More Preparatory Comments for the Fall 2014 Term at Oklahoma State University

I have just received word that my teaching schedule has shifted. Instead of what it was on 4 June 2014, it is now as follows:

• ENGL 2413.005 (MWF 1230-1320, Morrill 301)
• ENGL 3323.004 (MWF 1130-1220, Morrill 208)
• ENGL 3323.006 (MWF 1330-1420, Morrill 103)
• ENGL 3323.007 (MWF 1430-1320, Morrill 103)

I look forward to having less preparatory work.

An Article to Bring to the Attention of ENGL 3323 Students

During my morning reading, I came across Alex Malley's 16 June 2014 LinkedIn piece "Stop Sending out Boring Resumes." In it, Malley offers a few recommendations for reconsideration of how to put together an effective resume. Rethinking the conception of a resume, particularly through a literary metaphor, and having other people review the work before sending it off, are prominent among the suggestions, and they strike the eye as being good ones to follow.

Since one of the prescribed assignments for ENGL 3323 at Oklahoma State University is a job packet, including a resume, I thought the article relevant. For that reason, I tag it here for consideration.

Some Articles, Briefly

Not all of the work I do is in the service of my academic career; a fair bit of it anymore is in freelance writing, working for clients to produce the texts they need. It has proven illuminating thus far, giving me practice in writing quickly and efficiently in a variety of styles and on a variety of subjects. From time to time, it also offers me things that I think might be useful in my teaching endeavors, such as the two articles linked and briefly discussed below.

Gretchen Rubin's 9 October 2013 article "Resentful? Overworked? Face These Painful Facts about Shared Work," posted to The Happiness Project, lays out a number of problems with group projects in the workplace. My own experience and that reported to me by students in the past tells me that the same problems apply to work on such classroom endeavors as the ENGL 3323 group assignments: Internal Proposal and External Analytical Report. Rubin's article might be a useful bit from which to base discussion leading up to the collaborative project. It also offers some useful material for discussion of document design and writing style.

Emily Shepard's 6 December 2013 article, "Films, Media, and Politics: Their Influence on the Devaluation of Women's Bodies," posted to BCRW Blog, investigates in brief how the three noted agents conduce to the way in which women are forced to be their bodies and how those bodies are then rendered of lesser importance. It also moves toward the kind of undergraduate research that is increasingly well regarded among scholars of college composition, as I found when I attended CCCC earlier this year. And it further works as an entry into the kind of online scholarship advocated by Kathleen Fitzpatrick in the 2011 issue of Profession. It might therefore be useful as an introductory example for research papers in ENGL 1213 and ENGL 2413 (although it is far too brief to be a full model for either) or as an example of a revised sort of Creative/Electronic-Media Project for ENGL 3323. (I am not happy with the offerings I have on the course website as of this writing; I will be revising the project information for the Fall 2014 term.)

I will doubtlessly encounter other pieces that may be of interest. If and when I do, I may well post about them to this blog. How many and how often remain to be seen.

Initial Comments for the Fall 2014 Term at Oklahoma State University

I have at last received my teaching schedule for the Fall 2014 term at Oklahoma State University. It is as follows:

• ENGL 1213.015 (MWF 1530-1620)
• ENGL 2413.005 (MWF 1230-1320)
• ENGL 3323.004 (MWF 1130-1220)
• ENGL 3323.007 (MWF 1430-1520)

The schedule is later in the day than I am used to having, and I do not know how matters will be different with the shift. What I will do with my required office hours, I do not yet know, but I will figure out an approach to take.

Over the next few weeks, I will be updating my course pages with information about major assignments, including the syllabus and course calendar for each. Announcements of changes will likely appear on this blog as the changes are made.

Summative Comments for the Spring 2014 Term at OSU

It is admittedly later than this ought to have been done, but it still befits that I post concluding comments for the Spring 2014 term at OSU, much as I did for the Fall 2013 term (here, here, and here). I begin with numerical breakdowns before offering more general, reflective comments.

