From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Mon Oct 1 18:53:51 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com) Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 13:53:51 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages In-Reply-To: Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 0062542A85257367_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Here's a question that has come up several times for me when I've been interviewing students and collecting papers: what do we know about transfer from writing in English to writing in another language? When students bring me their papers and talk to me about them, I've noted that they write a lot in their Spanish classes but they tell me this like it doesn't "count" as writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with it. Obviously the things they are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are not much like what they are writing in their History or Poly Sci classes, nor are they getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the kinds of skills they are using and focusing on seem to be different than in their native-language classes. I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not well sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on transfer/generalization of writing skills from writing in one's native language to writing in a different language? Elizabeth Elizabeth Wardle, PhD Assistant Professor Director of Writing Programs Internship Coordinator Department of English Humanities 277 University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 937-229-3003 ewardle@udayton.edu --=_alternative 0062542A85257367_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Here's a question that has come up several times for me when I've been interviewing students and collecting papers: what do we know about transfer from writing in English to writing in another language? When students bring me their papers and talk to me about them, I've noted that they write a lot in their Spanish classes but they tell me this like it doesn't "count" as writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with it. Obviously the things they are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are not much like what they are writing in their History or Poly Sci classes, nor are they getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the kinds of skills they are using and focusing on seem to be different than in their native-language classes.

I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not well sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on transfer/generalization of writing skills from writing in one's native language to writing in a different language?

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Wardle, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director of Writing Programs
Internship Coordinator
Department of English
Humanities 277
University of Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
937-229-3003
ewardle@udayton.edu
--=_alternative 0062542A85257367_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Mon Oct 1 19:34:01 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Richard Haswell) Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:34:01 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages In-Reply-To: Message-ID: > This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --B_3274090447_982015 Content-type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable Elizabeth, ESL experts have done a lot in the area of skill tranfer and knowledge transfer. You can use CompPile for an initial entry. Try the search phrase =B3L1-L2 and transfer=B2 (without the quotation marks). Produces 21 hits. But the investigation usually asks how a mother tongue (L1) influences the acquisition of a second language (L2). Some of these pieces, however, look like they consider transfer both ways. Rich On 10/1/07 12:53 PM, "Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu" wrote: >=20 > Here's a question that has come up several times for me when I've been > interviewing students and collecting papers: what do we know about transf= er > from writing in English to writing in another language? When students bri= ng me > their papers and talk to me about them, I've noted that they write a lot = in > their Spanish classes but they tell me this like it doesn't "count" as > writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with it. Obviously the things= they > are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are not much= like > what they are writing in their History or Poly Sci classes, nor are they > getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the kinds of skil= ls > they are using and focusing on seem to be different than in their > native-language classes. >=20 > I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not we= ll > sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on > transfer/generalization of writing skills from writing in one's native > language to writing in a different language? >=20 > Elizabeth=20 >=20 > Elizabeth Wardle, PhD > Assistant Professor > Director of Writing Programs > Internship Coordinator > Department of English > Humanities 277 > University of Dayton > Dayton, Ohio > 937-229-3003 > ewardle@udayton.edu --B_3274090447_982015 Content-type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable Re: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other la= nguages Elizabeth,

ESL experts have done a lot in the area of skill tranfer and knowledge tran= sfer. You can use CompPile for an initial entry. Try the search phrase ̶= 0;L1-L2 and transfer” (without the quotation marks). Produces 21 hits.= But the investigation usually asks how a mother tongue (L1) influences the = acquisition of a second language (L2). Some of these pieces, however, look l= ike they consider transfer both ways.

Rich


On 10/1/07 12:53 PM, "Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu" <Eli= zabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu> wrote:


Here's a question that has come up several times for me when I've been inte= rviewing students and collecting papers: what do we know about transfer from= writing in English to writing in another language? When students bring me t= heir papers and talk to me about them, I've noted that they write a lot in t= heir Spanish classes but they tell me this like it doesn't "count"= as writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with it. Obviously the thing= s they are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are not = much like what they are writing in their History or Poly Sci classes, nor ar= e they getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the kinds of = skills they are using and focusing on seem to be different than in their nat= ive-language classes.

I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not well= sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on transfer/gen= eralization of writing skills from writing in one's native language to writi= ng in a different language?

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Wardle, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director of Writing Programs
Internship Coordinator
Department of English
Humanities 277
University of Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
937-229-3003
ewardle@udayton.edu

--B_3274090447_982015-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Tue Oct 2 23:18:02 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Susan Miller-Cochran) Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 18:18:02 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <001001c80542$19233fa0$627c0198@T242A1> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0011_01C80520.92119FA0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Elizabeth, Rich is right-much research has been done on the issue of transfer from writing in one language to writing in another language. Much of the = research looks at the impact of a writer's first language literacy in the = development of their writing in a second language. Some research looks at transfer = both ways as well, though. =20 Here are a couple of recent articles that I have found interesting on = the topic of second language writing transfer: =20 Cheng, A. (2007). Transferring generic features and recontextualizing = genre awareness: Understanding writing performance in the ESP genre-based = literacy framework. English for Specific Purposes 26, 287-307. =20 Wang, M., Perfetti, C.A., and Liu, Y. (2005). Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition: cross-language and writing system transfer. Cognition 97, 67-88. =20 You might look in language teaching journals for research on English speakers' writing skills transferring to writing in other languages. =20 Susan Miller-Cochran =20 -----Original Message----- From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu Sent: Monday, October 01, 2007 1:54 PM To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages =20 Here's a question that has come up several times for me when I've been interviewing students and collecting papers: what do we know about = transfer from writing in English to writing in another language? When students = bring me their papers and talk to me about them, I've noted that they write a = lot in their Spanish classes but they tell me this like it doesn't "count" = as writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with it. Obviously the = things they are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are = not much like what they are writing in their History or Poly Sci classes, = nor are they getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the = kinds of skills they are using and focusing on seem to be different than in = their native-language classes.=20 I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not = well sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on transfer/generalization of writing skills from writing in one's native language to writing in a different language?=20 Elizabeth=20 Elizabeth Wardle, PhD Assistant Professor Director of Writing Programs Internship Coordinator Department of English Humanities 277 University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 937-229-3003 ewardle@udayton.edu ------=_NextPart_000_0011_01C80520.92119FA0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Elizabeth,


Rich is right—much research has been done on the issue of transfer = from writing in one language to writing in another language. Much of the = research looks at the impact of a writer’s first language literacy in the development of their writing in a second language. Some research looks = at transfer both ways as well, though.

 

Here are a couple of recent articles that I have = found interesting on the topic of second language writing = transfer:

 

Cheng, A. (2007). Transferring generic features and recontextualizing genre awareness: Understanding = writing performance in the ESP genre-based literacy framework. English for Specific Purposes 26, = 287-307.

 <= /p>

Wang, M., = Perfetti, = C.A., and Liu, Y. (2005). Chinese–English biliteracy acquisition: cross-language = and writing system transfer. Cognition = 97, 67-88.

 <= /p>

You might look in language = teaching journals for research on English speakers’ writing skills = transferring to writing in other languages.

 <= /p>

Susan = Miller-Cochran

 

-----Original = Message-----
From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu
Sent:
Monday, October 01, 2007 1:54 = PM
To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Subject: = [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages

 


Here's a question that has come up several times = for me when I've been interviewing students and collecting papers: what do we = know about transfer from writing in English to writing in another language? = When students bring me their papers and talk to me about them, I've noted = that they write a lot in their Spanish classes but they tell me this like it = doesn't "count" as writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with = it. Obviously the things they are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are not much like what they are writing in their = History or Poly Sci classes, nor are they getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the kinds of skills they are using and focusing on seem to = be different than in their native-language classes.

I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not = well sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on transfer/generalization of writing skills from writing in one's native = language to writing in a different language?

Elizabeth=

Elizabeth Wardle, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director of Writing Programs
Internship Coordinator
Department of English
Humanities 277
University of Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
937-229-3003
ewardle@udayton.edu

------=_NextPart_000_0011_01C80520.92119FA0-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Wed Oct 3 21:22:07 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com) Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 16:22:07 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages In-Reply-To: <001001c80542$19233fa0$627c0198@T242A1> Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 006FE7B885257369_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 U3VzYW4gYW5kIFJpY2gsDQpUaGFua3MgZm9yIHRoaXMuICBJJ20gYWx3YXlzIGltcHJlc3NlZCBi eSB0aGUgd29yayBsaW5ndWlzdHMgYXJlIGRvaW5nIGFuZCANCkkgd2lzaCB3ZSBhcyBhIGZpZWxk IHJlYWQgbW9yZSBvZiB0aGF0IHJlc2VhcmNoIG1vcmUgb2YgdGhlIHRpbWUuIEkgaGF0ZSANCnRo YXQgdGhpcyBpcyB0aGUgZmlyc3QgdGltZSB0aGlzIHF1ZXN0aW9uIGFib3V0IHNlY29uZCBsYW5n dWFnZSB3cml0aW5nIA0KYW5kIHRyYXNmZXIgaGFzIHBvcHBlZCBpbnRvIG15IGhlYWQsIGJ1dCBJ IGd1ZXNzIG1vdGl2YXRpbmcgdGhvc2UgDQpjb25uZWN0aW9ucyBhcmUgd2hhdCB0aGVzZSBzb3J0 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bml0aWVzIDI3Nzxicj4NClVuaXZlcnNpdHkgb2YgRGF5dG9uPGJyPg0KRGF5dG9uLCBPaGlvPGJy Pg0KOTM3LTIyOS0zMDAzPGJyPg0KZXdhcmRsZUB1ZGF5dG9uLmVkdTwvZm9udD4NCjxicj4NCg== --=_alternative 006FE7B885257369_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Wed Oct 3 21:27:28 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com) Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 16:27:28 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Questions about teaching and transfer? In-Reply-To: <001001c80542$19233fa0$627c0198@T242A1> Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 0070651A85257369_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" I know our days on this topic are now numbered, so I thought I would see whether there are related issues that haven't gotten discussed. We've focused a lot on doing research. Is anyone interested in talking about teaching? On the module, Tiane and I listed findings about what encourages and discourages transfer and the we asked: Do the findings about transfer conflict with any common composition pedagogies? Do we have enough information about transfer to begin shaping practice? If so, what specific teaching practices might we reconsider, add, or abandon? Does anyone have examples from their own classes about how they try to create assignments and activities to encourage transfer? Elizabeth Elizabeth Wardle, PhD Assistant Professor Director of Writing Programs Internship Coordinator Department of English Humanities 277 University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 937-229-3003 ewardle@udayton.edu --=_alternative 0070651A85257369_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
I know our days on this topic are now numbered, so I thought I would see whether there are related issues that haven't gotten discussed. We've focused a lot on doing research. Is anyone interested in talking about teaching? On the module, Tiane and I listed findings about what encourages and discourages transfer and the we asked:

Do the findings about transfer conflict with any common composition pedagogies?

Do we have enough information about transfer to begin shaping practice?

If so, what specific teaching practices might we reconsider, add, or abandon?

Does anyone have examples from their own classes about how they try to create assignments and activities to encourage transfer?

