[Teaching_Composition] NEW MODULE
Chris Anson
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Sun, 8 Apr 2007 01:14:39 -0400
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The year is 2010. Disciplinary boundaries in education have continued =20=
to shift and blur, and new alliances and affinities between =20
previously separate areas of scholarship have developed. But groups =20
of experts in all fields of knowledge still enjoy stewardship of =20
their intellectual domains and the administration of their =20
pedagogies. Except one.
Nuclear physicists.
Politicians, social critics, journalists, and members of the public =20
at large constantly contest the administrative and curricular =20
structures of nuclear physics, arguing that students are not =20
developing the right understandings of nuclear physics and lack the =20
skills of reasoning in the field that previous generations (at least =20
post-World War II) exhibited. Some university administrators claim =20
that this decay comes from the field=E2=80=99s dominant instructional =20=
paradigm, and argue that the three branches of nuclear physics ought =20
to be taught sequentially, not in parallel. Many citizens believe =20
that students ought to be held accountable for memorizing the =20
Periodic Table of the Elements, and now most states have mandated =20
assessments that measure students=E2=80=99 familiarity with the Table, =
in =20
part because of a federal initiative, the Kids With Nukes Act, in =20
which funds are allocated to the schools according to their =20
performance on the Test of Nuclear Knowledge. A blue- ribbon panel =20
made up of ex-governors, heads of testing agencies, and university =20
presidents has recently drafted a resolution for possible adoption by =20=
the U.S. Department of Education mandating the teaching of a =E2=80=9Ccore=
=20
list=E2=80=9D of terms from nuclear physics that every student at a =
public =20
university should know by rote before they can graduate: =E2=80=9Cion,=E2=
=80=9D =20
=E2=80=9Cisotope,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Calpha decay,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cthermal=
neutron,=E2=80=9D =20
=E2=80=9Cfermion,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Chypernucleus,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cground=
state,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CCoulomb=E2=80=99s =20
Law,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cgamma ray photon,=E2=80=9D and so on. But the =
panel has stalled =20
because there is disagreement about the nature of the exam, with the =20
head of a testing agency arguing that it should take the form of =20
analogies (=E2=80=9CNuclear fission is to rubber bands as nuclear fusion =
is =20
to: ______=E2=80=9D). The lone business executive on the panel thinks =20=
students should be tested orally to be sure they pronounce the word =20
=E2=80=9Cnuclear=E2=80=9D as nuke-lee-ar. Alarmist editorials such as =
=E2=80=9CJohnny No-=20
Nuke=E2=80=9D show up almost daily in the press. Thus beleaguered, the =20=
physicists feel marginalized and voiceless, and a kind of angst =20
settles into their field.
Sound bizarre? Sure. Teachers, researchers, and administrators in the =20=
field of physics are assumed to have the knowledge and expertise to =20
supervise their own curriculum, with input, of course, from others. =20
But this scenario is exactly the situation we face in the field =20
composition studies, as Debra Dew argues in this month=E2=80=99s =20
TeachingComp module, =E2=80=9CTheorizing Agency and Advancing Writing in =
the =20
Local (Institutional) Case.=E2=80=9D Why do compositionists not enjoy =
agency =20
in their own field? Why are we not permitted to have stewardship over =20=
what we do? What can we do about it?
To read Deb=E2=80=99s module, go to the TeachingComp Web page at http://=20=
www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/ and consider her thoughtful =20
questions for our discussion.
Debra Dew is currently the WPA at the University of Colorado at =20
Colorado Springs. Her research interests
include writing program administration; issues of academic quality =20
and the politics of the professional advancement of rhetoric/writing =20
assessment of writing; and18th and 19th century rhetorical history, =20
especially Mary Wollstonecraft=E2=80=99s theoretical contribution to =20
Enlightenment Rhetoric.
Many thanks again to Phyllis Mentzell Ryder and Jennifer Nutefall for =20=
leading us in last month=E2=80=99s module on information literacy.
