During the Spring 2014 term at Oklahoma State University, I will be trying to write brief reports of classroom attendance and activities in the hopes of providing a useful study guide for students. I do not normally prepare lecture notes ahead of class time, instead setting out with general guidelines of what materials to cover and composing notes along with the discussion as class goes on; posting reports to this webspace will offer students a better chance to review. Too, it makes use of a resource I know I have not been diligent in employing.
Generally, I mean to record attendance and major points of discussion as well as noting any major assignments made or soon to be due. Long narratives will likely be lacking. Other information will appear as needed.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Class Report, ENGL 2543.002, 20140113
Class began as scheduled, 9:20am, in Morrill Hall, Room 202. Problems with classroom projection technology were noted.
Thirty students appeared on the class roster. Twenty-five responded when roll was called, but some had departed the classroom due to schedule confusion.
Course syllabus and course calendar were discussed in brief. Discussed also were the current D2L discussion requirement and readings assigned for be done before class time on Wednesday. Students are exhorted to begin attending to assigned work immediately and to seek help as needed.
Thirty students appeared on the class roster. Twenty-five responded when roll was called, but some had departed the classroom due to schedule confusion.
Course syllabus and course calendar were discussed in brief. Discussed also were the current D2L discussion requirement and readings assigned for be done before class time on Wednesday. Students are exhorted to begin attending to assigned work immediately and to seek help as needed.
Friday, January 10, 2014
A Comment Regarding Profile Writing
I do some freelance writing work (Shaw's adage about those who cannot does not always apply), and as part of that, I was asked to compose what amounts to a profile of a person who does not exist, one not unlike earlier versions of a standard assignment for my ENGL 1113 classes at Oklahoma State University. While I cannot discuss the details of the profile I wrote, I can note briefly my experience of writing it.
I was provided with a set of instructions to follow in composing the piece, instructions which were helpful in offering a framework in which to compose. Not needing to do all of the work of narrowing the topic of the piece made the writing task easier for me, although I will admit that the limitations imposed by the instructions did prevent me from pursuing one or two ideas that might have been entertaining reads. Still, knowing what dominant impression I needed to convey about the character (if there is a better word for a fictional person, I should like to know it) I was profiling afforded me a convenient focus, and that helped my writing.
Even so, I encountered some difficulty in developing the idea. I wanted to impart a certain element of tongue-in-cheek humor about the piece, a subtle nod to the fictional nature of the character profiled in the piece I was asked to write. Owing to my family background, I am aware of some pre-existing fictional constructs that would have indicated the inherent fiction of the character to those aware of those constructs but would have required others to do a bit of basic internet research to get the joke. When I tried to include them, however, I found that they did not flow organically and authentically for me; they seemed forced, instead. That I am aware of them does not mean that I have the right to them, and lacking that right made writing about them work less well than I would hope. Thus, I abandoned those references, scrapping the draft I had made of the piece that included them and starting again.
When I resumed writing, I did so with thoughts of my own sense of place in mind. My family background makes me aware of things, but my experiential background gives me the right to other things entirely, and it was those things I was able to use in the profile to make what I hope is an effective profile of the character. Where I have lived, where I have studied, where I have visited, informed the piece, offering it both the authenticity it needed to be an actual profile and the sense of humor, the nod to the fictional nature of the character and a few other erudite jokes, which I hoped to embed in the profile.
I hope that my students can take from this a confirmation of the idea that all writing--not just the profile assignment towards which this comment is most specifically directed, although certainly including it--benefits from the experiential knowledge of the author, something Lisa Shaver calls "situated ethos" in her September 2012 College English piece "'No cross, no crown': An Ethos of Presence in Margaret Prior's Walks of Usefulness." (I often refer to the article in lecture; my students will do well to read it.) It is absolutely necessary to do outside research to inform writing, particularly the kind of writing that is done at the collegiate level and for college coursework (even in creative writing classes), but it is also needful to work from lived experience; the latter lends an immediacy and authentic authority to writing that compels, and that compulsion is far from a bad thing.
I was provided with a set of instructions to follow in composing the piece, instructions which were helpful in offering a framework in which to compose. Not needing to do all of the work of narrowing the topic of the piece made the writing task easier for me, although I will admit that the limitations imposed by the instructions did prevent me from pursuing one or two ideas that might have been entertaining reads. Still, knowing what dominant impression I needed to convey about the character (if there is a better word for a fictional person, I should like to know it) I was profiling afforded me a convenient focus, and that helped my writing.