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Wardle, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director of Writing Programs
Internship Coordinator
Department of English
Humanities 277
University of Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
937-229-3003
ewardle@udayton.edu
--=_alternative 0070651A85257369_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Wed Oct 3 21:57:34 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Susan Miller-Cochran) Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 16:57:34 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <200710032057.l93KvmwB028801@localhost.eppg.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0061_01C805DE.7FA0C3A0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit You know, Elizabeth, I've thought a lot about second language writing and transfer over the years (since I was originally trained as a linguist), but I have never thought to ask some of the excellent questions about writing knowledge transfer that you asked in your module this month. I think that's exactly what these kinds of forums are for! Susan _____ From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 4:22 PM To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Subject: RE: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages Susan and Rich, Thanks for this. I'm always impressed by the work linguists are doing and I wish we as a field read more of that research more of the time. I hate that this is the first time this question about second language writing and trasfer has popped into my head, but I guess motivating those connections are what these sorts of discussion forums are good for. Elizabeth Elizabeth Wardle, PhD Assistant Professor Director of Writing Programs Internship Coordinator Department of English Humanities 277 University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 937-229-3003 ewardle@udayton.edu "Susan Miller-Cochran" Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com 10/02/2007 06:18 PM Please respond to teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com To cc Subject RE: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages Elizabeth, Rich is right-much research has been done on the issue of transfer from writing in one language to writing in another language. Much of the research looks at the impact of a writer's first language literacy in the development of their writing in a second language. Some research looks at transfer both ways as well, though. Here are a couple of recent articles that I have found interesting on the topic of second language writing transfer: Cheng, A. (2007). Transferring generic features and recontextualizing genre awareness: Understanding writing performance in the ESP genre-based literacy framework. English for Specific Purposes 26, 287-307. Wang, M., Perfetti, C.A., and Liu, Y. (2005). Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition: cross-language and writing system transfer. Cognition 97, 67-88. You might look in language teaching journals for research on English speakers' writing skills transferring to writing in other languages. Susan Miller-Cochran -----Original Message----- From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu Sent: Monday, October 01, 2007 1:54 PM To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other languages Here's a question that has come up several times for me when I've been interviewing students and collecting papers: what do we know about transfer from writing in English to writing in another language? When students bring me their papers and talk to me about them, I've noted that they write a lot in their Spanish classes but they tell me this like it doesn't "count" as writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with it. Obviously the things they are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are not much like what they are writing in their History or Poly Sci classes, nor are they getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the kinds of skills they are using and focusing on seem to be different than in their native-language classes. I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not well sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on transfer/generalization of writing skills from writing in one's native language to writing in a different language? Elizabeth Elizabeth Wardle, PhD Assistant Professor Director of Writing Programs Internship Coordinator Department of English Humanities 277 University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 937-229-3003 ewardle@udayton.edu ------=_NextPart_000_0061_01C805DE.7FA0C3A0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

You know, Elizabeth, I’ve = thought a lot about second language writing and transfer over the years (since I was originally trained as a linguist), but I have never thought to ask some = of the excellent questions about writing knowledge transfer that you asked in = your module this month.

 

I think that’s exactly what = these kinds of forums are for!


Susan

 


From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu
Sent: Wednesday, October = 03, 2007 4:22 PM
To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Subject: RE: [Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English to other = languages

 


Susan and Rich,
Thanks for this.  I'm always impressed by the work linguists are doing and = I wish we as a field read more of that research more of the time. I hate that = this is the first time this question about second language writing and trasfer = has popped into my head, but I guess motivating those connections are what = these sorts of discussion forums are good for.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth= Wardle, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director of Writing Programs
Internship Coordinator
Department of English
Humanities 277
University of Dayton
Dayton, = Ohio
937-229-3003
ewardle@udayton.edu


"Susan Miller-Cochran" = <susan_miller@ncsu.edu>
Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com =

10/02/2007 06:18 PM

Please respond to
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com

To

<teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com&g= t;

cc

 

Subject

RE: [Teaching_Composition] Writing = transfer from English to other languages

 

 

 




Elizabeth,

Rich is right—much research has been done on the issue of transfer = from writing in one language to writing in another language. Much of the research = looks at the impact of a writer’s first language literacy in the = development of their writing in a second language. Some research looks at transfer both ways = as well, though.

 
Here are a couple of recent articles that I have found interesting on the = topic of second language writing transfer:
 
Cheng, A. (2007). Transferring generic features and recontextualizing genre = awareness: Understanding writing performance in the ESP genre-based literacy = framework. English for Specific Purposes 26, = 287-307.
 
Wang, M., Perfetti, = C.A., and Liu, Y. (2005). Chinese–English biliteracy acquisition: cross-language and writing = system transfer. Cognition 97, = 67-88.
 
You might look in language teaching journals for research on English = speakers’ writing skills transferring to writing in other languages. =
 
Susan Miller-Cochran
 
-----Original Message-----
From:
teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu
Sent:
Monday, October 01, 2007 1:54 PM
To:
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Subject:
[Teaching_Composition] Writing transfer from English = to other languages

 

Here's a question that has come up several times for me when I've been interviewing students and collecting papers: what do we know about = transfer from writing in English to writing in another language? When students = bring me their papers and talk to me about them, I've noted that they write a lot = in their Spanish classes but they tell me this like it doesn't = "count" as writing. And I'm not really sure what to do with it. Obviously the = things they are writing in a Spanish class (dialogues, mini-essays, etc) are = not much like what they are writing in their History or Poly Sci classes, nor are = they getting evaluated using the same kinds of criteria. And the kinds of = skills they are using and focusing on seem to be different than in their native-language classes.


I have a lot of questions about this that are very preliminary and not = well sorted out, so I 'll just ask whether there is any research on transfer/generalization of writing skills from writing in one's native = language to writing in a different language?


Elizabeth


Elizabeth Wardle, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director of Writing Programs
Internship Coordinator
Department of English
Humanities 277
University of Dayton
Dayton, = Ohio
937-229-3003
ewardle@udayton.edu

------=_NextPart_000_0061_01C805DE.7FA0C3A0-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thu Oct 4 02:06:17 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com) Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 01:06:17 +0000 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Questions about teaching and transfer? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20071004010617.2vc0s3boo4sss0co@mail1.maine.edu> Thank you for suggesting this, Elizabeth--I would love to read examples and talk about them--such examples might help us to get at the "do we have enough information to shape practice" question in particular (and to get at the reverse--is there practice that we've noticed enables transfer, and what kind?). Tiane Quoting Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu: > I know our days on this topic are now numbered, so I thought I would see > whether there are related issues that haven't gotten discussed. We've > focused a lot on doing research. Is anyone interested in talking about > teaching? On the module, Tiane and I listed findings about what encourages > and discourages transfer and the we asked: > > Do the findings about transfer conflict with any common composition > pedagogies? > Do we have enough information about transfer to begin shaping practice? > If so, what specific teaching practices might we reconsider, add, or > abandon? > > Does anyone have examples from their own classes about how they try to > create assignments and activities to encourage transfer? > > Elizabeth > > Elizabeth Wardle, PhD > Assistant Professor > Director of Writing Programs > Internship Coordinator > Department of English > Humanities 277 > University of Dayton > Dayton, Ohio > 937-229-3003 > ewardle@udayton.edu From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thu Oct 4 22:15:58 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Hatch, Monica) Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 16:15:58 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] teaching practices to encourage transfer In-Reply-To: <200710041601.l94G11RN004362@localhost.eppg.com> Message-ID: <9010216B9FD153478AF172692925256B031CBCD7@EXBVMAIL01.swic.campus> I think that the metacognitive exercises my students do in conjunction with their writing will be the most likely to encourage transfer. With each major paper, students are required to write me a memo of "submission notes" which expose their thinking processes as they composed or revised. They describe how they arrived at decisions about what to include to achieve their rhetorical purpose, what tone to adopt, how they thought about the audience's reaction to their introduction and conclusion, how they addressed instructor and peer review comments, etc. etc. - in short, all the decisions and strategies they've used while writing and revising. I believe that asking them to articulate explicitly that which may have been implicit or "gut" feelings will make them more aware of those successful strategies, which will enable that to transfer to the next writing project. They struggle with this "extra" writing at first, but those who persevere tend to get better at it and find it to be helpful. Those students often tell me that this changes their thinking as they write and revise: it heightens their awareness of their audience and their own writing tendencies and it helps them to see themselves as writers. -----Original Message----- From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 11:01 AM To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Subject: Teaching_Composition digest, Vol 1 #1277 - 1 msg Send Teaching_Composition mailing list submissions to teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com You can reach the person managing the list at teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Teaching_Composition digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Questions about teaching and transfer? (tdonahue@maine.edu) --__--__-- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 01:06:17 +0000 From: tdonahue@maine.edu To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Subject: Re: [Teaching_Composition] Questions about teaching and transfer? Reply-To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thank you for suggesting this, Elizabeth--I would love to read examples and talk about them--such examples might help us to get at the "do we have enough information to shape practice" question in particular (and to get at the reverse--is there practice that we've noticed enables transfer, and what kind?). Tiane Quoting Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu: > I know our days on this topic are now numbered, so I thought I would > see whether there are related issues that haven't gotten discussed. > We've focused a lot on doing research. Is anyone interested in talking > about teaching? On the module, Tiane and I listed findings about what > encourages and discourages transfer and the we asked: > > Do the findings about transfer conflict with any common composition > pedagogies? > Do we have enough information about transfer to begin shaping practice? > If so, what specific teaching practices might we reconsider, add, or > abandon? > > Does anyone have examples from their own classes about how they try to > create assignments and activities to encourage transfer? > > Elizabeth > > Elizabeth Wardle, PhD > Assistant Professor > Director of Writing Programs > Internship Coordinator > Department of English > Humanities 277 > University of Dayton > Dayton, Ohio > 937-229-3003 > ewardle@udayton.edu --__--__-- _______________________________________________ Teaching_Composition maillist - Teaching_Composition@mailman.eppg.com http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition End of Teaching_Composition Digest From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thu Oct 4 23:35:09 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Christiane Donahue) Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:35:09 +0200 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] teaching practices to encourage transfer In-Reply-To: <9010216B9FD153478AF172692925256B031CBCD7@EXBVMAIL01.swic.campus> Message-ID: Hi Monica, One of the nice things about this work you describe is that it pushes students beyond the simpler "reflection" pieces that students often learn to spin out to us after writing something. I think students learn quickly how to tell us what we want to hear. I've also read interesting studies of students' reflections or narratives and the ways in which they do not necessarily enable the metacognitive work we aim for. But this work calls on students to think through and account for decision-making, in a particular and complex context. That would seem to encourage both an understanding of texts as accomplishing particular social actions and the development of "mindfulness" in strong ways. Imagine how powerful it would be if students kept doing this kind of mindful accounting for themselves (or were asked to do it) in future courses. Tiane On 10/4/07 11:15 PM, "Hatch, Monica" wrote: > > I think that the metacognitive exercises my students do in conjunction > with their writing will be the most likely to encourage transfer. > With each major paper, students are required to write me a memo of > "submission notes" which expose their thinking processes as they > composed or revised. They describe how they arrived at decisions about > what to include to achieve their rhetorical purpose, what tone to adopt, > how they thought about the audience's reaction to their introduction and > conclusion, how they addressed instructor and peer review comments, etc. > etc. - in short, all the decisions and strategies they've used while > writing and revising. I believe that asking them to articulate > explicitly that which may have been implicit or "gut" feelings will make > them more aware of those successful strategies, which will enable that > to transfer to the next writing project. > They struggle with this "extra" writing at first, but those who > persevere tend to get better at it and find it to be helpful. Those > students often tell me that this changes their thinking as they write > and revise: it heightens their awareness of their audience and their own > writing tendencies and it helps them to see themselves as writers. > > -----Original Message----- > From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com > [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of > teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com > Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 11:01 AM > To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com > Subject: Teaching_Composition digest, Vol 1 #1277 - 1 msg > > Send Teaching_Composition mailing list submissions to > teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com > > You can reach the person managing the list at > teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than > "Re: Contents of Teaching_Composition digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Questions about teaching and transfer? (tdonahue@maine.edu) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 01:06:17 +0000 > From: tdonahue@maine.edu > To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com > Subject: Re: [Teaching_Composition] Questions about teaching and > transfer? > Reply-To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com > > Thank you for suggesting this, Elizabeth--I would love to read examples > and talk about them--such examples might help us to get at the "do we > have enough information to shape practice" question in particular (and > to get at the reverse--is there practice that we've noticed enables > transfer, and what kind?). > Tiane > > Quoting Elizabeth.Wardle@notes.udayton.edu: > >> I know our days on this topic are now numbered, so I thought I would >> see whether there are related issues that haven't gotten discussed. >> We've focused a lot on doing research. Is anyone interested in talking > >> about teaching? On the module, Tiane and I listed findings about what >> encourages and discourages transfer and the we asked: >> >> Do the findings about transfer conflict with any common composition >> pedagogies? >> Do we have enough information about transfer to begin shaping > practice? >> If so, what specific teaching practices might we reconsider, add, or >> abandon? >> >> Does anyone have examples from their own classes about how they try to > >> create assignments and activities to encourage transfer? >> >> Elizabeth >> >> Elizabeth Wardle, PhD >> Assistant Professor >> Director of Writing Programs >> Internship Coordinator >> Department of English >> Humanities 277 >> University of Dayton >> Dayton, Ohio >> 937-229-3003 >> ewardle@udayton.edu > > > > > > --__--__-- > > _______________________________________________ > Teaching_Composition maillist - Teaching_Composition@mailman.eppg.com > http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition > > > End of Teaching_Composition Digest > > _______________________________________________ > Teaching_Composition maillist - Teaching_Composition@mailman.eppg.com > http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition > > To unsubscribe, please visit > http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition and update your > information. From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Tue Oct 9 02:10:11 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Chris Anson) Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 21:10:11 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] NEW MODULE--AND NEW WEB SITE! Message-ID: --Apple-Mail-13-984130762 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes; format=flowed TeachingComp Listers: Last month we considered the question of transfer=97and a variety of =20 terms that might better reflect what we mean when we talk about how =20 writers adapt to new and different contexts, genres, and communities. =20= This month, we revisit another kind of transfer--the challenges of =20 placing students into introductory college writing courses that are =20 most suitable to their preparation, needs, and interests. =20 Traditionally, various tests and measures of students' writing=97or =20 even of knowledge and abilities only obliquely related to writing =20 (scores on standardized tests such as the SAT, high school grades and =20= class rank, etc.)=97have been used by administrators to make decisions =20= for students, the assumption being that we know better than they do =20 what they need. Directed self-placement (DSP), which this list =20 discussed in April, 2004 with the help of Dan Royer and Roger Gilles, =20= offers a unique alternative to this conventional method of placing =20 students, allowing them to make informed decisions about their own =20 placement with the help of administrators and teachers. Now, with new =20= possibilities for online resources and communication, DSP is going =20 digital. But with what effects? Can DSP work as effectively "at a =20 distance" as it works in close consultation, face to face, with =20 program directors, teachers, and staff members? Do students place =20 themselves as accurately from their homes as they do in the offices =20 of WPAs? In this month's module, Ed Jones of Seton Hall University helps us =20 not only to learn about how online DSP works but also whether it =20 works, though some investigations of several campuses using it. =20 Please visit the brand new TeachingComp Web site to access Ed's =20 module, which includes links to other institutions, questions he =20 asked them about online DSP, various helpful resources, and a list of =20= questions to get us started in our discussion. The URL for the site =20 is the same as the one for the old site: http://www.mhhe.com/=20 socscience/english/tc/ There, you can also find links to prior =20 TeachingComp modules, the archives of our discussions, and subscriber =20= tools. In addition, the previous month's module will also available =20 for those who haven't yet had their fill of its helpful information =20 or want to pass it on to others. Ed Jones directs the basic skills program in the English Department =20 at Seton Hall University. His research interests closely follow =20 program innovations or the identification of program-wide issues. =20 These interests have included machine scoring of student essays, the =20 reading-writing connection, the articulation of high school and =20 college writing goals, the "rules" for talk in classroom discussion, =20 and the role of self-beliefs, race, and class in writing achievement. Many thanks to Tiane Donahue and Elizabeth Wardle for leading us =20 through an excellent module on knowledge transfer in composition in =20 September. This was an especially fruitful discussion from both an =20 instructional and research perspective. Chris Anson, Moderator --=20 Chris M. Anson [Web site] University Distinguished Professor Director, Campus Writing & Speaking Program Box 8105, North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695-8105 (919) 513-4080 --Apple-Mail-13-984130762 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=WINDOWS-1252
TeachingComp = Listers:

