Blogging- what?

I did like this aspect of the course. It's the first time I've blogged. I haven't done any online writing in years. I can't say it worked as a learning resource, though it might be a valid research tool for students (if they could make sure their sources are reliable). It works well as a reflective tool as long as the writer looks back over what she's written. Otherwise, it's a way to freewrite, but nothing is gained from it. Rereading old entries is a decent way to reflect.
I'm not sure if I'd do this for a class. Comp 101 journals, maybe. A higher-level class might benefit from it, especially if there were prompts relating to a reading assignment. It could also be a good way to generate paper ideas and coherent ideas. I liked this kind of reflection better than traditional essays in 621.

Moxley- College Writing Online

While I won't be teaching this semester and can't use this website in a comp class, I love the site. There are tons of resources on it for linguists, TESL students, and everything else. Dictionary sites, MLA sites, etc. I could spend hours just wandering links and having fun.

So I can't use it in a classroom, but I think a lot of the links will be useful in the writing center. There are exercises to improve writing, find a thesis, and proofread. I'm sure I'll find a way to use this.

This and World Wide Words.

Technology and writing

How much will I use technology in the classroom?
This isn't really a question I can answer, since I won't be going into a classroom to teach. I don't think I can use technology very much in the writing center, but some of our techniques could be adapted for that- the electronic commenting in Word, screens-off freewriting, and so on. I'm not sure what resources will be available to me in the CAS. I expect I'll hear more about this next week, in the writing center workshop.

Mentor groups

I found that the use of small groups was very helpful. I think it's good to have a mix, as we do, of a week in class and then a week in groups, or splitting up days, or whatever mix works best for a situation, but the mentor groups should be kept.
I think one reason that they work so well is that it's discussion among peers. The class is peer-based, too, but the way it's set up reminds us that we're still students. When we're in the mentor groups, it's easier to bring up any small points that we might let slide in a lecture-format environment. We also get to know a smaller group better and are more comfortable around those people. We have more time to look at specific examples from real classes, since we're in a small group, and it's easier to discuss things without chaos. Having the strong support of a small group- one that we know we'll continue to meet with during the semester- makes me, and probably others, more comfortable about going into a classroom. I think it boosts our confidence and hence our sense of authority.
I'm not sure how well this translates to the freshman classroom. Group work would be a good thing to use, but sparingly. It really depends on the students.

first week

I'll probably have to fill this out more later. Too much time on the previous entry.
First week- pretty good. Unfortunately, when I come off tour I usually sleep for a week straight, so I've been late a couple of times. Also, I haven't replaced my backpack yet (stolen! bastards!) so I bring only the books on the syllabus to class, but we've been a little behind, so I don't always have the right materials.
It's been good to have this week, though, to see that other people are as nervous as I am.
Good Thunder- Aimee Nez and Tony Hoagland!

trying to grade

Grading.

What a chore.

I find that I comment too much on the final paper. It's too late! In a higher-level course, where the final draft is all I see, that might work, but in 101 it's assumed that I've seen one or two drafts already.
Taking that into account, I graded too leniently. I should have taken more points off instead of writing more comments. Not that commenting is bad, but it takes up too much time. If I had 25 papers (instead of 3) this would have taken me all day.
Is it fair to go back and change a grade on some of the first papers based on later papers (from the same assignment, from different students)? I gave the first paper I read a B+, and then wished I had graded it lower so I could have given the next one a B. Instead, I unknowingly forced myself to grade poor works higher only because I started grading too high. If I'd actually seen a draft, though, I think I'd have had a better idea of the first student's work and wouldn't have graded too high (or would have kept the grade for different reasons- e.g. a lot of work put in, much improvement). I would also have had a good perspective on the class as a whole.
I found myself going back over the papers in the morning and adding more comments. I wonder if this is common, or if teachers usually comment and then set the papers aside for good.
I would like to know how my grades compared to the grades other TAs gave to the same paper, and how they compare to the grades I'll give a few years down the road.
Not having seen a draft, I really didn't notice anything about the students' writing processes.
The papers were better than I expected. There were some grammar problems, but most of the problems I noticed had to do with word choice. I tried to focus more on content than mechanics (which was difficult for me, since I'm distracted by bad grammar and punctuation).
The second paper- the one with hyper-thesaurism - was a problem for me. I felt that the student had great potential as a writer, but needed to watch her word choice. Submissive mocha? Arousing latte? Her paper read like a really weird porn script.
Coffee-house porn. Interesting. Perhaps a new genre.
Anyway, my comment was basically what I said above, plus I wrote that I wouldn't accept another assignment from her until she came to see me. Was that OK to do?
If I keep telling kids to come see me about every essay, I'll be swamped.

“Class discussions can be unpredictable and unwieldy” (TAH 119).

This section, discussing the teacher's role in class discussions, can be helpful for both students and teachers. I liked the different takes on the teacher's involvement at different points in the discussion, and the way they can be laid out step-by-step to give new teachers a process to work with (teacher as organizer-prompter-recorder-synthesizer-instructor). I don't think a teacher needs to use all of these steps/roles in every discussion, since I think an impromptu discussion can be one of the best things for a class, but it is a helpful template to come back to in case things get out of hand. The quote from p. 119 is something that all teachers, but especially new teachers, need to understand. New TAs tend to think that they'll be able to control the direction that a conversation/discussion is taking, but student discussions (especially in a large class, and especially when the topic at hand is a controversial or political one) can deteriorate into chaos too quickly. This is when the process can give an inexperienced teacher something to hold on to and may keep her/him/me from being overwhelmed and losing control of or authority over the class.
This is also a good subject for a class session if oral reports/group presentations are coming up. Students may need a formula for presenting to their peers, and this may help them to gain confidence when presenting in front of a professor for a grade. It could also give them a better way to organize their reports so that they are more prepared for leading a class in discussion.

“Anything can be made fun and interesting by simply mixing the old inner child into an otherwise dull lesson plan” (IOV 191).

I liked a lot of this section, but I don't completely agree with the quote. A professor has to be careful when choosing activities to pick ones that are fun but don't treat the students as children or insult their intelligence. I think this is a very hard line to see.
Also, a teacher has to be careful not to seem like too much of a pushover or too much of a "fun" teacher. Using a lot of this kind of activity might undermine authority in the classroom, or might stop students from taking the class seriously. I think this depends a lot on what kind of class it is- beginning comp, creative writing, or chemistry.

Evaluation and Feedback

One thing I'm worried about is evaluating student writing. I don't know what to use as a standard. What's C-level work? What if I judge students' papers against the other students in the class? Is that fair?
I think I'll be someone to grade students as a whole too high or too low. I don't have reasonable expectations yet. I think the best way for me to deal with this is to read through all of the first round of papers before assigning any grades, just to see what I'm really dealing with.

Even though I'm not comfortable assigning a grade to a paper, I think I'll be good at providing feedback . I write a lot of comments on student papers, and I usually have no trouble identifying parts of the paper that are good and could be emphasized. I also find problems with papers, but I think I comment on those with tact. I'm also comfortable meeting with people to discuss their papers, and I can give more feedback and encouragement in person than on paper.

First few questions

1. I’m most concerned with tutoring. I haven’t done any tutoring in a few years, and I’m not sure I’m any good at it.

2. I hope I can explain the mechanics of writing well. I think I’ll do better at defining the assignments than at helping people find their own styles.

3. I hope to be more excited about being back in school. I also hope I’ll lose some nervousness about going into the writing center.