Teaching Philosophy

Sometimes when I think about composition classes, I’m reminded of those ridiculous algebra problems I used to have to solve in high school: “A train leaves Cleveland traveling at 60 miles per hour…” My most common response to those scenarios was always twofold; first, “huh!” quickly followed by, “Who gives a ... bleep?” And though I’ve certainly never had this reaction walking into a composition classroom, I fear that many students have. Sometimes, the numbers – or should I say words – just don’t add up. Sometimes, assignments can appear to have no “real-world” value. And sometimes the whole thing is just a giant train wreck.

To alleviate this situation, I believe that the most important thing that a composition teacher can do is show her students how composition, as it is presented in the classroom, can relate to writing in the “real world.” Some students are unable to see the connection between the writing they do in their composition classes and the other kinds of writing they do: writing in other, non-English classes, writing in the workplace, and writing for personal communications. I believe that providing students with specific rhetorical situations in which they can write their essays will help them see how classroom writing can apply to their day-to-day lives.

In the past, I have used the rhetorical square model (see Figure 1) to teach my students how to write within a specified rhetorical situation. By demanding that they explore their own ethos and intent, as well as the needs of the audience and situation, students learn to effectively communicate a message to an audience, much as they would be required to do in other types of business-oriented communications. Whether it is this model or another similar rhetorical model, I believe that providing some kind of real-world application is imperative in helping students become more effective writers.

Figure 1 (as seen in my “Top 3” blog post)


Beyond just preparing my students to write for a variety of situations, however, I believe that the composition teacher’s job is also to prepare students to think critically about a variety of topics. While teaching “critical thinking” as a curriculum is beyond my approach in the classroom, I bring critical thinking to my students through several methods. First, forcing students to take responsibility for their own writing and learning is a good way to help them think critically about their writing. This can be achieved by asking thoughtful questions to help the student see logical and formal flaws in essays. Another approach is to provide thorough, thought-provoking written feedback for assignments. For example, rather than just pointing to grammar and spelling errors in an analytic essay, an instructor could also ask the student questions to help him/her think about the issues at stake in that particular piece of writing. In thinking about the issue rather than just the essay, I believe the student will gain a better understanding of how to approach the written expression of that topic.

My final thought on teaching composition involves two ideas that, at first glance, don’t seem to be related. The composition teacher should be responsible for (1) creating a classroom writing environment that provides students a forum for self-expression, and (2) teaching grammar and standard conventions as essentials for effective communication. In other words, I believe that students should be allowed to express their own ideas and beliefs to their audience, but they also need to learn proper grammar and conventions. Obtaining these skills will enable students to communicate more effectively with their chosen audience. This relationship between expressionism and formalism proves that the two do not necessarily have to stand at opposite ends of the spectrum.

If I, as a composition instructor, can take these ideas into the classroom, I believe that an effective classroom environment will be the result. Providing students with real-world rhetorical situations, asking them to think critically about content, and equipping them with the tools (i.e. proper grammar and spelling) to write effectively will help them become stronger writers, and make me a better instructor.

"Digital Autism": A Think Piece on Computer-Mediated Communication

There is much to be said for the value of a smile, the power of a kiss, or the reassuring strength in a firm handshake. These things, only a few of the near infinite number of physical and tangible signs of life, can communicate far beyond the limitations of human language. Gestures, physical expressions of emotion, convey all types of messages. They can be fake. They can be genuine. Many gestures are interpreted differently according to the context of the situation in which they are placed. A smile can be sympathetic, sincere, and even sarcastic. Paired with a handshake, a smile can say “I’m happy,” “I’m pleased,” or “I trust you.” There is virtually no limit to what can be “said” by body language and gesture. What physical expressions can not be, however, is accurately conveyed online.

Emoticons have been developed, some in rather elaborate fashion, in an attempt to express physicality in computer-mediated communication. While “:)” says “smile” and “;)” says “wink,” neither depicts any of the feeling or meaning behind the physical gesture; they merely show the act, but none of the face-to-face implications that can be experienced and interpreted when the gesture is used in “real life”. Acronyms and web talk, such as “lol” and “brb” have become an active part of everyday conversation, but leave much to be desired when used in the presence of individuals who are not web-bound.

As society continues, at a break-neck pace, to move toward computer-mediated communication as its sole method of social, business, and personal interaction, it could very easily begin to lose “touch” – the value of physical expression – and may well develop a form of “digital autism.”

In the traditional sense, autism is a mental condition that becomes apparent in children between the ages of one-year and three-years-old. It is a neurological disorder that affects the way the brain develops and functions. Yahoo! Health Encyclopedia describes the medical condition of autism as a developmental disorder.