Last month we considered the question of transfer=97and a = variety of terms that might better reflect what we mean when we talk = about how writers adapt to new and different contexts, genres, and = communities. This month, we revisit another kind of transfer--the = challenges of placing students into introductory college writing courses = that are most suitable to their preparation, needs, and interests. = Traditionally, various tests and measures of students' writing=97or even = of knowledge and abilities only obliquely related to writing (scores on = standardized tests such as the SAT, high school grades and class rank, = etc.)=97have been used by administrators to make decisions for students, = the assumption being that we know better than they do what they need. = Directed self-placement (DSP), which this list discussed in April, 2004 = with the help of Dan Royer and Roger Gilles, offers a unique alternative = to this conventional method of placing students, allowing them to make = informed decisions about their own placement with the help of = administrators and teachers. Now, with new possibilities for online = resources and communication, DSP is going digital. But with what = effects? Can DSP work as effectively "at a distance" as it works in = close consultation, face to face, with program directors, teachers, and = staff members? Do students place themselves as accurately from their = homes as they do in the offices of WPAs?
=A0
In this month's module, Ed Jones of Seton Hall University = helps us not only to learn about how online DSP works but also whether = it works, though some investigations of several campuses using it. = Please visit the brand new TeachingComp Web site to access Ed's module, = which includes links to other institutions, questions he asked them = about online DSP, various helpful resources, and a list of questions to = get us started in our discussion. The URL for the site is the same as = the one for the old site: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/=A0=A0 There, you can also find links to prior TeachingComp = modules, the archives of our discussions, and subscriber tools. In = addition, the previous month's module will also available for those who = haven't yet had their fill of its helpful information or want to pass it = on to others.
=A0
Ed Jones directs the basic skills program in the English = Department at Seton Hall University. =A0His research interests closely = follow program innovations or the identification of program-wide issues. = These interests have included machine scoring of student essays, the = reading-writing connection, the articulation of high school and college = writing goals, the "rules" for talk in classroom discussion, and the = role of self-beliefs, race, and class in writing = achievement.
=A0
Many thanks to Tiane Donahue and Elizabeth Wardle for = leading us through an excellent module on knowledge transfer in = composition in September. This was an especially fruitful discussion = from both an instructional and research = perspective.

Chris = Anson, Moderator



--=A0
Chris = M. Anson=A0[Web = site]
University Distinguished = Professor
Director,=A0Campus Writing & = Speaking Program
Box 8105,=A0North Carolina State = University=A0
Raleigh, NC=A0 27695-8105=A0
(919) = 513-4080


=

= --Apple-Mail-13-984130762-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Wed Oct 10 01:29:58 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Kathy Fitch) Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 19:29:58 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] NEW MODULE--AND NEW WEB SITE! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20071010003211.09D2975804D@smtpauth00.csee.onr.siteprotect.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was drawn to the question about students who self-place well below their skill levels. In my experience, it was generally older, returning students-women and men, but more often women than men, in my informal sense of things-who placed themselves into the developmental writing course even though they clearly didn't need it. Often, no amount of discussion or cheering on would budge them from this decision. These older, returning students often figured that they hadn't been in school for a long time, hadn't been stellar students when last they were in school, and wouldn't be able to compete with the younger, more experienced (in the sense of having experience with regular school attendance) students. The whole prospect of college was both enormously attractive and deeply frightening. Often, their rich life experiences, and the fact that they were very well read, made them exceptional writers. They were willing to take risks, very keen on mastery of basics, and full of interesting observations and ideas. Driven. I never insisted that anyone leave, though I'd be very clear about why I thought they could. In retrospect, I think they often placed themselves correctly, skill level notwithstanding, for the developmental course became a kind of low-threat testing ground, for them. One of the men who placed himself into a developmental writing this way went on to be our top male graduate. Several of these students ended up following me through the whole sequence, which consisted of three courses at that time, when our school was on a quarter system. Complicated and immensely rewarding students to have around. It was not unusual for them to haunt the office, call me at all hours-home, too!-to read me drafts of their essays, come back with graded essays in hand (yes, it really is an A) to check and double-check that I had marked absolutely everything. The man who ended up as our top grad, I should say, actually did not do well at all on his first few essays, but he got the hang of it very quickly, indeed, and he logged hours upon hours (all of his own accord) in the writing center, where he formed a close working relationship with one of the tutors. For most all of these students, the developmental course was much more about building confidence in their ability than in building skills. These truly were "college prep" classes, for them, not in the sense of "inoculation" that some RhetComp folks see dangers in, but in the sense of mentally preparing, building confidence, learning how to be students, and coming to accept (harder than it sounds) that they really were very bright and capable. It was a time for them to figure out how to advocate for themselves, how to find support, how to take advantage of teachers' offers to help them find the best ways to succeed. Sometimes, I'd have a handful of these students, a handful of ESL students, and a handful of students more rightly placed all in one classroom. Probably makes the experts groan, but these were some of the best classes ever. I loved teaching them. Practically had to jump backwards, at times, just make space for the huge leaps going on, all around. Kathy ------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

I was drawn to the question about = students who self-place well below their skill levels.  In my experience, it = was generally older, returning students—women and men, but more often = women than men, in my informal sense of things—who placed themselves into the developmental writing course even though they clearly didn’t need = it.  Often, no amount of discussion or cheering on would budge them from this = decision.  These older, returning students often figured that they hadn’t = been in school for a long time, hadn’t been stellar students when last they were = in school, and wouldn’t be able to compete with the younger, more experienced = (in the sense of having experience with regular school attendance) = students.  The whole prospect of college was both enormously attractive and deeply = frightening.  Often, their rich life experiences, and the fact that they were very = well read, made them exceptional writers.  They were willing to take risks, = very keen on mastery of basics, and full of interesting observations and ideas.  = Driven.   I never insisted that anyone leave, though I’d be very clear about = why I thought they could.  In retrospect, I think they often placed themselves = correctly, skill level notwithstanding, for the developmental course became a kind = of low-threat testing ground, for them.  One of the men who placed = himself into a developmental writing this way went on to be our top male graduate.  Several of = these students ended up following me through the whole sequence, which = consisted of three courses at that time, when our school was on a quarter = system.  Complicated and immensely rewarding students to have around.  It was not = unusual for them to haunt the office, call me at all hours—home, too!—to read = me drafts of their essays, come back with graded essays in hand (yes, it really is an A) to = check and double-check that I had marked absolutely everything.  The man = who ended up as our top grad, I should say, actually did not do well at all on his = first few essays, but he got the hang of it very quickly, indeed, and he logged = hours upon hours (all of his own accord) in the writing center, where he = formed a close working relationship with one of the tutors.  For most all of = these students, the developmental course was much more about building = confidence in their ability than in building skills.  These truly were = “college prep” classes, for them, not in the sense of “inoculation” that = some RhetComp folks see dangers in, but in the sense of mentally preparing, building = confidence, learning how to be students, and coming to accept (harder than it = sounds) that they really were very bright and capable.  It was a time for them = to figure out how to advocate for themselves, how to find support, how to take = advantage of teachers’ offers to help them find the best ways to succeed.  = Sometimes, I’d have a handful of these students, a handful of ESL students, and a = handful of students more rightly placed all in one classroom.  Probably makes the = experts groan, but these were some of the best classes ever.  I loved teaching = them.  Practically had to jump backwards, at times, just make space for the = huge leaps going on, all around.

 

Kathy

 

------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thu Oct 11 20:40:39 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Edmund Jones) Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:40:39 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Teaching Comp's Online Directed Self-Placement Module Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 006C052E85257371_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Hi, Teaching Comp listers, I wanted to add my own welcome to Chris Anson's. This month's new module, on online directed self-placement, provides (for those who want it) a detailed look at five institutions that have been using online DSP for two to five years. It also provides a quick summary of the variety of ways online DSP has been imagined, a quick assessment of the results of putting DSP online, questions for WPAs to consider, and resources to peruse. Contact information is available for the WPAs of all five schools who contributed to the site. (Some missing links to information about individual schools should be up on Monday.) Perhaps of wider interest to this listserv may be the issues that online DSP raises regarding how we use the internet to communicate with students, what the "directed" in directed self-placement can mean, and what kinds of questions are relevant in helping students make important academic choices. I very much look forward to your responses. I found Kathy Fitch's response about older, returning students fascinating, since at Seton Hall we have almost none of that type of student, yet we too have those who lack confidence despite writing reasonably well. To what extent does it make sense to place students according to their comfort level instead of their ability level? Ed --=_alternative 006C052E85257371_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Hi, Teaching Comp listers,

I wanted to add my own welcome to Chris Anson's.  This month's new module, on online directed self-placement, provides (for those who want it) a detailed look at five institutions that have been using online DSP for two to five years.  It also provides a quick summary of the variety of ways online DSP has been imagined, a quick assessment of the results of putting DSP online, questions for WPAs to consider, and resources to peruse.  Contact information is available for the WPAs of all five schools who contributed to the site.  (Some missing links to information about individual schools should be up on Monday.)

Perhaps of wider interest to this listserv may be the issues that online DSP raises regarding how we use the internet to communicate with students, what the "directed" in directed self-placement can mean, and what kinds of questions are relevant in helping students make important academic choices.

I very much look forward to your responses.  I found Kathy Fitch's response about older, returning students fascinating, since at Seton Hall we have almost none of that type of student, yet we too have those who lack confidence despite writing reasonably well.  To what extent does it make sense to place students according to their comfort level instead of their ability level?