Even so, I encountered some difficulty in developing the idea. I wanted to impart a certain element of tongue-in-cheek humor about the piece, a subtle nod to the fictional nature of the character profiled in the piece I was asked to write. Owing to my family background, I am aware of some pre-existing fictional constructs that would have indicated the inherent fiction of the character to those aware of those constructs but would have required others to do a bit of basic internet research to get the joke. When I tried to include them, however, I found that they did not flow organically and authentically for me; they seemed forced, instead. That I am aware of them does not mean that I have the right to them, and lacking that right made writing about them work less well than I would hope. Thus, I abandoned those references, scrapping the draft I had made of the piece that included them and starting again.
When I resumed writing, I did so with thoughts of my own sense of place in mind. My family background makes me aware of things, but my experiential background gives me the right to other things entirely, and it was those things I was able to use in the profile to make what I hope is an effective profile of the character. Where I have lived, where I have studied, where I have visited, informed the piece, offering it both the authenticity it needed to be an actual profile and the sense of humor, the nod to the fictional nature of the character and a few other erudite jokes, which I hoped to embed in the profile.
I hope that my students can take from this a confirmation of the idea that all writing--not just the profile assignment towards which this comment is most specifically directed, although certainly including it--benefits from the experiential knowledge of the author, something Lisa Shaver calls "situated ethos" in her September 2012 College English piece "'No cross, no crown': An Ethos of Presence in Margaret Prior's Walks of Usefulness." (I often refer to the article in lecture; my students will do well to read it.) It is absolutely necessary to do outside research to inform writing, particularly the kind of writing that is done at the collegiate level and for college coursework (even in creative writing classes), but it is also needful to work from lived experience; the latter lends an immediacy and authentic authority to writing that compels, and that compulsion is far from a bad thing.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
A Comment Regarding Textbook Selection
For the section of ENGL 2543: Survey of British Literature I I am teaching at Oklahoma State University in the Spring 2014 term, I am using the second edition of the Broadview Anthology of British Literature rather than the traditional Norton Anthology. That the text is not the "usual" selection for such a course is known to me (as is the unfortunate additional cost), but there are reasons that I prefer it.
One of them is tied, I think, to the increased cost. Compared to the edition of the Norton Anthology available to me when I had to select the textbook for my course, the Broadview offers a broader view (please forgive the wording) of the literary history of the British Isles. It includes more authors and works outside the traditional canon, and I am making a point of extending my class outside the canon. This is in part due to comments in Tim William Machan's January 2012 Speculum piece “Chaucer and the History of English" and Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch's entry on Robert Southey in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography that argue against the use of celebrity figures as the representatives of their times; I am convinced by the line of reasoning that holds that the very exceptionalism from their contemporaries influences celebrities' celebrity. Thus, to offer a more detailed image of what earlier British literatures were, I look to the anthology that reproduces more of the non-canonical, traditionally transmitted works (although I do not shy away from treating many of the old standards).
Another reason has to do with the versions of the texts presented, my views on which follow from my own coursework during my graduate schooling. I inherited from my professors there views on the translation of Beowulf conducted by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heany (excellent poet but not the best translator), which is in the Norton Anthology, and of Marie Boroff's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (one of the better if not the best done yet), which once was but is no longer. That the one is present and the other absent argues against the Norton. Also, I like Liuzza's Beowulf as a piece of poetry and as a reasonably accurate philological representation of the text in Cotton Vitellius A.xv, and I like James Winny's work with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--and both appear in the Broadview Anthology of British Literature.
Yet another is a result of my own scholarly focus. My MA and PhD were awarded by a department whose mission is explicitly generalist. Within that literary generalism, however, I focused my attentions on medieval English literature and the ways in which it has been transmitted and appropriated; more narrowly within that, I have attended to Arthurian legendry. Both my master's thesis and doctoral dissertation explicitly concern themselves with Arthuriana, as do one of my earlier scholarly publications and a number of my conference presentations. That I am an Arthurianist is fairly well established. That I would therefore focus my teaching in a survey of earlier British literature on Arthuriana therefore makes sense. I think that the Broadview Anthology of British Literature does a better job treating Arthuriana than does the Norton, and for that reason, as well as the others I name, I selected it as the textbook for my Spring 2014 section of ENGL 2543: Survey of British Literature I at Oklahoma State University.
One of them is tied, I think, to the increased cost. Compared to the edition of the Norton Anthology available to me when I had to select the textbook for my course, the Broadview offers a broader view (please forgive the wording) of the literary history of the British Isles. It includes more authors and works outside the traditional canon, and I am making a point of extending my class outside the canon. This is in part due to comments in Tim William Machan's January 2012 Speculum piece “Chaucer and the History of English" and Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch's entry on Robert Southey in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography that argue against the use of celebrity figures as the representatives of their times; I am convinced by the line of reasoning that holds that the very exceptionalism from their contemporaries influences celebrities' celebrity. Thus, to offer a more detailed image of what earlier British literatures were, I look to the anthology that reproduces more of the non-canonical, traditionally transmitted works (although I do not shy away from treating many of the old standards).
