Moreland Teaching Portfolio
Moreland Teaching Portfolio
Moreland Teaching Portfolio
Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
Teaching Portfolio
Kelly A. Moreland
Ph.D. Candidate, ABD
Bowling Green State University
morelak@bgsu.edu
Website: kellymoreland.net
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
Over the past five years I have taught several sections of undergraduate and
graduate courses in Rhetoric and Composition, across two university environments.
At both Gannon University, a small Catholic liberal arts university, and Bowling
Green State University, a large research university, I had opportunities to teach
students with diverse backgrounds, majors, and career/life goals. While each
university fostered a unique curricular approach, accompanied by preferred
teaching methods and policies, both environments have influenced my appreciation
for writing programs as community spaces that are integral to writing transfer and
student success in and beyond the university.
kellymoreland.net 2
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
Student Evaluations……………………………………………………………………………………………………59
kellymoreland.net 3
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
kellymoreland.net 4
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
myself in the classroom and how I projected my voice; and it also involved mass-
sharing of teaching materials, such as syllabuses, project descriptions, lesson plans,
and response to student writing. Performing my role as co-teacher in those courses,
but also as peer GTA, allowed me to demonstrate the course content firsthand and
show students how to enact that course content in our local writing program.
I see all teaching, from the graduate composition practicum to first-year writing
and everything in between, as an opportunity to consciously model the ways of
authentic (academic) discourse(s). While teacher preparation courses require
modeling of teaching discourses, as I shared in the example above, I also practice
modeling in first-year writing courses. For example, I often share my own writing
with students for their learning and critique. In my first-year research writing
courses, I offer the research paper I wrote in my own first-year writing course as
an example. Students and I spend time talking through my paper’s strengths and
its areas for improvement so that they might ultimately transfer that knowledge
into their own writing. Modeling authentic academic discourse through mentorship
positions my classrooms not only as student-centered learning spaces, but as
activist spaces, where we imagine, create, learn, and labor together toward
common goals.
Classrooms are activist spaces.
My pedagogy is, perhaps above all else, feminist. As such, I strive to co-create with
my students classroom spaces—broadly defined—where all voices are heard and
celebrated and where we acknowledge the classroom, as well as our university and
local contexts, as communities to which we are responsible. I fall back on several
feminist teachers for support in my pedagogical endeavors—e.g., Sara Ahmed, bell
hooks, Shari Stenberg—but perhaps none as much as Kay Siebler, who in her book
Composing Feminismsii provides 16 themes of feminist pedagogy that I consistently
use to guide my practice, from syllabus design through post-course reflections.
While I aim to perform all of Siebler’s themes in my teaching, I particularly align
myself with this: “Creating connections between learning and knowing and
connections between classroom and community issues.” I see classrooms as
community spaces, but even so, I recognize that learning is not—cannot be—
isolated to one class, one discipline, one university, one geographical or cultural
context. One way I practice activist pedagogy is through my assessment practices.
Students in my classes will not “receive” grades on their writing projects: they will
receive extensive feedback intended to lead them toward rhetorically effective
writing. Recently I’ve taken up labor-based contract gradingiii in my courses—an
intentionally anti-racist practice that allows the instructor, me, to take the emphasis
off of letter grades in order to move toward true learning and understanding of
course content. Such an activist, collaborative approach turns classrooms into
spaces where students write with purpose, where we learn and write for change.
Working with Siebler’s themes, I have found that my students and I learn best in
classes where we respond to our academic and civic commitments by asking
questions and lingering in, problematizing, those questions. When we start small,
as Brandt suggests, and seek to learn in order to foster positive change, we are
better writers, students, teachers, and global participants.
kellymoreland.net 5
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
I co-taught ENG 6020: The Composition Instructors’ Workshop with Dr. Lee
Nickoson in Fall 2016 and Fall 2017. I designed and took the lead on teaching the
Fall 2017 course, the syllabus for which I share here. ENG 6020 is a composition
practicum: graduate teaching associates enroll concurrently as they teach their first
section of GSW 1110: Introduction to Academic Writing at BGSU. The course was
preceded by a one-week orientation to the General Studies Writing Program, led by
myself and Dr. Nickoson. The Composition Instructors’ Workshop aims to support
first-time GTAs by seeing them through the preparation and teaching of their GSW
courses, introducing them to composition pedagogies and theories, and guiding
them through first attempts at professionalizing their teaching experience. My
design of the Fall 2017 course emphasizes TAs’ embodied performance of teaching
as experiential learning.
kellymoreland.net 6
GSW 1120: Academic Writing
Section 2012 • Fall 2018 • TR 4:00–5:15 • Hayes 107
Welcome to the course syllabus for GSW 1120. Any information you may need for the course,
including info about me (the course instructor), the assignments, course policies, etc. can be
found here. I look forward to a wonderful and successful semester with all of you!
Course Description
GSW 1120, “Academic Writing,” is the last in the series of General Studies Writing (GSW)
courses offered at BGSU. Although there are probably hundreds of varieties of academic
writing that occur in various contexts (some of which you may have explored in 1100 or 1110),
in this class we concentrate on varieties of writing that are especially prominent in academic
settings.
The emphasis in GSW 1120 is on developing your critical and analytical skills in reading,
thinking, and writing. Specifically, GSW 1120 is designed to give you instruction and extensive
practice in reading scholarly articles, writing critiques of what you read, making logical
connections among several sources, and writing about those connections. As part of your
GSW 1120 research requirement, you will also learn to use the BGSU library effectively and to
utilize a variety of academic sources in your writing. In addition to helping you further develop
your critical, analytical, and rhetorical skills, GSW 1120 will provide opportunities for you to
consider, critique, and confirm your own and others’ values and the importance these values
play in communication in all academic disciplines and professions.
Instructor Information
Ms. Kelly Moreland
Email: morelak@bgsu.edu
Office: East Hall 213C
Office Hour: Tuesday 2:00–3:00 p.m. & by appointment
Campus Mailbox: 210 East Hall
About me: I practice feminist pedagogy, which means
that I strive to hear, value, and celebrate all voices in my
classrooms and I see my and my students’ work
together as a collaboration. My approach to teaching
GSW centers on transfer: I want to teach students about
writing—how writing works—so that they can take that
writing knowledge with them and apply it to other
contexts beyond our class.
Course Materials/Texts
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• Readings (as assigned on Canvas – all are digital and open-access)
• A way to back up your work (e.g., a USB flash drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.)
• Regular access to your BGSU email and our course Canvas site
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ECOC 6: Demonstrate critical thinking, reading, GSW 1120 1: Apply curiosity in research-based writing.
and writing strategies when crafting arguments
GSW 1120 4: Read multiple genres of academic
that synthesize multiple points of view.
research-based writing.
GSW 1120 8: Communicate example-based reflections
about one’s writing to a range of audiences.
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course grading contract (below) for an explanation of how these writing projects will factor into
your final course grade.
Research Proposal The proposal assignment is based on your topic for the research
report due at the end of the class. The proposal should include: a
(750-1100 words)
statement of the problem, objectives, review of literature, and the
rest can all be subheadings where you include:
• Statement of the problem and its relevance
• Statement of the objective, or the concepts behind the way
in which your investigation will address the issue
• Review of the literature or previous work done on the
problem
• Methods for doing the work
• Budget and Schedule
• Expected Results
• Works to be consulted
Your research project can address either a general audience
(implied audience: the professor and the class) or a specialized
audience in your field.
Annotated Bibliography For the annotated bibliography you will create a list of references
& Research Review you plan to cite for your researched project and annotate them, or
write a short description of each that includes a summary and
(1500-1850 words)
evaluation. Along with your annotated bibliography of 8-10
sources, you will compose a research review as an update on
your plan for writing your researched project.
Researched Project For the researched project you will conduct the research study
you designed for your researched project proposal (or a revised
(2000-2500 words)
version) and compose an academic argument that attempts an
answer at your research question. In order to complete your
autoethnography (see description below), you will collect data for
that project simultaneously as you write your researched project.
Self-Reflection: The autoethnography project will ask you to make a multimodal
Autoethnography representation/documentation of your process for conducting a
research project. You will collect (audio)visual data for this project
(750-1100 words, or
while you are working on your researched project in order to
about 6-7 minutes)
compose a multimodal representation of your academic writing
process. Your autoethnography will answer the question, “How
did I conduct research for this project?” You will explore the
necessary steps of completing your research and reflect on how
you could have approached the research differently, or what you
might consider in future research projects based on your
experience in GSW 1120.
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e-portfolio
As the culminating artifact representative of your work in GSW 1120, you will assemble a
Canvas e-portfolio. I encourage you to view the e-portfolio as a celebration of your writing
efforts this semester. Consider your personal goals for the course and the learning goals
presented on the syllabus—in what ways have you accomplished these goals? What do you
want to accomplish next, and how will your learning in this course help you achieve those
goals? Through your own reflection, the e-portfolio should lead you to answer these questions.