Ed --=_alternative 006C052E85257371_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thu Oct 11 21:04:59 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Edmund Jones) Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:04:59 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Oops--here's the Teaching Comp link Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 006E3F7A85257371_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" My welcome should have included the link to the Teaching Comp site. Here it is: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/oct.html Ed --=_alternative 006E3F7A85257371_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
My welcome should have included the link to the Teaching Comp site.  Here it is:  http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/oct.html
Ed --=_alternative 006E3F7A85257371_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Fri Oct 12 14:51:15 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com) Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:51:15 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Screen shots Message-ID: Ed, Thanks for this module; it is right on time for us, as we just began discussing the possibility of using DSP (and online DSP) with our assistant deans last week. I noted as I was reading through the linked Word documents on the module that the screen shots of the different schools' DSP sites are missing. Is there a way you can provide those? They would be very helpful to us. Thanks, Elizabeth Elizabeth Wardle, PhD Assistant Professor Director of Writing Programs Internship Coordinator Department of English Humanities 277 University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 937-229-3003 ewardle@udayton.edu -----teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com wrote: ----- To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com From: Edmund Jones Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com Date: 10/11/2007 03:40PM Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Teaching Comp's Online Directed Self-Placement Module Hi, Teaching Comp listers, I wanted to add my own welcome to Chris Anson's. This month's new module, on online directed self-placement, provides (for those who want it) a detailed look at five institutions that have been using online DSP for two to five years. It also provides a quick summary of the variety of ways online DSP has been imagined, a quick assessment of the results of putting DSP online, questions for WPAs to consider, and resources to peruse. Contact information is available for the WPAs of all five schools who contributed to the site. (Some missing links to information about individual schools should be up on Monday.) Perhaps of wider interest to this listserv may be the issues that online DSP raises regarding how we use the internet to communicate with students, what the "directed" in directed self-placement can mean, and what kinds of questions are relevant in helping students make important academic choices. I very much look forward to your responses. I found Kathy Fitch's response about older, returning students fascinating, since at Seton Hall we have almost none of that type of student, yet we too have those who lack confidence despite writing reasonably well. To what extent does it make sense to place students according to their comfort level instead of their ability level? Ed From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Fri Oct 12 16:43:34 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Edmund Jones) Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:43:34 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Screen shots In-Reply-To: Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 005650F885257372_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Elizabeth (and others), McGraw-Hill has assured me that they will add the missing links so that you have access to the online DSP screen shots and other information for each of the contributing schools. I'm hoping for Monday. Ed --=_alternative 005650F885257372_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Elizabeth (and others),

McGraw-Hill has assured me that they will add the missing links so that you have access to the online DSP screen shots and other information for each of the contributing schools.  I'm hoping for Monday.

Ed --=_alternative 005650F885257372_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Fri Oct 12 18:38:26 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Susan Darrah) Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:38:26 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Composition & Literature Position Message-ID: <200710121729.l9CHTmQ5025733@storm.bucks.edu> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_008D_01C80CD5.2AF1DBC0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Position: Tenure track Instructor/Assistant Professor Discipline: Composition/Literature - To teach developmental writing, college-level composition, and a range of literature courses Required: M.A. in English, M.F.A. in Creative Writing, or M.A. in Comparative Literature, including the successful completion of at least six graduate literature courses Preferred: College teaching experience; knowledge of the applications of instructional technology; experience with community college students, developmental writing, curriculum development, advising, and assessment. Demonstrated interest in global perspectives, cultural diversity, and relevant scholarship and pedagogy, as well as participation in department activities and commitment to the institution. Please submit a cover letter, resume, copies of transcripts, and at least three references with telephone numbers and email addresses to the Director of Human Resources, Bucks County Community College, 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, PA 18940 or via email to iwanczew@bucks.edu. Applicant review will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Susan Darrah Assistant Academic Dean for Language and Literature Bucks County Community College 275 Swamp Road Newtown, Pennsylvania 18940 215-968-8152 ------=_NextPart_000_008D_01C80CD5.2AF1DBC0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Position:         &n= bsp; Tenure track Instructor/Assistant = Professor

 

Discipline:      = ;   Composition/Literature – To teach developmental writing, college-level composition, and a = range of literature courses

           = ;            =       

Required:      &= nbsp;   M.A. in English, M.F.A. in Creative Writing, or M.A. in Comparative = Literature, including the successful completion of at least six graduate literature = courses

 

Preferred:      =    College teaching experience; knowledge of the applications of instructional = technology; experience with community college students, developmental writing, = curriculum development, advising, and assessment. Demonstrated interest in global perspectives, cultural diversity, and relevant scholarship and pedagogy, = as well as participation in department activities and commitment to the institution.

 

       &nbs= p;            = ;    Please submit a cover letter, resume, copies of transcripts, and at least three references with telephone numbers and email addresses to the Director of = Human Resources, Bucks County Community = College, 275 Swamp = Rd., Newtown, PA = 18940 or via email to iwanczew@bucks.edu.

 

Applicant review will begin immediately and continue until the = position is filled.

 

 

 

Susan Darrah

Assistant Academic Dean for Language and = Literature

Bucks County Community = College

275 = Swamp Road

Newtown, Pennsylvania 18940

215-968-8152

 

------=_NextPart_000_008D_01C80CD5.2AF1DBC0-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Tue Oct 16 16:35:52 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Kathy Fitch) Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:35:52 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20071016153812.9610F7580A6@smtpauth00.csee.onr.siteprotect.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_001F_01C80FE0.56B7B4B0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I think I would have been hugely intimidated by the online DSP tools as an entering freshman. Partly, that's because of my sense that some of the more interactive tools (not just online descriptions and FAQs, but the tools that require some survey taking and writing), seem to pull me in two directions, even lo these many years later, when presumably I'd do fine in any of the courses. On the one hand, the survey questions seem to urge me to base my choice on what I know about myself as a writer, reader, and generally literate person already. So, that part seems confidence inspiring: I earned As in high school writing (the questions about knowing what to do when I'm struggling in writing, and identifying my typical grade range threw me a bit-I didn't struggle, and didn't earn B+ grades, though these are tied to the A range, and no escaping it), sailed through the language portions of college placement tests, love to read and write, etc. Yeah, me. But then (and I wasn't able to access this portion of the Seton version, so I'm just going by the feel of the disjuncture), here's this reading/writing quiz in the middle of it. And even though I'm too old, too far past being a student, and presumably too mature to react this way, my h.s. self came roaring to the surface, and cried, "Boo! A test!" Love to write, love to read, did fine with all of that throughout high school and beyond the confines of school, but I never purposely gave myself a high stakes test before! And, you know, it feels high stakes. I have to give it to myself, grade myself, and then place myself accordingly. And while I'm a fine enough writer and reader, college is a bit scary. The whole of it is utterly mysterious, and here I'm supposed to make a major decision before I even get there, based on a test I give myself, and then evaluate my performance on. I'll be the first in my family to earn a college degree. There's nobody I know to get any thoughts on this test from. My inner Bartleby prefers not to! I'm curious about what students say. Do any them-even or especially fairly good writers-react that way, too? Sail through the literacy survey, then balk at the test? Kathy ------=_NextPart_000_001F_01C80FE0.56B7B4B0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

I think I would have been hugely intimidated by the online DSP tools as an entering freshman.  = Partly, that’s because of my sense that some of the more interactive tools (not just = online descriptions and FAQs, but the tools that require some survey taking and writing), seem to pull me in two directions, even lo these many years = later, when presumably I’d do fine in any of the courses.  On the = one hand, the survey questions seem to urge me to base my choice on what I know = about myself as a writer, reader, and generally literate person already.  = So, that part seems confidence inspiring:  I earned As in high school = writing (the questions about knowing what to do when I’m struggling in writing, = and identifying my typical grade range threw me a bit—I didn’t struggle, and didn’t earn B+ grades, though these are tied to the = A range, and no escaping it), sailed through the language portions of = college placement tests, love to read and write, etc.  Yeah, me.  But = then (and I wasn’t able to access this portion of the Seton version, so = I’m just going by the feel of the disjuncture), here’s this = reading/writing quiz in the middle of it.  And even though I’m too old, too = far past being a student, and presumably too mature to react this way, my h.s. = self came roaring to the surface, and cried, “Boo!  A = test!”  Love to write, love to read, did fine with all of that throughout high school = and beyond the confines of school, but I never purposely gave myself a high = stakes test before!  And, you know, it feels high stakes.  I have to = give it to myself, grade myself, and then place myself accordingly.  And = while I’m a fine enough writer and reader, college is a bit scary.  The whole = of it is utterly mysterious, and here I’m supposed to make a major = decision before I even get there, based on a test I give myself, and then = evaluate my performance on.  I’ll be the first in my family to earn a = college degree.  There’s nobody I know to get any thoughts on this = test from.  My inner Bartleby prefers not to!  =

 

I’m curious about what = students say.  Do any them—even or especially fairly good = writers—react that way, too?  Sail through the literacy survey, then balk at the = test?

 

Kathy

------=_NextPart_000_001F_01C80FE0.56B7B4B0-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Wed Oct 17 07:04:16 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Khaled K) Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:04:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Re: Teaching_Composition digest, Vol 1 #1280 - 1 msg In-Reply-To: <200710101601.l9AG1leY018388@localhost.eppg.com> Message-ID: <782176.95747.qm@web59008.mail.re1.yahoo.com> --0-1943630682-1192601056=:95747 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit No more Email please teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com wrote: Send Teaching_Composition mailing list submissions to teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com You can reach the person managing the list at teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Teaching_Composition digest..." Today's Topics: 1. RE: NEW MODULE--AND NEW WEB SITE! (Kathy Fitch) --__--__-- Message: 1 From: "Kathy Fitch" To: Subject: RE: [Teaching_Composition] NEW MODULE--AND NEW WEB SITE! Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 19:29:58 -0500 Reply-To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was drawn to the question about students who self-place well below their skill levels. In my experience, it was generally older, returning students-women and men, but more often women than men, in my informal sense of things-who placed themselves into the developmental writing course even though they clearly didn't need it. Often, no amount of discussion or cheering on would budge them from this decision. These older, returning students often figured that they hadn't been in school for a long time, hadn't been stellar students when last they were in school, and wouldn't be able to compete with the younger, more experienced (in the sense of having experience with regular school attendance) students. The whole prospect of college was both enormously attractive and deeply frightening. Often, their rich life experiences, and the fact that they were very well read, made them exceptional writers. They were willing to take risks, very keen on mastery of basics, and full of interesting observations and ideas. Driven. I never insisted that anyone leave, though I'd be very clear about why I thought they could. In retrospect, I think they often placed themselves correctly, skill level notwithstanding, for the developmental course became a kind of low-threat testing ground, for them. One of the men who placed himself into a developmental writing this way went on to be our top male graduate. Several of these students ended up following me through the whole sequence, which consisted of three courses at that time, when our school was on a quarter system. Complicated and immensely rewarding students to have around. It was not unusual for them to haunt the office, call me at all hours-home, too!-to read me drafts of their essays, come back with graded essays in hand (yes, it really is an A) to check and double-check that I had marked absolutely everything. The man who ended up as our top grad, I should say, actually did not do well at all on his first few essays, but he got the hang of it very quickly, indeed, and he logged hours upon hours (all of his own accord) in the writing center, where he formed a close working relationship with one of the tutors. For most all of these students, the developmental course was much more about building confidence in their ability than in building skills. These truly were "college prep" classes, for them, not in the sense of "inoculation" that some RhetComp folks see dangers in, but in the sense of mentally preparing, building confidence, learning how to be students, and coming to accept (harder than it sounds) that they really were very bright and capable. It was a time for them to figure out how to advocate for themselves, how to find support, how to take advantage of teachers' offers to help them find the best ways to succeed. Sometimes, I'd have a handful of these students, a handful of ESL students, and a handful of students more rightly placed all in one classroom. Probably makes the experts groan, but these were some of the best classes ever. I loved teaching them. Practically had to jump backwards, at times, just make space for the huge leaps going on, all around. Kathy ------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" = xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> charset=3Dus-ascii"> /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} span.EmailStyle18 {mso-style-type:personal-reply; font-family:Arial; color:navy;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> break-word;-khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space'> style=3D'font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I was drawn to the question about = students who self-place well below their skill levels. In my experience, it = was generally older, returning students—women and men, but more often = women than men, in my informal sense of things—who placed themselves into the developmental writing course even though they clearly didn’t need = it. Often, no amount of discussion or cheering on would budge them from this = decision. These older, returning students often figured that they hadn’t = been in school for a long time, hadn’t been stellar students when last they were = in school, and wouldn’t be able to compete with the younger, more experienced = (in the sense of having experience with regular school attendance) = students. The whole prospect of college was both enormously attractive and deeply = frightening. Often, their rich life experiences, and the fact that they were very = well read, made them exceptional writers. They were willing to take risks, = very keen on mastery of basics, and full of interesting observations and ideas. = Driven. I never insisted that anyone leave, though I’d be very clear about = why I thought they could. In retrospect, I think they often placed themselves = correctly, skill level notwithstanding, for the developmental course became a kind = of low-threat testing ground, for them. One of the men who placed = himself into a developmental writing this way went on to be our top male graduate. Several of = these students ended up following me through the whole sequence, which = consisted of three courses at that time, when our school was on a quarter = system. Complicated and immensely rewarding students to have around. It was not = unusual for them to haunt the office, call me at all hours—home, too!—to read = me drafts of their essays, come back with graded essays in hand (yes, it really is an A) to = check and double-check that I had marked absolutely everything. The man = who ended up as our top grad, I should say, actually did not do well at all on his = first few essays, but he got the hang of it very quickly, indeed, and he logged = hours upon hours (all of his own accord) in the writing center, where he = formed a close working relationship with one of the tutors. For most all of = these students, the developmental course was much more about building = confidence in their ability than in building skills. These truly were = “college prep” classes, for them, not in the sense of “inoculation” that = some RhetComp folks see dangers in, but in the sense of mentally preparing, building = confidence, learning how to be students, and coming to accept (harder than it = sounds) that they really were very bright and capable. It was a time for them = to figure out how to advocate for themselves, how to find support, how to take = advantage of teachers’ offers to help them find the best ways to succeed. = Sometimes, I’d have a handful of these students, a handful of ESL students, and a = handful of students more rightly placed all in one classroom. Probably makes the = experts groan, but these were some of the best classes ever. I loved teaching = them. Practically had to jump backwards, at times, just make space for the = huge leaps going on, all around. style=3D'font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> style=3D'font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Kathy style=3D'font-size: 12.0pt'> ------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880-- --__--__-- _______________________________________________ Teaching_Composition maillist - Teaching_Composition@mailman.eppg.com http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition End of Teaching_Composition Digest __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com --0-1943630682-1192601056=:95747 Content-Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit No more Email please

