Teaching Writing in Secondary Schools

Catalog description

This course will provide preparation for teaching writing in the secondary school context. Students completing this course will meet the following objectives: -Understand one's own history as a writer and as a student in relation to the student's current and future practice in the teaching of writing -Articulate principles of a process approach to writing instruction and a workshop learning environment for writing, grounded in research and theory -Know and use strategies for supporting student writers as they work through writing processes -Differentiate writing instruction for students with varying backgrounds and needs -Access, evaluate, and use professional resources for writing instruction in ways that are consistent with principles grounded in research and theory Course content will include an orientation to writing processes, the social contexts of written genres, classroom environments for teaching writing, overcoming barriers to writing in adolescents, conferring and feedback, teaching the conventions of written English, and writing assessment. In addition, students in the course will engage in professional activities appropriate to a teacher of writing at the secondary level. To achieve these aims, students will engage in significant in-class and out-of-class writing activities. They will study examples of teaching practice and student writing from real secondary school classrooms. They will read and apply research on effective writing instruction. They will develop instructional plans and classroom resources for writing instruction. Finally, they will articulate stances for practice as teachers of writing as they begin their professional careers as teachers