Pasted below is Deb=E2=80=99s first post to the list, which will make a =20=
great starting point for our discussion.
Chris Anson, Moderator
Hello everyone~
I am grateful for this opportunity to discuss some of my favorite =20
administrative terms--agency, advocacy, advancing the discipline--=20
with all of you here on the Teaching Comp List and to likewise learn =20
a good deal from your local experiences, whether they be successes or =20=
struggles, probably some of both.
I thank Anne and Chris for their generous invitation to discuss =20
administrative and instructional experiences and those theoretical =20
and ethical principles upon which we act to advance writing as a =20
professional enterprise in all of its teaching and learning dimensions.
The topic is--how do we theorize agency to defend and protect, =20
advance and enhance the writing enterpise writ large?
To begin, I invite you to situate your teaching and/or administrative =20=
selves relative to the following . . .
1) In your local case, do you and your writing colleagues *own =20
writing* without an essential understanding of what *ownership* does =20
and does not mean in your context?
I will begin by situating myself within the UCCS Writing enterprise, =20
where I have been the Director of the Writing Program with its =20
various programmatic subsets, including FYC, advanced, creative, and =20
then this year, prof/tech as well. So perhaps, I might say--I do OWN =20=
writing--because I am the only tenure-track faculty member in writing =20=
on campus. Our program is staffed with 25 career instructors. I =20
have been the *owner* for six years, and this is now my seventh year =20
in my tenure-track line.
Locally, I have always *owned* writing in the sense that I am she =20
who technically accounts for the current state of writing instuction =20
and assessment across campus contexts. All matters related to =20
writing are mine for the overseeing, but I must also reflect on this =20
question--Do I own writing in the sense that Doug Hesse's Chair =20
address of 2005 invokes? In his sense, owning writing might mean I =20
locally enjoy first rights or primary rights by disciplinary training =20=
to "order" students' writing experiences for all of our UCCS =20
students. To own writing locally may also mean that colleagues and =20
administrators unconditionally recognize and affirm my ordering and =20
framing authority over the UCCS writing enterprise.
That has not always been my experience, nor yours locally, I imagine.
As WPA, I have brazenly invested MOST of my intellectual energy for =20
the past 6+ years advocating for writing such that our local =20
stakeholders 1) see writing as a disicipline with due rights--=20
theoretical, curricular, material rights--to equitable academic =20
relations with disciplinary peers of all kinds, 2) to performatively =20
*own* writing when such rights are readily granted, but then largely =20
3) to relentlessly pursue a greater degree of disciplinary ownership =20
of writing in all the dimensions of my professional work here at UCCS.
I will share several accounts of local advocacy and defense =20
initiatives as we move along in our discusion.
I could quite clearly summarize my WPA mission for the whole of my =20
tenure at UCCS as a WPA's PURSUIT of disciplinary happiness in =20
strategic collaboration with an extraordinary crew of committed =20
writing faculty. Our aim has been nothing short of Hesse's vision =20
of *owning* our writing enterprise in the local instituional case.
I am anxious to hear from the rest of you . . .