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1. RE: NEW MODULE--AND NEW WEB SITE! (Kathy Fitch)

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Message: 1
From: "Kathy Fitch"
To:
Subject: RE: [Teaching_Composition] NEW MODULE--AND NEW WEB SITE!
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 19:29:58 -0500
Reply-To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

I was drawn to the question about students who self-place well below their
skill levels. In my experience, it was generally older, returning
students-women and men, but more often women than men, in my informal sense
of things-who placed themselves into the developmental writing course even
though they clearly didn't need it. Often, no amount of discussion or
cheering on would budge them from this decision. These older, returning
students often figured that they hadn't been in school for a long time,
hadn't been stellar students when last they were in school, and wouldn't be
able to compete with the younger, more experienced (in the sense of having
experience with regular school attendance) students. The whole prospect of
college was both enormously attractive and deeply frightening. Often, their
rich life experiences, and the fact that they were very well read, made them
exceptional writers. They were willing to take risks, very keen on mastery
of basics, and full of interesting observations and ideas. Driven. I
never insisted that anyone leave, though I'd be very clear about why I
thought they could. In retrospect, I think they often placed themselves
correctly, skill level notwithstanding, for the developmental course became
a kind of low-threat testing ground, for them. One of the men who placed
himself into a developmental writing this way went on to be our top male
graduate. Several of these students ended up following me through the whole
sequence, which consisted of three courses at that time, when our school was
on a quarter system. Complicated and immensely rewarding students to have
around. It was not unusual for them to haunt the office, call me at all
hours-home, too!-to read me drafts of their essays, come back with graded
essays in hand (yes, it really is an A) to check and double-check that I had
marked absolutely everything. The man who ended up as our top grad, I
should say, actually did not do well at all on his first few essays, but he
got the hang of it very quickly, indeed, and he logged hours upon hours (all
of his own accord) in the writing center, where he formed a close working
relationship with one of the tutors. For most all of these students, the
developmental course was much more about building confidence in their
ability than in building skills. These truly were "college prep" classes,
for them, not in the sense of "inoculation" that some RhetComp folks see
dangers in, but in the sense of mentally preparing, building confidence,
learning how to be students, and coming to accept (harder than it sounds)
that they really were very bright and capable. It was a time for them to
figure out how to advocate for themselves, how to find support, how to take
advantage of teachers' offers to help them find the best ways to succeed.
Sometimes, I'd have a handful of these students, a handful of ESL students,
and a handful of students more rightly placed all in one classroom.
Probably makes the experts groan, but these were some of the best classes
ever. I loved teaching them. Practically had to jump backwards, at times,
just make space for the huge leaps going on, all around.



Kathy




------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" =
xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">


charset=3Dus-ascii">





break-word;-khtml-nbsp-mode: space;
-khtml-line-break: after-white-space'>





style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I was drawn to the question about =
students
who self-place well below their skill levels.  In my experience, it =
was
generally older, returning students—women and men, but more often =
women than
men, in my informal sense of things—who placed themselves into the
developmental writing course even though they clearly didn’t need =
it.  Often,
no amount of discussion or cheering on would budge them from this =
decision. 
These older, returning students often figured that they hadn’t =
been in school
for a long time, hadn’t been stellar students when last they were =
in school,
and wouldn’t be able to compete with the younger, more experienced =
(in the
sense of having experience with regular school attendance) =
students.  The whole
prospect of college was both enormously attractive and deeply =
frightening. 
Often, their rich life experiences, and the fact that they were very =
well read,
made them exceptional writers.  They were willing to take risks, =
very keen on
mastery of basics, and full of interesting observations and ideas.  =
Driven.   I
never insisted that anyone leave, though I’d be very clear about =
why I thought
they could.  In retrospect, I think they often placed themselves =
correctly,
skill level notwithstanding, for the developmental course became a kind =
of
low-threat testing ground, for them.  One of the men who placed =
himself into a developmental
writing this way went on to be our top male graduate.  Several of =
these
students ended up following me through the whole sequence, which =
consisted of
three courses at that time, when our school was on a quarter =
system.  Complicated
and immensely rewarding students to have around.  It was not =
unusual for them
to haunt the office, call me at all hours—home, too!—to read =
me drafts of their
essays, come back with graded essays in hand (yes, it really is an A) to =
check
and double-check that I had marked absolutely everything.  The man =
who ended up
as our top grad, I should say, actually did not do well at all on his =
first few
essays, but he got the hang of it very quickly, indeed, and he logged =
hours
upon hours (all of his own accord) in the writing center, where he =
formed a
close working relationship with one of the tutors.  For most all of =
these
students, the developmental course was much more about building =
confidence in
their ability than in building skills.  These truly were =
“college prep”
classes, for them, not in the sense of “inoculation” that =
some RhetComp folks
see dangers in, but in the sense of mentally preparing, building =
confidence,
learning how to be students, and coming to accept (harder than it =
sounds) that
they really were very bright and capable.  It was a time for them =
to figure out
how to advocate for themselves, how to find support, how to take =
advantage of
teachers’ offers to help them find the best ways to succeed.  =
Sometimes, I’d
have a handful of these students, a handful of ESL students, and a =
handful of students
more rightly placed all in one classroom.  Probably makes the =
experts groan,
but these were some of the best classes ever.  I loved teaching =
them. 
Practically had to jump backwards, at times, just make space for the =
huge leaps
going on, all around.


