Many students walk in on the first day of class with intense fears and anxieties about writing. "I can’t write," they say. "I don’t understand grammar." Or "Poetry is just sooooo boring," they moan. "I don’t get the point. What does it all even mean? Why is it important?"
In their icebreaker on the first day, they say "I have to take this composition class for my major, it’s required and that’s the only reason I’m here." Or I’m told "It’s too hard. How can anyone like writing? It doesn’t have some formula like math or science."
Many of my students have been told they aren’t good at writing—from friends, roommates, old teachers, family members, and even their own parents—all of these outside voices telling them they can’t again and again. In the past, they were sometimes forced into finding some meaning from a reading they didn’t quite understand. Now they don’t feel confident and they have no idea why they’re being forced into another writing class. I ask them about their fears and what they don’t feel they can accomplish. I ask them—when was the last book they read for enjoyment? I want to know if they’ve ever enjoyed reading at all, and why they think their writing is so “horrendous.” I want to understand where they want to begin in this course and what information they want to learn.
In one composition class, I brought in pieces of plywood and got some very concerned and strange looks from my students. I passed out markers and told them to write down all of their fears—all of the roadblocks and obstacles in the way of their success. We spent the first half of that class breaking those blocks of wood. Some students did it with their hands, while others stomped the blocks with their feet. Their fears didn’t seem quite as petrifying when they were destroyed in small pieces on the ground.
It’s on this first day I tell my students to learn a new phrase— “Every single person in this room is capable of writing.” Each student has an individual talent and a new voice they can bring into the classroom. They are not alone in their fears and I hope to guide them into finding a little of their own confidence.
It’s this first day of class when I often use myself as an example. I admit to my students that I have intense fears of public speaking and that I am not a natural born speaker. I stutter, forget my words, and yell at myself in my own head as I try to speak through a lesson. I may not always get it right, and sometimes I wish I could restate a sentence I previously butchered. But I tell my classroom this fear cannot come in the way of my love for teaching. I can’t let this fear stop me from doing what I love most—from building new connections with my students. I mention how I often practice in front of a mirror, or listen to recordings of my own embarrassing voice on the way to school, and how I write many of my spoken words on PowerPoint slides for guidance. I admit my envy for some of my other colleagues who may not always need to prepare to teach, yet sound completely flawless in front of the classroom. I tell them public speaking, like writing, is something I continually work on and learn about every day. I want my students to know that constantly working to better something, rather than having a natural born talent, is completely and totally okay.
In each class, I ask my students to keep a writing journal. I then introduce the idea of freewriting for those who are completely terrified to place their pen to paper. This prewriting technique allows students to get their writing down without worrying about a specific topic, grammar, or spelling. If they make a mistake, I tell them to just leave it on the page and disregard it. The result is raw material, which allows students to overcome self-criticism and resistance. When students don’t have to worry about being marked off for their mistakes, I find that they’re more open to their own ideas. Freewriting allows them to jot their initial thoughts at the beginning of each class. Some of my freewriting prompts have included “It’s a Small World ride from Disney will now show the dark side of our world,” “Describe a day in class from the teacher’s point of view,” “If you could make your own report card, in what imaginary subjects would you get an A?” “If you were forced to spend the rest of your life as either a deck hand on a ship or as a librarian at a prestigious university, what would you choose and why?” and “Create a love poem to those who annoy you most” (ex. barking dog next door). During exam weeks, when students are extra stressed, I ask them to draw their head and fill it up with words and pictures of what’s going on in there. I try to make the prompts as silly and outrageous as possible—just to get students open to sharing their work out loud. Without the worry of grammar, many more students are likely to share their prompts with the class. When students are still afraid to share, I’ll read something ridiculous from my own writing journal that I complete alongside them. Besides freewriting, I’ve learned that short writing imitation exercises help students pull through fear. They might imitate song lyrics they’re familiar with, or I may bring in poems that challenge typical formatting elements. I’ve found that students feel more comfortable when they can look at another piece of writing for guidance.
