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Overview

The purpose of education is to usher students into becoming disciplined in a subject matter. This goal can be achieved by helping English, Composition I & II, and literature students, and students of writing who are not English majors, pursue conscientiousness through learning about the subject matter, adapting to the concepts and principles, and regarding feedback as necessary for improving and moving forward into other writing and learning tasks. 

Students learn best when they are conscientious about what they are learning, not merely skimming a literary piece, but considering the totality of the subject as it relates to other subject matters. This is important because English and writing prepares the student for greater tasks and at different levels. An upper division student in any major will need the tools of research and writing from English. A student can voice their concerns about a topic but writing affords the student the opportunity to research and prepare an informed, focused argument. 

Approaches

I have found that the most effective methods for teaching are both teacher-centered and student-centered approaches. The teacher is the authority figure in the classroom, trained and prepared to administer the day’s lesson and free to facilitate learning through group discussion, peer review, and class participation. Understanding that the instructor reflects authority in the classroom makes it easier to get students to understand the value of the English canon of literary works. 

Without exposure to authority, or to the canon, English majors and students of English and writing would lack the care, ability, and skill to regard foundation. Every major has principles and foundational knowledge. We do not operate alone. Therefore, even students in English and writing, who are not majors, should develop the skill of conducting an annotated bibliography and/or literature review to ensure that they have an understanding of what has been written on a topic and where their research might fit going forward. 

Why I Teach English

I teach English because I believe that students often struggle with transition, from academic to professional, and from professional to personal. In all areas of their lives, students are expected to move from one understanding to another. Using writing to helps students prepare for transition is what I believe English makes as the highest contribution. 

The most important aspect of my teaching is to design writing tasks and in-class activities that help students pursue mastery of the subject matter and become conscientious, life-long learners in all areas of their lives. 

Last rev. 8/22/2019, 1/7/2021

The English Composition classroom is comprised of different types of students. There are eight major categories of students who are in my Composition classroom and for whom I have provided instruction. They include the following:

• English majors: English, Composition, Literature 
• Developmental Writing
• Students for whom English is a Second Language
• Non-English majors
• Dual-Credit
• Older adult learners
• Students with disabilities
• Online students

In addition to these categories is the notion of adult learning styles. As I create lectures, assignments, and in-class activities and writing tasks, adult learning style is one of the concepts I consider. Not every student responds to direct instruction. I have learned over my six years at Richland College that some students need the interaction with other students. 

This took me a while to understand because I come from a teaching tradition that focuses on “pouring knowledge into the vessel” and not really facilitating the thoughts and opinions of “others.” Students were considered the other in my undergraduate and graduate studies. 

However, in realizing the importance of getting students involved, and understanding that even though I was reaching students and this was represented in their writing when I assessed their work, I was not engaging them on a one-on-one basis to assess their voice and offer feedback.

This reflection prompted me to assess my lack of effectiveness at getting the students involved and to complete professional development classes in cooperative learning at Richland College. It was the peer teaching methods that brightened my understanding. It was as if whatever was turned off in my understanding, turned on. I felt relief that I had something, a tool to use and bring to the classroom to help me get the students involved, especially coming from a university background where in-class group learning is unheard of or at least it was during 1999 to 2005.

I have taught Composition I & II and literature both face-to face and online; English as a Second Language, Developmental Writing at all levels, and dual-credit students. To bring these categories of students under one understanding, I use peer teaching to facilitate learning. I begin an in-class activity with directed instruction, outlining how the students will conduct the exercise by reading and then taking on the role of teacher in the group. 

When it is necessary, I will walk around the room and scaffold and help students get an understanding of the reading. By the end of their part of the task, they are able to “teach” the lesson to their fellow students, thereby gaining a better understanding of what they have just read. 

Using peer teaching as a method for in-class activity is important because students have often learned information from previous studies with the goal in mind of passing a test or getting a good grade on an assignment. But students have not learned the information for learning sake. In other words, students’ motivation for learning has been extrinsic and not intrinsic. Peer teaching helps me to get students to care about what they are learning and why it is important to learn. In their fields, they will have to care.

Last rev. 1/7/2021

While peer teaching has been an effective method for encouraging cooperative learning in the classroom, I realized that not every student wants to peer teach. I am soothed by the idea that I can get the students involved, but involvement, I assessed, may be relative for some students. 

This further reflection prompted me to conduct some extended research on group activities and student learning, leading me to pursue a second master’s degree in psychology. After working with Developing Learning Power and getting exposure to Angela Duckworth’s studies on self-control and grit, and Carol Dweck’s research on fixed mindset and growth mindset, I realized that each student has his or her own readiness for learning. 

I no longer just had to consider student readiness in terms of categories of students, student profiles, student ability to participate in group, and student ability to write papers. I had to consider that there are differences in readiness and that planning instruction had to require knowledge about adult learning styles from multiple points of view. Some students pick up material quicker if they hear the information. Some students need both in-class instruction and video-based learning; both learning tools help the student achieve understanding of the information. 

As part of my continued professional development, my teaching goal is to create learning and teaching videos for my English students and further move cooperative learning into the realm of facilitating students’ creation of learning and teaching videos for themselves, for other students, and for the course. 

This will help students construct their own knowledge to prepare papers, help students engage the course, help me assess readiness, and help students accomplish the following goals in English, Composition, and writing:

• Content mastery
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Self-directed learning
• Engaged citizenry
• Discovery learning

The first goal of content mastery will always be primary. I believe that we need an educated citizenry interested in integrity and pursuing a consistent work ethic. The last point, however, has become a primary goal as well: to engage students where they are in their learning while at the same time keeping up with the demands of the discipline. 

Discipline requires knowledge, knowledge-making, and catching up with knowledge that might not have been accessible through traditional means. 

Last rev. 1/7/2021

Reflection essays from students on what they learned reflect judgment of my teaching effectiveness as well as faculty evaluation. In one faculty evaluation, the evaluator assessed that I am a conscientious instructor. 

By the time students leave my classroom, they have learned the value of conscientiousness because they begin assessing where they are in their academic development and what they need to do for moving forward. 

I often give assignments where students must judge their knowledge on where they are going. Student comments attest to my teaching effectiveness for preparing leaders for tomorrow and for lifelong learning.

Teaching effectiveness has generated interest in how students learning, resulting in the How Do You Learn? Research Project. Visit the page under the "English" tab.

Last rev. 1/7/2021