style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> 


style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Kathy




style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'> 








------=_NextPart_000_003E_01C80AAA.C81D9880--




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http://mail.yahoo.com --0-1943630682-1192601056=:95747-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thu Oct 18 02:58:04 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Edmund Jones) Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:58:04 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Kathy's tour of an online DSP site In-Reply-To: <20071016153812.9610F7580A6@smtpauth00.csee.onr.siteprotect.com> Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 000ABD9185257378_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 RGVhciBLYXRoeSwNCg0KSSBlbmpveWVkIHJlYWRpbmcgeW91ciB0cmF2ZWwgam91cm5hbCBhcyB5 b3UgdG9vayBhbiBvZmYtc2Vhc29uIHRvdXIgb2YgDQp0aGUgdmlydHVhbCBEU1Agc2l0ZSBhdCBT ZXRvbiBIYWxsLiAgKFRoZSBnbGl0Y2ggeW91IGVuY291bnRlcmVkIGhhcyBiZWVuIA0KZml4ZWQs IGJ5IHRoZSB3YXkuKSANCg0KSXQgd2FzIGZhc2NpbmF0ZWQgdG8gaGVhciB5b3VyIHJlYWN0aW9u cywgYW5kIHN1cnByaXNpbmcuICBJIGhhdmVuJ3QgDQplbmNvdW50ZXJlZCBhbnkgcmVzcG9uc2Ug bGlrZSB5b3VycywgdGhvdWdoIHRoYXQgZG9lc24ndCBtZWFuIHRoZXJlIA0Kd2VyZW4ndCBhbnku 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(Kathy Fitch) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:43:42 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Kathy's tour of an online DSP site In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20071018131711.1F5191C8080@smtpauth01.csee.onr.siteprotect.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_008D_01C81162.FD69B690 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks, Ed-you're very generous. Well, at 18 (actually, I was still seventeen when making these decisions), I probably would also have placed myself in the standard issue College English I with this system, and I'm sure that would have worked out fine, but I wonder if maybe the intensive version would have been a good fit, too. I don't know. I don't think I'd have called anyone, no. My h.s. graduating class had a grand total of about 45 students in it, and this was a public school. Heading into college, I was not exactly the worldliest person ever, and can pretty safely say I would have just placed myself in the normal course without talking to anyone-especially if I had to initiate the talk. But, I'd likely have been pretty motivated to avoid getting any call that the English placement folks initiated, too. So, even though I'd balk, I'd end up having to do the best I possibly could on the self test, and would have fully identified it as an "other" test of the standard-issue variety. We didn't have these online tools then, but I'm sure I would have been smart enough to figure out that the self test would enter the system and get at least the once over by someone looking to find the really poor ones. That's a call that would likely have seemed potentially humiliating. So, I suppose the bottom line is that I wouldn't have believed in the "self" portion of this at all The test would trump the literacy survey. Add to that all of our teachers' warnings about how GPAs tend to drop a whole point in the shift from college to h.s. (I believed them!), and I'd never have had the temerity to self-place in the more intensive course (even though the ink was barely dry on my h.s. English award, which would have seemed a little piddling nothing in the face of a placement test that wants to know how I handle writing struggles, and then asks me to demonstrate that). Teacher side. Yeah, we often don't have much to go on, and that's frustrating, but I've generally been in a setting where there's some wiggle room, so that students can be directed to courses that are a better fit if you discover, early on, that they're either struggling or ready for something more. On the other hand, sometimes even then, students choose to stay put. First year of college is such an overwhelming time, isn't it? I think it's easy to forget that. So, I suggested and encouraged, but never pressed. The students who were so intimidated by college that they chose to stay in developmental courses despite clearly having the skill to place higher were welcome to stay and build their confidence, and the ones who might have been better placed in the developmental or ESL course but were determined to give the standard issue 101 a whirl were welcome, too. Some students were yearning for the honors course and thrilled when I suggested that; others figured it sounded like way too much work to be an "honors" anything, though the lure of the tuition break could sometimes sway them. The smaller cohort of honors students (almost a cluster-a little society within the larger one) was about equally attractive and repellent, I think. As both student and teacher, I've seen that for quite a few students, one of the main benefits of FYC is that the class size tends to be relatively small. Here's a place where the teacher knows your name, knows you by sight, and could often identify your writing even if it didn't have your name on it. This is a class in which students are likely to make a friend or two. They tend to remember their teachers, too, long after the experience is over. I can still name my FYC teachers. At the time, I didn't even know they were grad students. Couldn't tell you who taught the mass classes, though. We often discuss and debate the place of FYC as a core course. It's easy to forget that it's often a social anchor in this new academic world, as well (the social part of the academic life, I mean, which is key thing)-one of the first places to become a college student in a smaller setting with a teacher who treats you like the real college student you maybe aren't quite, yet. I expect the situation I described earlier-a broad range of ability levels in one course-is pretty common. Because of the relatively small setting, that can be less problematic than it sometimes is in a larger course. (Back to 17/18 year old self. I attended the math course my test scores placed me into precisely once. I could see right away that in that large course I was not only lost, but likely to remain so, and immediately opted for the more basic version. Still big, but survivable.) The thorniest issue in placement for us-and we worked hard on making this better-was really that not all sections of any given course in the sequence were created equal. They could, in fact, be wildly dissimilar. A good placement could be undone by that, and a "bad" one could be alleviated. So, a big issue in placement for teacher me remains the focus on what, exactly, we're placing students into: are we clear on what English I will, essentially, be, no matter the section? And are we ensuring that our materials-including course schedule books-actually make it as easy as possible for students to see what they're getting into? Even something as simple as a highly tech enhanced vs. a more traditional approach can make a huge difference. Making the range of possibilities clear is definitely a key aspect of making any self-placement effort a success. Thank you very much for providing the opportunity to explore this, Ed. Very engaging and thought provoking, all around. Maybe all teachers should have a go at approaching their schools' Online DSP instruments in student mode. Kathy _____ From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Edmund Jones Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 8:58 PM To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Kathy's tour of an online DSP site Dear Kathy, I enjoyed reading your travel journal as you took an off-season tour of the virtual DSP site at Seton Hall. (The glitch you encountered has been fixed, by the way.) It was fascinated to hear your reactions, and surprising. I haven't encountered any response like yours, though that doesn't mean there weren't any. I figured that if you (the high school senior) understood the placement survey as a SELF-placement instrument you would not have been thrown by the "test." After all, you still got to be in charge, instead of being told where you belonged. However, I then realized you felt intimidated by having to make such a big decision--who am I to make such a decision! However, shouldn't we, as faculty, feel similarly intimidated about placing someone we don't know except through a single test? Yes, you're making a decision based upon knowing relatively little about the school you will be attending in the fall (continuing with the fiction here), but in the traditional placement system the faculty have to make a decision knowing relatively little about YOU. I actually find that, in general, students are quite confident about placing themselves in College English I instead of the intensive version of the course. Also, students overwhelmingly reported being glad that they got to make the choice. Nevertheless, I found your reading persuasive, and it makes me want at least to change some of the language on our site. Tell me, did offers at our DSP site of people to talk to for advice not seem very enticing? I can imagine you'd be thinking--what would I want to talk to a stranger for? However, I found that students whom we contacted because we had doubts about their self-placement often seemed grateful to be able to talk things through, or, if not grateful, at least engaged in their attempt to figure out what made sense to them. Ed "Kathy Fitch" Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com 10/16/2007 12:09 PM Please respond to teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com To cc Subject RE: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP I think I would have been hugely intimidated by the online DSP tools as an entering freshman. Partly, that's because of my sense that some of the more interactive tools (not just online descriptions and FAQs, but the tools that require some survey taking and writing), seem to pull me in two directions, even lo these many years later, when presumably I'd do fine in any of the courses. On the one hand, the survey questions seem to urge me to base my choice on what I know about myself as a writer, reader, and generally literate person already. So, that part seems confidence inspiring: I earned As in high school writing (the questions about knowing what to do when I'm struggling in writing, and identifying my typical grade range threw me a bit-I didn't struggle, and didn't earn B+ grades, though these are tied to the A range, and no escaping it), sailed through the language portions of college placement tests, love to read and write, etc. Yeah, me. But then (and I wasn't able to access this portion of the Seton version, so I'm just going by the feel of the disjuncture), here's this reading/writing quiz in the middle of it. And even though I'm too old, too far past being a student, and presumably too mature to react this way, my h.s. self came roaring to the surface, and cried, "Boo! A test!" Love to write, love to read, did fine with all of that throughout high school and beyond the confines of school, but I never purposely gave myself a high stakes test before! And, you know, it feels high stakes. I have to give it to myself, grade myself, and then place myself accordingly. And while I'm a fine enough writer and reader, college is a bit scary. The whole of it is utterly mysterious, and here I'm supposed to make a major decision before I even get there, based on a test I give myself, and then evaluate my performance on. I'll be the first in my family to earn a college degree. There's nobody I know to get any thoughts on this test from. My inner Bartleby prefers not to! I'm curious about what students say. Do any them-even or especially fairly good writers-react that way, too? Sail through the literacy survey, then balk at the test? Kathy ------=_NextPart_000_008D_01C81162.FD69B690 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Thanks, Ed—you’re very generous.  Well, at 18 (actually, I was still seventeen when making = these decisions), I probably would also have placed myself in the standard = issue College English I with this system, and I’m sure that would have = worked out fine, but I wonder if maybe the intensive version would have been a = good fit, too.  I don’t know.  I don’t think I’d = have called anyone, no.  My h.s. graduating class had a grand total of = about 45 students in it, and this was a public school.  Heading into = college, I was not exactly the worldliest person ever, and can pretty safely say I = would have just placed myself in the normal course without talking to = anyone—especially if I had to initiate the talk.  But, I’d likely have been = pretty motivated to avoid getting any call that the English placement folks initiated, = too.   So, even though I’d balk, I’d end up having to do the best I = possibly could on the self test, and would have fully identified it as an = “other” test of the standard-issue variety.  We didn’t have these = online tools then, but I’m sure I would have been smart enough to figure = out that the self test would enter the system and get at least the once over = by someone looking to find the really poor ones.  That’s a call = that would likely have seemed potentially humiliating.  So, I suppose = the bottom line is that I wouldn’t have believed in the = “self” portion of this at all  The test would trump the literacy = survey.  Add to that all of our teachers’ warnings about how GPAs tend to drop = a whole point in the shift from college to h.s. (I believed them!), and = I’d never have had the temerity to self-place in the more intensive course (even = though the ink was barely dry on my h.s. English award, which would have seemed = a little piddling nothing in the face of a placement test that wants to = know how I handle writing struggles, and then asks me to demonstrate = that).

 

Teacher side.  Yeah, we often = don’t have much to go on, and that’s frustrating, but I’ve = generally been in a setting where there’s some wiggle room, so that students can = be directed to courses that are a better fit if you discover, early on, = that they’re either struggling or ready for something more.  On the other hand, sometimes even then, students choose to stay put.  First year of = college is such an overwhelming time, isn’t it?  I think it’s = easy to forget that.  So, I suggested and encouraged, but never = pressed.  The students who were so intimidated by college that they chose to stay in developmental courses despite clearly having the skill to place higher = were welcome to stay and build their confidence, and the ones who might have = been better placed in the developmental or ESL course but were determined to = give the standard issue 101 a whirl were welcome, too.  Some students = were yearning for the honors course and thrilled when I suggested that; = others figured it sounded like way too much work to be an “honors” anything, though the lure of the tuition break could sometimes sway = them.  The smaller cohort of honors students (almost a cluster—a little = society within the larger one) was about equally attractive and repellent, I = think.

 

As both student and teacher, = I’ve seen that for quite a few students, one of the main benefits of FYC is = that the class size tends to be relatively small.  Here’s a place = where the teacher knows your name, knows you by sight, and could often identify = your writing even if it didn’t have your name on it.  This is a = class in which students are likely to make a friend or two.  They tend to = remember their teachers, too, long after the experience is over.  I can = still name my FYC teachers.  At the time, I didn’t even know they were = grad students.  Couldn’t tell you who taught the mass classes, though.  We often discuss and debate the place of FYC as a core course.  It’s easy to forget that it’s often a social = anchor in this new academic world, as well (the social part of the academic = life, I mean, which is key thing)—one of the first places to become a = college student in a smaller setting with a teacher who treats you like the real college student you maybe aren’t quite, yet.  I expect the = situation I described earlier—a broad range of ability levels in one = course—is pretty common. Because of the relatively small setting, that can be less problematic than it sometimes is in a larger course.  (Back to = 17/18 year old self.  I attended the math course my test scores placed me into precisely once.  I could see right away that in that large course I = was not only lost, but likely to remain so, and immediately opted for the = more basic version. Still big, but survivable.)  The thorniest issue in placement for us—and we worked hard on making this = better—was really that not all sections of any given course in the sequence were created equal.  They could, in fact, be wildly dissimilar.  A good = placement could be undone by that, and a “bad” one could be = alleviated.  So, a big issue in placement for teacher me remains the focus on what, = exactly, we’re placing students into:  are we clear on what English I = will, essentially, be, no matter the section?  And are we ensuring that = our materials—including course schedule books—actually make it = as easy as possible for students to see what they’re getting into?  = Even something as simple as a highly tech enhanced vs. a more traditional = approach can make a huge difference.  Making the range of possibilities = clear is definitely a key aspect of making any self-placement effort a = success.

 

Thank you very much for providing = the opportunity to explore this, Ed.  Very engaging and thought = provoking, all around. Maybe all teachers should have a go at approaching their = schools’ Online DSP instruments in student mode.

 

Kathy

 


From: = teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Edmund Jones
Sent: Wednesday, October = 17, 2007 8:58 PM
To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Subject: = [Teaching_Composition] Kathy's tour of an online DSP site

 


Dear Kathy,

I enjoyed reading your travel journal as you took an off-season tour of = the virtual DSP site at Seton Hall.  (The glitch you encountered has = been fixed, by the way.)  

It was fascinated to hear your reactions, and surprising.  I haven't encountered any response like yours, though that doesn't mean there = weren't any.  I figured that if you (the high school senior) understood the placement survey as a SELF-placement instrument you would not have been = thrown by the "test."  After all, you still got to be in charge, instead of being told where you belonged.  However, I then realized = you felt intimidated by having to make such a big decision--who am I to make = such a decision!  However, shouldn't we, as faculty, feel similarly = intimidated about placing someone we don't know except through a single test? =  Yes, you're making a decision based upon knowing relatively little about the = school you will be attending in the fall (continuing with the fiction here), = but in the traditional placement system the faculty have to make a decision = knowing relatively little about YOU.  I actually find that, in general, = students are quite confident about placing themselves in College English I = instead of the intensive version of the course.  Also, students overwhelmingly reported being glad that they got to make the choice. =  Nevertheless, I found your reading persuasive, and it makes me want at least to change = some of the language on our site.  Tell me, did offers at our DSP site of = people to talk to for advice not seem very enticing?  I can imagine you'd = be thinking--what would I want to talk to a stranger for?  However, I = found that students whom we contacted because we had doubts about their self-placement often seemed grateful to be able to talk things through, = or, if not grateful, at least engaged in their attempt to figure out what made = sense to them.

Ed

"Kathy Fitch" <kfitch@kafkaz.net>
Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com =

10/16/2007 12:09 PM

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I think I would have been hugely = intimidated by the online DSP tools as an entering freshman.  Partly, that’s because of my sense that some of the more interactive tools (not just = online descriptions and FAQs, but the tools that require some survey taking and writing), seem to pull me in two directions, even lo these many years = later, when presumably I’d do fine in any of the courses.  On the = one hand, the survey questions seem to urge me to base my choice on what I know = about myself as a writer, reader, and generally literate person already.  = So, that part seems confidence inspiring:  I earned As in high school = writing (the questions about knowing what to do when I’m struggling in = writing, and identifying my typical grade range threw me a bit—I = didn’t struggle, and didn’t earn B+ grades, though these are tied to the = A range, and no escaping it), sailed through the language portions of = college placement tests, love to read and write, etc.  Yeah, me.  But = then (and I wasn’t able to access this portion of the Seton version, so I’m just going by the feel of the disjuncture), here’s this reading/writing quiz in the middle of it.  And even though = I’m too old, too far past being a student, and presumably too mature to react = this way, my h.s. self came roaring to the surface, and cried, “Boo!  A test!”  Love to write, love to read, did fine with all of = that throughout high school and beyond the confines of school, but I never = purposely gave myself a high stakes test before!  And, you know, it feels = high stakes.  I have to give it to myself, grade myself, and then place = myself accordingly.  And while I’m a fine enough writer and reader, = college is a bit scary.  The whole of it is utterly mysterious, and here = I’m supposed to make a major decision before I even get there, based on a = test I give myself, and then evaluate my performance on.  I’ll be = the first in my family to earn a college degree.  There’s nobody I know = to get any thoughts on this test from.  My inner Bartleby prefers not = to! 

 

I’m curious about what students say.  Do = any them—even or especially fairly good writers—react that way, too?  Sail through the literacy survey, then balk at the = test?