Included Below
Reference 1: Freewrite Exercise Example: Fill in the Head
Reference 2: Imitation Assignment
In all of my classes, a safe writing community is absolutely essential. If students don’t feel comfortable in our classroom, they aren’t willing to communicate their written and oral ideas. Class community doesn’t always come naturally and this is often my biggest teaching challenge and responsibility during my first weeks of classes. As a previous resident assistant, our directors taught us how essential it was to become acquainted with residents during the first month of each semester. Those relationships built in the first few weeks, between us and their peers, set the tone for the rest of the semester. I think this same rule applies in the classroom—it’s imperative to build your community in those initial weeks. This is why I often create an icebreaker for the first two or three weeks of classes to get students more familiar with each other. Sometimes I mention “icebreaker” and my students give me a look of complete distaste— but I tell them to bear with me for a few minutes. Once I pull out a few bags of M&M’s on the first day, the class response becomes more positive.
For the M&M’s icebreaker, I hand out plates, without revealing the directions, and have students pick out as many candies as they would like. Later, they learn that each color they pick will correspond to a piece of information about them. I put up a slide with this information:
Tell us you name, major, where you’re from, choose three colors and tell us …
• Blue- Favorite Hobby
• Green-Favorite Movie/Book
• Red-A Future Goal You Have
• Orange-Favorite/Least Favorite Food
• Brown-Something You Did Over Break
• Yellow- Something You Can’t Live Without
On the first day, I also have students write down their favorite songs. Throughout the semester, I create a playlist and start the songs as soon as students enter the classroom-- I always enjoy seeing their reactions when they hear their favorite songs. It helps students unwind at the start of class and get ready to write.
My next go-to icebreaker involves a beach ball (you should also see the looks I receive when I walk into the second week of classes with the ball). On the beach ball, I’ve written a bunch of questions, such as “What’s one thing you can’t live without?” or “What is the last movie you watched?” or “What is the longest period of time you have been in a car?” We toss the ball around the class, state our names, and answer the question where are right thumb lands.
Reference: 3: Beach Ball Icebreaker
Another way I build class community is by taking the lessons outside the classroom. There are so many incredible resources on campus that our students aren’t always familiar with, such as the Contemporary Art Museum or Special Collections in the library. At these locations, classes can sign up for tours and learn more about the culture at University of South Florida. For my Form and Technique of Poetry class, I designed an “Ekphrasis” craft lesson where students could write a description about a piece of art. The term “art” could mean a multitude of things, but we looked more closely at the specific forms of architecture and photography. In their writing, they could either address an emotional response or imagined presence. In the emotional response, the writer observes a piece of art and constructs a poem that is triggered by (you guessed it!) an emotional response. In the second technique, an imagined presence, the writer observes a piece of art and constructs a piece of writing that allows them to create a persona on the page. The persona is a character assumed by an author in a written work. A writer may choose to take on the perspective of an artist or write about someone or something within the art itself.
Reference 4:. Ekphrasis Craft Lesson
One of my favorite moments with my poetry class was watching their excited expressions when they got to interact with one of the art exhibitions on campus—the pop up tents. I snapped the picture below while they were exploring. The students were really excited to write their responses to the tents, the instruments comprised of rifles that were displayed in the gallery, and the videos of underwater mermaids from the local Weeki Wachee Springs.
Reference: 5: Contemporary Art Museum Field-Trip Picture
In composition, I’ve also found teaching outside of the classroom to be extremely beneficial for students. In one scavenger hunt, I asked students to go on a “grammar safari” on campus. Students got into small groups and took pictures of what they thought might be grammar mistakes. They uploaded their findings on a shared Flickr page. The next class, we enjoyed looking at the pictures and revising the mistakes together. Many of the mistakes, although small, changed the entire reading of the advertisement or poster. These pictures resonated with students because they realized they had a critical eye for spotting the mistakes, and they could use these pictures as building blocks for their own future revisions. The best part? One student admitted that grammar could actually be fun when going on a safari.
