Observation Reports

Hello,

Attached is my First Year Composition observation report.

5060observation_report

Beat Poetry DeCal information (Fall 07, Spring 08)

Hello,

Attached is the syllabus for my Beat Poetry class I taught at UC Berkeley, between Fall 2007 and Spring 2008. The website for the course is: http://www.decal.org/courses/383

beat syllabus

 

Coherence Powerpoint

Hello,

Below is my Coherence and Composition powerpoint presentation for English 5060 at Texas Tech University.

iantorno_coherence copy

My Literacy Autobiography

It began with the Muppets. The ABCs and 123s emphasized on Jim Henson’s Sesame Street, are what first set me upon the road to literacy in my early, formative years. While I do not exactly remember when I sat down in front of the television tuned to PBS to watch a bunch of Muppets talk and sing about the alphabet, I do remember mimicking them. I would sing along with the show, write and rewrite the alphabet on a piece of scrap paper with a crayon, and draw stick figure representations of Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Grover, and others, writing their names beneath. At the same time, I was introduced to rudimentary children’s books like Corduroy, George and Martha, The Cat in the Hat, Where the Wild Things Are, and so on and so forth, all read to me by my mother. At times, my mother would have me read along with her that, consequently, taught me to read on my own. I loved to read, and always found an opportunity to grab a book from the shelf and re-read it for the pleasure of imagining myself in the stories I read. While my ability to write came from my mother’s tutelage and lessons at preschool, it was not until elementary school that I truly learned to write.

Elementary school, I assume, is where most people learn to write. It was, in any case, where I learned. Rather than belabor the lessons learned with each subsequent book report because, frankly, I do not clearly remember them, and it has been many a year since I last read Where the Red Fern Grows. Instead, I would like to focus on one incident that introduced me to creative writing.

I believe it was during the third grade when our teacher assigned the class the task of writing a short story over the weekend to be handed in Monday morning. Needless to say, I was uber excited. I had never wrote anything creative until that point, and wanted to try and write something good without any help. My mother always wanted to include herself whenever I worked on homework (just to be there if I should need the help) but I wanted to hold myself up in the living room with Garfield on in the background, as I partook in my first self-initiated writing project.

I say self-initiated because unlike most homework assignments that took a fair amount of dragging my heels through the mud before getting started, I started this creative writing project immediately. I think it was the excitement of expressing myself creatively that got me so fired up, unlike the standard “read and report” assignments for English. Needless to say, I took the entire weekend to write my short story (all of four handwritten pages, I think). I do not remember every single detail of this story (I know my mother still has it stored away somewhere, as she kept all my old book reports from elementary school), but the crux of the story involved a Knight’s Squire delivering a message to the King about a dragon seen in a nearby forest. On the Squire’s journey from the country to the city, he would meet different talking animals that taught him lessons of bravery with riddles. I actually feel embarrassed talking about this story, as it is the first time I’ve reflected on it since the time I wrote it. Thinking back on it, the story is kind of lame. Nonetheless, this assignment from the third grade got my creative mind started, and introduced me to creative writing that made me a more literate person. After handing in this assignment, I began to explore creative writing more. I kept at self-initiated writing and wrote short stories every now and again on weekends throughout elementary school, junior high, and high school. Granted, these were merely scribblings on pieces of notebook paper that led nowhere, but it felt good to jot my thoughts down. While my interests in creative writing sustained an aspect of writing that I honed for a number of years, I never took creative writing too seriously until college.

When I attended junior college before transferring to university, I kept at my self-initiated writing projects, but never did anything with them. I would write something, put it in a folder in my desk drawer, and forgot about it. It wasn’t until my American literature professor and mentor, who knew I had done some creative writing, suggest I enroll in one of the poetry writing workshops offered on campus. I was reluctant in the beginning because I did not feel comfortable enough with my poetry, as I believed that it was simply not good enough. However, I never had anyone read my poetry before, nor did I approach poetry formally, so after a day or two of considering it, I signed up.