To assemble your GSW 1120 e-portfolio, you will need to consider all of the writing projects
you’ve completed throughout semester to determine which represent your strongest and most
meaningful writing. Your e-portfolio must include your Autoethnography (as a reflective
introduction to the e-portfolio) and your Researched Project (or a revised version). You
should include a minimum of three formal writing projects in your e-portfolio, but you might also
consider including particular informal writings, or comments generated in response to peer
writing, as additional representations of significant moments of development and/or success
with writing. The works in your e-portfolio will need to represent a minimum of 20 double-
spaced pages (about 5000 words) of polished writing.
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Adapted from Cheryl Ball, “Multimodal Composition (Fall 2011)” and Asao Inoue “Grading Contract for FYW.”
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“B” Grades
You are guaranteed to earn a course grade of “B” if you meet all of the following conditions:
1. Participation, and by extension, Attendance. You agree to fully participate in at least
27 out of 30 of our scheduled class sessions, their activities, and assignments. This
means you will need to be present and participate in class unless the schedule
specifically indicates that class is canceled that day. If you miss more than two classes,
consider your grade in jeopardy. Attendance at conferences with me is considered the
same as class time—missing a scheduled conference will result in 2 non-
participation days.
Note: Writing not turned in because of an absence, either assigned on the schedule or
in class, will be late or missing (depending on when you turn it in, see guidelines #4 and
#5 below).
Any absence due to a university-sponsored group activity (e.g., sporting event, band,
etc.) will be considered independently of the above attendance policy, as long as you
FIRST provided written documentation in the first 2 weeks of the semester of all
absences. The same policy applies to students who have mandatory military-related
absences (e.g., deployment, work, duty, etc.). Again, you must provide written
documentation stating when you will be absent. This will allow us to determine how you
will meet assignments in our contract, despite being absent.
2. Lateness. You agree to come on time or early to class. Walking in late 1-2 times during
the semester is understandable, but more than 3 will turn into a non-participation day. If
you show up late, leave early, or disappear (or fall asleep) for fifteen minutes in the
middle of class, it will affect your participation.
Note: This includes participation during in-class writing time. I expect you to be
concentrating on your work for GSW 1120 when I’ve given you time in class to do so.
When you leave early (especially without talking to me) or work on tasks unrelated to
our class during that time, you are not participating in class.
3. Sharing and Collaboration. You agree to work cooperatively and collegially in groups.
This may be the easiest of all our course expectations to figure out, but we’ll have some
discussions on what we expect from each other.
4. Late Work. You agree to turn in properly and on time all the work and assignments
expected of you. This means you’ll follow the instructions and guidelines for each
assignment. During the semester you may, however, turn in a few informal writing
assignments late. The exact number of those assignments is stipulated on the table on
the last page of this contract. Late work is defined as any informal assignment that
is turned in AFTER the due date/time BUT within 48 hours of the deadline. Does
not apply to formal writing projects.
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(see table below). To earn a final grade of “B,” you may accumulate no more than 2
missing informal assignments.
“A” Grades
As you can see, the “B” grade depends primarily on behavior and effort. Grades of “A,”
however, require more effort outside of class. In order to earn an “A,” you must complete the
conditions for the “B” grade above, and:
A.1 Attend the GSW Fall 2018 Writing Showcase. The Showcase is a public, low-stakes
celebration of writing excellence in the General Studies Writing Program. The
Showcase will take place on Friday, Nov. 30 from 4:00-6:30 p.m. in East Hall. You
are most welcome to sign up to present a poster or propose a paper presentation (the
submission deadline is Friday, Nov. 9), however to earn a final grade of “A” in GSW
1120 you are only required to attend the Showcase. I do expect you to arrive on time
and stay for the duration of the event.
A.2 Write a 350-400 word reflection on your experience at the GSW Fall 2018 Writing
Showcase. You are welcome to share your thoughts on the whole Showcase
experience, but in your reflection you should also choose one poster or paper that
particularly drew your attention, describe the poster/paper’s main points or thesis, and
discuss how the poster/paper represents academic writing. Consider the following as
possible guiding questions for your reflection (not “musts” for your written response):
What kind of research is happening in the poster/paper—what’s the genre of writing?
What methods did the author use to conduct research? What were the results? How is
the research relevant—who is the audience? what makes this writing academic? And
what made this poster/paper stand out to you—why did you choose to write about it?
A.3 Present a version of your Researched Project or your Autoethnography Project to the
class during our end-of-semester celebration gathering (during our final exam period on
Friday, Dec. 14 from 3:00–5:30 p.m.). In your 5-10 minute presentation you will share a
presentation version of your writing project (either the researched project or the
autoethnography)—that is, you will revise your writing project into a presentation for the
class. Your presentation may be conversational in tone, but I do expect you to practice
your talking points, and you should prepare at least one visual aid (poster, PowerPoint,
Prezi, Canva, Piktochart, etc.). I am happy to meet with you to discuss your
presentation should you want additional guidance or feedback at the end of the
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semester. You may elect to present at the GSW Fall 2018 Writing Showcase instead of
presenting to the class.
College Credit Plus students' grades will be converted at the end of the semester to reflect
their high school's grading requirements. Below is a chart of the conversion policy for this
class.
1120 Final Course Grade CCP Grade Equivalent
A, B, or C A Outstanding or excellent performance
B Strong performance. Exceeded requirements
for completing the course.
C Satisfactory performance. Meets
requirements for satisfactorily completing the
course as described on the syllabus.
D Fails to meet minimum requirements as
NC described in syllabus. Student may have
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exceeded number of absences permitted as
stated on the course syllabus.
F ATN
I will ask each of you to consider which final course grade you would like to work toward in this
class. After conversation with me, we will both sign your GSW 1120 grading contract in
agreement to work together toward your goal.
University Policies
University Closure Due to Bad Weather: you leave for the holiday to find out what
In most cases, the University will not close for winter assignments will be due while you are absent—and
conditions unless the Wood County Sheriff’s you subsequently should have the assignments
Department declares a Level 3 emergency. Closing completed and turned in to me prior to missing class.
information will be communicated through BGSU’s
Student Veteran–Friendly Campus:
AlertBG text system, BGSU e- mail notification,
BGSU educators recognize student veterans’ rights
BGSU’s website, and Toledo’s Television stations.
when entering and exiting the university system. If
(Note: You can sign up for AlertBG by signing into
you are a student veteran, please let me know if
MyBGSU and clicking on the AlertBG tab at the top
accommodations need to be made for absences due
of the page.)
to drilling or being called to active duty.
Religious Holidays:
(Dis)Abilities Statement:
It is the policy of the University to make every
If you have a documented disability which requires
reasonable effort to allow students to observe their
accommodations in order to obtain equal access for
religious holidays without academic penalty. In such
your learning, please make your needs known to
cases, it is the obligation of the student to provide
me, preferably during the first week of the semester.
the instructor with reasonable notice of the dates of
Please note that students who request
religious holidays on which he or she will be absent.
accommodations need to verify their eligibility
Should you need to miss a class due to a religious
through the Office of Disability Services:
holiday, you should understand that absence from
http://www.bgsu.edu/disability-services.html.
classes for religious reasons does not relieve you of
responsibility for completing required work. In such Title IX Statement:
an event, you should consult with me well before Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is
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committed to providing a safe learning environment visit www.bgsu.edu/TitleIX to access information
for all students that is free of all forms of about university support and resources.
discrimination and harassment. Sexual misconduct
Academic Honesty:
and relationship violence in any form are antithetical
Please refer to BGSU’s current Student Affairs
to the university’s mission and core values, violate
Handbook found at
university policies, and may also violate federal and
http://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/student-
state law. Faculty members are considered
affairs/Student-Conduct/documents/Student-
“Mandatory Reporters” and are required to report
Handbook.pdf for information regarding BGSU’s
incidents of sexual misconduct and relationship
academic honesty policies. These policies and
violence to the Title IX Coordinator. If you or
penalties apply to our class, as well as to all other
someone you know has been impacted by sexual
classes at BGSU. We will discuss plagiarism and
harassment, sexual assault, dating or domestic
academic honesty in more depth this semester.
violence, or stalking, please
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Course Schedule
This course schedule may change due to cancellations, advanced or slowed progress through
course material, or the class’s needs. Changes will be announced during regular class
meetings in ample time for the class to adjust.