Another reason has to do with the versions of the texts presented, my views on which follow from my own coursework during my graduate schooling. I inherited from my professors there views on the translation of Beowulf conducted by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heany (excellent poet but not the best translator), which is in the Norton Anthology, and of Marie Boroff's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (one of the better if not the best done yet), which once was but is no longer. That the one is present and the other absent argues against the Norton. Also, I like Liuzza's Beowulf as a piece of poetry and as a reasonably accurate philological representation of the text in Cotton Vitellius A.xv, and I like James Winny's work with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--and both appear in the Broadview Anthology of British Literature.
Yet another is a result of my own scholarly focus. My MA and PhD were awarded by a department whose mission is explicitly generalist. Within that literary generalism, however, I focused my attentions on medieval English literature and the ways in which it has been transmitted and appropriated; more narrowly within that, I have attended to Arthurian legendry. Both my master's thesis and doctoral dissertation explicitly concern themselves with Arthuriana, as do one of my earlier scholarly publications and a number of my conference presentations. That I am an Arthurianist is fairly well established. That I would therefore focus my teaching in a survey of earlier British literature on Arthuriana therefore makes sense. I think that the Broadview Anthology of British Literature does a better job treating Arthuriana than does the Norton, and for that reason, as well as the others I name, I selected it as the textbook for my Spring 2014 section of ENGL 2543: Survey of British Literature I at Oklahoma State University.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Updates to Course Pages
Students in my Spring 2014 classes, please be advised that I have made updates to the course pages for ENGL 1113 and ENGL 2543. I have also begun to put materials on the relevant D2L pages. It will be much to your advantage to begin to review materials early; while they will update, having a head start on things is markedly helpful.
I hope to make this semester a good one for everybody involved. Your preparation will be of great help in doing so.
I hope to make this semester a good one for everybody involved. Your preparation will be of great help in doing so.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Regarding a Grading Practice of Mine
When I mark student work, I tend to make end-comments more frequently than I do in-line or sidebar comments. What usually happens is that I develop a digital form which I keep open in a window alongside that in which I open the document I am evaluating, and as I read the latter, I make comments in the former. From those comments, I determine the assessment I will accord to the student document, and the score and my comments are appended to the end of the student document before I send it back to the student and enter the grade into my records. This allows me to evaluate papers fairly quickly while still allowing for reasonably thorough assessment.
It also allows me to set up yet more practice for my students. I have found that when I do leave in-line or sidebar comments, my students make no other adjustments to their papers than the things specifically commented-upon. When there are systemic issues, they are not corrected throughout the students' papers, and the students tend to repeat the same errors in future work. (Too, if I do miss one or two errors--as happens, since I am but human--they are not corrected when the students go back over their work if all the students do is "fix" what is marked.) Offering end-comments, however, denies the students the easy fix-what-is-marked-and-everything-else-is-fine option for correction. It requires students, if they will actually work to improve upon their papers (and several have told me that they do not), to read through their work carefully, paying attention not only to the surface-level concerns that they and many members of the general public equate with "good" writing, but to the deeper issues of content and style that actually make for good writing. Admittedly, it involves more work for students, prompting complaints (oddly frequently from the same students who will beg for extra credit opportunities), but it also involves the kind of self-evaluation and assessment that typifies good writing, meaning that it is a valuable exercise for students to do.
It also allows me to set up yet more practice for my students. I have found that when I do leave in-line or sidebar comments, my students make no other adjustments to their papers than the things specifically commented-upon. When there are systemic issues, they are not corrected throughout the students' papers, and the students tend to repeat the same errors in future work. (Too, if I do miss one or two errors--as happens, since I am but human--they are not corrected when the students go back over their work if all the students do is "fix" what is marked.) Offering end-comments, however, denies the students the easy fix-what-is-marked-and-everything-else-is-fine option for correction. It requires students, if they will actually work to improve upon their papers (and several have told me that they do not), to read through their work carefully, paying attention not only to the surface-level concerns that they and many members of the general public equate with "good" writing, but to the deeper issues of content and style that actually make for good writing. Admittedly, it involves more work for students, prompting complaints (oddly frequently from the same students who will beg for extra credit opportunities), but it also involves the kind of self-evaluation and assessment that typifies good writing, meaning that it is a valuable exercise for students to do.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Beginning Comments Regarding the Spring 2014 Term at Oklahoma State University
I have received my teaching schedule for the Spring 2014 term at Oklahoma State University. As of this writing, I am teaching the following:
Calendars for the upcoming term are not among the materials currently posted. I do not anticipate being away from classes for conference work this term, but I do expect to be called away for one or two class meetings in late March for family business. The date is yet to be determined, although the event is expected. More information in that regard will be posted as it becomes available.
