"End of Composition"

What is the "End of Composition"? How do we get there? What are the principles of good writing instruction that will get us there?

I believe the end goal of composition courses should be that the students of the courses should know how to communicate well. Effective communication encompasses several aspects of writing: one must know how to think critically, make logical arguments, and phrase their thoughts in such a way that is convincing to their audience or, at the very least, write in such a way that is clearly understood. I think a lot of what is going on in 1301 is gearing students toward meeting that end. For example, the summary and paraphrase assignments required that students read and comprehend complex material, and though students might not realize it, this practice helps them to communicate better as they are not only seeing examples of articles with good writing (for the most part), but they are also imitating it through their assignments. While not every student will give their assignments the attention they deserve or require, I think the ones who do will benefit and will become better communicators upon finishing their course. And despite the fact that I sometimes have mixed feelings toward the system of ttopic, I've realized that having multiple online graders better enables students to write across disciplines, which seems to be a big purpose of having all Tech students take 1301. Just as students will have to write for several different subject areas throughout their college career, having several different graders will help students to learn how to communicate in a way that satisfies any reader, despite what nuances each person has. That is ideally what the students should be able to gain from a composition course.

teaching philosophy

A philosophy of composition or a philosopy of teaching is the combination of ideas about writing and learning and methods of helping students learn that guide teachers' decisions in the classroom. For example, as we've been talking about in class, some writing instructors believe that grammar should be taught in classes while others don't. Teaching philosophies definitely vary from instructor to instructor, evident in the different types of activities and assignments in classes. In my own teaching philosophy, I believe that I will want to incorporate more of a discussion-based classroom than lecture. I'm not sure how well I will be able to pull this off at first, but I'm certainly going to try. And while I believe grammar is terribly important, I'm hoping that I won't beat it into my students' heads but that I will instead make it something that is interesting and enlightening. As to everything else that goes into teaching, I'm not quite sure yet. I know that I want my classroom to be fun and a place where students aren't afraid to talk about their thoughts and ideas, but don't all teachers? I'm sure I'll discover other areas of my teaching philosophy as I get closer to actually getting into a classroom of my own.

facilitators

I'm a bit confused by this question. It seems that the obvious answer is that the teachers in ICON are facilitators of learning. Perhaps they are similar to the UWC in that when a student/client goes to the UWC, the tutors help the client in an "I'm on your side and want to help you do well" kind of way. Similarly, the teachers of ICON can play the good-guy card in they are not the primary graders and can phrase lessons in such a way that it really makes the students feel like the teacher is on their side to help them beat the graders. :) little do they know that it's all a big conspiracy...

composition concepts

It is a bit difficult for me to choose the most important concepts to my teaching styles as I have never formally taught a class. I can surely forsee what would matter most to me, though. If we are to choose from the four concepts listed in the article "Philosophies of Composition," then I would have to choose all but mimetic.

Most important to me is the expressive. When one writes in expressively, then the content matters much to the writer, making it more enjoyable for any who read it. It is nearly impossible, I have found, to write about something that truly matters to oneself without having that sincerity come through the writing.

Rhetorical is next in importance; when one considers his or her audience and what the audience is anticipating to read, then the writing will be more relevant to the assignment given. This comes second to the expressive philosophy, but a very close second. A truly well-written work would be equally shared between the expressive and rhetorical theories.

Lastly, the formalist theory must come into play in concepts of importance to me simply because I love grammar and punctuation and the way they make our language clear. While a work without correct grammar might still be readable, the presence of grammatical correctness adds much to any writing. At times, one might not even notice when all is well grammatically speaking; however, when a work is plagued with errors, the ideas within the writing often become difficult to discern. It seems to me that a truly well-done piece (grammatically) is one where the punctuation and grammar are not even noticed. The role of grammar and punctuation is to make clear the communication being done, so when grammar and punctuation serve the writing appropriately, they should go unnoticed; the ideas within the writing will, therefore, be the main focus.

Although I listed the formalist theory last in level of importance, it would seem by the length which I spent on it that it is first. Perhaps it is, though I surely hope it isn't.