Best,
Debra
--=20
Chris M. Anson [Web Site]
Professor of English
Director, Campus Writing & Speaking Program
Box 8105, North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8105
(919) 513-4080
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Content-Type: text/html;
charset=UTF-8
<HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; =
-khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">The =
year is 2010. Disciplinary boundaries in education have continued to =
shift and blur, and new alliances and affinities between previously =
separate areas of scholarship have developed. But groups of experts in =
all fields of knowledge still enjoy stewardship of their intellectual =
domains and the administration of their pedagogies. Except =
one.</DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Nuclear physicists.</DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Politicians, social critics, journalists, and =
members of the public at large constantly contest the administrative and =
curricular structures of nuclear physics, arguing that students are not =
developing the right understandings of nuclear physics and lack the =
skills of reasoning in the field that previous generations (at least =
post-World War II) exhibited. Some university administrators claim that =
this decay comes from the field=E2=80=99s dominant instructional =
paradigm, and argue that the three branches of nuclear physics ought to =
be taught sequentially, not in parallel. Many citizens believe that =
students ought to be held accountable for memorizing the Periodic Table =
of the Elements, and now most states have mandated assessments that =
measure students=E2=80=99 familiarity with the Table, in part because of =
a federal initiative, the <I>Kids With Nukes </I><SPAN style=3D"">Act, =
in which funds are allocated to the schools according to their =
performance on the Test of Nuclear Knowledge. A blue- ribbon panel made =
up of ex-governors, heads of testing agencies, and university presidents =
has recently drafted a resolution for possible adoption by the U.S. =
Department of Education mandating the teaching of a =E2=80=9Ccore =
list=E2=80=9D of terms from nuclear physics that every student at a =
public university should know by rote before they can graduate:<SPAN =
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 </SPAN>=E2=80=9Cion,=E2=80=9D =
=E2=80=9Cisotope,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Calpha decay,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cthermal=
neutron,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cfermion,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Chypernucleus,=E2=80=
=9D =E2=80=9Cground state,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CCoulomb=E2=80=99s Law,=E2=80=9D=
=E2=80=9Cgamma ray photon,=E2=80=9D and so on. But the panel has =
stalled because there is disagreement about the nature of the exam, with =
the head of a testing agency arguing that it should take the form of =
analogies (=E2=80=9CNuclear fission is to rubber bands as nuclear fusion =
is to: ______=E2=80=9D). The lone business executive on the panel thinks =
students should be tested orally to be sure they pronounce the word =
=E2=80=9Cnuclear=E2=80=9D as </SPAN><I>nuke-lee-ar</I><SPAN style=3D"">. =
Alarmist editorials such as =E2=80=9CJohnny No-Nuke=E2=80=9D show up =
almost daily in the press. Thus beleaguered, the physicists feel =
marginalized and voiceless, and a kind of angst settles into their =
field.</SPAN></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Sound bizarre? Sure. Teachers, researchers, and =
administrators in the field of physics are assumed to have the knowledge =
and expertise to supervise their own curriculum, with input, of course, =
from others. But this scenario is exactly the situation we face in the =
field composition studies, as Debra Dew argues in this month=E2=80=99s =
TeachingComp module, =E2=80=9CTheorizing Agency and Advancing Writing in =
the Local (Institutional) Case.=E2=80=9D Why do compositionists not =
enjoy agency in their own field? Why are we not permitted to have =
stewardship over what we do? What can we do about it?</DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">To =
read Deb=E2=80=99s module, go to the TeachingComp Web page at <A =
href=3D"http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/">http://www.mhhe.com/so=
cscience/english/tc/</A> and consider her thoughtful questions for our =
discussion.</DIV><P class=3D"MsoNormal" =
style=3D"mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none; =
text-autospace:none">Debra Dew is currently the WPA at the University of =
Colorado at Colorado Springs. Her research interests<B>=E2=80=A8</B>=C2=A0=
i<SPAN style=3D"">nclude writing program administration; issues of =
academic quality and the politics of the professional advancement of =
rhetoric/writing assessment of writing; and18<FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"2"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
style=3D"font-size: 10px;">th</SPAN></FONT> and 19<FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"2"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
style=3D"font-size: 10px;">th</SPAN></FONT> century rhetorical history, =
especially Mary Wollstonecraft=E2=80=99s theoretical contribution to =
Enlightenment Rhetoric.</SPAN></P><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Many thanks =
again to Phyllis Mentzell Ryder and Jennifer Nutefall for leading us in =
last month=E2=80=99s module on information =
literacy.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV>=
<DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Pasted below is Deb=E2=80=99s first post to the =
list, which will make a great starting point for our =
discussion.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Chris =