ENGL 1113.006
End-of-term enrollment: 18
Average course grade: C (710/1000)
Number of students earning A (900+/1000): 1
Number of students earning F (<600/1000): 6, 5 due to attendance policies

ENGL 1113.007
End-of-term enrollment: 16
Average course grade: C (748.75/1000)
Number of students earning A (900+/1000): 1
Number of students earning F (<600/1000): 3, 2 due to attendance policies

ENGL 2453.002
End-of-term enrollment: 14
Average course grade: C (748.7143/1000)
Number of students earning A (900+/1000): 3
Number of students earning F (<600/1000): 1

Comments
How matters have changed since last term is unclear, with some students having earned into the A range and the course average scores sitting in the C--"average" by long consensus--range, if perhaps lower than last time. Not reported are the relatively many students who earned at the extreme high end of the B range, with scores in the 890s. Also not reported in the raw numerical breakdown is the opportunity for bonus points offered to the students in each class; both sections of ENGL 1113 were awarded substantial bonuses, and students in ENGL 2543.002 had the chance at extra credit on the final exam by answering additional questions (not all availed themselves of it, and not all who did benefited from doing so).

More online materials were made available to students in each class, which seems to have been helpful for those students who were motivated to make use of such things. Not all seem to have been, however; online surveys attempted to ascertain student use of materials, but too few responses were forthcoming for the exercise to make any judgments.

Future teaching will likely continue to deploy online examples--and to do so through platforms other than those maintained by the school. My position is a visiting appointment, after all, and I may need to be able to take my materials with me.

Class Reports, ENGL 2543.002 and ENGL 1113.007, 20140505

ENGL 2543 began as scheduled at 8am in Morrill Hall Room 202. The class roster listed fourteen students, unchanged since the last class meeting. Thirteen attended.

ENGL 1113.007 began as scheduled at 10am in Morrill Hall Room 106. The class roster listed sixteen students, unchanged since the last class meeting. Fifteen attended.

Both classes sat for final exams. Attendance was taken via exam submission. Grades will be posted when available; students are advised that D2L numbers do not reflect adjustments for absences.

Summative comments for the semester are forthcoming.

Class Reports, ENGL 1113.006 and ENGL 1113.007, 20140502

ENGL 1113.006 began as scheduled at 11:30am in Classroom Building Room 108. The class roster listed eighteen students, unchanged since the last class meeting. Thirteen attended.

ENGL 1113.007 began as scheduled at 12:30pm in Classroom Building Room 122. The class roster listed sixteen students, unchanged since the last class meeting. Eleven attended.

Discussion focused on concerns of the final exam. Class time was curtailed to permit student evaluations of the instructor. Attendance was assessed informally.

Class Report, ENGL 2543.002, 20140502

Class began as scheduled at 9:30am in Morrill Hall Room 202. The class roster listed fourteen students, unchanged since last class meeting. All attended.

Discussion consisted of review for the final exam. Class concluded with student evaluations of the instructor.

Attendance was assessed informally.

Class Reports, ENGL 1113.006 and ENGL 1113.007, 20140430

ENGL 1113.006 began as scheduled at 11:30am in Classroom Building Room 108. The class roster listed eighteen students, unchanged since last class meeting. Twelve attended.

ENGL 1113.007 began as scheduled at 12:30pm in Classroom Building Room 122. The class roster listed sixteen students, unchanged since the last class meeting. Thirteen attended.

Discussion continued to focus on explication of Bisson's "Billy and the Spacemen" in preparation for the final exam. Some twenty minutes of class time was given to a quiz, through which attendance was assessed.

Class Report, ENGL 2543.002, 20140430

Class began as scheduled at 9:30am in Morrill Hall Room 202. The class roster listed fourteen students, unchanged since last class meeting. All attended.

Discussion centered on Johnson and the differences between descriptive and prescriptive lexicography. Commonalities of criticism of Paradise Lost were noted, as well.

Attendance was assessed via a quiz.