Lessons on rhetoric are also useful outside of the classroom because students find the rhetorical appeals are outside and almost everywhere. There are many posters asking for their attention, whether that is in the hallways of their dorms or schools. With freedom of speech, students also find many organizations using strong verbal rhetoric to students passing by on the way to class. On the field trips, students took notes, photographs, or drew events and images they witnessed just outside Cooper Hall. I found these lessons most helpful for my visual learners, or for students who learned more efficiently by taking lessons and applying them to common on-campus events and occurrences. It’s always exciting to get emails from old students about visual rhetoric examples they’ve spotted on and off campus. Many now realize how much ads impact us in our daily life and that they’re constantly being bombarded with influential images, slogans, commercials, and billboards.
As a TA, it’s my goal to relate to each student often, and to reach all diverse types of learners. I am constantly challenging and evaluating my teaching methods while pushing outside of my comfort zone. I believe that I can constantly grow and improve my teaching practices, so I have students complete self-assessments and surveys throughout the semester. In these assessments, I ask students specific questions about their progress as a writer and what goals they have for themselves and the course.
Reference 6: Self-Assessments
Reference 7: Student's Self-Assessments
In my class lessons, I create presentations with funny images that reiterate the important lessons or facts of the day. I make slides that attempt to mirror the thoughts going on in my students’ heads while I introduce new lessons—such as “What the heck is poetry?” or “Thesis!!!? What the heck do you want me to do?” I find that making jokes about fears in writing helps ease students in the process. I want students to know it’s okay to have initial concerns and to learn new information at their own comfortable pace. If students are initially frightened by a poem, I ask them to take a step back and start by analyzing its shape. I ask— how does the poem make use of white space? What visual effect does it have on the reader? If the content is too confusing during the first read, what can we make of the title? Can the title reveal information that we didn’t previously understand? I ask them to revisit the poem and try reading it out loud? I want my student writers to open themselves up to the content—to feel intensely and experience something different. It’s important that they focus on what catches their attention or specifically what is causing them to ask questions. Together, we try to make sense of the poem. I remind students that all of us can learn something new from each other—that there isn’t one right answer and I continue to learn something new every day from their individual perspectives. I encourage students to embrace their different ways of thinking and approaching work. I also show them quotes from professional writers who continue to have fears about their own work. This tells students that even artists we idolize feel they make constant mistakes. These approaches and lessons, too, help me work on each individual’s confidence with their own writing.
Outside of the classroom, it is important that student success remains my priority. On the Student Success Committee, our members make sure to recognize students’ hard work. We have created a top writing prize called the “Bullizer Prize.” This prize recognizes outstanding student papers in ENC 1101 and ENC 1102, including the traditional, collaborative, and online models. Winners receive an award at the departmental award ceremony each spring semester, and can list their achievement on their resumes or CVs under “Awards” or “Academic Accomplishments.” If students are comfortable, their work can be used as an outstanding example for future classes. I have always looked forward to nominating my students for their hard work. Our Student Success Committee also holds an annual “Rhetoric in Action” day, which is an event that allows students to present their final, multimodal projects in the Marshall Center. It’s exciting to see students passionate about their final work outside of the classroom, and I always look forward to photographing the event.
Reference 8: Example of Bullitzer Student Nomination Form
Reference 9: Photograph of Student Success Committee
Reference 10: Photographs for Annual Rhetoric in Action Day
It’s also crucial that I continually revise and improve my class lessons for myself and other teachers in the First Year Composition program. I’ve always strived to be active in the English Department and have taken on outside roles as a summer facilitator, mentor, and orientation leader for the past three years. As a summer facilitator, I had the opportunity to develop the Composition I and II curriculums after test-trialing them in my own courses and asking students for feedback on the major projects. For new teachers, I worked on developing new rubrics for student projects, user manuals for teacher and student guidance, and peer review guidelines. I also took student and new instructor feedback to help provide pedagogical content for USF’s online assessment tool “My Reviewers” where students submit their essays.
