W590+Teaching+Writing

W590 (Teaching Writing: Theories and Applications) is a course that I revived in fall 2008 to meet the needs of our new Certificate in Teaching Writing students. Years before, W500 and W590 had been offered for the benefit of writing program instructors, mainly; we did not yet have an M.A. program at that time. The last person to teach W590 had moved on to campus administration, and her W590 files were long gone. I researched other versions of this course in graduate programs across the country, and from semester to semester, I tried various resources and assignments. Below are materials from my last version of the course, in spring 2012. What remained consistent was a commitment to praxis: theory seen in the light of classroom teaching, classroom teaching examined and reflected upon. I adapted the National Writing Project emphasis on teachers teaching teachers, having W590 students (many of them practicing teachers, though not all) facilitate class sessions. Those sessions had to be interactive, with students writing, talking, moving around. I wanted to see theory made visible every week!

Book Review
This assignment asks students to choose a book from a list, according to their interests and teaching situation or future goals, and write a critical review for their classmates.