Anson, Moderator<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">Hello =
everyone~<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV>=
<DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">I am grateful for this opportunity to discuss =
some of my favorite administrative terms--agency, advocacy, advancing =
the discipline--with all of you here on the Teaching Comp List and to =
likewise learn a good deal from your local experiences, whether they be =
successes or struggles, probably some of both.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">I =
thank Anne and Chris for their generous invitation to discuss =
administrative and instructional experiences and those theoretical and =
ethical principles upon which we act<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0=
</SPAN>to advance writing as a professional enterprise in all of its =
teaching and learning dimensions.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">The =
topic is--how do we theorize agency to defend and protect, advance and =
enhance the writing enterpise writ large?<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">To =
begin, I invite you to situate your teaching and/or administrative =
selves relative to the following . . .<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">1) =
In your local case, do you and your writing colleagues *own writing* =
without an essential understanding of what *ownership* does and does not =
mean in your context?<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">I =
will begin by situating myself within the UCCS Writing enterprise, where =
I have been the Director of the Writing Program with its various =
programmatic subsets, including FYC, advanced, creative, and then this =
year, prof/tech as well.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 =
</SPAN>So perhaps, I might say--I do OWN writing--because I am the only =
tenure-track faculty member in writing on campus.<SPAN =
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 </SPAN>Our program is staffed with 25 =
career instructors.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 </SPAN>I =
have been the *owner* for six years, and this is now my seventh year in =
my tenure-track line.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Locally,<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 =
</SPAN>I have always *owned* writing in the sense that I am she who =
technically accounts for the current state of writing instuction and =
assessment across campus contexts.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0=
</SPAN>All matters related to writing are mine for the overseeing, but =
I must also reflect on this question--Do I own writing in the sense that =
Doug Hesse's Chair address of 2005 invokes?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes">=C2=A0 </SPAN>In his sense, owning writing might mean I locally =
enjoy first rights or primary rights by disciplinary training to "order" =
students' writing experiences for all of our UCCS students.<SPAN =
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 </SPAN>To own writing locally may =
also mean that colleagues and administrators unconditionally recognize =
and affirm my ordering and framing authority over the UCCS writing =
enterprise.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">That =
has not always been my experience, nor yours locally, I =
imagine.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><=
DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">As WPA, I have brazenly invested MOST of my =
intellectual energy for the past 6+ years advocating for writing such =
that our local stakeholders 1) see writing as a disicipline with due =
rights--theoretical, curricular, material rights--to equitable academic =
relations with disciplinary peers of all kinds, 2) to performatively =
*own* writing when such rights are readily granted, but then largely 3) =
to relentlessly pursue a greater degree of disciplinary ownership of =
writing in all the dimensions of my professional work here at =
UCCS.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV=
class=3D"MsoNormal">I will share several accounts of local advocacy and =
defense initiatives as we move along in our =
discusion.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">I =
could quite clearly summarize my WPA mission for the whole of my tenure =
at UCCS as a WPA's<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 =
</SPAN>PURSUIT of disciplinary happiness in strategic collaboration with =
an extraordinary crew of committed writing faculty.<SPAN =
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 </SPAN>Our aim has been nothing short =
of Hesse's vision of<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">=C2=A0 =
</SPAN>*owning* our writing enterprise in the local instituional =
case.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV=
class=3D"MsoNormal">I am anxious to hear from the rest of you . . =
.<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Best,<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">Debra<O:P></O:P></DIV><DIV =
class=3D"MsoNormal">=C2=A0<O:P></O:P></DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>--=C2=A0<BR>Chri=
s M. Anson [<A =
href=3D"http://www.home.earthlink.net/~theansons/Portcover.html"><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Web =
Site</SPAN></A>]</DIV><DIV>Professor of English=C2=A0<DIV>Director,=C2=A0<=
A href=3D"http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/cwsp"><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Campus Writing & =
Speaking Program</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><BR>Box 8105,=C2=A0North =
Carolina State University=C2=A0<BR>Raleigh, NC=C2=A0 =
27695-8105=C2=A0<BR>(919) 513-4080</DIV></DIV><BR =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> =
</DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>=
--Apple-Mail-1-133584210--