Autism is a complex developmental disorder…that affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. Autism is a spectrum that encompasses a wide continuum of behavior. Core features include impaired social interactions, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior (A.D.A.M. Inc.).

While these symptoms of disrupted communication describe the effects of autism, they, when placed in the context of computer-based communication, also very accurately describe a condition that is very likely to manifest itself in many of those who are part of the “computer generation.” It is possible, and very likely, that individuals who spend much or all of their time in front of a computer will suffer these same handicaps. Social skills will not be built. Verbal communication has become obsolete with the advent of email, instant messaging, and text messaging. Nonverbal communication is not required at all, as face-to-face interaction is becoming a limited and more and more unnecessary mode of communication. Finally, restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior could occur in a variety of contexts: online gaming, chat rooms, addiction to virtual “realities,” and numerous other possibilities are all factors to be considered.

With that possible outcome in mind, one must next consider the growing trend that is computer-mediated communication. Ignoring the millions of online businesses and social websites, and focusing solely on online education, a Google search will turn up millions of web-based educational options. Not only are there offerings for bachelor’s, master’s, and other university-level degrees, there is a growing number of online primary and secondary schools offering K-12 education. A 2004 Newsweek article states the following:

"Today there are roughly 2,400 publicly-funded cyber-based charter schools and state and district virtual schools in 37 states, with an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 students participating in online courses" (Fording).

With that number of “online” students at the high school level in 2004, and an even greater number at the present time, America – and the world – is on its way to not only becoming a “paperless society,” but one that is also void of real human interaction.

Furthermore, while those students are being presented with the opportunity to be educated online, they are being robbed of many of the social-skill-building opportunities that are a part of the traditional high school experience. The interviewee in the aforementioned article, Susan Patrick, Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, defends online education by stating that student-teacher interaction actually increases… “when students are taking a virtual class they might have fifteen interactions with their teacher a day using email” (Fording). What she does not address is the lack of face-to-face communication and conversation in the classroom setting. She does not discuss the communication disorder that is atrophying society. Will these students grow and develop into people with “impaired social interactions, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior?” (A.D.A.M. Inc.).

At the university level, computer-mediated communication and online education present the same basic problems, but placed in a different and more extreme context. An excerpt from an article by Alexander Rafael and Emily Anderson accurately sums up the situation.


University health professionals increasingly worry that the impact of the Internet-focused campus can cause serious mental health problems on campuses nationwide. Students may be plugged in, but they’re pulling out of the libraries, the dorm rooms and the student centers that once stood as the social cornerstones of the college experience (Rafael).

As students “pull out” of the social world, they set themselves up to be victims of computer-mediated autism. If ever placed in a situation in which effective, face-to-face communication was required, these people may or may not be prepared to meet the challenge. Dr. Mark Macleod, Director of the Counseling Center at Emory University, is quoted in the same article:

"[Macleod] believes that technology can severely hamper social growth during the college years. 'I would say that maybe ten to fifteen percent of students come to college without very good interpersonal skills' – a growing phenomenon he attributes, at least in part, to virtual communication. 'People are so wired into distant communication. It has become harder to be a part of a community.'" (Rafael).

This complication has become a lose-lose situation. Because it is difficult to be a part of a community, people seek distant communication, which in turn makes it more difficult to have a local community. (Have you seen Austin Powers??? “I eat because I’m unhappy, and I’m unhappy because I eat.”)

Even worse, however, is the prospect of these students, this ten to fifteen percent without good social skills, not attending a traditional university, and instead opting for an online variation. In such a situation, the student would never be exposed to the social setting of a university, of a classroom, or of a friendly chat in a professor’s office. The autistic tendencies could very easily take hold, leaving that person with very limited social abilities.

* * *

To answer the question at hand, “Is this a fatal flaw?” is quite difficult. “Digital autism,” to coin a term, is not a disorder that has been diagnosed. It is not a series of phenomena that is being carefully tracked and recorded. It is nothing more than a theory – a fear – about what lies in the future. It is a fear that may indeed prove to be a major flaw of CMC.

Already, at this point in time, computer users find themselves searching the web for hours at a time seeking information that a five minute phone call could have provided. Rather than stopping by a professor’s office for a chat or walking across the hall to consult with a colleague, people find themselves sending an email in the place of what used to be face-to-face conversation. Society, has, in large part, has lost the ability of eloquence. Love letters have been replaced by the “lol”s and “brb”s of instant messaging. Manners, as well as style, disappeared with the stroke of a key.