What the poetry writing workshop taught me, was to never underestimate the power of peer feedback. The overarching strategy of fine tuning my writing skills as a poet, centered around the feedback I received from fellow classmates that suggested reevaluation and revision of content, made me more effective of a writer. The majority of my poetry written before the workshop was long winded, and belabored the same ideas that I told about, but didn’t show. During that time before transferring, the strategies I learned for effectively revising creative work, did influence my skills as an academic writer also.

While peer feedback was one strategy I learned to take advantage of in my academic writing, as I found that commentary from people I knew and trusted was oftentimes the most effective, I also began to show more in my writing, instead of merely telling. Yes, I admit it, much of my academic writing was based upon summary with some analysis, and a thesis statement that argued an interpretive reading, but always left something to be desired. After I learned how to better acquit myself as a creative writer, I applied those skills to being a better academic writer. My approach to writing essays changed because I approached them as if I were approaching a short story or long poem. I wrote with clarity and conciseness in mind, and consistently followed through with claims, evidence, and analysis. Granted, I never found academic writing too difficult for me, but applying the techniques I was taught in the poetry writing workshop made my approach to essay writing easier.

Finally, I would like to discuss how this evolution of my writing came to a turning point as an undergraduate. In the last year-and-a-half of my undergraduate education, I participated as a student facilitator in the Democratic Education at Cal (DeCal) program, in which I (under the sponsorship of a faculty member) designed and taught my own 2 unit courses to fellow undergraduates. One of these classes, a poetry writing workshop, I co-facilitated with a friend and fellow poet. During the class, we would made sure that peer feedback was paramount during classroom discussion. Our faculty sponsor, himself a poet, always emphasized the importance of collaborative peer critiques, as he always claimed it a effective way to approach revision.

I remember the previous semester, while sitting in our sponsor’s American poetry class, I would scribble thesis ideas or preliminary analyses for an upcoming paper in my notebook. Later, with friends who were enrolled in the same class, we would sit underneath an oak tree, and peer review our ideas. While it was more of a brainstorming session, it was a cooperative, collaborative effort that exemplified the process of being a better writer (and reader) of literature. We repeated this process for every paper required for that class, and personally, the feedback I received from my peers made me take a step back and reexamine my ideas or approach to an essay. In the end, I feel it made me a better writer, and my self-reflective approach to academic writing continues today as a graduate student at Texas Tech.

As a graduate student, I find myself participating more and more in self-reflection during a writing project. As my critical eye has evolved throughout the years, I am more apt to actively reevaluate what I write, so that I can consistently refine my skills as a writer. I feel this is how my writing has evolved to this point, and while I am more involved with academic writing than creative writing nowadays, the way my writing abilities have been shaped over the years, will continue to influence me. Above all else, however, I remember that it all began with Muppets.

How can we learn from what we do or teach?

Teaching is an ongoing process. What we might teach one day in one FYC class can change the next day. Same topic, different approach. Or, same topic, same approach, but different discussions. From what I’ve learned in the classroom, discussions are organic. Every student brings something different to the material and can not only spark new ideas with their peers, but with the instructor also.

I remember having students discuss examples of Goya’s artwork I brought in so they could analyze the same paintings referenced in a poem in two different classes, and everyone interpreted Goya’s art in relation to the poem is so many different ways. What I learned, was that their analyses helped shape my own. If and when I try this in-class project again, I plan to bring my former students’ analyses into the discussion after my new students have had their say, and see what new discussions and ideas they can come up with.

I often reflect on the things I’ve taught in the past, and wonder how I can improve on a lecture, what worked and what didn’t, and the level of engagement a poem or text elicited from the students. Once I decide on what worked best in a previous class, I can revise my lesson plan to see if it works better, worse, or the same. Even if something doesn’t work out as I had planned, it’s helpful to reflect on why it didn’t work, and improve it for another class.

What composition teachers and students should know.

Before answering the questions pertaining to what a FYC teacher and student should come to class knowing, it should be clarified to know what class is about first. For the sake of argument, let us say the topic of today’s classroom discussion is revising drafts. In my opinion, the composition teacher should, before coming to class, know exactly how he or she wants to gloss the revision process to the students. For example, what tips and tricks can help the students utilize their time in class most effectively? The teacher should also know how in-class revisions should be structured. Should the students be allowed to revise on their own and ask questions when applicable, or should they work together in pairs or in groups?

