and
circulation
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening-Revised assignments
plus more calendar
weeks and rationale
Book Club present
April 12
(READING OPTIONAL THIS WEEK) Fraiberg’s
“Composition 2.0…” and Anderson & Balsamo’s
“Pedagogy of Original Synners”
Book
presentations
and syllabus
work.
Judith
Rodby
visiting
Post to Tumblr by
Tuesday evening--
April 19
Read Sommers’ “Responding to Student Writing”
PortfolioTeaching and Portfolio Keeping
Feedback
and Grading
Revised assignments
plus more calendar
weeks and rationale.
Check each others’
Pre-App materials.
TA Pre-App Deadline
tomorrow: April 20
April 26
We’ll split up the reading this week:
Read Hartwell’s “Grammar, Grammars and the Teaching
of Grammar,” Silva & Harris’s “Tutoring ESL…,” and
Canagarajah’s “The Place of World Englishes…”
Language,
Grammar,
Editing
Full draft of TA
materials due for
feedback in class.
3rd Observation Due
(or by May 3)
Revised assignments
plus more calendar
weeks and rationale
Visitors who
are coming
to offer
feedback
and
suggestions:
Tom Fox,
Chris Fosen,
Jarret Krone,
Peter Kittle,
Chase
Chevallier,
Sarah Pape
May 3
No reading
Working and
feedback
loops
Mock
Interviews
Full TA Applications
Due
May 4—polishing
materials in class May
3.
3rd Observation Due
May 10
We’ll divide these up:
Read Ortmeier-Hooper’s “I’m not ESL,” Brooke’s
“Underlife,” and Williams’ “Teaching Identities”
Student
identity,
teacher
identity, and
community
Completed syllabus
with assignments,
calendar and rationale
due by Thursday of
Final’s week
Idea swap-share one
cool thing
from your
syllabus.
Reflection
conversation.
Final Exam Week
Share syllabus,
assignments, calendar
and rationale with
kjaxon@mail.csuchico.
edu by Thursday at
noon.