Methodology

through Experience By Patrick Jackson

Teaching experience

• Non-native English Instructor

• Professional Writing Consultant

• Online Instructor

• SEO ELA Instructor

• Adjunct Professor

Two common

Philosophies

The Funnel – Students are receptacles of teacher’s

wisdom

The Pump – Students are the sources of their own

creative expressions

• Mattot, G. (1976). In Search of a Philosophical Context for

Teaching Composition. College Composition and

Communication, 27:1, 25-31

Common Practices

• Peer Review

• Students learn how to read and respond critically

• Strengthen their own writing

• Identify a larger audience rather than just the instructor

• Communicate constructive criticism

• Deeper level of engagement/responsibility

• Individual Conferences

• Allows for instructor to get a good sense of the student’s

ability to comprehend the course material

• Establishes a stronger bond between instructor and

student

• Similar to the peer-tutoring model

• Ensures students understand feedback

• Clarity

• Provide examples of assignments to ensure student

accuracy and set expectations

• Adopt rubrics that state the grading weight of elements

of the assignment

• Scaffold assignments and provide feedback throughout

the process to allow for revision

• Active Learning

• More of a student-centered pedagogy

• Fewer lapses in attention vs. lecturing

• New level of engagement when students have responsibility

Examples:

Read, Pair, Share

Question and Answer

Free write Response

Roundtable

Problem-Solution

Teacher-Student Reversal

• Engaging Atmosphere

• Utilize all forms of media to appeal to different learners

(auditory, visual, kinesthetic)

• Demonstrate excitement about the course material

• Relate to students: “When teachers are willing to share

small characteristics of themselves, their students found

them to be approachable and motivating…among the

64% of faculty considered to be effective communicators,

100% were shown disclosing small facets of their

personal life in the classroom” (Ginsberg, 2014).

Approaching classes

and assignments

through a

pedagogical

perspective

What is the goal of

instruction?

• Awareness?

• Improvement?

• Mastery?

What is the best method

of instruction?

• What cognitive strategy will work best in teaching a

particular skill?

• Writing academic prose works best if approached over

time

• Punctuation can be transmitted through rules

• How to structure a particular essay can be provided

through analyzing examples of successfully written

essays

What is the best Mode of

Instruction?

• Peer Review

• Lecture

• Discussion

• Conferences

Final thought

• “In the end, ‘best practice’ is whatever helps students

to engage more deeply with the subject and to become

more actively responsible for their own learning”

(Entwistle, 2008).

References

• Bean, John C. (2001). Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.

• Bunce, D. M., Flens, E A., & Neiles, K. Y. (2010). How long can students pay attention in class? A study of student attention decline using clickers. Journal of Chemical Education, 87, 1438-1443.

• Entwistle, T. (2008) Teaching and Learning Research in Higher Education. International Symposium, Ontario, Canada.

• Ginsberg, S. Ed. D. (2014). Faculty Self-Disclosures in the College Classroom. Effective Strategies for Improving College Teaching and Learning. Magna, 4.

• Mattot, G. (1976). In Search of a Philosophical Context for Teaching Composition. College Composition and Communication, 27:1, 25-31

• Shaughnessy, M. (1977). Errors & Expectations. New York: Oxford University Press.