Advanced Methods of Teaching Literature
This graduate seminar will address the theory and practice of the teaching of literature at secondary and university levels. We will examine curricular and instructional issues including the historical development of literature teaching in English, the inclusion of multicultural materials and perspectives, cultural studies, the development of best instructional practices, reader response, the use of internet technology, and the emergence of literature teachers as professional leaders.
The class will be taught in a wireless laptop classroom and will experiment with a variety of new technologies. Our class will be organized by this on-line syllabus that will also serve as an electronic, hyperlinked text book.
The final project of the course will be the development of a thematic curriculum for literature teaching drawing on a reflective, multicultural understanding of curriculum and best-practice teaching strategy. The course will be prepared to be taught using an interactive teaching website and will include internet learning activities such as on-line archives, electronic conferencing, hypertexting, webquests, etc. Streaming video explain the concept of the classroom website at "Teaching with Technology" page of the Teaching English through Technology website.
We will have an electronic computer conference that will provide a forum for examination of course goals, content, activity, and methodology at Nicenet.org. Students are expected to contribute at least twice per week (once to post your responses and once to respond to responses of others). To participate, you will need sign up for the class named Teaching Literature 2007 (key 7Z88ZZ3T69).
My web site is an additional resource and a gateway to a variety of internet resources for English teachers. Help for technology projects can be had at the IT Center (WMU teachers) and the IT Lab (WMU students).
Students are expected to join the National Council of the Teachers of English or the Modern Language Association and attend a professional conference, such as the MCTE Bright Ideas Conference, Saturday, April 14.
This semester we will have two special visitors, Dr. James Gee and Dr. Steve Feffer. Dr. Gee's visit will occassion a change of class from Tuesday to Thursday night, March 15. (Please plan accordingly.)
Class participation is vital in 6800, missing classes may lower the grade and missing more than 3 classes may lead to failing. This class will follow WMU academic honesty policies. If at any point in the semester if you feel stress, English 6800 offers free on-line therapy from Eliza! (One of the early products of artificial intelligence research.)
Required Reading:
Carey-Webb, Allen. Literature and Lives: A Response-Based, Cultural Studies Approach to Teaching Literature (NCTE, 2001).
Rosenblatt, Louise. Literature as Exploration. Fourth Edition. (MLA, 1983).
Packets including theoretical, historical, and pedagogical essays.
A book from the professional literature on teaching literature.
Extensive study of websites and on-line resources.
Selections from:
Applebee, Arthur. Tradition and Reform in the Teaching of English.
Brown Ruoff, Lavonne et al. Redefining American Literary History.
Christenbury, Leila. Making the Journey: Being and Becoming a Teacher of the English Language Arts.
Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups.
Flood, James. Handbook of Research on the Teaching of English Language Arts.
Gee, James. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy.
Good, Thomas and Jere Brophy. Looking in Classrooms.
Kajder, Sarah. The Tech-Savvy English Classroom
Pope, Rob. Textual Intervention: Critical and Creative Strategies for Literary Studies.
Viswanathan, Gauri. Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India.
wa Thiongo, Ngugi. Decolonizing the Mind.
Wilhelm, Jeffery. You Gotta BE the Book: Teaching Engaged and Reflective Reading with Adolescents.
Weinsten, Carol. Middle and Secondary Classroom Management.
Assignments:
Nicenet.org (10%) (weekly posts)
Teaching Web Site 1/24 (10%)
Canon Presentation 2/6 (5%)
Conference Proposal 2/20 (5%)
Discussion Analysis 2/27 (10%)
Professional Book Presentation 4/10 (5%)
Curriculum Project 4/24 (50%)
Self-Evaluation 4/24 (5%)
Syllabus
____________________________________________________________
Introductions / Professional Proposal / Class Website
1. Obtain unified computer account from the computer center and register for your own website at WMU homepages.
2. Join class on-line conference "Teaching Literature 2005 " at www.nicenet.org (key 7Z88ZZ3T69) and don't forget to respond each week.
3. Read carefully through the entire on-line syllabus, including all assignments. Bring any questions about these assignments to class.
4. Brainstorm ideas for professional presentation:
Wednesday, Jan. 17: NCTE Proposals Due
Wednesday, Feb. 28: MCTE Proposals Due
5. Begin your own classroom website.
Jan. 15 MLK DAY, Convocation, no classes
Jan. 16
Internet Resources for Teaching
1. Examine webresources for teaching literature. That includes:
1. Web Research;
3. Literature Resources (excluding literary archives which we will examine later in the course);
4.On-line Lesson Plan sites such as Outta Ray's Head, the Discovery School, Web English Teacher, New York Times Lesson Plan Archive, Cyberguides, Lesson Plans Page, ERIC, NCTE's Notes Plus (subscribers only), Lesson Planz.com, Educator's Reference Desk, Encarta, etc.
5. Ezines. You could start with the and look at Amanda Warren's Ezine suggestions. But also be sure to examine some of the most innovative such as bornmagazine and Alt-X. Or ezines related to our course such as Kairos, Look at resources to develop ezines, such as Zinebook.
6. Webquests
2. Briefly evaluate several of these on-line resources in a posting on our Nicenet computer conference and include relevant urls (Teaching Literature 2005 (key 7Z88ZZ3T69)).