I did group workshopping earlier this week and last week, and it was handled very effectively. Our CI allowed her students to work alone or in pairs, and we helped out when needed. Most of the students came prepared for workshop with drafts they were currently revising, while some were less prepared and had little to work on. However, we did our best to help them form ideas for their paper. That said, students should come to class prepared to discuss the topic of classroom discussion.

No matter what it is, even if it’s sitting by themselves and revising a draft, they should come prepared to work and engage themselves in the material. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if a student is deep in discussion with the instructor and other classmates, or if s/he only poses a question or two about the topic, they (ideally) came prepared.

How I grade, and why.

I always look at content first. I want to see how a student engages the text and how they analyze the text or support an argument. This is how I like to approach a writing assignment, and where my critical eye goes first when grading. I feel that once I determine how a student approaches a text, then I can focus on things such as grammar and punctuation. My “philosophy” of composition seems to have been formed by paying close attention to grading content and one’s engagement to a text, which has consistently reinforced my own approach to writing.

Questions I have (5060)

In regards to questions I have with this week’s reading, I want to direct our attention to the essay written by Cynthia Selfe: “Technology and Literacy: The Perils of Not Paying Attention.”

First, Selfe wants us to examine why instructors of composition sometimes choose to “ignore technology” (Selfe) in the classroom. Selfe claims that “computer technology” (10) is often put aside by educators in place of “older technologies like print” (10), as books are “generally accessible to students and to us, and they are acknowledged by our peers to be the appropriate tools of teaching and learning” (11). Selfe adds that educators must “pat attention to technology” (12), whether they use it in the classroom or not (12).

My question is: why does the utilization of computer technology in composition courses matter?

As TAs and GPTIs, we use computers heavily in FYC, but how beneficial do you think it is, particularly in teaching college writing to freshmen? Especially when Selfe writes of the “linkage between literacy and technology” (13).

When I was in freshman composition years ago, computers were non-existent in the classroom. It wasn’t that our professor didn’t have access to a computer during class, but he didn’t care to use it. The day-to-day instruction consisted of examples on the chalkboard or handouts, and all assignments weren’t submitted electronically. I can only think of one teacher who used a computer regularly during class, as all her lectures were on powerpoint.

When teaching in the past, I only used a computer for music or movie clips to build upon my lecture, and relied on my own notes for the rest. (I was never too big on powerpoint, but see how it can be useful to supplement one’s lecture.)

Response to “Take 20″ video.

A theme I noticed in the “Take 20″ video, were various responses to student writing and student contribution in composition courses. Schlib, Alder-Kassner, and Sanchez discussed their surprise with student engagement in their writing classes, and their excitement with reading student work. What I found most inspiring of this piece is how many of the instructors emphasized collaborative learning, peer work, and peer workshops. Cushman says it best when instructors should have their students “vested in a problem,” and making “sure that problem resonates with them in particular ways.” Cushman’s insight is helpful and inspiring because it gives composition instructors a way to make sure their students become “invested in the curriculum,” and  get the most out of group work and the class. What surprised me about this piece, was the discussion of what instructors learned from their students. In particular, being “patient” (Bartholomae), taught to “shut up and listen to what they had to say” (Lunsford), and “humility” (Cushman). This surprised me because it shows how much we as composition instructors can learn from our students, and how we can teach them more effectively, based on their input.

My writing process

I’ve always approached writing the same way: draft, revise, rewrite. I haven’t deviated from the plan much over the years, partially because it’s how I was taught to write in freshman composition many years ago. So far, it hasn’t failed me yet. It always begins with an idea. From that idea, a freewrite that undergoes a series of revisions to coalesce and contextualize main points; two (sometimes three) drafts after that. One thing I always strive for is to begin early. Often, I find myself beginning the writing process later than I would have liked. Whenever a writing assignment is on the agenda, I constantly tell myself to start early, but more often than not, begin a week or two later.

I think it’s very important to emphasize the writing process to our students because writing is something best approached by identifying ones strengths and weaknesses. I’ve often found that exploring different methods to prewriting and freewriting helped me identify the strong and weak points of my writing. It’s valuable for students to explore their own methods to writing  and, ideally, come into their own as academic writers.