Reference 11: Photograph of First Year Composition Program Orientation
As a new instructor mentor, I trained six graduate teaching assistants into the FYC Writing Program after experiencing all the anxieties of being a new TA and teaching for the first time. I held meetings for my colleagues every week to provide them with materials for their weekly teaching guidelines. As a mentor, I also observed their classes, wrote recommendations, and continually assessed student and teacher needs by improving approaches to standardize grading. It was so rewarding watching my colleagues and students grow throughout the semester with these curriculum adjustments.
Reference 12: Composition Detailed Schedule, Created by Summer Facilitators
Over the past three years, I’ve also been thankful for the opportunity to organize and teach training sessions for the First Year Composition annual orientation. Each year, we bring in 50+ instructors and provide two weeks of workshops. Some of my past orientation sessions have included “Creative Writing Program Introduction to USF,” “What to Know for Your First Day of Teaching,” “The Importance of Freewriting,” “Lesson Planning Strategies,” “Understanding the Detailed Schedule,” and “Creative Lesson Planning.” It really has been such an incredible experience to continually voice ideas, concerns, and create new resources based on my and others’ teaching experiences.
Reference 13: Lesson Planning Strategies Presentation for Orientation
Outside of the FYC Department, I have worked as a writing consultant in the USF library Writing Studio for three years and as the Creative Writing Club Advisor for two years. Each of these positions has allowed me to teach and work individually with students from all different majors and backgrounds. I am thankful to branch outside of my English field and learn from all diverse types of students. It’s exciting to read, help, and expose myself to all departments on our campus. Being a TA at USF has provided me with so many wonderful opportunities that have developed my skills as a mentor, leader, writer, facilitator, teacher, and I truly am grateful.
*
Below, I have included evaluations of my courses from previous students and a professor Dr. Jay Hopler. I have also listed many of my favorite lessons over the past three years for my composition, film, and creative writing courses.
The “Writing Prompt for the Hungry” has helped students who struggle with abstract language. The “Writing Workshop Ettiquette” sheet helps build class community and establish rules for a positive and productive workshop. The “Audience and Purpose Halloween Style” activity has been one of my favorites over the years, and it challenges students to think about the rhetorical appeals. “The Poetry Bible” is one of my favorite “Thou shall not” command sheets in my poetry class—it’s a checklist that guides students about things to avoid in their writing. I often have them tape or staple this worksheet to the front of their writing notebook or journal. The “Form and Technique of Poetry” syllabus addresses class community, tips for revision, and formatting guidelines for prose and poetry.
Some PowerPoint presentations below include my introduction to poetry writing and reading presentation, as well as the hot dog presentation that helps students learn to construct a thesis for their major composition papers.
Reference 14: Dr. Jay Hopler's Evaluation of Instruction
Reference 15: Semester Evaluations from Students
Reference 16: Writing Prompt for the Hungry Creative Prompt
Reference 17: Writing Workshop Etiquette
Reference 18: Audience and Purpose Halloween Style
Reference 19: The Poetry Bible
Reference 20: Good and Bad Endnotes
Reference 21: PowerPoint Presentation: Introducing Poetry to Students
Reference 22: Hot Dog Thesis Presentation
In their icebreaker on the first day, they say "I have to take this composition class for my major, it’s required and that’s the only reason I’m here." Or I’m told "It’s too hard. How can anyone like writing? It doesn’t have some formula like math or science."
Many of my students have been told they aren’t good at writing—from friends, roommates, old teachers, family members, and even their own parents—all of these outside voices telling them they can’t again and again. In the past, they were sometimes forced into finding some meaning from a reading they didn’t quite understand. Now they don’t feel confident and they have no idea why they’re being forced into another writing class. I ask them about their fears and what they don’t feel they can accomplish. I ask them—when was the last book they read for enjoyment? I want to know if they’ve ever enjoyed reading at all, and why they think their writing is so “horrendous.” I want to understand where they want to begin in this course and what information they want to learn.
In one composition class, I brought in pieces of plywood and got some very concerned and strange looks from my students. I passed out markers and told them to write down all of their fears—all of the roadblocks and obstacles in the way of their success. We spent the first half of that class breaking those blocks of wood. Some students did it with their hands, while others stomped the blocks with their feet. Their fears didn’t seem quite as petrifying when they were destroyed in small pieces on the ground.