Important Dates & Deadlines:
August 27 First Day of Classes
September 2 Last Day to Add Classes without College Permission
September 9 Last Day to Drop Classes without College Permission
November 16 Last Day to Drop Classes with College Permission
November 21 – 23 Thanksgiving Break
December 10 – 14 Final Exam Week
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ENG 6020: Composition Instructors’ Workshop
Fall 2017 · TR 11:30-12:45 · East Hall 306
Course Description
From the course catalog: The Composition Instructors’ Workshop prepares instructors for teaching
writing in broad and local contexts. The course privileges writing pedagogy, including scholarly attention to
threshold concepts and best practices in writing studies, in addition to experiential learning, such as
classroom experience and observation. While working to construct important class materials, like syllabi
and lesson plans, instructors also craft professional documents such as teaching philosophies and
observation letters. Instructors enrolled in ENG 6020 take the course prior to or concurrently with teaching
GSW 1100, GSW 1110, or GSW 1120.
As we work together to develop the course materials you’ll need to teach your Fall 2017 GSW 1110:
Introduction to Academic Writing and Spring 2018 GSW 1120: Academic Writing, we will also explore the
real, lived experience of being/becoming a teacher of college writing. Our reading and writing this
semester will explore writing pedagogies, threshold concepts of writing studies, position statements and
guidelines for teaching writing, and examples from people and programs who demonstrate current best
practices in writing instruction. Additionally, we will explore these materials with a focus on how they might
or could relate to our local context at Bowling Green State University. Therefore, to further engage the
lived experience of writing faculty at BGSU, we will participate in professional development and service
opportunities on campus, conduct several classroom observations, and host local guest
speakers/facilitators in class. The desired learning outcomes and required course materials provided
below aim to further focus and support our learning together.
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About the Instructors
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About the Program Assistants
The General Studies Writing Program employs four Program Assistants (PAs) who are peer mentors
for new and returning Teaching Associates in the program. Each student will be part of a small group
led by one of the PAs. Think of your PA as your immediate supervisor; your go-to person for
questions and concerns about your class or program operations.
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Shipka’s From a Composition Made Whole where she discusses a
project where a student wrote an essay on a pair of ballet shoes. I
like to give my students opportunities to combine their interests
with academic writing and tailor their writing to their individual
fields of study. Students who are struggling often claim that writing
isn’t beneficial to their chosen field, but helping them to write about
issues and topics that are important to their interests and future
careers allows them to better appreciate the writing process and
how it can help further develop their critical thinking and
communication skills. I enjoy getting to know my students and their
writing abilities one-on-one and helping them become successful
writers.
Morgan McDougall
memcdou@bgsu.edu
311C East Hall
11-1 Wednesdays, and by appointment
(419) 705-0459
In this day and age, we are constantly surrounded by writing. Text
messaging, email and other modes of communication are used
more than ever before. As a teacher of writing, I do not only focus
on teaching my students to write what are considered “academic
papers.” Rather, when teaching writing, I am guiding and preparing
my students to use various types of writing effectively in their
future endeavors and careers. One of the main goals that I have
set for the course is that, after successful completion, my students
will be able to successfully compose various types of writing at the
college-level. This essentially means that students will improve
upon their grammar, discover their own rhetorical style, and
understand the formatting necessary for composing these various
texts. To accomplish these marks, my students participate in
workshop activities throughout the course of the semester, in
various parts of the writing process.
A typical day in the classroom begins with a directed free-writing
activity. This low-stakes assignment gives students the
opportunity to begin thinking about, and putting into words, the
ideas we will be working with during the class time. Following the
free-writing is a short lesson. The ideas from the lesson are then
explored in small groups by the students in some sort of guided
activity. This technique caters to multiple learning styles and
creates a comfortable classroom environment, where students
collaborate with one another on a daily basis.
Collaboration and revision are encouraged throughout each part of
the writing process. I believe that anyone can learn to write, and
anyone can be successful with their writing. Revision is an
essential piece of learning to write, as students can learn from their
mistakes, and learn to build upon their ideas. Being a successful
writer is something that anyone can achieve with practice.
Lauren Salisbury
slauren@bgsu.edu
311A East Hall
Office hours TBD
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(419) 889-4197
Through the use of online discussions and student led activities,
students become responsible for their own learning. Students in
class spaces I facilitate learn to not just ask me for help, but also
their books, online resources, and, most importantly, their peers.
Most students enter first-year writing (FYW) believing they cannot
write or are “just no good” at writing. My responsibility is not to
confirm these beliefs by overcorrecting or criticizing, but rather to
refute them. One of the most significant ways I can contest students’
lack of confidence is to allow them power to be authorities.
Untapped knowledge and experience is the richest resource
available in the FYW classroom for students and facilitators alike.
I allocate a minimal amount of time for in class lectures, and
instead create more of a problem space, where students can come
to ask questions, workshop their writing in progress, and discuss
writing and thinking openly with fellow writers. I confess to my
students at the beginning of the course that they are already
writers, experts, and meaning makers, and we will not be inventing
new identities for them but rather uncovering new facets of those
identities throughout the semester. It is my highest hope that when
students turn in their portfolios at the end of the semester they not
only feel relief that they have passed, but also pride that they have
found within themselves the already existing power and knowledge
to write.
Course Materials
• Adler-Kassner, Linda, and Elizabeth Wardle, editors. Naming What We Know: Threshold
Concepts of Writing Studies. Utah State UP, 2015.
• Vance, J.D. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Harper, 2016.
o As the university’s common reading, Hillbilly Elegy is required reading for all incoming
first-year students (i.e., the majority of students enrolled in General Studies Writing
courses).
• Regular access to our ENG 6020 Canvas course site, which will include additional handouts
and links.
• If you are able, a laptop computer to bring with you to each class session.
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Course Projects
Throughout the semester we will perform a variety of professional genres with the goals of gaining
additional professional experience and reflecting on that experience. Additional expectations for the
performance narrative and feedback analysis projects will be provided in the form of assignment
sheets during the semester.
Professional Development: Over the course of the semester you will be asked to participate in
and/or host a variety of professional development opportunities, such as attending Center for Faculty
Excellence (CFE) workshops, working on/at GSW’s Fall 2017 National Day on Writing Writing
Showcase, developing an issue of paideia: GSW’s Monday newsletter, and giving a group workshop
for GSW’s Brown Bag Colloquia. Such experiences are designed to aid in your professional
development not only as a teacher of writing, but as a faculty member associated with a particular
program and institution.
Course Observations, Reflections, and Conversations: Throughout the semester you will conduct
four class observations: of your Program Assistant, a GSW faculty member, and two of your peers.
You will compose an observation and response narrative for three of these class visits (for your peers
and your GSW faculty member partner), detailing the strengths of the instructor’s teaching. Just as
you will conduct these observations, you will also invite your PA, your peers, and a GSW faculty
member to observe your course, and therefore you will receive observations and response narratives
to include in your teaching portfolio as evidence of your teaching record. Such activities promote the
culture of teaching within GSW and allow us to experience a variety of approaches to teaching writing
as they occur here at BGSU.
Pedagogy Journal: Throughout the semester you will keep an informal Pedagogy Journal where you
keep track of your lesson planning and teaching and reflect on your experiences. The journal can
take whatever form you’d like: it could be a personal notebook or an electronic document
(alphabetically or digitally composed), or it could be published publically as a blog. For the journal you
should write at least one entry per week detailing that week’s teaching—what you did in class and
how you feel it went, perhaps with future class sessions in mind—and goal-setting for the next week.
Additionally, use the journal space to think through your (developing) identity as a writing teacher.
How do or might your practices in GSW 1110 inform your identity as a college writing instructor? How
do you envision teaching writing as part of your personal identity? Your pedagogy journal can, and
most likely will, inform the Teaching Philosophy you compose for your portfolio.
Feedback Analysis: You will record a screencast of yourself providing feedback on one project and
reflect on your process. You may choose any of the projects you assign to your GSW students for this
analysis, and you may also choose whether you record your feedback on a rough draft or final draft.
For the analysis and reflection, you might consider why you present feedback as you do and how the
feedback is meant to support the student. Please compose the reflection as an audio narration of the
feedback video. Note: Before you complete your screencast, please remove all identifying
information from the student’s project and ask that student’s permission to use their project for your
analysis. When you submit the Feedback Analysis Project, you should include the video and proof of
written permission from the student.
Performance Narrative: During one of your peer observations, a colleague will video-record you
teaching your class. You will then compose a self-reflection (written or otherwise—audio, video, etc.)
based on the video, describing and reflecting on your practices. The reflection should include a
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summary of your agenda for the class session, a self-analysis of the teaching you see in the video,
and goal-setting for future teaching. You may look to entries in your Pedagogy Journal to inform your
reflection.
