It just so happens that, just prior to our Teaching Writing class, I had a conversation with Helen (Hodgson) about preparing a one-semester writing class for the community college or advanced high school level as my Field Project. After lots of thought (and our week in Teaching Writing), I think I am going to go for it! This project would include a well thought-out syllabus (I agree with you, Kathy, that "A class syllabus involves deciding on a teaching philosophy; understanding young adult developmental issues; choosing books, movies, articles, and other materials; helping students set goals and timelines; planning time for revision and peer review; and wrapping up your presentation and completing any evaluative tools."), lesson plans, assignments, and a synopsis of my teaching philosophy. I am going to take advantage of this class's final project to begin my Field Project.
Since developing all of the items listed above will take quite a bit of time, for this class project I propose that I start by building the foundation of my Field Project: developing a basic skeleton of my teaching philosophy, a syllabus, and 1 class unit's lesson plan and assignments. I already know that my writing philosophy encompasses elements of cognitivism, expressivism, and current-traditionalism; this final project will be an opportunity to flesh out exactly how I see these pedagogies interweaving, and perhaps, how I might incorporate other ideologies as well. I also know that I would like to craft a class that will specifically enable Millennials to discover the power and creative thrill of learning how to effectively write in particular contexts. Hence, creating a Writing 101 sort of class is an exciting challenge for me... we will see how this beginning pans out.
Any ideas regarding how I might use Millenial-specific modes of communication (blogs, facebook, YouTube, texting, etc) to encourage passion for and teach writing would be appreciated.
3 comments:
I think it's fantastic that you're already thinking about your field project, especially considering its size and the amount of work you'll need to put into it. Way to go!
This sounds like a good project. I'm bringing in some examples tonight; I'll get copies to you, since I know you are going to be gone.
When you get to field project stage, let's chat. The cc doesn't offer 1-credit classes (very often), and they are very unlikely to accept an outside proposal for one. But there are plenty of existing classes in need of teachers and in need of syllabus customization.
Way to go to think about your field project now. In fact, I think Christy encouraged us to think of this class assignment as a beginner one for something bigger.
I recently had a discussion with my 24 years old son about Facebook and blog writing. We talked about sloppy and informal writing, coded writing, and more traditional writing, and how he sees all in those writing venues. I think some class discussions with Millenials about what kinds of writing they do, relate to, admire, and expect would be quite fascinating as long as you ask a few beginning questions and then stand back and let them argue!
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