ENGL 1101, Writing the Brain: Composition and Neuroscience · Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. Norman, Donald

ENGL 1101, Writing the Brain: Composition and Neuroscience

ENGL 1101 G3 | MWF 12:05-12:55PM | Hall Building, 103

ENGL 1101 L | MWF 2:05-2:55PM | Skiles 308 Instructor: Dr. Jason W. Ellis | Office: Hall Building, 009 | Office Hours: MWF 1:00-2:00PM or

by appointment | Contact: [email protected] | Twitter: @dynamicsubspace Class Description Georgia Tech’s ENGL1101 course develops students’ understanding, application, and critical awareness of two big ideas: 1) 1) Communication is rhetorical, and 2) Communication is multimodal, or WOVEN (written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal). Through a series of process-driven projects, some of which are individually based and others collaborative, you will gain a deeper understanding of effective and persuasive communication techniques. The theory that you learn and the practical skills that you develop in this course will help you manage the complexity of the university and workplace with communication. Each ENGL1101 class is unique, because while each one has the same basic outcomes, each is taught by an instructor with his or her own research and pedagogical approach. In our class, we will use the interdisciplinary field of the neurosciences as a way to focus our conversations and projects. Of course, communication is about the transference of information from one person/brain to another. In addition, the brain and its embodied perception systems define how we are most receptive to receiving communications, thinking about communications, and being persuaded by communications. If we understand how the brain/body works, we can apply this knowledge to being communicators who are more effective. Additionally, I am a Georgia Tech graduate. I consider it a personal responsibility to prepare you for future success with thought provoking readings, valuable experiences, and access to my hard-won knowledge.

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Required Texts: Gottschall, Jonathan. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. Norman, Donald A. Living with Complexity. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2011. WOVENtext. This eBook is the official handbook for Georgia Tech’s first-year composition program. You may purchase it online (http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/gatech) or you may purchase a registration card for it through the bookstore. It will grow and evolve throughout your four years of access. Other readings will be made available under Resources of our class’ T-Square site. Required Resources: Laptop: Unless directed otherwise, you should bring your laptop to class each day. Software: Office suite of applications capable of producing files in DOCX, PPTX, and PDF formats. Other needed software is available on the computers in the library’s Multimedia Studio. Ability to print color and b/w documents. Grading Policy Due dates are provided for assignments on the tentative schedule. Instructions for these assignments will be given to you with plenty of time to discuss them with me or your peers before they are due. Should you have any questions, concerns, or issues about an assignment, you MUST speak with me BEFORE an assignment is due, because ALL GRADES FOR THIS COURSE ARE FINAL. This means that I will not entertain student arguments for grade changes after an assignment is completed. Also, failure to complete any major assignment in the course may result in the failure of the course as a whole. Should you find yourself having trouble, you MUST speak with me BEFORE an assignment is due. I will not listen to any arguments after an assignment is completed. Your work will be assessed holistically according to the programmatic rubric available here: http://goo.gl/niuy0c.

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Course Grade Distribution Project Description Multimodality Due Date Value Introductory Project: Managing Complexity

Considering Norman’s Living with Complexity, identify a complex problem that you are (will be) involved in that you want to manage with multimodal communication. In an essay, identify the problem and propose a communication-based solution that you implement.

Written (essay) Oral (in-class discussion) Visual (it can include photos of your own) Electronic (submitting it to T-Square) Nonverbal (in-class participation)

8/30 5%

Project 1: Writing the Brain

Spread out through three modules involving Twitter, a poster, and a 5-page essay, students will have the opportunity to map what they want to think about against what intrudes on their attentional focus. This project will demonstrate the way multimodality can be used for a variety of purposes and arguments. Each module will require team discussion and review.

Written (Twitter, essay, poster, and reflection) Oral (group discussion and peer review) Visual (Twitter, essay, and poster) Electronic (Twitter and poster) Nonverbal (team interaction)

9/25 15%

Project 2: Maximizing the Brain’s Potential

Each group will create a video based on one chapter from John Medina’s Brain Rules. It will be the main purpose of each team to think through their rhetorical choices in the making of their team video.

Written (outline, storyboard, script, and reflection) Oral (team collaboration and video) Visual (storyboard and video) Electronic (storyboard and video) Nonverbal (team interaction and video)

10/25 15%

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Project 3: Putting Neuroscience to Work

Each student will have an opportunity to create a “Pecha Kucha” style presentation, which will be delivered to the class. The presentation’s focus will be on how the student uses his or her brain and the lessons from our class to make rhetorical choices in a variety of situations. Your presentation will be supported by a 20 slide Powerpoint presentation composed only of photographs taken by you.

Written (website, essay, script, and reflection) Oral (peer review of content, and presentation) Visual (PowerPoint, video, and website) Electronic (PowerPoint and website) Nonverbal (elements of your presentation and team interaction during peer review)

11/22 15%

Final Portfolio In your final portfolio project, you will collect WOVEN examples of your work in draft and final form, and compose well-written essays explaining your rhetorical choices and use of the WOVEN modes. This takes the place of a final exam. We will reserve time at the end of the semester to work on this project during class time.