It’s on this first day I tell my students to learn a new phrase— “Every single person in this room is capable of writing.” Each student has an individual talent and a new voice they can bring into the classroom. They are not alone in their fears and I hope to guide them into finding a little of their own confidence.
It’s this first day of class when I often use myself as an example. I admit to my students that I have intense fears of public speaking and that I am not a natural born speaker. I stutter, forget my words, and yell at myself in my own head as I try to speak through a lesson. I may not always get it right, and sometimes I wish I could restate a sentence I previously butchered. But I tell my classroom this fear cannot come in the way of my love for teaching. I can’t let this fear stop me from doing what I love most—from building new connections with my students. I mention how I often practice in front of a mirror, or listen to recordings of my own embarrassing voice on the way to school, and how I write many of my spoken words on PowerPoint slides for guidance. I admit my envy for some of my other colleagues who may not always need to prepare to teach, yet sound completely flawless in front of the classroom. I tell them public speaking, like writing, is something I continually work on and learn about every day. I want my students to know that constantly working to better something, rather than having a natural born talent, is completely and totally okay.
In each class, I ask my students to keep a writing journal. I then introduce the idea of freewriting for those who are completely terrified to place their pen to paper. This prewriting technique allows students to get their writing down without worrying about a specific topic, grammar, or spelling. If they make a mistake, I tell them to just leave it on the page and disregard it. The result is raw material, which allows students to overcome self-criticism and resistance. When students don’t have to worry about being marked off for their mistakes, I find that they’re more open to their own ideas. Freewriting allows them to jot their initial thoughts at the beginning of each class. Some of my freewriting prompts have included “It’s a Small World ride from Disney will now show the dark side of our world,” “Describe a day in class from the teacher’s point of view,” “If you could make your own report card, in what imaginary subjects would you get an A?” “If you were forced to spend the rest of your life as either a deck hand on a ship or as a librarian at a prestigious university, what would you choose and why?” and “Create a love poem to those who annoy you most” (ex. barking dog next door). During exam weeks, when students are extra stressed, I ask them to draw their head and fill it up with words and pictures of what’s going on in there. I try to make the prompts as silly and outrageous as possible—just to get students open to sharing their work out loud. Without the worry of grammar, many more students are likely to share their prompts with the class. When students are still afraid to share, I’ll read something ridiculous from my own writing journal that I complete alongside them. Besides freewriting, I’ve learned that short writing imitation exercises help students pull through fear. They might imitate song lyrics they’re familiar with, or I may bring in poems that challenge typical formatting elements. I’ve found that students feel more comfortable when they can look at another piece of writing for guidance.
Included Below
Reference 1: Freewrite Exercise Example: Fill in the Head
Reference 2: Imitation Assignment
In all of my classes, a safe writing community is absolutely essential. If students don’t feel comfortable in our classroom, they aren’t willing to communicate their written and oral ideas. Class community doesn’t always come naturally and this is often my biggest teaching challenge and responsibility during my first weeks of classes. As a previous resident assistant, our directors taught us how essential it was to become acquainted with residents during the first month of each semester. Those relationships built in the first few weeks, between us and their peers, set the tone for the rest of the semester. I think this same rule applies in the classroom—it’s imperative to build your community in those initial weeks. This is why I often create an icebreaker for the first two or three weeks of classes to get students more familiar with each other. Sometimes I mention “icebreaker” and my students give me a look of complete distaste— but I tell them to bear with me for a few minutes. Once I pull out a few bags of M&M’s on the first day, the class response becomes more positive.
