W400+Issues+in+Teaching+Writing

Here are materials from W400, Issues in Teaching Writing, a course that introduces education majors and English majors to principles and practices of teaching writing, especially at the middle and high school levels. I have taught this course since 2008. English Education majors at IUPUI are required to take this course; they also have a course on methods of teaching secondary English in their education major.

Writing Experience Project
//Students are asked to think about their many experiences with writing and choose one to write about. Topics have included in-school writing, writing for contests, keeping a personal diary or journal, writing an important letter, or writing poetry and fiction.//

Writing Essay
//Students are asked to reach each other's writing experience papers and analyze them for common themes, developing// //thereby some ideas about writing situations and how people learn to write.//

Conference Write-Up
//Students are encouraged to attend the annual Indiana Teachers of Writing Conference.//

Teaching Observation
//Students who cannot attend the ITW Conference are asked to observe a// //teacher at the level they are interested in, and also interview the teacher.//

Professional Reading
//I ask students to visit the IUPUI library and look over professional journals and books in the field of// //teaching writing.//

Writer's Notebook Reflection
//Because writing teachers should be writers, and because they often ask their students to keep// //writer's notebooks or journals, I ask W400 students to practice keeping such a notebook and then// //at semester's end, write a reflection on the experience.//

Multi-Genre Paper
//I want students to develop their own philosophy of teaching writing and to synthesize what they// //have learned during the semester. I also want them to write a multi-genre paper; having written one// //and seen some of their classmates' drafts, they are more likely to use this assignment in the future.//

Portfolio
//Students receive points for and response to their initial submission of assignments. At semester's end,// //they submit a portfolio that includes the multi-genre paper and selected assignments, their choice, to// //demonstrate their achievement of course goals.//