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| Maureen Daly Goggin
LL 202D voice mail: 965-1804 |
Michael Stancliff
LL 217 voice mail: 965-0247 |
Willing suspension of belief
--Alton Becker
Every choice you make as a writing instructor is informed by some philosophy of composition and of teaching composition, even if you’re not fully aware of the philosophy you hold. The more aware you become of your assumptions and premises, the more you can rethink and improve your teaching.--T.R. Johnson and Shirley Morahan
Description: The
TA Orientation is a three-week intensive teaching practicum designed to
introduce you to the philosophy and pedagogy that guides our Writing Programs
in general, and the first course you will teach (ENG 101) in particular.
The orientation meets daily over three weeks, amounting to the equivalent
of a semester’s worth of contact hours. It is followed by a graduate seminar
(ENG 594 Teaching Assistant Seminar) in the fall semester that carries
three graduate credit hours. This program serves as a national model, having
been replicated in institutions across the country. Our goals for the Orientation
are the following:
to introduce you to ASU Writing Programs (missions, goals, and policies)Throughout the TA Orientation (and later in the TA Seminar) we will ask for your “willing suspension of beliefs” about the nature of writing, how it is learned and how it should be taught so that you can begin to understand how philosophies and theories both permit and constrain teaching practices. Whether you realize it or not, you and your students come into a writing class with assumptions about what it means to write, what counts as writing, how it best can be learned (or even whether it can be learned) and how it can best be taught. Often these assumptions are tacit, and always they are strong. We hope to challenge in fruitful ways the assumptions we all hold to help us all continue to learn as reflective teachers.
to introduce you to ASU services for faculty and students
to introduce you to the professional issues that surround being a college teacher
to introduce you to classroom management and record keeping
to provide an overview of rhetorically- and culturally-based writing instruction
to familiarize you with the 101 textbook (George and Trimbur’s Reading Culture)
to begin to develop an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice in teaching writing
to help you develop four units that will lead to your developing your syllabus for the course
to help you develop a Teaching Portfolio
to help you reflect on your own goals for the TA Orientation and for teaching writing
to establish a community of teachers who will support one another
Textbooks:
Tate, Gary, Amy Rupiper, Kurt Schick, eds. A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. New York: Oxford, 2001. (Guide)
Heilker, Paul, and Peter Vandenberg, eds. Keywords in Composition Studies. Portsmouth, NH: Boyton/Cook, 1996. (Keywords)
The following books will be supplied to you:
Wilhoit, Stephen W. Teaching Assistant’s Handbook: A Guide for Graduate Instructors of Writing and Literature. New York: Longman, 2003. (TA Handbook)
Morahan, Shirley, and T.R. Johnson, eds. Teaching Composition: Background Readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2002. (TC)
George, Diana, and John Trimbur. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. [Textbook for ENG 101]
Requirements
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory as it is part of your contractual obligation as a TA.
Assignments: Detailed explanations for each of the following will be distributed.
Unit Description and Assignments (group project)
Syllabus for ENG 101
Response to student papers
Teaching Portfolio
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