For the M&M’s icebreaker, I hand out plates, without revealing the directions, and have students pick out as many candies as they would like. Later, they learn that each color they pick will correspond to a piece of information about them. I put up a slide with this information:
Tell us you name, major, where you’re from, choose three colors and tell us …
• Blue- Favorite Hobby
• Green-Favorite Movie/Book
• Red-A Future Goal You Have
• Orange-Favorite/Least Favorite Food
• Brown-Something You Did Over Break
• Yellow- Something You Can’t Live Without
On the first day, I also have students write down their favorite songs. Throughout the semester, I create a playlist and start the songs as soon as students enter the classroom-- I always enjoy seeing their reactions when they hear their favorite songs. It helps students unwind at the start of class and get ready to write.
My next go-to icebreaker involves a beach ball (you should also see the looks I receive when I walk into the second week of classes with the ball). On the beach ball, I’ve written a bunch of questions, such as “What’s one thing you can’t live without?” or “What is the last movie you watched?” or “What is the longest period of time you have been in a car?” We toss the ball around the class, state our names, and answer the question where are right thumb lands.
Reference: 3: Beach Ball Icebreaker
Another way I build class community is by taking the lessons outside the classroom. There are so many incredible resources on campus that our students aren’t always familiar with, such as the Contemporary Art Museum or Special Collections in the library. At these locations, classes can sign up for tours and learn more about the culture at University of South Florida. For my Form and Technique of Poetry class, I designed an “Ekphrasis” craft lesson where students could write a description about a piece of art. The term “art” could mean a multitude of things, but we looked more closely at the specific forms of architecture and photography. In their writing, they could either address an emotional response or imagined presence. In the emotional response, the writer observes a piece of art and constructs a poem that is triggered by (you guessed it!) an emotional response. In the second technique, an imagined presence, the writer observes a piece of art and constructs a piece of writing that allows them to create a persona on the page. The persona is a character assumed by an author in a written work. A writer may choose to take on the perspective of an artist or write about someone or something within the art itself.
Reference 4:. Ekphrasis Craft Lesson
One of my favorite moments with my poetry class was watching their excited expressions when they got to interact with one of the art exhibitions on campus—the pop up tents. I snapped the picture below while they were exploring. The students were really excited to write their responses to the tents, the instruments comprised of rifles that were displayed in the gallery, and the videos of underwater mermaids from the local Weeki Wachee Springs.
Reference: 5: Contemporary Art Museum Field-Trip Picture
In composition, I’ve also found teaching outside of the classroom to be extremely beneficial for students. In one scavenger hunt, I asked students to go on a “grammar safari” on campus. Students got into small groups and took pictures of what they thought might be grammar mistakes. They uploaded their findings on a shared Flickr page. The next class, we enjoyed looking at the pictures and revising the mistakes together. Many of the mistakes, although small, changed the entire reading of the advertisement or poster. These pictures resonated with students because they realized they had a critical eye for spotting the mistakes, and they could use these pictures as building blocks for their own future revisions. The best part? One student admitted that grammar could actually be fun when going on a safari.
Lessons on rhetoric are also useful outside of the classroom because students find the rhetorical appeals are outside and almost everywhere. There are many posters asking for their attention, whether that is in the hallways of their dorms or schools. With freedom of speech, students also find many organizations using strong verbal rhetoric to students passing by on the way to class. On the field trips, students took notes, photographs, or drew events and images they witnessed just outside Cooper Hall. I found these lessons most helpful for my visual learners, or for students who learned more efficiently by taking lessons and applying them to common on-campus events and occurrences. It’s always exciting to get emails from old students about visual rhetoric examples they’ve spotted on and off campus. Many now realize how much ads impact us in our daily life and that they’re constantly being bombarded with influential images, slogans, commercials, and billboards.
As a TA, it’s my goal to relate to each student often, and to reach all diverse types of learners. I am constantly challenging and evaluating my teaching methods while pushing outside of my comfort zone. I believe that I can constantly grow and improve my teaching practices, so I have students complete self-assessments and surveys throughout the semester. In these assessments, I ask students specific questions about their progress as a writer and what goals they have for themselves and the course.
