betajames

Context for those who may need it: 

Above is a shot of the whiteboard at the conclusion of the first session of ENG 560, Spring semester. Among the topics listed as potential areas of focus for our collaborative writing project are computers and writing (with a narrower eye toward social media), composition pedagogy (with a narrower eye toward the place and use of popular culture in the classroom), academic scholarship (with a narrower eye toward the real influence of journals in the field), student literacy (with a narrower eye toward ESL), and labor issues in rhetoric and composition. 

Granted, the above shot says rather little about how wide the initial casting of the idea net was. During the initial discussion, there was talk of job opportunities and justifying the Master of Arts degree, the evolution (or revolution) in publishing, the impact of impending government legislation, and questions of student assessment and engagement. Many of these general topics may very well resurface; I even expect a couple will. 

Of the topics we bantered about, the "social role of the teacher" proved to be the most fruitful. I judge this in part by how many different voices contributed to that particular conversation. Though we had some lively debate about popular culture in the composition classroom, the "social role of the teacher" appeared to have broader appeal. My move to suggest this as a preliminary scope for the collaborative writing project was met with overall approval and we elected to read Peter Elbow's "Embracing Contraries in the Teaching Process" per JW's reference.

Prior to these discussions was collective agreement about course particulars, e.g., that there be two primary researchers/writers per chapter and seven chapters total for the book. With a class of fifteen, though, there is still the question of what the fifteenth student will do, what their role will be, and how their responsibilities will be equivalent to the work of the other fourteen students.

So, as we prepare for the second session of ENG 560, Spring semester, I think it pertinent to attempt a summary of where we stand. 

1. Initial scope: Based in part on Peter Elbow’s “Embracing Contraries in the Teaching Process,” we will examine the social role of the writing teacher and how the responsibilities associated with this role are evident in a variety of situations, pedagogical and otherwise.
2. Target audience: As current and future first-year writing teachers, we are our own audience. 
3. Potential chapters:
   a. how we (writing teachers) determine our social roles/responsibilities (coach, gatekeeper)
   b. how others (admins, government, media, society) determine our roles/responsibilities
   c. how these social roles change over time (historical basis)
   d. how these social roles depend on our pedagogy (pop culture? social media?)
4. Burning questions:
   a. Is a traditional book too safe? Should we push ourselves toward something else?
   b. What will Student #15 do? What will be their role/responsibility?

Thanks to MB for her notes and JS for her whiteboard work.