from comp to chem composition classes as preparation for writing in the disciplines and professions...

From “Comp” to “Chem”Composition Classes as Preparation

for Writing in the Disciplines and Professions

Barbara E. Walvoord, Ph.D.Professor Emerita, University of Notre Dame

Outline of the PresentationFrom Comp to Chem

Barbara Walvoord

1. What IS writing in the disciplines/ professions?

2. What the composition course CANNOT Do

3. What the Composition Course CAN Do


• Multiple genres flexibly adapted to varying situations and purposes

• Learned in context with guidance from experts

• Entangled with issues of power and privilege, conformity and creativity, acquiescence and resistance

Modes and Genres Change with ContextDowns and Wardle:“It is often assumed that ‘skills’ or moves such as taking a

position, building arguments, developing paragraphs, and writing clear and forceful sentences are ‘general writing skills’ that transfer across all situations….

“For example, even if all writing were about ‘taking a position,’ the ways of doing so vary radically across disciplines, and therefore can only meaningfully be taught within a discipline.”

(19. See also Odell.)

Multiple Genres and “Mutt” Genres

• Wardle points to the “mutt genres” of composition, but “mutt genres” also exist in other disciplines.

• My study of 66 highly-effective faculty teaching college introductory religion courses in public and private institutions: MANY kinds of assignments, with multiple variations. Students needed not a set formula but the ability to analyze the assignment.

College Assignments Vary Widely

“More than anything else, the information provided by survey research [on the kinds of writing assigned in college] indicates that typical college graduates must be able to write effectively in many different kinds of situations—to many different kinds of readers—in many forms of communication.”

(Anderson 76)

The World is Changing

“Literate ability at the end of the twentieth century may be best measured as a person’s capacity to amalgamate new reading and writing practices in response to rapid social change.”

(Brandt 70)

Need for Critical Literacy

“[Some] contemporary theorists of genre argue for a critical approach, [asking] how genres relate to the distribution of power in society….”

(Herrington and Moran 13)

1. What IS writing in the disciplines/ professions?Summary

• Multiple genres flexibly adapted to varying situations and purposes

• Learned in context with guidance from experts

• Entangled with issues of power and privilege, conformity and creativity, acquiescence and resistance


Barbara Walvoord


2. What the composition course CANNOT do

3. What the composition course CAN do

2. Comp Instructors CANNOT

• Teach students to write in genres unfamiliar to the instructor (e.g. the science report)

• Create a disciplinary or professional discourse community for those unfamiliar genres

• Automatically assume that students will transfer their writing knowledge/skills across disciplines

(Downs and Wardle; Beaufort)


Barbara Walvoord


2. What the composition course CANNOT Do

3. What the Composition Course CAN Do

3. What Composition Courses CAN DoUseful Analogy: The “Cross-Cultural Communication” course for students

planning to study in various countries or cultures• Taught how to think about cultures• Taught how to move into a strange culture, figure it out quickly, and

function effectively– Strategies for learning a new culture: set goals, ask questions, reflect

on your experiences, use key concepts to interpret what you see– Common difficulties (homesickness, hypervigilance) and how to

overcome them• Choose stances of critique, resistance, acceptance, inquiry• Practice and feedback with sub-cultures around the college• Got students excited, helped them form community• Modeling by an instructor who had studied and taught abroad

3. What Composition Courses CAN Do:

Recent proposals by Beaufort, Downs and Wardle, WardleRightly focus on teaching rhetorical analysis: • Teach what “we” know—rhetorical analysis, research

on writing• Teach concepts such as genre and discourse community• Teach metacognition• Practice analyzing various genres and social situations• Conduct student’s own research on writing


My proposal build on these, but also tries to do 4 things:1. Accommodate and capitalize on the enormous range of

comp instructors– Fields of expertise, including literary analysis,

rhetoric, journalism, and the home disciplines of instructors teaching writing-intensive first-year seminars that may replace or link with comp

– Position in the debates about teaching personal essay, expressive writing, transactional writing, literature, and about teaching for personal development, civic engagement, academic/professional competence, etc.


2. Focus on the motivation, confidence, and engagement that research demonstrates is critical to learning of any kind

3. Enable students’ critical, self-critical, and resistant stances

4. Include attention to mastery of Edited Standard Written English (ESWE) and critique of its social role

I Propose: Teach any Genre, Read any Material, but Teach for Transfer, Using MMAPP

M: Motivation, engagement, and confidenceM: Metacognition: How to monitor one’s own learning

and progressA: Analysis of audience, situation, and genre in different

contexts; insight into power relations in the contextP: Professional presentation, including Edited Standard

Written English, citation conventionsP: Processes adaptable for writing in different situations

M: Motivation, Engagement, Confidence

Summary of research on college learning by Pascarella and Terenzini:

“The greater a student’s engagement in academic work or in the academic experience of college, the greater his or her level of knowledge acquisition and general cognitive growth.” (608)