Reference 6: Self-Assessments
Reference 7: Student's Self-Assessments
In my class lessons, I create presentations with funny images that reiterate the important lessons or facts of the day. I make slides that attempt to mirror the thoughts going on in my students’ heads while I introduce new lessons—such as “What the heck is poetry?” or “Thesis!!!? What the heck do you want me to do?” I find that making jokes about fears in writing helps ease students in the process. I want students to know it’s okay to have initial concerns and to learn new information at their own comfortable pace. If students are initially frightened by a poem, I ask them to take a step back and start by analyzing its shape. I ask— how does the poem make use of white space? What visual effect does it have on the reader? If the content is too confusing during the first read, what can we make of the title? Can the title reveal information that we didn’t previously understand? I ask them to revisit the poem and try reading it out loud? I want my student writers to open themselves up to the content—to feel intensely and experience something different. It’s important that they focus on what catches their attention or specifically what is causing them to ask questions. Together, we try to make sense of the poem. I remind students that all of us can learn something new from each other—that there isn’t one right answer and I continue to learn something new every day from their individual perspectives. I encourage students to embrace their different ways of thinking and approaching work. I also show them quotes from professional writers who continue to have fears about their own work. This tells students that even artists we idolize feel they make constant mistakes. These approaches and lessons, too, help me work on each individual’s confidence with their own writing.
Outside of the classroom, it is important that student success remains my priority. On the Student Success Committee, our members make sure to recognize students’ hard work. We have created a top writing prize called the “Bullizer Prize.” This prize recognizes outstanding student papers in ENC 1101 and ENC 1102, including the traditional, collaborative, and online models. Winners receive an award at the departmental award ceremony each spring semester, and can list their achievement on their resumes or CVs under “Awards” or “Academic Accomplishments.” If students are comfortable, their work can be used as an outstanding example for future classes. I have always looked forward to nominating my students for their hard work. Our Student Success Committee also holds an annual “Rhetoric in Action” day, which is an event that allows students to present their final, multimodal projects in the Marshall Center. It’s exciting to see students passionate about their final work outside of the classroom, and I always look forward to photographing the event.
Reference 8: Example of Bullitzer Student Nomination Form
Reference 9: Photograph of Student Success Committee
Reference 10: Photographs for Annual Rhetoric in Action Day
It’s also crucial that I continually revise and improve my class lessons for myself and other teachers in the First Year Composition program. I’ve always strived to be active in the English Department and have taken on outside roles as a summer facilitator, mentor, and orientation leader for the past three years. As a summer facilitator, I had the opportunity to develop the Composition I and II curriculums after test-trialing them in my own courses and asking students for feedback on the major projects. For new teachers, I worked on developing new rubrics for student projects, user manuals for teacher and student guidance, and peer review guidelines. I also took student and new instructor feedback to help provide pedagogical content for USF’s online assessment tool “My Reviewers” where students submit their essays.
Reference 11: Photograph of First Year Composition Program Orientation
As a new instructor mentor, I trained six graduate teaching assistants into the FYC Writing Program after experiencing all the anxieties of being a new TA and teaching for the first time. I held meetings for my colleagues every week to provide them with materials for their weekly teaching guidelines. As a mentor, I also observed their classes, wrote recommendations, and continually assessed student and teacher needs by improving approaches to standardize grading. It was so rewarding watching my colleagues and students grow throughout the semester with these curriculum adjustments.
Reference 12: Composition Detailed Schedule, Created by Summer Facilitators
Over the past three years, I’ve also been thankful for the opportunity to organize and teach training sessions for the First Year Composition annual orientation. Each year, we bring in 50+ instructors and provide two weeks of workshops. Some of my past orientation sessions have included “Creative Writing Program Introduction to USF,” “What to Know for Your First Day of Teaching,” “The Importance of Freewriting,” “Lesson Planning Strategies,” “Understanding the Detailed Schedule,” and “Creative Lesson Planning.” It really has been such an incredible experience to continually voice ideas, concerns, and create new resources based on my and others’ teaching experiences.