 

Kathy

------=_NextPart_000_008D_01C81162.FD69B690-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Mon Oct 22 12:31:00 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Glenn Blalock) Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:31:00 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Launch: The Research Exchange Message-ID: <000001c8149f$074272d0$6501a8c0@GlennBlalock> Writing teachers and scholars have been making their need for more resources well known. Many of us feel the need for increased and improved ways to aggregate data; share project questions and designs; and exchange general information and insights. Our answer is the Research Exchange, an online resource for writing studies. At the heart of the Exchange is a database where researchers can record and share their work by filling out a short, revisable, and updatable form. No project is too new or too small to be included, and we encourage everyone from students to writing program administrators to report on both published and unpublished work. A cumulative, community-driven resource, the Research Exchange depends on you and your participation for its success. With that in mind, please take a few moments to visit the site , create an account if you don't already have one , and share your research. The Research Exchange is not affiliated with an institution or organization. However, the WAC Clearinghouse and CompPile have supported this project from its beginnings, with special thanks to the Clearinghouse for the server space and for adding the Research Exchange to the WAC Clearinghouse front page . We also welcome your feedback: The Exchange is a work in progress, and we're eager to know how it can be improved. The Research Exchange Editors: Glenn Blalock, Baylor University (glennblalock.phd@gmail.com) Jenn Fishman, University of Tennessee (jennfishman.phd@gmail.com) Doug Hesse, University of Denver (dhesse@du.edu) Joan Mullin, University of Texas (jmullin@mail.utexas.edu) Mike Palmquist, Colorado State University (Mike.Palmquist@ColoState.edu) Stephen Wilhoit , University of Dayton (wilhoit@notes.udayton.edu) From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Mon Oct 22 16:20:57 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Kemp, Fred) Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:20:57 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Launch: The Research Exchange In-Reply-To: <000001c8149f$074272d0$6501a8c0@GlennBlalock> Message-ID: This effort is actually very similar to what we tried to do with the ACW pages in 1994. The tools are much improved, of course. There has always been a need for this sort of thing, and maybe this time it will really work. Seems like a truly valuable effort. Fred Kemp TTU On 10/22/07 6:31 AM, "Glenn Blalock" wrote: > Writing teachers and scholars have been making their need for more resources > well known. Many of us feel the need for increased and improved ways to > aggregate data; share project questions and designs; and exchange general > information and insights. > > Our answer is the Research Exchange, an online resource for writing studies. > > > At the heart of the Exchange is a database where researchers can record and > share their work by filling out a short, revisable, and updatable form. > > No project is too new or too small to be included, and we encourage everyone > from students to writing program administrators to report on both published > and unpublished work. > > A cumulative, community-driven resource, the Research Exchange depends on > you and your participation for its success. With that in mind, please take a > few moments to visit the site , create > an account if you don't already have one > , and share your research. > > The Research Exchange is not affiliated with an institution or organization. > However, the WAC Clearinghouse and CompPile have supported this project from > its beginnings, with special thanks to the Clearinghouse for the server > space and for adding the Research Exchange to the WAC Clearinghouse front > page . > > We also welcome your feedback: The Exchange is a work in progress, and we're > eager to know how it can be improved. > > The Research Exchange Editors: > > Glenn Blalock, Baylor University (glennblalock.phd@gmail.com) > Jenn Fishman, University of Tennessee (jennfishman.phd@gmail.com) > Doug Hesse, University of Denver (dhesse@du.edu) > Joan Mullin, University of Texas (jmullin@mail.utexas.edu) > Mike Palmquist, Colorado State University (Mike.Palmquist@ColoState.edu) > Stephen Wilhoit , University of Dayton (wilhoit@notes.udayton.edu) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Teaching_Composition maillist - Teaching_Composition@mailman.eppg.com > http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition > > To unsubscribe, please visit > http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition and update your > information. From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Thu Oct 25 21:13:13 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Edmund Jones) Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:13:13 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP as an instance of cross-cultural communication In-Reply-To: <20071018131711.1F5191C8080@smtpauth01.csee.onr.siteprotect.com> Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 006F01358525737F_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement or online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to engage in cross-cultural communication. In the old days, we eliminated cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing test and scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score. We made judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed like universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that our students would have to live up to. Whether the STUDENTS understood the standards was irrelevant. That part of the education was something left to the writing instructor. With DSP, the general assumption has shifted some, so that students have to compare their writing experiences and characteristics with others'--with those of students who have fit well in ENGL 101 or with a course for less prepared students. Thus they are asked to consider their SAT score, the number of essays the have written in high school, how they ranked in high school, how much they read outside of class. These questions still seem relatively objective; that is, they seem to provide a reasonable basis of comparison. However, some schools are realizing that incoming students may need to educate themselves about the standards at the college they have chosen. What is a B in one high school may be different from a B in another high school, and different from a B in college. The criteria against which a two-page paper is evaluated in one high school may be different from the criteria in another high school or in college. Along still different lines, students may interpret "College English Intensive" or "Basic Writing" or "not for credit" in different ways. My question is, how far can we really go in educating our students about the choices they will be making? To what extent does putting DSP online further complicate the problems of communicating potentially different values or beliefs about writing, standards, and education? To what extent can education be an ongoing process during the first semester or year so that students can make increasingly educated choices about where they belong? Ed Jones --=_alternative 006F01358525737F_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement or online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to engage in cross-cultural communication.  In the old days, we eliminated cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing test and scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score.  We made judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed like universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that our students would have to live up to.  Whether the STUDENTS understood the standards was irrelevant.  That part of the education was something left to the writing instructor.

With DSP, the general assumption has shifted some, so that students have to compare their writing experiences and characteristics with others'--with those of students who have fit well in ENGL 101 or with a course for less prepared students.   Thus they are asked to consider their SAT score, the number of essays the have written in high school, how they ranked in high school, how much they read outside of class.  These questions still seem relatively objective; that is, they seem to provide a reasonable basis of comparison.  However, some schools are realizing that incoming students may need to educate themselves about the standards at the college they have chosen.  What is a B in one high school may be different from a B in another high school, and different from a B in college.  The criteria against which a two-page paper is evaluated in one high school may be different from the criteria in another high school or in college.  Along still different lines, students may interpret "College English Intensive" or "Basic Writing" or "not for credit" in different ways.  

My question is, how far can we really go in educating our students about the choices they will be making?  To what extent does putting DSP online further complicate the problems of communicating potentially different values or beliefs about writing, standards, and education?  To what extent can education be an ongoing process during the first semester or year so that students can make increasingly educated choices about where they belong?

Ed Jones
--=_alternative 006F01358525737F_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Fri Oct 26 00:31:14 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Daniel Royer) Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:31:14 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP as an instance of cross-cultural communication In-Reply-To: References: <20071018131711.1F5191C8080@smtpauth01.csee.onr.siteprotect.com> Message-ID: <4720EF89.CB28.0085.1@gvsu.edu> --=__Part7B5D1052.0__= Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Yes, those are all good question, Ed. I like how you contextualize this in = terms of communication. Of course that makes it rhetorical as well. But = the online issue does complicate it or make it more difficult. We were = recently doing some program assessment and we happened to be writing some = one-paragraph descriptions of A, B, C, and D papers (judgments agreed = about by our local group). Anyway, along the way teachers felt strongly = that our short impressionistic descriptions would be very interesting to = students. I don't know if students would take the time to investigate = online, but with student papers and these teacher-response protocols = paired up, I can see how this would help students to better understand the = local standards they were needing to adapt to. What do you think?=20 =20 Dan Royer GVSU >>> On 10/25/2007 at 4:13 PM, in message , Edmund Jones wrote: As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement or = online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to = engage in cross-cultural communication. In the old days, we eliminated = cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing test and = scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score. We made = judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed like = universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that our = students would have to live up to. Whether the STUDENTS understood the = standards was irrelevant. That part of the education was something left = to the writing instructor.=20 With DSP, the general assumption has shifted some, so that students have = to compare their writing experiences and characteristics with others'--with= those of students who have fit well in ENGL 101 or with a course for less = prepared students. Thus they are asked to consider their SAT score, the = number of essays the have written in high school, how they ranked in high = school, how much they read outside of class. These questions still seem = relatively objective; that is, they seem to provide a reasonable basis of = comparison. However, some schools are realizing that incoming students = may need to educate themselves about the standards at the college they = have chosen. What is a B in one high school may be different from a B in = another high school, and different from a B in college. The criteria = against which a two-page paper is evaluated in one high school may be = different from the criteria in another high school or in college. Along = still different lines, students may interpret "College English Intensive" = or "Basic Writing" or "not for credit" in different ways. =20 My question is, how far can we really go in educating our students about = the choices they will be making? To what extent does putting DSP online = further complicate the problems of communicating potentially different = values or beliefs about writing, standards, and education? To what extent = can education be an ongoing process during the first semester or year so = that students can make increasingly educated choices about where they = belong?=20 Ed Jones=20 --=__Part7B5D1052.0__= Content-Type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Description: HTML
Yes, those are all good question, Ed. I like how you contextualize = this in terms of communication. Of course that makes it rhetorical as = well. But the online issue does complicate it or make it more difficult. = We were recently doing some program assessment and we happened to be = writing some one-paragraph descriptions of A, B, C, and D papers (judgments= agreed about by our local group). Anyway, along the way teachers felt = strongly that our short impressionistic descriptions would be very = interesting to students. I don't know if students would take the time to = investigate online, but with student papers and these teacher-response = protocols paired up, I can see how this would help students to better = understand the local standards they were needing to adapt to. What do you = think?
 
Dan Royer
GVSU

>>> On 10/25/2007 at 4:13 PM, in message = <OFCF772D66.42C390A5-ON8525737F.006C4BA0-8525737F.006F0137@shu.edu>, = Edmund Jones <jonesedm@shu.edu> wrote:

As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement= or online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to = engage in cross-cultural communication.  In the old days, we = eliminated cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing = test and scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score. =  We made judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed = like universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that = our students would have to live up to.  Whether the STUDENTS = understood the standards was irrelevant.  That part of the education = was something left to the writing instructor.

With DSP, the general assumption has shifted = some, so that students have to compare their writing experiences and = characteristics with others'--with those of students who have fit well in = ENGL 101 or with a course for less prepared students.   Thus they are = asked to consider their SAT score, the number of essays the have written = in high school, how they ranked in high school, how much they read outside = of class.  These questions still seem relatively objective; that is, = they seem to provide a reasonable basis of comparison.  However, some = schools are realizing that incoming students may need to educate themselves= about the standards at the college they have chosen.  What is a B in = one high school may be different from a B in another high school, and = different from a B in college.  The criteria against which a two-page = paper is evaluated in one high school may be different from the criteria = in another high school or in college.  Along still different lines, = students may interpret "College English Intensive" or "Basic Writing" or = "not for credit" in different ways.  

My question is, how far can we really go in educating our = students about the choices they will be making?  To what extent does = putting DSP online further complicate the problems of communicating = potentially different values or beliefs about writing, standards, and = education?  To what extent can education be an ongoing process during = the first semester or year so that students can make increasingly educated = choices about where they belong?

Ed Jones
--=__Part7B5D1052.0__=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Sun Oct 28 00:40:02 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Edmund Jones) Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:40:02 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Directed self-placement as a rhetorical act In-Reply-To: <4720EF89.CB28.0085.1@gvsu.edu> Message-ID: This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 0081F0D185257381_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Dan, We have tried a related system of presenting graded college writing via the online DSP system at Seton Hall University to give incoming freshmen as sense of our expectations. I don't think all students take advantage of this link, though I've had conversations with students who did seem to learn something useful from it. Something to be explored. In more general response to your use of the word "rhetorical," as you probably know, Lewiecki-Wilson, Sommers, and Tassoni place much emphasis on placement as a rhetorical act (cited in the bibliography on the website). This raises another question for me: To what extent can the primary value of the act of placement be rhetorical, that is, communicating a writing program's beliefs about writing and learning to students? Is their some predictive value of the self-placement questions. Or is it neither possible nor desirable to discover if some placement questions are more significant than others in predicting student success in first-year writing classes? In other words, we ask students to consider how many books they have read outside of school or how many essays they wrote last year. Do the answers to these questions correlate significantly with student success? Do students who place themselves in the college-level writing course and who get a grade of C or worse tend to respond differently to certain self-placement questions than do students who succeed in the course? There has been no research that I'm aware of that investigates such correlations. Ed Jones "Daniel Royer" Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com 10/25/2007 08:12 PM Please respond to teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com To cc Subject Re: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP as an instance of cross-cultural communication Yes, those are all good question, Ed. I like how you contextualize this in terms of communication. Of course that makes it rhetorical as well. But the online issue does complicate it or make it more difficult. We were recently doing some program assessment and we happened to be writing some one-paragraph descriptions of A, B, C, and D papers (judgments agreed about by our local group). Anyway, along the way teachers felt strongly that our short impressionistic descriptions would be very interesting to students. I don't know if students would take the time to investigate online, but with student papers and these teacher-response protocols paired up, I can see how this would help students to better understand the local standards they were needing to adapt to. What do you think? Dan Royer GVSU >>> On 10/25/2007 at 4:13 PM, in message , Edmund Jones wrote: As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement or online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to engage in cross-cultural communication. In the old days, we eliminated cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing test and scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score. We made judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed like universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that our students would have to live up to. Whether the STUDENTS understood the standards was irrelevant. That part of the education was something left to the writing instructor. With DSP, the general assumption has shifted some, so that students have to compare their writing experiences and characteristics with others'--with those of students who have fit well in ENGL 101 or with a course for less prepared students. Thus they are asked to consider their SAT score, the number of essays the have written in high school, how they ranked in high school, how much they read outside of class. These questions still seem relatively objective; that is, they seem to provide a reasonable basis of comparison. However, some schools are realizing that incoming students may need to educate themselves about the standards at the college they have chosen. What is a B in one high school may be different from a B in another high school, and different from a B in college. The criteria against which a two-page paper is evaluated in one high school may be different from the criteria in another high school or in college. Along still different lines, students may interpret "College English Intensive" or "Basic Writing" or "not for credit" in different ways. My question is, how far can we really go in educating our students about the choices they will be making? To what extent does putting DSP online further complicate the problems of communicating potentially different values or beliefs about writing, standards, and education? To what extent can education be an ongoing process during the first semester or year so that students can make increasingly educated choices about where they belong? Ed Jones --=_alternative 0081F0D185257381_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Dan,

We have tried a related system of presenting graded college writing via the online DSP system at Seton Hall University to give incoming freshmen as sense of our expectations.  I don't think all students take advantage of this link, though I've had conversations with students who did seem to learn something useful from it.  Something to be explored.

