Elijah Meek

The document should address the following major points:

Underlying assumptions: These are the tenets that you are operating under, the
beliefs that influence your decisions as a teacher of FYW. These may be directly
related to the course objectives, they may dovetail off of language from your teaching
philosophy, and/or they may indicate an underlying element of a writing class that you
believe is critical and is not included anywhere else.
Ultimately, composition is all about creating writing. And good writing comes from a
process, full of rules and structure like how starting a sentence with a conjunction is a
bad idea... However, sometimes a beginning isn't from the start but rather a
continuation of a conversation. I tell my students on day one that there are no born
writers and that they shouldn't feel innately poor at it. All great established writers
learned their craft through work. This is no different from many other skills. While
'greatness' as a writer is probably not a goal for many of my students, 'adequate' is
certainly achievable.
In addition to the writing process, close reading and critical thinking are important
aspects to any composition course. Surface understanding and literal interpretation
does not make 'meaning'. There will be times when clarity isn't given, rather earned.
Students must be active and not passive consumers of knowledge (if knowledge can
really be devoured, instead of chewed... or gnawed). Much of the work done during the
semester must be done alone: the student, like the writer, is a on a mostly solitary
journey.

Papers and sequence: Explain your four (or more) major assignments, and your
reasons for choosing them. Explain how these assignments scaffold or connect to one
another, and the logic for using them in the order you have chosen. If your
assignments directly relate to a textbook you are using, include that as part of your
rationale. Be sure to indicate how each paper or project achieves some of the course
outcomes and what you expect students to learn. You should also address your
rationale for peer and instructor feedback and for the revision process.
The Descriptive Essay is my first major paper. Creating what Orwell called, Purple
Passages, is what most students are already comfortable with (albeit in first person).
Colorful adjectives and quick adverbs that observe/describe 'something' allows
breathing room in a class that is frightening to some (the 'I'm terrible at writing' crowd).
The paper is a good starting point to learn/relearn MLA format, focus on the traditional
essay, and think in third person perspective.
The Narrative Essay is my second major paper. Taking everything learned from the
Descriptive Essay and applying it to storytelling allows students to contribute to the
human experience. Freedom of structure and particular perspective, although focused
on clarity and purpose, best outlines this paper. In the end, the first two essays are
introductory in nature and are designed with rehashing what the student already
knows.

The third major paper is definitely a major obstacle for most. Argumentative writing, or
arguing through logic to be more specific, is difficult. Much time is spent on effective,
and ineffective, types of arguing, with many different types of exercises (beware logical
fallacies!). I use a film to highlight an argument (Food Inc.), and then as a class break it
down to it's component claims and evidence. In the end, I ask the students to adopt a
stance for the Position Essay, supported with logical and credible evidence. I do not
assign positions; however, I do require students to run it by me. Small arguments are
encouraged: during one of my lead-up lectures I point out the problems with the
Michigan Deposit Law (water bottles excluded). Incorporation of outside sources is
necessary and the addition of parenthetical references is covered. Critical thinking is
clearly a priority from this point out. The paper functions as practice for the final
research project.
The fourth major paper is also outside most student's comfort zones: the Expository
Essay. Explaining how 'something' works sounds easy, but in reality can be incredibly
frustrating (see stereo instructions). Students are given a choice: pick work one, or
work two. After that decision is made, analyzing particular mechanics inside the work is
where the hardship potentially begins. While the classroom discussion of irony in The
Cask of Amontillado was (hopefully) enlightening, putting that discourse into writing
can be challenging. This paper serves as the last 'practice' essay in which to craft
structure and format.
Peer Review is an important part of the writing process. Another set of eyes, and the
brain attached to them, help uncover easy and hard mistakes. Every essay goes
through an OAQS (Observe, Appreciate, Question, Suggest) formal review. One
rewrite is also part of course (how could I not offer this when I preach and preach
about how writing is a 'process'). Students can choose one of the four short essays for
a regraded revision, due by the last week of class. Most of the time, the Position Essay
is chosen.
Finally, the crux of the course is the Research Project. While basically a larger and
more in depth argumentative essay, the work from throughout the semester will
prepare the student towards success. While most of the format focus previously was
MLA, understanding and application of APA is now a goal. I feel that ending the class
with APA is appropriate because most students writing in their particular major will
probably not use MLA; therefore, understanding of other types of format is necessary.
The course ends with a summary presentation.

Classroom and VSpace activities: Explain how you typically break down your class
time and what kinds of activities you use with students. These might include the use of
lecture, activity, writing, reflection, and presentations. Additionally, if you regularly
incorporate any of the features of VSpace (or other applications), discuss those here.
Class time usually fits a predictable pattern: continuation of the previous class
discussion/exercise, followed by a transition towards whatever the new
lecture/discussion/exercise is. I am a big believer (belieber?) in class discussion. I
dread hearing myself speak while my students passively gnaw (or doze) on my lecture.
In order to be active students, participation is required. I almost always outline my

lectures with presentations that students can stare at, if they are bored of looking at me
(or the wall... or their phone).
I extensively use Vspace and guide students through a bootcamp early in the
semester. Many assignments are turned in through Vspace (utilizing the Discussion
Board and Test Center) and all course documents are available through the
'Resources' tab. I originally provided physical handouts but technology has removed
those paper shackles! All grades are recorded though Vspace Gradebook.

Innovation and improvement: Having taught this course for at least two semesters,
reflect on some of the ways that you have progressed and innovated as an instructor,
and what you plan to work on in coming semesters. What areas of teaching and
classroom experience do you think you can improve upon?
One of my main goals in teaching deals with different methods of instruction. I tend to
fall into a comfortable rut that stifles innovation: I use the same lectures/exercises that
I've used extensively in the past they seem to work and I like them. If something
works, why fix it?! However, I feel compelled to mix it up. I've vowed to try something
different at least once when I begin a new semester. This often means going outside
my comfort zone, which could mean scary things might happen: like unintended
results.
Originally, the front of the classroom terrified me. I now feel that classroom
management is one of my strengths. As a teacher, my new focus for improvement is
simple: getting students involved. Passivity and apathy are evil twins that act as a
cancer inside a class. Some classes are fortunate and have a good mix of active and
passive students; however, the balance is sometimes off. Morning class are particularly
difficult in reaching. In a way, achieving involvement is like writing: the are both
processes.