Reference 13: Lesson Planning Strategies Presentation for Orientation
Outside of the FYC Department, I have worked as a writing consultant in the USF library Writing Studio for three years and as the Creative Writing Club Advisor for two years. Each of these positions has allowed me to teach and work individually with students from all different majors and backgrounds. I am thankful to branch outside of my English field and learn from all diverse types of students. It’s exciting to read, help, and expose myself to all departments on our campus. Being a TA at USF has provided me with so many wonderful opportunities that have developed my skills as a mentor, leader, writer, facilitator, teacher, and I truly am grateful.
*
Below, I have included evaluations of my courses from previous students and a professor Dr. Jay Hopler. I have also listed many of my favorite lessons over the past three years for my composition, film, and creative writing courses.
The “Writing Prompt for the Hungry” has helped students who struggle with abstract language. The “Writing Workshop Ettiquette” sheet helps build class community and establish rules for a positive and productive workshop. The “Audience and Purpose Halloween Style” activity has been one of my favorites over the years, and it challenges students to think about the rhetorical appeals. “The Poetry Bible” is one of my favorite “Thou shall not” command sheets in my poetry class—it’s a checklist that guides students about things to avoid in their writing. I often have them tape or staple this worksheet to the front of their writing notebook or journal. The “Form and Technique of Poetry” syllabus addresses class community, tips for revision, and formatting guidelines for prose and poetry.
Some PowerPoint presentations below include my introduction to poetry writing and reading presentation, as well as the hot dog presentation that helps students learn to construct a thesis for their major composition papers.
Reference 14: Dr. Jay Hopler's Evaluation of Instruction
Reference 15: Semester Evaluations from Students
Reference 16: Writing Prompt for the Hungry Creative Prompt
Reference 17: Writing Workshop Etiquette
Reference 18: Audience and Purpose Halloween Style
Reference 19: The Poetry Bible
Reference 20: Good and Bad Endnotes
Reference 21: PowerPoint Presentation: Introducing Poetry to Students
Reference 22: Hot Dog Thesis Presentation
Reference 1: Freewrite Exercise Fill in the Head
Reference 2: Imitation Assignment | |
File Size: | 44 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Reference 3: Pictured Above-- Beach Ball Icebreaker
Reference 4: Ekphrasis Craft Lesson | |
File Size: | 28 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 5: Pictured Above--Contemporary Art Museum Field-Trip Picture
Reference 6: Self-Assessment I | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 6: Self-Assessment II | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 7: Student's Self-Assessment I | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 7: Student's Self-Assessment II | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 7: Student's Self-Assessment III | |
File Size: | 19 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 8: Example of Bullitzer Student Nomination Form | |
File Size: | 4819 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 9: Pictured Above--Student Success Committee
Reference 10: Photographs for Annual Rhetoric in Action Day
Reference 11: Photograph of First Year Composition Program Orientation
Reference 12: Composition Detailed Schedule, Created by Summer Facilitators | |
File Size: | 32 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 13: PowerPoint Above--Lesson Planning Strategies Presentation for Orientation
Reference 14: Pictured Above-- Dr. Jay Hopler's Evaluation of Instruction
Reference 15: Semester Evaluations from Students | |
File Size: | 141 kb |
File Type: |
Reference 15: Semester Evaluations from Students | |
File Size: | 151 kb |
File Type: |
Reference 15: Semester Evaluations from Students | |
File Size: | 100 kb |
File Type: |
Reference 16: Writing Prompt for the Hungry Creative Prompt | |
File Size: | 90 kb |
File Type: |
Reference 17: Writing Workshop Etiquette | |
File Size: | 26 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Reference 18: Audience and Purpose Halloween Style | |
File Size: | 64 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 19: The Poetry Bible | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 20: Form and Technique of Poetry Syllabus | |
File Size: | 163 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reference 21: Presentation for Introducing Poetry to Students | |
File Size: | 6758 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Reference 22: Included above is a PowerPoint presentation that helps students construct thesis statements.
Reference 23: Reference Letter from Mentor Coordinator
Reference 23: Reference Letter from Mentor Coordinator
Reference Letter, Quincey Upshaw.pdf | |
File Size: | 31 kb |
File Type: |