Teaching Portfolio: The final project for ENG 6020 is a digital Teaching Portfolio that represents the
array of work you’ve completed this semester as a General Studies Writing instructor. You may
choose whether you would like to design your eportfolio using the Canvas portfolio tool or use
another electronic resource, such as a Wordpress blog. The portfolio is meant to support your
professionalization as a teacher of writing, which you might share with potential employers to provide
a record of your teaching. The portfolio should include a current curriculum vitae, a teaching
philosophy, at least three peer observation and response narratives (one from your PA, one from a
GSW faculty member, and one from a colleague in ENG 6020), your performance narrative and
feedback analysis projects (assignments for this class), and a sample teaching unit (e.g., your GSW
1110 course, including the syllabus, assignment sheets, and a sample lesson plan.) Additionally, you
will write a brief (one- to two-page) reflective introduction to your portfolio, describing the portfolio’s
contents and navigation as well as how the materials speak to each other and to your philosophy of
teaching writing. You are welcome to include additional materials (e.g., journal entries, feedback from
students, etc.) if you feel they contribute to your professional identity as a writing teacher; however,
additional materials are not required.
Also like the GSW 1110 courses you teach, you will earn a narrative grade for your effort in ENG 6020.
Lee will deliver your teaching portfolio and final semester narrative grades (A, B, C, D, or F) in the form of
an end-of-semester memo to you at the end of the course. You must pass ENG 6020 in order to maintain
your teaching position in the General Studies Writing Program.
As co-instructor of the course and administrator of our grading contract, Lee will formulate grades—
narrative and final—according to a rubric based on the eight habits of mind. The habits of mind (curiosity,
openness, engagement, creativity, persistence, responsibility, flexibility, and metacognition) represent
labor and effort: a willingness to take on new tasks, perhaps tasks outside of our comfort zones, and to
try. Thus, grades in this course are largely based on labor, effort, and engagement—to do well, we will
need to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and be open to trying new or different approaches to
teaching writing. We will need to engage fully in the course and live as the writing experts our students
need us to be. The table below represents a breakdown of how experiences will translate as final and
narrative course grades.
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A – Outstanding or excellent performance engaging with the habits of mind.
Student-teacher accumulates zero (0) non-participation days, zero (0) late project
assignments, and zero (0) missing or incomplete project assignments, and
participates in at least three (3) professional development opportunities.
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Exceeds Better than Average Meets Average Does Not Meet
Habits of Mind Expectations Expectations Expectations Expectations
A B C D/F
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates basic a basic desire to know
Curiosity exceptional desire to appropriate desire to desire to know more more about the world.
know more about the know more about the about the world.
world. world.
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates basic basic willingness to
exceptional willingness appropriate willingness willingness to consider consider new ways of
Openness
to consider new ways to consider new ways new ways of being and being and thinking in
of being and thinking of being and thinking thinking in the world. the world.
in the world. in the world.
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates basic basic sense of
exceptional sense of appropriate sense of sense of investment investment and
Engagement
investment and investment and and involvement in involvement in
involvement in involvement in learning. learning.
learning. learning.
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates basic basic ability to use
exceptional ability to appropriate ability to ability to use novel novel approaches for
Creativity use novel approaches use novel approaches approaches for generating,
for generating, for generating, generating, investigating, and
investigating, and investigating, and investigating, and representing ideas.
representing ideas. representing ideas. representing ideas.
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates basic basic ability to sustain
exceptional ability to appropriate ability to ability to sustain interest in and
Persistence
sustain interest in and sustain interest in and interest in and attention to short- and
attention to short- and attention to short- and attention to short- and long-term projects.
long-term projects. long-term projects. long-term projects.
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates an demonstrates the demonstrates the the basic ability to take
exceptional ability to appropriate ability to basic ability to take ownership of one’s
take ownership of take ownership of ownership of one’s actions and
Responsibility one’s actions and one’s actions and actions and understand the
understand the understand the understand the consequences of
consequences of consequences of consequences of those actions for
those actions for those actions for those actions for oneself and others.
oneself and others. oneself and others. oneself and others.
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates basic basic ability to adapt to
exceptional ability to appropriate ability to ability to adapt to situations,
Flexibility
adapt to situations, adapt to situations, situations, expectations, or
expectations, or expectations, or expectations, or demands.
demands. demands. demands.
Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher Student-teacher lacks
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates basic basic ability to reflect
exceptional ability to appropriate ability to ability to reflect on on one’s own thinking
reflect on one’s own reflect on one’s own one’s own thinking as as well as on the
Metacognition thinking as well as on thinking as well as on well as on the individual and cultural
the individual and the individual and individual and cultural processes used to
cultural processes cultural processes processes used to structure knowledge.
used to structure used to structure structure knowledge.
knowledge. knowledge.
Note: sickness or emergencies can occur; should you need to miss a class meeting or scheduled
conference, please be sure to contact Kelly (morelak@bgsu.edu) or Lee (leenick@bgsu.edu),
preferably before the class meeting in question, so that we may develop a strategy for keeping you on
track.
Please refer to the ENG 6020 Final Course Grade descriptions for an explanation of how late, missed
and/or incomplete grades matter in terms of narrative/final course grades. (Note: You can check your
Canvas gradebook any time throughout the semester to see a record of your grades.)
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Final Exam Class Meeting
Our university-scheduled final exam time, held in our regular classroom, is 10:45-12:45 Friday,
December 15. Kelly and Lee will be available during this time to talk and answer questions about the
course or the final teaching portfolio. Portfolios will be due by 12:45 p.m. on Dec. 15—the conclusion
of the final exam period.
University Policies
University Closure Due to Bad Weather
In most cases, the University will not close for winter conditions unless the Wood County Sheriff’s
Department declares a Level 3 emergency. Closing information will be communicated through BGSU’s
AlertBG text system, BGSU e-mail notification, BGSU’s website, and Toledo’s Television stations. (Note:
You can sign up for AlertBG by signing into MyBGSU and clicking on the AlertBG tab at the top of the
page.)
Religious Holidays
It is the policy of the University to make every reasonable effort to allow students to observe their religious
holidays without academic penalty. In such cases, it is the obligation of the student to provide the
instructor with reasonable notice of the dates of religious holidays on which he or she will be absent.
Should you need to miss a class due to a religious holiday, you should understand that absence from
classes for religious reasons does not relieve you of responsibility for completing required work. In such
an event, you should consult with me well before you leave for the holiday to find out what assignments
will be due while you are absent—and you subsequently should have the assignments completed and
turned in to me prior to missing class.
Accessibility Statement
If you have a documented disability that requires accommodations in order to obtain equal access for your
learning, please make your needs known to me, preferably during the first week of the semester. Please
note that students who request accommodations need to verify their eligibility through the Office of
Disability Services, 38 College Park (phone: 372-8495; TTY: 419-372-9455).
Academic Honesty:
Please refer to BGSU’s current Student Affairs Handbook and to your GSW portfolio materials for
information regarding BGSU’s academic honesty policies. These policies and penalties apply to our class,
as well as to all other classes at BGSU. We will discuss plagiarism and academic honesty in depth this
semester.
Additional Resources
The Center for Faculty Excellence is the University’s lead resource for teaching and
Center for learning support for faculty, staff, and graduate students. The CFE provides
Faculty professional development workshops, consultations, web resources, learning
Excellence communities, and more—all designed to help those involved in teaching to create
an engaged and articulate learning experience for all BGSU students.
The Collab Lab is a hands-on, creative space for students, faculty, staff and
Collab Lab community members to engage in collaborative work. Its goal is to support teams of
innovators working together to conceive, create, develop and refine new products
31
and services leveraging the unique talents inherent to the University community
which is centered on design thinking.
32
Course Schedule
This represents a tentative schedule. We may elect to revise the scheduled activities as the semester
progresses. If we do decide revisions are needed, we will post as an announcement and share the
revised schedule to the group.
33
Week Five GSW 1110 Unit IV Read: Adler-Kassner & Wardle,
Tuesday, 9/19 Discuss: Identity & writing; Concept 3, pp. 48-58; Gee,
GSW 1110 project 4 “Literacy, Discourse, and
Linguistics”
Thursday, 9/21 Workshop: GSW 1110 Bring: GSW 1110 project 4
project 4 materials materials for workshop
(schedule, assignment, Complete: Peer Observation 1
activities) by end of Week 5
Week Six Guest Facilitation: Dr. Read: Driscoll & Wells,
Tuesday, 9/26 Heather Jordan on Student “Beyond Knowledge and Skills”
Conferences Journal Spot-check
34
Week Ten No Class ☺
Tuesday, 10/24
Thursday, 10/26 Peer Response for Due: Feedback Analysis draft
Feedback Analysis drafts Read: Adler-Kassner & Wardle
Ch. 7, pp. 105-121; Wardle &
Downs, “Reflecting Back and
Looking Forward”
Week Eleven GSW 1120 Workshop Bring: GSW 1120 syllabus
Tuesday, 10/31 Form themed groups for working draft
workshop sessions
Thursday, 11/2 Discussion & Workshop: Read: Adler-Kassner & Wardle
GSW eportfolio & Self- Ch. 10, pp. 157-170
Reflective Narrative Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
Activity: Habits of Mind in GSW 1120 materials
GSW 1120
Week Twelve Discussion & Workshop: Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
Tuesday, 11/7 Teaching Philosophy GSW 1120 materials
statements
Thursday, 11/9 GSW 1120 Workshop Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
GSW 1120 materials
Journal Spot-check
Week Thirteen APA Workshop Read: “Citation Styles: Why
Tuesday, 11/14 Guest Facilitation Are They Different?”
Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
GSW 1120 materials
Thursday, 11/16 Peer Response for Due: Performance Narrative
Performance Narrative drafts draft
Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
GSW 1120 materials
Week Fourteen GSW 1120 Workshop Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
Tuesday, 11/21 GSW 1120 materials
Thursday, 11/23 No Class—Thanksgiving Enjoy your Thanksgiving break
Break ☺
Week Fifteen Teaching Portfolio Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
Tuesday, 11/28 Workshop GSW 1120 materials
Thursday, 11/30 Open Workshop: GSW Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
1120 materials, Teaching GSW 1120 materials
Portfolios Complete: Faculty observation
by end of Week 15
Week Sixteen Open Workshop: GSW Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
Tuesday, 12/5 1120 materials, Teaching GSW 1120 materials
Portfolios
Thursday, 12/7 Studio Review: Teaching Continue: Drafting eportfolio &
Portfolios GSW 1120 materials
Final Exam Meeting We will be in the GSW suite Submit Teaching Portfolio by
Friday, 12/15 for any end-of-semester 12:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15
10:45 – 12:45 questions or conferences.
Bibliography of Readings
35
Adler-Kassner, Linda, and Elizabeth Wardle, editors. Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of
Writing Studies. Utah State UP, 2015.
“Assessing Student Multimodal Work.” Kent State University, 2017,
https://www.kent.edu/english/assessing-multimodal-student-work.
Conference on College Composition and Communication. “Principles for the Postsecondary Teaching
of Writing.” National Council of Teachers of English, March 2015,
http://www.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/postsecondarywriting.
Council of Writing Program Administrators. “WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition.”
17 July 2014, http://wpacouncil.org/positions/outcomes.html.
Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National
Writing Project. “Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing.” Council of Writing
Program Administrators, Jan. 2011, http://wpacouncil.org/files/framework-for-success-
postsecondary-writing.pdf.
Downs, Douglas and Elizabeth Wardle. “Teaching About Writing, Righting Misconceptions:
(Re)Envisioning ‘First Year Composition’ as ‘Introduction to Writing Studies.’” College
Composition and Communication, vol. 58, no. 4, June 2007,
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CCC/0584-
june07/CO0854Teaching.pdf.
Driscoll, Dana Lynn, and Jennifer Wells. “Beyond Knowledge and Skills: Writing Transfer and the
Role of Student Dispositions.” Composition Forum, no. 26, Fall 2012,
http://compositionforum.com/issue/26/beyond-knowledge-skills.php.
Duffy, John. “Post-Truth and First-Year Writing.” Inside Higher Ed, 8 May 2017,
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2017/05/08/first-year-writing-classes-can-teach-
students-how-make-fact-based-arguments-essay.
Gardner, Traci. “Converting to a More Visual Syllabus.” Bedford Bits, 2 July 2015,
https://community.macmillan.com/community/the-english-community/bedford-
bits/blog/2015/07/02/converting-to-a-more-visual-syllabus.
Gayle Morris Sweetland Center for Writing. “Using Peer Review to Improve Student Writing.”
University of Michigan, 2017, https://lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/sweetland-assets/sweetland-
documents/teachingresources/UsingPeerReviewToImproveStudentWriting/UsingPeerReviewto
ImproveStudentWriting.pdf.
Gee, James Paul. “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction.” Journal of Education, vol. 171,
no. 1, 1989, pp. 5-17,
http://jamespaulgee.com/geeimg/pdfs/Literacy%20and%20Linguistics.pdf.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “No One Writes Alone: Peer Review in the Classroom, A
Guide for Instructors.” MIT Tech TV, 2011, http://techtv.mit.edu/genres/25-humanities-arts-
and-social-sciences/videos/14628-no-one-writes-alone-peer-review-in-the-classroom-a-
%20guide-for-instructors.
Reiff, Mary Jo, and Anis Bawarshi. “Tracing Discursive Resources: How Students Use Prior Genre
Knowledge to Negotiate New Writing Contexts in First-Year Composition.” Written
Communication, vol. 28, no. 3, 2011,
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0741088311410183.
Sommers, Nancy. “Responding to Student Writing.” College Composition and Communication, vol.
33, no. 2, May 1982, pp. 148-156,
https://faculty.unlv.edu/nagelhout/ENG714f10/SommersStudentWriting.pdf.
Sommers, Nancy. “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers.” College
Composition and Communication, vol. 31, no. 4, Dec. 1980, pp. 378-388,
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CCC/1980/0314-
dec1980/CCC0314Revision.pdf.
36
“Syllabus and Assignment Design.” Dartmouth Institute for Writing and Rhetoric, 15 April 2016,
http://writing-speech.dartmouth.edu/teaching/first-year-writing-pedagogies-methods-
design/syllabus-and-assignment-design.
Sasser, Tanya. “Teaching Revision vs. Editing.” Remixing College English, 24 Feb. 2014,
https://remixingcollegeenglish.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/teaching-revision-vs-editing/.
Takayoshi, Pamela, and Cynthia L. Selfe. “Thinking about Multimodality.” Multimodal Composition,
edited by Cynthia L. Selfe, Hampton, 2007, http://techstyle.lmc.gatech.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2012/08/Takayoshi-Selfe.pdf.
Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. “Reflecting Back and Looking Forward: Revisiting ‘Teaching
about Writing, Righting Misconceptions’ Five Years On.” Composition Forum, no. 27, Spring
2013, http://compositionforum.com/issue/27/reflecting-back.php.
37
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
kellymoreland.net 38
ENG 3875: Writing as Design (Sample Syllabus)
Prerequisite: ENG 2030 or ENG 2070 (3 credit hours) Offered in both fall and spring.
What theories inform how we think about the production and reception of multimodal
compositions? Students in this course will consider these theories to effectively analyze
and create texts that represent a range of genres, purposes, and audiences and a variety of
modes, which may include audio, video, and interactive projects. There will be a studio
component with an eye toward production, in an effort to develop the critical, rhetorical,
and functional literacies necessary in 21st century writing and design.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
● Use various modes of production to create a wide range of audio, video, and mixed-
mode projects
● Demonstrate meta-level awareness of their own and others’ design practices
● Formulate effective, ethical multimodal arguments which are based upon
appropriate, credible research (BGP)
● Construct materials which respond effectively to the needs of a variety of audiences
(BGP)
● Analyze how the principles of rhetoric work together to promote effective
communication (BGP)
● Utilize rhetorical strategies that are well-suited to the rhetorical situation (BGP)
● Demonstrate critical thinking, reading, and design strategies when crafting
arguments that synthesize multiple points of view (BGP)
39
Texts
Bang, Molly Picture This: How Pictures Work
Arola, Kristin L., Jennifer Sheppard, and Cheryl E. Ball, Writer/Designer
Additional Readings as provided by the instructor, including special attention to universal
design for learners and design accessibility
Major Projects
Analysis of a Multimodal Genre
This project asks students to explore the conventions and media affordances of a particular
multimodal genre. By investigating and mapping out the essential elements of the genre,
students will develop a shared language for understanding the ways we make meaning
based on the design choices that the genre allows.
Technology Demonstration - (to begin by about week 3 in the course) Working in pairs,
students will select, study, develop, and deliver an introduction to and overview of one of
the technology choices for multimodal authoring, such as those found on page 78 in
writer/designer. Tech demonstrations must include a 15-minute hands-on activity that
allows other members of the class to play with the chosen tool(s). This will be followed by a
reflection component where the team discusses the choices made to produce their tech
demonstration, explicit allocation of effort (who did what work?), and overall takeaways
from teaching a technology to others.
40
ENG 3875: Writing as Design
Weekly Schedule
Changes will be announced in advance via email and Canvas Announcement.
Course Texts
Arola, Sheppard, Ball Writer/Designer
Bang Picture This: How Pictures Work
All other readings are available on Canvas.
41
Week 4 ● Discussion of assigned Read Arola, Sheppard, Ball
Tuesday reading Ch. 4: “Working with
● Review: Citation styles Multimodal Sources” (pp.