Computers are, quite obviously, here to stay. With each day – or perhaps each second – that passes, new technology is developing that eases the processes of computer-mediated communication. Email, instant messengers, online banking and bill pay, and the numerous online dating services such as Eharmony.com enable one to attend to nearly every aspect of life online. If a person were so inclined, he could live his life in an empty room, but feel fulfilled by his online activities. It is clear that computers are not leaving, and it is equally clear that people – students, businessmen, average Joes – are not going to stop using them.

The most depressing result of this CMC-initiated “autism,” (in my humble opinion) is the loss of humanity. This nation, and the history of the world, is founded the ideas – the words – of charismatic thinkers. Where once there was a hand-written declaration and the orations of intrepid speakers (“Give me liberty or give me death!” comes to mind), there’s only a faux front that disguises any meaning that may lie just under the surface. Rough drafts and charismatic leaders are few and far between. In there place are word-processed documents and staged, videoed addresses.

Any sign of roughness or edge, the part of life that makes it seem real have been gradually smoothed away. While computer-mediated communication is useful in many aspects, it has not been to the advantage of real, meaningful person-to-person communication. Smiles, voice quality and tone, and all forms of gesture have literally disappeared. Left in their place is a growing void that is difficult to notice due to the fact that much of the world is turning inward, to the internet, simultaneously. What lies in the future could be disastrous.


As I sit here writing this essay, checking my email, and IMing friends from home, I’d have to say that CMC is truly taking hold. I only hope that when I handed this paper in to my computer-based communications professor, I remembered to smile, to laugh perhaps, and to say a cheerful “Good morning!” to anyone I encountered….because those truly are the things that make the world a place worth living in.


Works Cited

A.D.A.M. Inc. “Autism.” Yahoo! Health Encyclopedia: Autism Overview.
ONLINE http://health.yahoo.com/ency/adam/001526/0. 18 March 2005.

Fording, Laura. “Education, 21st Century-Style.” Newsweek. March 30, 2004.
ONLINE <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4633126/site/newsweek/%20print/1/displaymode/1098/>. 15 March 2005.


Rafael, Alexander and Emily Anderson. “College Life 2.0.” Newsweek.
ONLINE <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6596310/site/newsweek/print/1/%20displaymode/1098/>. 15 March 2005.

ICON facilitation

We've talked some in class about how teachers in ICON are facilitators. What do they facilitate? How is what they're doing similar to writing center approaches to teaching writing?

In my opinion, the best feature and the worst feature of TOPIC are one and the same: students are required to take initiative for their own learning, a fact that forces DIs to become better facilitators.

On one hand, I love that students are expected to read the comments given by graders on each assignment and, from those comments, find their own ways to make improvements in their writing. However, I also feel that TOPIC seriously hinders the face-to-face, individualized feedback that can be given by an instructor grading his/her students' papers.

So...getting to the topic at hand...

I feel that TOPIC/ICON forces us to become better facilitators. Instead of spending tons of time giving specific suggestions/improvements to each student, we must learn to direct students to resources that will help them find their own answers. In much the same way that a Writing Center tutor helps a student find his/her way to a better piece of writing, so too must DIs put the responsibility back on the writer. We no longer mark through sentences on an essay and suggest specific rewrites. We no longer circle every missed comma. With the onslaught of online grading, we instead have to give the student a general idea of what his/her specific issue is and then suggest texts/activities/exercises that will help the student improve upon those issues. Our job is to facilitate the student in finding his/her own way to better writing.

Dr. Rickly: I thought you might enjoy a picture of our newest family member. Isn't he adorable? :)

Top 3

Based on the reading we've been doing and my past experiences with teaching writing, several "concepts" come to mind as I consider teaching composition. Narrowing my list, these three ideas stand out as the most important: (1) classroom writing should allow students a forum for self-expression, (2) grammar and standard conventions are essential for effective communication, and (3) students need to learn to write within a specific rhetorical situation.

Looking at these ideas, the first two seem to be at odds with each other (especially after reading the Fulkerson article), but, in fact, they are related. Students should be allowed to express their own ideas and beliefs to their audience, but students also need to learn that proper grammar and conventions will enable their audience members to better understand the message. Expressionism and formalism do not necessarily have to stand at opposite ends of the spectrum.

To address my last point, that students need to learn to write within specific rhetorical situations, I will provide an illustration:

In the past, I have used this rhetorical square model to teach my students how to write within a specified rhetorical situation. By demanding that they explore their own ethos and intent, as well as the needs of the audience and situation, students learn to effectively communicate a message to an audience.

Greetings

Hello, all.

Welcome to my blog...I'm sure I'll be seeing you often.

Have a wonderful semester!

LH