The purpose of these presentations / activities is to
allow you to research an issue in the teaching of writing that you are interested in;
increase the knowledge of the class about how to teach writing in relation to this issue;
provide an opportunity to enhance your teaching skills in a teacher-led workshop format;
develop skills at team work and team teaching.
Working in teams you will be responsible to immerse yourself in the literature on the teaching of writing in an area chose from the list below. Based on that research, you will develop a presentation and activity for 1/2 of one class period, 1 hr and 40 minutes of instructional
time.
This should be a fully and carefully team taught activity where all student take responsibility for the preparation and teaching. Dividing the time and each person simply teaching "their" portion is not team teaching. You will need to meet often with your team teacher(s) to successfully carry out this activity.
Your presentation should show that you have absorbed what we have already learned in 4790. Help the class move beyond simplistic, formulaic, or canned methods toward approaches that are informed by theory and research, intellectually and academically meaningful, and connect to the real lives of students.
Your presentation / activity should include:
A list of goals for what you want your classmates to learn about this topic.
Between 40-80 pages of high quality, relevant reading assigned to the whole class, carefully selected from a much broader pool of reading you have undertaken. (Make available any needed copying to the professor for at least 48 hours before needed, and/or use on-line resources.)
A carefully designed lesson that effectively facilitates the learning of other students in the class. There should be more than presentation (show off your skills with Prezi or Glogster), but also activity and workshop. Your lesson is targeted to your classmates, future and present teachers, as your audience -- this is not a "mock teach" to pretend secondary students.
Inclusion of the class Ning discussion board.
An assessment of how well your classmates met the learning goals you established.
A 2-page write up of what you learned from this activity and a grade you would propose for your work on this assignment.
[Note: As leaders assign reading and discussion questions related to the reading on the Ning (due before class). Provide me by email with the wording you would like me to post on the Ning for the class discussion. You might email class members to invite and insure their participation. Examining their responses before class may help guide your teaching. I will also be carefully reading responses and recording in my grade book plus, check, minus, or no credit as part of the class participation grade.]
Topics that could be chosen for this activity include:
Teaching Writing to English Language Learners
Writing Research / I-Search Papers
Working with Writers of Diverse Abilities
Teaching Writing in Alternative Schools or Non-Traditional Settings
Teaching Multi-Genre Writing
The National Writing Project / Third Coast Writing Project
Preparing Students for the AP Language and Composition Exam
Handling the Paper Load
Teaching Grammar, Usage, and Correctness
Creating a School Writing Center
Teaching Journalism
Digital Story Telling
Writing Across the Curiculum
Responding to / Resisting Standardized Testing
Computer-Based Assessment of Student Writing
For-Profit Corporations and the Teaching of Writing
Help with Prezi:
Please don't everyone create a Prezi -- use other cool tools, too!