● Workshop: Citing 57-76)
multimodal sources
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Week 7 ● Introduction to Writing Read Dànielle Nicole
Tuesday Profile Analysis video DeVoss et al. “On
project Multimodal Composing”
● Team Activity: Design
plan for Writing Profile
Analysis data collection
43
project
44
Tuesday Review for Writing team Writing Profile
Profile Analysis video Analysis video project
project
45
Feminism in Rhetoric and Composition
ENGL 4160: Special Topics in Rhetoric and Writing
Fall 2019 · Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 – 10:45 · Room TBD
Syllabus Contents
Course Description………………………………..1 Writing Projects…………………………………...2
Instructor Information…………………………….1 Grading Contract………………………………….3
Learning Goals……………………………………1 Policies…………………………………………....6
Books & Materials…………………………………2 Schedule……………………………………….....7
Course Description
This Special Topics in Rhetoric and Writing course will act as a survey on Feminism in Rhetoric
and Composition. Together, we will learn about the ways in which feminist thinkers have
influenced the field of rhetoric, particularly through the lenses of history, pedagogy,
methodology, and argument. Questions the course aims to address include: How have feminist
thinkers shaped the field as we know it today? What were early visions and practices of
feminism in the discipline?1 In what ways might feminist epistemology influence writing
pedagogy and research? How might feminist epistemology disrupt traditional notions of
argument?
Learning Goals
By the completion of this course, students will
• Demonstrate an understanding of feminist epistemology in rhetoric and composition.
• Analyze a variety of academic and worldly texts through a feminist lens.
• Design arguments rooted in feminist epistemology and/or praxis.
46
Books & Materials
• Required text: Composition Studies Through a Feminist Lens, by Shari J. Stenberg. Parlor
Press, 2013.
• Optional text: Feminism and Composition: A Critical Sourcebook, edited by Gesa E.
Kirsch, Faye Spencer Maor, Lance Massey, Lee Nickoson-Massey, and Mary P. Sheridan-
Rabideau. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
I will provide PDFs and/or links to the supplemental readings for this class via our course
management system, including the articles we’ll read from the Feminism and Composition
sourcebook. If you have additional needs regarding accessibility for the course readings, please
make arrangements with me.
Each student is expected to have continued access to our course management site and their
university email address. Additionally, students might find it useful to bring laptop or tablet
devices to class, as much of our reading, writing, and in-class activities will take place online.
Writing Projects2
Course Blog
Throughout the semester you will write five blog posts in response to your reading and our
class discussions, to be shared on our course blog. While I might suggest prompts for your
response, you are free to pick up on any topic/theme you choose, so long as it is relevant to the
content of our class. Each blog post should comprise 400-500 words of alphabetic text, or the
digital equivalent (e.g., a 3-4 minute vlog), and you should cite at least two of our course
readings in each of your responses.
Reading Circle Response & Presentation
With one or two of your classmates, you will choose one from a list of articles that apply
feminist epistemology in rhetoric and composition. You will read the article, collaboratively
write a 2-3 page response to the text, and give a 10-15 minute presentation to the class about
what you read and how the text contributes to your understanding of feminism in rhetoric and
composition. I will provide a list of texts for you to choose from. Presentation dates are
included on the course schedule—written responses are due one week prior to your
presentation.
Project Proposal
About midway through the semester, you will develop a topic and/or research question and
write a 3-5 page proposal detailing your plans for your final project. Your proposal should
include the topic or question you’re interested in exploring, a rationale for why you want to
explore that topic, a genre plan—that is, a detailed idea of what you’re going to write/make/do,
and a bibliography of 5-10 sources that inform your work.
Final Project
For your cumulative project, you will work with a question, theme, or conflict in feminist
rhetoric and composition that you are interested in exploring further. Think of our readings,
2I am open to conversation about the writing projects I’ve assigned: If something here doesn’t work for you,
contact me—I am happy to work together to come up with an alternative project(s) that suit your academic needs.
47
discussions, and blog posts as fodder for your final project: What topics from this course do you
want to learn more about, practice, or apply in your own life and work? While you are welcome
to write a “traditional” research essay for this project, I encourage you to think outside the box.
Perhaps another genre, such as an informational website, a podcast, video, teaching unit, or
live performance, better aligns with your ideas and needs. Your Final Project should be 8-10
pages of double-spaced writing, or the appropriate equivalent (we’ll talk about project length
when we meet to discuss your proposal).
Grading Contract3
You will not receive grades for your course projects in this class. Grades, in the form of letters
and numbers assigned to specific writing projects, do not improve learning. Using conventional
grading of projects and other work often leads students to think more about acquiring a certain
grade than about their writing or learning; to worry more about pleasing a teacher or fooling
one than figuring out what they really want to learn, or how they want to communicate
something to someone for some purpose. In fact, grades often get in the way of learning, if
that’s what we’re here for. An “A” doesn’t build a good bridge for an engineer, nor does it help
a reporter write a good story, or an urban planner make good decisions for her city.
Conventional grading may cause you to be reluctant to take risks with your writing or ideas; try
new things and fail – and importantly – learn from that failure. Sometimes grades even lead to
the feeling that you are working against your teacher, or that you cannot make a mistake, or
that you have to hide a part of yourself from your teacher and peers.
Instead of being graded, you will receive feedback for each of the formal projects, not to be
calculated into your grade point average, but so you have a sense of the effort you put into
your work throughout the semester. I have set up this class so you can achieve the learning
goals and excellence by learning from structured assignments that enhance your critical and
creative thinking, and by receiving plenty of informal and formal feedback on your in-progress
work.
Feedback often comes in the form of informal in-class discussions about your assignments and
individual or group conferences. For instance, when I and your peers offer critiques of your
draft projects, we assume that you will implement those revision suggestions into your drafts.
When you don’t, you should have a very good reason in relation to the purpose of the text for
not doing so. Otherwise, when I am reviewing your work, I should be able to see your progress
from the time it was workshopped as well as from informal, in-class feedback or conferences
with me. I hope that this grading system will allow you the freedom and flexibility to take risks
in your projects while also providing time for you to re-envision and revise those drafts into
more usable, sophisticated, and polished projects — without the frustration and worry often
associated with assigning letter grades to formal writing projects.
As the course instructor and administrator of our grading contract, I will formulate final grades
according to labor and effort: a willingness to take on new tasks, perhaps tasks outside of our
comfort zones, and to try, even when it takes several attempts to come to a project we are
proud of. Thus, grades in this course are based 100% on effort — to do well, we will need to
3 Our grading contract is adapted from similar documents created by Cheryl Ball, Cathy Davidson, and Asao Inoue.
48
understand and live writing (and teaching writing) as process, engage fully in the course, and
put forth our best efforts each day. Everyone in this class starts with a B/C. How you participate
and the effort you put forth changes that grade higher or lower.
So, I invite you to think about your own personal goals for the class, your goals as a student and
writer, and what you hope to learn. If those goals include earning an “A” at the end of the term,
at the end of the contract you will find a table with the effort required to earn that grade.
“B” Grades
You are guaranteed to earn a course grade of “B” if you meet all of the following conditions:
1. Participation, and by extension, Attendance. You agree to fully participate in at least 28
of our 32 scheduled class sessions, their activities, and assignments. This means you will
need to be present and participate in class unless the schedule specifically indicates
that class is canceled that day. If you miss more than three classes, consider your grade
in jeopardy. Attendance at conferences with me is considered the same as class time—
missing a scheduled conference will result in 2 non-participation days.
Note: Writing not turned in because of an absence, either assigned on the schedule or
in class, will be late or missing (depending on when you turn it in, see guidelines #4 and
#5 below).
Any absence due to a university-sponsored group activity (e.g., sporting event, band,
etc.) will be considered independently of the above attendance policy, as long as you
FIRST provided written documentation in the first 2 weeks of the semester of all
absences. The same policy applies to students who have mandatory military-related
absences (e.g., deployment, work, duty, etc.). Again, you must provide written
documentation stating when you will be absent. This will allow us to determine how you
will meet assignments in our contract, despite being absent.
2. Lateness. You agree to come on time or early to class. Walking in late 1-2 times during
the semester is understandable, but more than 3 will turn into a non-participation day.
If you show up late, leave early, or disappear (or fall asleep) for fifteen minutes in the
middle of class, it will affect your participation.
3. Sharing and Collaboration. You agree to work cooperatively and collegially in groups.
This may be the easiest of all our course expectations to figure out, but we’ll have some
discussions on what we expect from each other.
4. Late Work. You agree to turn in properly and on time all the work and assignments
expected of you. This means you’ll follow the instructions and guidelines for each
assignment. During the semester you may, however, turn in a few informal writing
assignments late. The exact number of those assignments is stipulated on the table on
the last page of this contract. Late work is defined as any informal assignment that is
turned in AFTER the due date/time BUT within 48 hours of the deadline. Does not
apply to formal writing projects.
