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last.updated 11.24.08

Evaluation Simulation & Basic Writing

Purpose

For one reason or another, you may choose to take a job to teach basic writing (or take a job and be placed in a basic writing instructional position). The questions an instructor in this position has to ask is: How is this different from teaching composition? We will discuss the answer to this question as well as some different strategies for thinking about how we teach

Before Class

• Read Shaughnessy, "Diving In" CT [311-319]
• Read Davi "In the Service of Writing and Race" [BB]
• Read Zamel and Spack, "Teaching Multilingual Learners" [BB]

Evaluation Simulation

During the sixty minutes of class, you will do the Evaluation Simulation assignment.

Discussion–Basic Writing

The discussion today will address the following questions:

• What questions or comments do you have about these articles?
• How would you teach a basic writing course? How should it be different from a "regular" composition course?
• Should the pedagogy for at-risk students focus on the fundementals or should it include exercises such as service learning?
• Now that you have a sense of how faculty across the campus assess L2 writers (Zamel & Spack), how does this inform your pedagogy when working with L2 writers and how you assess them?