Until then, please check this webspace and the course pages for updates and additional information. I look forward to returning to the work of teaching.
- ENGL 1113: Composition I (two sections)
- ENGL 2543: Survey of British Literature I (one section)
Calendars for the upcoming term are not among the materials currently posted. I do not anticipate being away from classes for conference work this term, but I do expect to be called away for one or two class meetings in late March for family business. The date is yet to be determined, although the event is expected. More information in that regard will be posted as it becomes available.
Until then, please check this webspace and the course pages for updates and additional information. I look forward to returning to the work of teaching.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Yet More Concluding Comments for the Fall 2013 Term at Oklahoma State University
More preliminary results from my Fall 2013 classes are available. For my ENGL 3323: Technical Writing classes, of which I had two, the
following is true:
- Total end-of-term enrollment: 35 (17 in earlier section, 18 in later)
- Average course grade: B (819/1000 in earlier section, 787/1000 in later)
- Number of students earning A (900+/1000 points): 0
- Number of students earning F (<600/1000 points): 1, for procedural reasons
More Concluding Comments for the Fall 2013 Term at Oklahoma State University
Some preliminary results from my Fall 2013 classes are available. For my ENGL 1113: Composition I classes, of which I had two, the following is true:
- Total end-of-term enrollment: 33 (15 in earlier section, 18 in later)
- Average course grade: C (715/1000 in earlier section, 752/1000 in later)
- Number of students earning A (900+/1000 points): 0
- Number of students earning F (<600/1000 points): 2, both for procedural reasons
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Some Concluding Comments for the Fall 2013 Term at Oklahoma State University
I realize that I have been far from diligent in maintaining this webspace this term. I will not make excuses for the deficiency, although I will note that it seems to have not affected student performance substantially; the average grades in the four classes I taught this term seem to be much as they were at comparable institutions, as does the distribution of individual assignment grades. I take some small comfort in knowing that my deficiency has not translated into student deficiency.
Even so, I am annoyed by my lack of performance even more than I have in the past been with demonstrated lacks from my students. They are in a position to learn, and so errors from them are to be expected. I am still learning--I am not so arrogant as to believe that I know all that I need to know--but I am supposed to have demonstrated a work ethic superior to that I expect of my students, here and elsewhere. That I have not done so galls me, despite the lack of actual and enforceable consequences upon me for the lack.
There is perhaps a teachable thing in this. Even if I am not strictly accountable to others for what I do or do not do here, I am accountable to myself for my in/actions. The intrinsic motivation demonstrated (if abortively) is something I hope that my students will develop in their own lives as readers and writers; to truly engage with the written word requires that the reason for doing so come from within rather than without. Indeed, the purpose of the external motivation of the GPA and accolade is to get students--any of us who read and write, really--accustomed to engaging with text so that the internal drive to attend to text and respond to it in kind can be given mental space and material to develop.
Even if it is the case that the internal motivation sometimes falters, as I have shown this term, it is the only real means to find an authentic readerly method and writerly voice, and it is towards the development of those in my students that my teaching is in no small part directed.
Even so, I am annoyed by my lack of performance even more than I have in the past been with demonstrated lacks from my students. They are in a position to learn, and so errors from them are to be expected. I am still learning--I am not so arrogant as to believe that I know all that I need to know--but I am supposed to have demonstrated a work ethic superior to that I expect of my students, here and elsewhere. That I have not done so galls me, despite the lack of actual and enforceable consequences upon me for the lack.
There is perhaps a teachable thing in this. Even if I am not strictly accountable to others for what I do or do not do here, I am accountable to myself for my in/actions. The intrinsic motivation demonstrated (if abortively) is something I hope that my students will develop in their own lives as readers and writers; to truly engage with the written word requires that the reason for doing so come from within rather than without. Indeed, the purpose of the external motivation of the GPA and accolade is to get students--any of us who read and write, really--accustomed to engaging with text so that the internal drive to attend to text and respond to it in kind can be given mental space and material to develop.
Even if it is the case that the internal motivation sometimes falters, as I have shown this term, it is the only real means to find an authentic readerly method and writerly voice, and it is towards the development of those in my students that my teaching is in no small part directed.
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