5. Missing/Incomplete Work. If you turn work in AFTER the 48 hours stipulated in #4
above or if I have no record of you doing work or turning it in, it is considered missing.
49
Missing the work that is crucial to your development is unacceptable, so accumulating
much missing work will keep you from meeting our contract expectations (see table
below). To earn a final grade of “B,” you may accumulate no more than 1 missing
informal assignment.
6. All Assignments and Writing need to meet the following conditions:
• Complete and On Time. You agree to turn in on time and in the manner, format,
and location requested all projects, informal writing, in class activities, and
assignments that meet our agreed-upon expectations (see #4 above).
• Revisions. When the job is to revise your thinking and work, including
incorporating feedback from your instructor or peer response, you will reshape,
extend, complicate, or clarify ideas. This isn’t just correcting or touching up.
Revisions should respond to feedback, and consider it seriously, in order to be
revised.
• Copy Editing. For polished projects, your work should be well copy-edited — that
is you should spend significant time and effort to look at spelling and grammar. It’s
fine to get help with copy editing. (This doesn’t apply to working drafts).
“A” Grades
As you can see, the “B” grade depends primarily on behavior and effort. Grades of “A,”
however, require more effort outside of class. In order to earn an “A,” you must complete the
conditions for the “B” grade above, and:
A.1 Lead our class in discussion at least once during the semester. You may lead
discussion individually or with a partner. Effective discussions will engage the class in
conversation about the assigned reading. While discussion questions are fine, you might
consider this an opportunity to practice a more engaging approach (e.g., a classroom
activity). You should aim to be responsible for the class for 20 minutes – if you plan to
take longer, please discuss your plans with me ahead of time.
A.2 Write a “Feminism in the Wild” post for our course Blog. Maybe you saw a movie,
advertisement, performance, flyer, or greeting card you’d like to analyze through a
feminist lens. Perhaps you witnessed a speaker, professor, or politician demonstrate
feminist epistemology. Any appropriate personal experience or encounter you’d like to
discuss is fair game, so long as you’re prepared to put your experience in conversation
with feminist themes we’ve discussed in class. Like your other blog posts, your
“Feminism in the Wild” piece should amount to 400-500 words or the digital equivalent;
however, you do not need to cite readings from our class (but you’re welcome to, if you
see connections). Posts are due on our course blog by the last day of class.
50
Freebie
Each student may use one “freebie” for any reason during the semester for either a non-
participation day or a late or missing/incomplete informal assignment. To use your freebie,
email me indicating the class meeting or daily/informal assignment for which you would like the
freebie. (Note: the freebie only applies to informal writing assignments and cannot be
substituted for formal projects or the teaching portfolio.)
Policies
The classroom is first and foremost a space for learning, and as such, requires a respectful and
appropriate environment. As a class community, we’ll take some time during the first week of
class to discuss our expectations of ourselves and each other. Once we have determined our
policies, I will include them here on our syllabus.
51
Course Schedule: Feminism in Rhetoric and Composition
The schedule outlined below is subject to change depending on student and instructor needs.
Please be sure to check the schedule on our course management site for the most recent
revisions to the schedule.
Key: Articles marked with (SB) appear in the optional Feminism and Composition textbook for
this course; however PDFs of these articles will also be available on our course management
site. You may choose whether to read from the online PDF or the book, if you elected to
purchase it.
52
Thursday Reading Circle Presentation Read: Annas, “Style as Politics: A
Feminist Approach to the
Teaching of Writing” (SB)
Week 6 Unit II: Pedagogy Read: Stenberg Ch. 4, “Teacher
Tuesday Discussion: What is feminist and Student Identity Through a
pedagogy? Feminist Lens”
Thursday Reading Circle Presentation Read: Micciche, “Feminist
Pedagogy”; and Siebler, “A
Historical Representation of
Feminist Pedagogy”
Week 7 Read: Crabtree and Sapp,
Tuesday “Theoretical, Political, and
Pedagogical Challenges in the
Feminist Classroom: Our
Struggles to Walk the Walk”
Thursday Reading Circle Presentation Read: Breeze, “Constructing a
Sign up for midterm conferences Male Feminist Pedagogy”
Write: Blog Post No. 3 due Friday
Week 8 No Class—Fall Break
Tuesday
Thursday Unit III: Methodology Read: Ray, “Composition from
Reading Circle Presentation the Teacher-Research Point of
Discussion: Methods & View”; and Nickoson, “Revisiting
Methodologies in Rhetoric & Teacher Research”
Composition
Week 9 Peer Response: Project Proposal Bring Draft of Project Proposal to
Tuesday class for peer response
Thursday Reading Circle Presentation Read: Stenberg Ch. 5, “Research
and Writing Through a Feminist
Lens”; and Sullivan, “Feminism
and Methodology in Composition
Studies” (SB)
Write: Project Proposal due
Monday
Week 10 Read: Kirsch and Royster,
Tuesday “Feminist Rhetorical Practices: In
Search of Excellence”
Thursday Reading Circle Presentation Read: Kirsch and Ritchie, “Beyond
the Personal: Theorizing a Politics
of Location in Composition
Research”
53
Week 11 Read: Powell and Takayoshi,
Tuesday “Accepting Roles Created for Us:
The Ethics of Reciprocity”
Write: Blog Post No. 4 due Friday
Thursday Reading Circle Presentation Read: Adams, “Post-Research
Engagement: An Argument for
Critical Examination of
Researcher Roles after Research
Ends”
Week 12 Unit IV: Argument Read Stenberg Ch. 6, “Argument
Tuesday Discussion: Defining ‘Argument’ Through a Feminist Lens”
Thursday Reading Circle Presentation Read: Ratcliffe, “Rhetorical
Listening: A Trope for
Interpretive Invention and a
‘Code of Cross-Cultural Conduct’”
Week 13 Read: Lamb, “Beyond Argument
Tuesday in Feminist Composition” (SB)
Thursday No Class—Thanksgiving Break
Week 14 Discussion: Themes in Feminism Read: Lunsford & Ede, “Rhetoric
Tuesday & Composition in a New Key: Women and
Collaboration” (SB)
Thursday Discussion: So What? Read: Ahmed, “Bringing Feminist
Collaborative Writing Activity: Theory Home”
Feminist Manifesto Write: Blog Post No. 5 due Friday
Week 15 Continued: Feminist Manifesto
Tuesday Activity
Thursday Peer Response: Final Project Bring draft of Final Project to
class for peer response
Week 16 [Finals] Final Projects due by Wednesday
of finals week
54
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
In this section, I share select project that exemplify content from some of the
courses I’ve shared in the previous sections of my portfolio.
The Autoethnography is the final project I assigned in my Fall 2018 GSW 1120:
Academic Writing (first-year writing) course. This project was adapted from Downs
and Wardle’s Writing About Writing pedagogy: It asks students to compose a
multimodal project (not purely alphabetic text) about their writing process for the
researched project they wrote earlier in the semester.
The Feedback Analysis is a project I assigned in the Fall 2017 ENG 6020:
Composition Instructors’ Workshop (graduate composition practicum) course. This
project asks TAs to create a screencast where they analyze and reflect on their
response to a piece of student writing from their GSW 1110: Introduction to
Academic Writing course, which they taught concurrently as they were enrolled in
ENG 6020.
kellymoreland.net 55
GSW 1120: Autoethnography Project
Assignment Description
Assignment Guidelines1
For this project, you will be making a multimodal representation/documentation of your
process for conducting research on a topic of your choosing. Thus, you will collect data
for this project while you are working on your researched project. You will use the
data—mostly digital documentations of your process—to compose a multimodal
representation of your academic writing process for this project.
The purpose of this project is to showcase your own ways of thinking and engagement
with the research process. In this project you will discuss your expectations for the
researched project, the invention and topic-selection strategies you used to arrive at
your topic, the question you addressed, your research design for addressing that
question (did you only do library database research, or did you also conduct your own
interviews or surveys?), and your results and conclusions. Importantly, however, your
focus for this project will be on the process of conducting the research, arriving
at the results, and composing the researched essay rather than on the content of
the researched essay itself. You might think of this autoethnography project as
showing an audience of inexperienced researchers how you engaged in the research
process so as to provide helpful tips and tricks for their research.
1
Adapted from Dr. Heather Jordan’s Autoethnography Project assignment description.