•


People are motivated when: – The task is not too hard, not too easy– They can see the task’s usefulness and benefits to

them– They can see how the task relates to what they

already know and value– The environment seems fair, safe, supportive


Motivation is not fixed• Students can become more motivated by what happens

in the class• Action influences belief, as belief influences action.• Students can learn to enhance their own motivation

and engagement

Svinicki’s “Amalgamated Model of Motivation”Motivation toward a goal is influenced by the Learner’s Goal Orientation

The value of the goal, affected by:

• Perceived needs• Difficulty of Goal• Intrinsic qualities of goal• Prior experience with goal • Utility of goal

The learner’s expectation that the goal can be achieved, affected by:

• Match with learner skills• Control and choice• Encouragement/example of others• Influence of others• Self-efficacy with respect to this

goal• Attributions about success &

failure• Beliefs/attitudes about learning(146)

M: Metacognition

Definition: Thinking about thinkingInvolves attention to high-level questions as one writes.

For example:– How is this task similar to others?– How does this task relate to larger goals?– What strategies am I using, and how useful are they?

(Beaufort 154)

A: Analysis of Audience, Situation, Genre

• Teach concepts and strategies for analyzing writing in ANY situation

• Teach students how to apply the concepts and strategies as they write in the genres for which the instructor is expert: rhetorical studies, literary analysis, etc.

• Help students conduct research on writing in various situations, e.g. science, business

A: Analysis of Audience, Situation, Genre

• How to analyze a school assignment: what questions to ask

• How to ask questions of instructor/TA, other experts

P: Professional Presentation (including Edited Written Standard English: ESWE)

How do Students Learn ESWE?• NOT by drill unconnected to their own writing• NOT by teachers marking every departure from ESWE• BUT by – Reading– Sentence-building practice– Revising and editing their own writing


Establish an understanding of language• Concept of “code switching”• Power issues around “standard” language


Kolln:“Too often the grammar lessons that manage to find their

way into the writing classroom are introduced for remedial purposes: to fix comma splices and misplaced modifiers and agreement errors and such… As a consequence, the study of grammar has come to have strictly negative, remedial associations—a Band-Aid for weak and inexperienced writers, rather than a rhetorical tool that all writers should understand and control.” (cont….)


“[On the contrary a rhetorical view of grammar holds that] an understanding of grammar is an important tool for the writers; that is can be taught and learned successfully if it is done in the right way and in the right place, in connection with composition. (cont.)


“[Rhetorical grammar] can also stimulate class discussion on such issues as sentence focus and rhythm, cohesion, reader expectation, paraphrase, dictions, revision—discussions of rhetorical and stylistic issues that will be meaningful throughout the writing process. And the students will learn to apply these grammar concepts to their own writing. (cont.)


“This is the kind of knowledge—this toolkit of conscious grammar understanding—that will support not only their academic career but their lifelong literacy as well.” (xii)

P: Professional Presentation (including use and citation of sources; plagiarism)

• Teach the principles and purposes of citation and how to figure out citation requirements in any field

P: Processes

• Writing processes are keys to success• Effective processes may differ by situation or by the

writer’s own ways of working• Teach key concepts– Most writing is the product of revision– Professional presentation (ESWE, citation) is often

very important and it takes time– How to address difficulties such as procrastination,

writer’s block

P: Processes

• Practice and feedback in shaping writing processes for various situations

Summary: I Propose—Teach any Genre, Read any Material, but Teach for Transfer, Using MMAPP

M: Motivation, engagement, and confidenceM: Metacognition: How to monitor one’s own learning

and progressA: Analysis of audience, situation, and genre in different

contexts; insight into power relations in the contextP: Professional presentation, including Edited Standard

Written English, citation conventionsP: Processes adaptable for writing in different situations

MMAPP: Motivation, Metacognition, Analysis, Professional Presentation, Processes

How would you teach a course following MMAPP?

Suggestions


Suggestions for all MMAPP:

• MMAPP is your goal. You cannot cover large amounts of “stuff.”


Suggestions• Build trust, community• Use approaches and strategies from Parker Palmer,

The Courage to Teach and Stephen Brookfield, The Skillful Teacher


Suggestions• With your students, as outsiders and as rhetoricians,

explore the literature on engagement, self-efficacy, and motivation. As you do, teach concepts of genre. For example, examine a popular article and a scholarly journal article on “engagement” or “self-efficacy.”


Suggestions• Discuss how students can build their own motivation

and engagement. Have them write about a course where their motivation increased, and why--what THEY did, as well as what the teacher did, emphasizing THEIR self-efficacy.

• Ask them to discuss/write how they intend to stay motivated and engaged in this course, and what they plan to do if their motivation decreases.


Suggestions• Teach the writer’s autobiography to encourage

engagement and to illustrate a genre• Use reflective and expressive writing, both public

and private: journals; blog or discussion board posts. Teach any of these as a genre.