3. Continue development of your website.
4. Read Allen's Chapter 6
Jan. 17, Wednesday
Teaching About MLK, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement
Sangren Hall 2304, 4-5:30
Attend this session (if possible), see TeachMLK.com, and post message on Nicenet regarding teaching about MLK and the Civil Rights Movement.
Jan. 23
Archeology of the Literature Curriculum
1. Read: Macaulay's "Minute" on Indian Education, Viswanathan "Currying Favor," Hawkes "Swisser-Swatter," Applebee "The Birth of a Subject," and Ngugi "Literature in Schools."
2. On Nicenet, what issues seem to connect these different essays on the literature curriculum?
3. Website due
Jan. 30
Literary Theory, Cultural Studies, and
English Teaching
1. Read: Literature and Lives: A Response-based, Cultural Studies Approach to Teaching English
2. Write a one-page description of a literature course you would like
to teach using a cultural studies approach and post on Nicenet.
Feb. 6
Examining Historical Contexts and Canons
1. Read "American Literature a Comparative Discipline" by Paul Lauter 2. Canon Presentation: Undertake library research on a selected literary period with
the goal to a) analyze the presentation of the canon of literature
from that period (look at textbooks, anthologies, guides to literary
study, special teaching editions of canonical works, and on-line
syllabi) and consider b) What kinds of cultural studies resources
might you look for to compliment the teaching of literature from
this period? |
 |
Digital Texts: Archives, Hypertexting, Textual Intervention
1) Read: "Digital Texts" manuscript chapter by Allen Webb and Rob Rozema, (handout)
2) "Hypertext" from The Tech-Savvy English Classroom Sara Kajder, (handout)
3) Textual Intervention: Critical and Creative Strategies for Literary Studies by Rob Pope, Chapter 1, and 2
4) Carefully examine several on-line literary archives (Teach English: Literary Archives, Allen Webb: Archive Ideas) that you might be able to use in your curriculum to extend your student's reading. Some of these archives are actually collections of archives--explore to find an archive you would like to work with.
5) Develop a lesson idea for students to use digital texts from an archive that requires close examination of the archive, creativity, and higher level thinking. Post on Nicenet
Feb. 20
Leading Discussion
1. Read: Handout: From Looking in Classrooms (3rd ed.) by Good and Brophy "Chapter 1" "Questioning" 346-357, Form 10.3, 10.4, 10.6, Methods of Classroom Observation Appendix A, B & C, pages 63-73 (6th ed.). "Questioning Behaviors" (from Making the Journey by Leila Christenbury, 1994, "Managing Recitation and Discussion" (chapter 10) from Secondary Classroom Management (McGraw Hill 1996).
2. Examine Discussion Analysis web page.
3. Add to discussion about discussion on Nicenet.
4. Conference proposal: Write a rough draft conference proposal for MCTE, post on Nicenet.
Feb. 27
Instructional Models / Literature Circles
1.Read: Handout: "Instructional Models for English Language
Arts, K-12" by Edmund Farrell.
2. Read: Handout from Literature Circles by Harvey Daniels and
the Literature Circles website.
3. Drawing on the website and reading, on Nicenet describe instructional models that you find relevent to the curriculum
you are creating.
4 . Discussion Observation: Observe and videotape a classroom discussion of at least 30 minutes, preferably one that you lead. Analyze the discussion based on what you already know and have learned this week. Use at least two instruments from Good and Brophy. Write up your analysis of the discussion. (minimum 4 pages)
Mar. 5-11
Spring Break
Mar. 13: Class Cancelled -- Held instead: Mar. 15 Thursday, 7:30 10th Floor Sprau
Video Games and Virtual Worlds in Teaching of Literature
1. Read Selections from: Gee, James. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy.
2. Study Virtual Realities: Literary Worlds, Second Life.
3. Respond on Nicenet. What virtual world would you like to create to support literary study?
Mar. 16 Friday
James Gee Workshop, 10:00, 1215 Wood Hall
Mar. 20
Reader Response
1. Literature as Exploration, Louise Rosenblatt
2. Respond on Nicenet.
Mar. 27
Remedial Reading and At-Risk Students
1. "Reading Remedies for At-Risk Students" by Laura Feffer
2. Read Reading: Instructional Philosophy and Teaching Suggestions.
3. Respond on Nicenet.
4. Bring a one-page summary of the course you plan to create for the final project.
Apr. 3
Drama and Performance
Special Guest: Dr. Steve Feffer
1. Reading to be announced
2. Respond on Nicenet.
1. Choose a recommended professional book for English teachers new to you, read it, and prepare a presentation about the book. Include a one page handout or powerpoint presentation. Comments on Nicenet.
Saturday, Apr. 14
MCTE "Bright
Ideas Conference" Lansing
1. Study state and national language arts standards, comparing and contrasting the way that NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts, the Michigan English Language Arts Content Standards, and the Michigan K-8 standards for English Language Arts treat the teaching of reading and literature.
2. Respond on Nicenet drawing on a number of specific standards.
Apr. 24 6800 Final, 7:15-9:15
Share Curriculum Projects
Self-Evaluation: Write a 4-page self-evaluation of your work English 6800 and propose a course grade.
Additional Relevant Websites
6800 student websites created in past courses
Examine Other On-line Literature Methods Courses
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created by: allen.webb@wmich.edu
updated: 1/07