56
Because the autoethnography is a multimodal project, you will need visual (and/or
audio) evidence of your writing process. This means you’ll collect data in the form of
screencasts, videos, screenshots, and/or photographs of your writing process. I also
recommend keeping reflective data—when you’re writing, and especially when you’re
having trouble with something, jot down your thoughts and save them as data for your
Autoethnography. This data can be difficult to manage, especially if you have a lot of
it—so be sure to be organized. Keep a folder (on your computer is OK—but back it up
on a flash drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.) of data specifically for each project, and give
each file a name that suggests the activity it represents. This way, when you go to
compose your Autoethnography, you’ll have a better idea of where and what things are,
which will help save you time and energy during the composing process.
The mode of your autoethnography project is ultimately up to you—however, it cannot
be a purely alphabetic text. My recommendation is video, and we’ll look at some
examples of video autoethnographies; but if you feel supremely uncomfortable working
with video, you don’t have to. You could compose a website or blog, a PowerPoint or
Prezi presentation with audio, a poster (digital or physical), a comic, a VoiceThread, or
any other mode that comes to mind. We’ll work together in class to come up with a
mode that will work for you and your project.
Project Requirements
Length: 750-1,100 words, or approximately 6-7 minutes of video/audio
Format: Multimodal. It cannot be a purely alphabetic essay.
A Final Note
I realize that working in different modes can be intimidating and, even for the most
experienced composers, it’s not easy. Your autoethnography does not need to be—and
likely will not be—a flawless attempt at a new genre. In fact, imperfections and failed
attempts are often a sign of risk-taking, which is exactly what I want to see you do with
this project. Keep in contact with me and tell me when you’re struggling or need help.
Though I am not by any means a master of all genres, there tends to be power in
numbers. I’m here to help.
57
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
kellymoreland.net 59
Bowling Green State University
Fall 2018
Course: GSW11202012: 2188 GSW 1120 1 2012 LEC 73912 GC-GSW 1120 2012 73912 : Daniel Bommarito
Instructor: Kelly Moreland *
Response Rate: 24/25 (96.00 %)
Kelly Moreland
• Kelly has done a really good job at explaining what our objectives and requirements were when she gave us assignments. She explained the course objectives when she was our instructor and
how she wanted to help us pass the class.
Kelly Moreland
• She sets expectations but is also very flexible and willing to work around you.
• The grading system was based more on apparent effort than traditional quality which I found to be an opportunity for some to not do their true best work. I did appreciate the forgiving atmosphere
and boost in the GPA though.
• Kelly set standards that weren't too hard to achieve and she helped us out to if we needed her help.
3 - The instructor offers helpful and timely feedback throughout the semester.
Kelly Moreland
Page 1 of 5
Bowling Green State University
Fall 2018
Course: GSW11202012: 2188 GSW 1120 1 2012 LEC 73912 GC-GSW 1120 2012 73912 : Daniel Bommarito
Instructor: Kelly Moreland *
Response Rate: 24/25 (96.00 %)
4 - The instructor provides opportunities and/or information to help students succeed (for example, tutoring resources, office hours, mentoring, research
projects, etc.).
Kelly Moreland
• She did a great job of offering feedback in writing conferences and answered emails promptly
5 - The instructor encourages student participation (for example, by inviting questions, having discussions, asking students to express their opinions, or other
activities).
Kelly Moreland
• This class has so much participation it's annoying (in a good way)
Kelly Moreland
• Prof Moreland is one of the most inclusive people I've met on campus
Page 2 of 5
Bowling Green State University
Fall 2018
Course: GSW11202012: 2188 GSW 1120 1 2012 LEC 73912 GC-GSW 1120 2012 73912 : Daniel Bommarito
Instructor: Kelly Moreland *
Response Rate: 24/25 (96.00 %)
• I did occasionally find it to be a struggle to do things well when it didn't seem to matter for our grades, but I do feel that I pushed myself to better my writing ability this semester.
8 - I took advantage of opportunities to interact with my instructor one-on-one during class time, by attending student-instructor conferences, by visiting my
instructor during office hours, by emailing my instructor, etc.
9 - The one-on-one time with my instructor was valuable – during class, conferences, phone calls, email, correspondence, etc.
Kelly Moreland
• The one-on-one time with Kelly was extremely helpful because she took the time to help me when I needed the help and if I had any questions she would answer them to the best of her ability,
which was really helpful.
Page 3 of 5
Bowling Green State University
Fall 2018
Course: GSW11202012: 2188 GSW 1120 1 2012 LEC 73912 GC-GSW 1120 2012 73912 : Daniel Bommarito
Instructor: Kelly Moreland *
Response Rate: 24/25 (96.00 %)
11 - The course was helpful overall in further developing my writing habits and practices throughout the semester.
• Because assignments aren't graded by letter/points/percentages, it was a bit hard for me to gauge my progression writing throughout the semester, and hard for me to know what specific areas to
improve in my writing.
13 - What is something that you can take from the course and apply to writing for other courses or situations?
Response Rate 19/25 (76%)
• When writing a paper make sure to bring more than just one source into a paragraph.
• I have learned new methods to my writing process and realized my writing potential.
• Rough drafts don't always have to look pretty because they are rough, as long as you're getting ideas down on a paper to carve into something better.
• n/a
• I had a lot of help on my writing skills and Kelly was able to provide a lot of helpful hints with writing
• I can use the time management and research skills I learned from this class for most others.
• Developing information from sources into well thought out writing.
• Getting a working draft done so your polished draft is the best it can be.
• Concepts that will help my writing sound better
• Righting a research paper and the synthesis of sources involved will be an experiance that I have learned from and that I can apply to other classes.
• There are certain writing skills and tricks that I have learned from this class that I will take with me into future writings.
• Writing research papers and how they should be organized.
• How to set up and write a good research paper. Also connecting real life situations with my presentation.
• I need to make sure to use outlines, even when I'm short on time.
• I didn't learn anything new through this course.
• I can take the time I took to find sources that are credible and know how to use them correctly.
• I learned how to do academic research and locate solid, credible sources.
• The processes for writing that we learned in this class were helpful, and will be useful for future projects in other classes.
• Kelly was an amazing teacher
Page 4 of 5
Bowling Green State University
Fall 2018
Course: GSW11202012: 2188 GSW 1120 1 2012 LEC 73912 GC-GSW 1120 2012 73912 : Daniel Bommarito
Instructor: Kelly Moreland *
Response Rate: 24/25 (96.00 %)
14 - What is a comment, suggestion, question, or compliment about your experience in the course you wish to share with your instructor?
Kelly Moreland
Response Rate 18/25 (72%)
• none
• I appreciate the thoughtful feedback on our assignments because it really does guide our writing without tearing us down or forcing us to change our style.
• I did not like the grading contract. I felt like it in no way was related to our original syllabus.
• NONE
• I would have liked to have more in class writing.
• I really enjoyed Kelly as a teacher!
• I really appreciate Prof. Moreland working with me on assignments and her understanding with my work schedule.
• the experience was great, but at times I wished there were things to fill time better because I sat around after finishing things. (Longer questions or responses could help)
• I like how Ms. Moreland promoted students to engage in class rather than just sit and be quiet.
• You did a good job even though we had the complications at the beginning of the year with our previous instructor
• Have other opportunities/events for students to receive an A in the class as well as dates scheduled well in advanced. Some students have to work and have clubs that have mandatory meetings
so they aren't available to attend events.
• None
• She is great teacher and very understanding in every situation.
• I was frustrated with the auto-ethnography initially, but it did help me figure out that I prefer to work in bursts; I went from an outline to a finished draft of my researched paper in 4.5 hours, and that I
dislike lyrical music while working
• The class would've been better if it wasn't such an unusual situation. Also, change the grading criteria.
• Kelly you have been an amazing instructor since you have been here and you have helped me grow as a writer, Thank you so much for your help.
• The class was better once you took over for Tiffany! Liked the positive energy you brought to class every day!
• I really enjoyed your class, and even though the lack of traditional grading still makes me a bit nervous about whether or not the actual quality of my work is up to par with where it should be, I really
appreciated your feedback over the semester. It was also really nice to not have to worry about my final grade in this class, because you gave us such a straightforward method for determining what
grade we wanted at the end of the class.
0 25 50 100
Response Rate
24/25 (96.00%)
0 25 50 100
Response Rate
24/25 (96.00%)
Page 5 of 5
Teaching Portfolio K. Moreland
morelak@bgsu.edu
Notes
iBrandt, Deborah. “2017 CCCC Exemplar Acceptance.” YouTube, uploaded by National Council of Teachers of
English, 3 April 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z_NG1lLov8. Accessed 31 July 2018.
ii Siebler, Kay. Composing Feminisms: How Feminists Have Shaped Theories and Practices, Hampton Press, 2007.
See Asao Inoue’s work. For example: Inoue, Asao. “Grading Contracts, Laboring to Labor, and Sinclair Lewis.”
iii
kellymoreland.net 74