Suggestions• Have students articulate their goals

• Ask, what do you want to learn in this course? What strategies will you use?

• Review goals and strategies at intervals

• Cover sheet to every writing assignment: How has this assignment helped me develop as a writer? How is this type of writing similar or different from others? What worked? What would I do differently?


Suggestions• Bring in a speaker or ask each student to interview a co-

worker or someone employed in a field that interests them. Ask: • How much time do you spend writing or preparing to write (including

online writing, spreadsheets, multi-media)? • What writing do you care about the most, and why?• What does your writing accomplish for you personally and

professionally?• Do you ever engage in writing that makes you feel uncomfortable for

any reason?• If you could change anything about the writing that goes on in your

profession or your own job, what would it be?• What advice would you give to a student enrolled in a writing course?


Suggestions:• Keep a log: “Each time you work on the paper, write

‘What I did today, what problems I encountered, how I tried to solve them, what I plan to do next.’”

• Before and/or after peer review, have the writer tell “Where I am on this paper, what are my major problems, what I think I should do next”


Suggestions:• Compare and contrast one genre to others

• Literary analysis to an online review of software product• Research on writing to research report in chemistry or any

other field• Any paper in comp to papers students are writing or have

written for other classes


Compare and contrast the current genre to othersAsk: How are these writings different or similar in

– Audience– Purpose– Opening– Closing– Content– Use and citation of information from other sources. Plagiarism– How claims are made and supported– Organization– Sentence length and structure– Diction, tone, ethos, use of imagery


Suggestions:• Distinguish between formal and informal writing• Set standards for ESWE• Offer help and support for ESWE• Ask students to write dialogue in a form of “nonstandard”

English, then reflect how it felt to try to learn an unfamiliar form of English

• Ask students to teach their “home” forms to others. “How would this be said in my home? How would it be said in a business/academic situation?”

• Ask students to write “How I think about ‘standard’ English”


Suggestions• Discuss published accounts and studies of writing

processes• Have students write and/or interview one another

about their writing processes. Teach the interview as a genre and as an information source

• Report, compare, discuss students’ own varied processes for different types of writing

Other ideas can be adapted from Course outlines in

• Beaufort, Appendix A, pp. 177-206• Downs and Wardle• Lauerman, Schroeder, Sroka, and Stephenson • Wardle

SUMMARY: What will students need for writing in the disciplines and professions?

MMAPP: Five Learning Outcomes

M: Motivation, engagement, and confidenceM: Metacognition: How to monitor their own learning and

progressA: Analysis of audience, situation, and genre variations in different

situationsP: Processes for writing in different situationsP: Professional presentation, including Edited Standard Written

English (ESWE) and citation of sources

Works CitedAnderson, Paul V. “What Survey Research Tells Us about Writing at Work.” Writing in Nonacademic Settings. Ed. Lee Odell and

Dixie Goswami. New York: Guilford Press, 1985. 3-83. Print.Beaufort, Anne. College Writing and Beyond. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2007. Print.Brandt, Deborah. Literacy and Learning: Reflections on Writing, Reading, and Society. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009. Print.Brookfield, Stephen. The Skillful Teacher. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print.Downs, Douglas, and Elizabeth Wardle. “Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions: (Re)Envisioning ‘First-year

Composition’ as ‘Introduction to Writing Studies’.” College Composition and Communication 58.4 (2007): 552-87. Print.

Herrington, Anne and Charles Moran. “The Idea of Genre in Theory and Practice.” Genre Across the Curriculum. Ed. Anne Herrington and Charles Moran. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2005. 1-18. Print.

Kolln, Martha. Preface. Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. By Kolln. 5th ed. New York: Pearson Education, 2007. Print.

Lauerman, David A., Melvin W. Schroeder, Kenneth Sroka, and E. Roger Stephenson. “Workplace and Classroom: Principles for Designing Writing Courses.” Writing in Nonacademic Settings. Ed. Lee Odell and Dixie Goswami. New York:

Guilford, 1985. 427-50. Print.Odell, Lee. “Context-Specific Ways of Knowing and the Evaluation of Writing.” Writing, Teaching, and Learning in the Disciplines. Ed. Anne Herrington and Charles Moran. New York: Modern Language Assn., 1992. 86-98. Print.Palmer, Parker. The Courage to Teach. 10th anniversary ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. Print.Pascarella, Ernest T., and Patrick T. Terenzini. How College Affects Students. Vol. 2: A Third Decade of Research. San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass, 2005. Print.Svinicki, Marilla D. Learning and Motivation in the Postsecondary Classroom. Bolton, MA: Anker, 2004. Print.Walvoord. Barbara E. Teaching and Learning in College Introductory Religion Courses. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008. Print.Wardle, Elizabeth. “’Mutt Genres’ and the Goal of FYC: Can We Help Students Write the Genres of the University?” College

Composition and Communication 60.4 (2009): 765-90. Print.

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