In more general response to your use of the word "rhetorical," as you probably know, Lewiecki-Wilson, Sommers, and Tassoni place much emphasis on placement as a rhetorical act (cited in the bibliography on the website).  This raises another question for me:  To what extent can the primary value of the act of placement be rhetorical, that is, communicating a writing program's beliefs about writing and learning to students?  Is their some predictive value of the self-placement questions.  Or is it neither possible nor desirable to discover if some placement questions are more significant than others in predicting student success in first-year writing classes?  In other words, we ask students to consider how many books they have read outside of school or how many essays they wrote last year.  Do the answers to these questions correlate significantly with student success?  Do students who place themselves in the college-level writing course and who get a grade of C or worse tend to respond differently to certain self-placement questions than do students who succeed in the course?  There has been no research that I'm aware of that investigates such correlations.

Ed Jones


"Daniel Royer" <royerd@gvsu.edu>
Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com

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Re: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP as an instance of        cross-cultural communication




Yes, those are all good question, Ed. I like how you contextualize this in terms of communication. Of course that makes it rhetorical as well. But the online issue does complicate it or make it more difficult. We were recently doing some program assessment and we happened to be writing some one-paragraph descriptions of A, B, C, and D papers (judgments agreed about by our local group). Anyway, along the way teachers felt strongly that our short impressionistic descriptions would be very interesting to students. I don't know if students would take the time to investigate online, but with student papers and these teacher-response protocols paired up, I can see how this would help students to better understand the local standards they were needing to adapt to. What do you think?
 
Dan Royer
GVSU

>>> On 10/25/2007 at 4:13 PM, in message <OFCF772D66.42C390A5-ON8525737F.006C4BA0-8525737F.006F0137@shu.edu>, Edmund Jones <jonesedm@shu.edu> wrote:

As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement or online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to engage in cross-cultural communication.  In the old days, we eliminated cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing test and scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score.  We made judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed like universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that our students would have to live up to.  Whether the STUDENTS understood the standards was irrelevant.  That part of the education was something left to the writing instructor.

With DSP, the general assumption has shifted some, so that students have to compare their writing experiences and characteristics with others'--with those of students who have fit well in ENGL 101 or with a course for less prepared students.   Thus they are asked to consider their SAT score, the number of essays the have written in high school, how they ranked in high school, how much they read outside of class.  These questions still seem relatively objective; that is, they seem to provide a reasonable basis of comparison.  However, some schools are realizing that incoming students may need to educate themselves about the standards at the college they have chosen.  What is a B in one high school may be different from a B in another high school, and different from a B in college.  The criteria against which a two-page paper is evaluated in one high school may be different from the criteria in another high school or in college.  Along still different lines, students may interpret "College English Intensive" or "Basic Writing" or "not for credit" in different ways.  

My question is, how far can we really go in educating our students about the choices they will be making?  To what extent does putting DSP online further complicate the problems of communicating potentially different values or beliefs about writing, standards, and education?  To what extent can education be an ongoing process during the first semester or year so that students can make increasingly educated choices about where they belong?

Ed Jones
--=_alternative 0081F0D185257381_=-- From teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Mon Oct 29 13:33:59 2007 From: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com (Kukowski, Linda K) Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:33:59 -0500 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] RE: Teaching_Composition digest, Vol 1 #1288 - 1 msg In-Reply-To: <200710281601.l9SG11wG028039@localhost.eppg.com> References: <200710281601.l9SG11wG028039@localhost.eppg.com> Message-ID: Singer on 661. Thanks for letting me know! Linda Kukowski, Instructor of English Minne Hall 207, Winona State University Office Hours: M 9-10, 11-12 W&F 9-10 & 11-1 -----Original Message----- From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com [mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 11:01 AM To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com Subject: Teaching_Composition digest, Vol 1 #1288 - 1 msg Send Teaching_Composition mailing list submissions to teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to teaching_composition-request@mailman.eppg.com You can reach the person managing the list at teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Teaching_Composition digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Directed self-placement as a rhetorical act (Edmund Jones) --__--__-- Message: 1 To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com From: Edmund Jones Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:40:02 -0400 Subject: [Teaching_Composition] Directed self-placement as a rhetorical act Reply-To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com This is a multipart message in MIME format. --=_alternative 0081F0D185257381_= Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Dan, We have tried a related system of presenting graded college writing via the online DSP system at Seton Hall University to give incoming freshmen as sense of our expectations. I don't think all students take advantage of this link, though I've had conversations with students who did seem to learn something useful from it. Something to be explored. In more general response to your use of the word "rhetorical," as you probably know, Lewiecki-Wilson, Sommers, and Tassoni place much emphasis on placement as a rhetorical act (cited in the bibliography on the website). This raises another question for me: To what extent can the primary value of the act of placement be rhetorical, that is, communicating a writing program's beliefs about writing and learning to students? Is their some predictive value of the self-placement questions. Or is it neither possible nor desirable to discover if some placement questions are more significant than others in predicting student success in first-year writing classes? In other words, we ask students to consider how many books they have read outside of school or how many essays they wrote last year. Do the answers to these questions correlate significantly with student success? Do students who place themselves in the college-level writing course and who get a grade of C or worse tend to respond differently to certain self-placement questions than do students who succeed in the course? There has been no research that I'm aware of that investigates such correlations. Ed Jones "Daniel Royer" Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com 10/25/2007 08:12 PM Please respond to teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com To cc Subject Re: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP as an instance of cross-cultural communication Yes, those are all good question, Ed. I like how you contextualize this in terms of communication. Of course that makes it rhetorical as well. But the online issue does complicate it or make it more difficult. We were recently doing some program assessment and we happened to be writing some one-paragraph descriptions of A, B, C, and D papers (judgments agreed about by our local group). Anyway, along the way teachers felt strongly that our short impressionistic descriptions would be very interesting to students. I don't know if students would take the time to investigate online, but with student papers and these teacher-response protocols paired up, I can see how this would help students to better understand the local standards they were needing to adapt to. What do you think? Dan Royer GVSU >>> On 10/25/2007 at 4:13 PM, in message , Edmund Jones wrote: As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement or online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to engage in cross-cultural communication. In the old days, we eliminated cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing test and scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score. We made judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed like universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that our students would have to live up to. Whether the STUDENTS understood the standards was irrelevant. That part of the education was something left to the writing instructor. With DSP, the general assumption has shifted some, so that students have to compare their writing experiences and characteristics with others'--with those of students who have fit well in ENGL 101 or with a course for less prepared students. Thus they are asked to consider their SAT score, the number of essays the have written in high school, how they ranked in high school, how much they read outside of class. These questions still seem relatively objective; that is, they seem to provide a reasonable basis of comparison. However, some schools are realizing that incoming students may need to educate themselves about the standards at the college they have chosen. What is a B in one high school may be different from a B in another high school, and different from a B in college. The criteria against which a two-page paper is evaluated in one high school may be different from the criteria in another high school or in college. Along still different lines, students may interpret "College English Intensive" or "Basic Writing" or "not for credit" in different ways. My question is, how far can we really go in educating our students about the choices they will be making? To what extent does putting DSP online further complicate the problems of communicating potentially different values or beliefs about writing, standards, and education? To what extent can education be an ongoing process during the first semester or year so that students can make increasingly educated choices about where they belong? Ed Jones --=_alternative 0081F0D185257381_= Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Dan,

We have tried a related system of presenting graded college writing via the online DSP system at Seton Hall University to give incoming freshmen as sense of our expectations.  I don't think all students take advantage of this link, though I've had conversations with students who did seem to learn something useful from it.  Something to be explored.

In more general response to your use of the word "rhetorical," as you probably know, Lewiecki-Wilson, Sommers, and Tassoni place much emphasis on placement as a rhetorical act (cited in the bibliography on the website).  This raises another question for me:  To what extent can the primary value of the act of placement be rhetorical, that is, communicating a writing program's beliefs about writing and learning to students?  Is their some predictive value of the self-placement questions.  Or is it neither possible nor desirable to discover if some placement questions are more significant than others in predicting student success in first-year writing classes?  In other words, we ask students to consider how many books they have read outside of school or how many essays they wrote last year.  Do the answers to these questions correlate significantly with student success?  Do students who place themselves in the college-level writing course and who get a grade of C or worse tend to respond differently to certain self-placement questions than do students who succeed in the course?  There has been no research that I'm aware of that investigates such correlations.

Ed Jones


"Daniel Royer" <royerd@gvsu.edu>
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Re: [Teaching_Composition] Online DSP as an instance of        cross-cultural communication




Yes, those are all good question, Ed. I like how you contextualize this in terms of communication. Of course that makes it rhetorical as well. But the online issue does complicate it or make it more difficult. We were recently doing some program assessment and we happened to be writing some one-paragraph descriptions of A, B, C, and D papers (judgments agreed about by our local group). Anyway, along the way teachers felt strongly that our short impressionistic descriptions would be very interesting to students. I don't know if students would take the time to investigate online, but with student papers and these teacher-response protocols paired up, I can see how this would help students to better understand the local standards they were needing to adapt to. What do you think?
 
Dan Royer
GVSU

>>> On 10/25/2007 at 4:13 PM, in message <OFCF772D66.42C390A5-ON8525737F.006C4BA0-8525737F.006F0137@shu.edu> ;, Edmund Jones <jonesedm@shu.edu> wrote:

As writing program administrators consider directed self-placement or online DSP, they might think about the extent to which we're trying to engage in cross-cultural communication.  In the old days, we eliminated cross-cultural communication by simply administering a writing test and scoring it according to our standards or looking at an SAT score.  We made judgments about students' abilities according to what seemed like universal standards or, at the least, local standards we knew that our students would have to live up to.  Whether the STUDENTS understood the standards was irrelevant.  That part of the education was something left to the writing instructor.

With DSP, the general assumption has shifted some, so that students have to compare their writing experiences and characteristics with others'--with those of students who have fit well in ENGL 101 or with a course for less prepared students.   Thus they are asked to consider their SAT score, the number of essays the have written in high school, how they ranked in high school, how much they read outside of class.  These questions still seem relatively objective; that is, they seem to provide a reasonable basis of comparison.  However, some schools are realizing that incoming students may need to educate themselves about the standards at the college they have chosen.  What is a B in one high school may be different from a B in another high school, and different from a B in college.  The criteria against which a two-page paper is evaluated in one high school may be different from the criteria in another high school or in college.  Along still different lines, students may interpret "College English Intensive" or "Basic Writing" or "not for credit" in different ways.  

My question is, how far can we really go in educating our students about the choices they will be making?  To what extent does putting DSP online further complicate the problems of communicating potentially different values or beliefs about writing, standards, and education?  To what extent can education be an ongoing process during the first semester or year so that students can make increasingly educated choices about where they belong?

Ed Jones
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