The Ideal Composition Course...for me, anyway...

Following our discussion Thursday, I once again pondered how I might individually answer the question(s) asked of us by Dr. Kemp concerning the ideal composition course's focus. What should a composition instructor focus on in class, ideally? What do I want my students leaving the course knowing by the end of the semester? In essence, what should my content focus be?

While I might argue that these focuses can change as I adapt to the needs of my students each semester (different skill sets in the classroom require different focuses, of course), I generally want my composition course to promote:

• Critical thinking skills (and their application in writing): Put simply, if students can't think critically, they likely won't make it far in college. I would hope they leave my class with a greater sense of scholarly judgement, whether that means critically evaluating a source or structuring an argument in a way that leads to persuasion.
• Grammatical skills: I know sometimes we don't like to say that composition is a course in grammar, but, let's face it: if the student's message is unclear because of errors, his or her paper will suffer in the composition classroom and beyond. This focus on grammar doesn't mean we have to be prescriptive, necessarily; I've found it beneficial to point out a common error and then have the student locate it throughout the remainder of the paper using a highlighter (yes, color usage -- I said it!). Often, once you point it out and ask them to find the remaining issues, highlighting as they go, they say things like "oh, wow, I do that a lot..." And just like that, with their paper covered in neon yellow marks (versus that evil red pen mark we all despise), they usually see how the error ultimately impedes their message. While they'll sometimes make the error again, it usually becomes less frequent in subsequent work. I went off on a tangent there a bit, but the point is that we can find ways to teach grammar that don't involve skill-and-drill or marking an entire paper in red pen. Involve them in the process, and they'll see the light (sometimes).
• The writing and invention process: It's essential to teach students that writing is not always a linear process. It involves so much more, from the very first stages of brainstorming to the end product. I think it's important to relate this fact to students in a practical sense, meaning discussing with them the various ways they'll use writing in their future -- how they'd never want to just write up a memo to their boss, client, etc. without at least a proofread or employing a few drafts, peer review, maybe a little spell-check action, for example. Sometimes, the students just need a reminder of this; other times, you have to go through the steps of these things with the class time and time again. Either way, I feel it's important for them to understand that with each draft, our writing (generally) improves.

Unclogging the Pipe, or Dran-O for the Composition Classroom

I was quite struck by Thursday’s class discussion of the principles and skills necessary for effective teaching. The lot mentioned by the groups in class –flexibility with one’s course schedule, the ability to improvise, a focus on measuring learning gains, taking a “true” interest in one’s students, and remaining passionate about the subject – are all characteristics I’ve tried to incorporate into my own teaching over the past few semesters.


Upon further reflection of what it takes to be the most effective instructor possible, I also pondered how I can ensure my students are truly grasping the concepts I teach. As an instructor, I can give my all in conveying the essentials of composition – but what will that truly matter to the disconnected student? It is easy for a student to appear engaged during a lecture or class activity -- to appear as though he or she is receiving the transmittal of concepts I’ve put forth in the classroom -- when in fact he or she is thinking about what’s for dinner in the student dining hall that evening. The fact is, much of the time, students are simply uninterested in the topic of composition, and the result is an unengaged student who learns little in the course of a semester.

The matter of disinterested student is further aggravated by a matter Dr. Kemp mentions in his short essay “The Principles of Instruction.” He explains that those who teach English composition courses are more often than not viewing the information through an entirely different context than for those that he or she instructs: “The contexts of the teacher, who is "transmitting" the knowledge, are necessarily quite different from those of the student, who is "receiving" the knowledge” (Kemp par. 2). The pipeline of knowledge transmittal, therefore, is often muddled at best. This jumbled message and lack of a shared context, therefore, often erases the already disengaged student's incentive to put forth further effort in the composition classroom.

So, as neophyte instructors, what can we do to engage this student? I feel Dr. Kemp’s suggestion to refrain from “teaching by talking” is an astute alternative. No matter how engaging we might personally find the material, it seems that the classroom lecture is a set-up for inevitable failure in the composition classroom. While some instructors might still see the value of this teaching method, Dr. Kemp’s suggestion of opening up the “pipeline” by presenting the material in such a way that students can negotiate the course material themselves and consequently “do” rather than “listen” seems a practical option for reaching students with somewhat limited context and interest in the course. This, more specifically, means leading sessions of task-based, real-world problem-solving with composition applications. It means guided discussion, peer review of paper drafts, and engaging students in new media. Opening up the pipeline, in essence, means reaching students in fresh and varied ways; it means engaging the modern student with a kind of hands-on learning that may ultimately act as the Dran-O for the pipeline we must attempt to unclog.

Works Cited
Kemp, Fred. The Principles of Instruction. History and Theory of College Composition, 2010.