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English 830: Teaching Composition — Course Chapters (Course Schedule for Summer 2023)

Part 1 (Week 1–July 5-6): A Writing Journey

Chapter 1–The Journey Begins
Due July 5 Wednesday

  • Bring a nice journal for the course

Chapter 2–The Power of Writing
Due July 6 Thursday: Required Readings on Composition Teaching Principles


Part 2 (Week 2–July 10-14): The College Composition Course

Chapter 3–The Writing Process
Due July 10 Monday: Required Readings on the Writing Process and the College Composition Course

Chapter 4–Composition Course Design
Due July 11 Tuesday

  • Find 3 different syllabi for college composition courses
    • Bring links/digital copies to share with the class
    • You may use syllabi from other students in the CAL Program (anyone not in this course), from any colleagues you work with at your home university, from a textbook, or from an online source
    • If you wish to use an old course syllabus of yours, it should be one that is quite different from any courses you currently teach (i.e. it should be an old course syllabus who’s design you abandoned)

Chapter 5–Your Composition Course
Due July 12: First Draft of Your Course Syllabus

  • Create or Revise a Syllabus for a College Composition Course Syllabus
    • If you have taught college composition before, go over your syllabus and decide how you might improve it
    • If you have never taught college composition, create a new basic syllabus for the course
    • If you wish to work on a syllabus for a different course, you may do so, but the course must require students to do substantial writing
    • You may plan your syllabus for a specific semester or just organize it by weeks (Week 1, Week 2, etc.)
    • You don’t need to include every last detail for your syllabus, but create enough of the course syllabus so we can understand your general plan for the course
    • We will discuss the first draft of your Course Syllabus in class

Chapter 6–Conduct Research on Course Rationale
For July 13

  • No Class Meeting
  • Begin researching your preferred Composition Pedagogy on which you will ground your Course Rationale

Part 3 (Week 3–July 17-20): Teaching Social Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

Chapter 7–Teaching Multilingual Writers
Due July 17 Monday: Required Readings on Teaching Multilingual Writers

Chapter 8–Your Teacher Website
Due July 18 Tuesday: Teacher Website Materials

  • For this project, you need some personal materials that we will be posting on your Teacher Website. Please bring the following:
    • A quote that helps capture some of your personal philosophy
    • A nice photo of yourself (this is very useful but optional for people who guard their privacy extremely closely)
    • Your Curriculum Vitae

Chapter 9–Teaching for Social Justice
Due July 19 Wednesday: Required Readings on Social Justice

Due July 19 Wednesday: Required Readings on Inclusion and Universal Design

DUE July 19 Wednesday Primary Assignments

Chapter 10–Conduct Additional Research on Course Rationale
For July 20

  • No Class Meeting
  • Continue researching your preferred Composition Pedagogy on which you will ground your Course Rationale

Part 4 (Week 4–July 24-27): Pedagogical Approaches

Chapter 11–Teaching Pedagogy Statements
Due July 24: Required Readings–Teaching Philosophies

Chapter 12–Teacher Website Showcase
Due July 25

Chapter 13–The Poetry of Teaching
DUE July 26 (
Target Due Date for All Course Assignments)

Chapter 14–CAL Dinner @ Benjamin’s Restaurant (OPTIONAL)
For July 27 @ 6 p.m.

  • No Class Meeting
  • There will be an OPTIONAL dinner for all CAL summer students at Benjamin’s Restaurant
  • Plan to arrive around 6 p.m.
  • You may bring your spouse/significant other/close friend
  • You will need to pay for your own dinner (you could always just have a drink with us if you prefer not to eat)
  • Please RSVP to Dr. Holm wether you are attending or not

Part 5 (Week 5–July 31): Part of the Journey Is the End

The Last Chapter–Final Work Deadline
DUE July 31

  • No Class Meeting
  • Flexible Due Date for All Course Assignments

If Only We Had More Time 🙁