Written (reflection and revision) Electronic (submitting your portfolio according to a set of instructions on T-Square)

Final portfolio due on T-Square by the end of your section’s final exam period. No late portfolios will be accepted. Carefully note your section’s deadline below. ENGL 1101 G3, MWF 12:05-12:55: Dec 9 (Monday), 11:30am-2:20pm ENGL 1101 L, MWF 2:05-2:55: Dec 13 (Friday), 11:30am-2:20pm

20%

In-Class Exercises and Writing

These form the backbone of our in-class discussions.

Written Electronic

10%

Individual Reading Presentation

Each student will have an opportunity during the semester to give a brief presentation on a given day’s reading assignment.

Written Oral Visual Electronic Nonverbal

10%

Participation Attendance, timeliness, and engagement are

Written Oral

10%

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expected of students for success in this class. In addition to my observations of your in-class contributions to discussion and teamwork, I will base this grade on daily assignments, quizzes, and other indicators of extended class-focused involvement and activity.

Nonverbal

Total 100%

Teaching Philosophy and Standards for Professor Performance I understand the value of a Georgia Tech education and I know the challenge involved in achieving it, because I graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Science, Technology, and Culture (STAC). My experiences as a Tech student inform, in part, the way that I design and teach classes. This means that I choose intellectually interesting and exciting source material, I encourage students to engage and participate in discussion and in-class exercises, and I make myself available as a mentor to my students. I have a tremendous amount of hard-won knowledge that I enjoy giving to my students. You should also know that I extensively draw on my research interests in American literature, postcolonial literature, neuroscientific discourses, digital literacy, and computer history in the implementation of my courses. You can expect me to:

• Be professional inside and outside the classroom.

• Treat you like an adult in a professional and respectful manner.

• Be prepared for class. • Attend class regularly. • Respond promptly to email

communication. • Adhere to my policies and standards. • Be available for student meetings with

an appointment. • Maintain a positive attitude. • Be a problem solver. • Offer thoughtful, constructive criticism

on your work. • Be a coach, instead of a “sage on the

stage,” in the classroom.

You should not expect me to:

• Accept notes or other documents from third parties excusing you from class or other activities.

• Respond favorably to excuses of any kind.

• Answer emails or phone calls from parents, guardians, or other third parties.

• Be available outside my office hours without an appointment.

• Respond favorably to any argument for missing my class or leaving my class early because of activities in another class.

• Make exceptions to my policies and standards.

• Grant make-ups.

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• Be a mentor. • Accept late work without a pre-arranged extension.

• Answer emails on the weekends. Standards for Student Performance Another important aspect of this class is developing your professionalism. Expect to be held to these professional standards in our class:

• Respect deadlines. In the workplace, you will be held to a high standard of making and meeting project deadlines. I do not accept late work unless the student speaks with me about arranging an extension. I do not guarantee extension, but I often grant them if there is a documented, compelling need that is identified before an assignment is due.

• Do not expect make-ups. In the workplace, there are consequences for poor performance or incomplete projects. Likewise in our class, you should not expect any make-up opportunities for late or incomplete work. Students who participate in school sanctioned absences (e.g., in-season athletics) are a possible exception, but it is the responsibility of those students to meet with me before assignments are due to discuss and establish a plan for the individual student.

• Arrive on time for class and stay for the duration of class. Being late or leaving early can be disruptive and are disrespectful in any situation, especially in the workplace. I assign partial absences to students who arrive late or leave early, because those students miss a portion of the class lecture, exercises, or team participation. Students who are perpetually late run the risk of receiving a failing grade in the class.

• Respect others. Following a workplace example, we will treat our class as meetings. This means that you should not disrupt class with texting, phone calls, or unnecessary computer sounds. Furthermore, you should respect the people who you work with in class on daily assignments or major projects. Give one another your full attention, your attention to detail, and your vast wealth of expertise. In addition, be receptive to constructive criticism and provide it in full measure to your classroom colleagues.

• Maintain a positive attitude. Many of your projects will be collaborative. Having a negative attitude can influence your and your teammates’ performance and success. Put your best foot forward regardless of any situation’s challenges.

• Be a problem solver. This is the best strategy for maintaining a positive attitude. The workplace is replete with problems, miscommunications, and difficulties. In any job or situation, we should work toward solutions, compromises, and successful communication. This involves identifying where the problem lies, figuring out a solution, applying the solution, evaluating its success, and revising if possible until the problem is fully resolved (or as resolved as possible). This class gives you many opportunities to be a problem solver in preparation for the higher stakes of the workplace.

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Student Opportunities for Developing Significant Skills

• Reading: As indicated on the schedule, there will be approximately 25 pages of reading due for each class on average.

• Writing: Each class begins with a brief writing prompt related to that day’s reading. This helps you gather your thoughts together before discussion and the regular writing practice has been shown to improve writing ability in general. This is true for native English speakers and English language learners (ELL) alike.

• Presentations: During the semester, each student will have an opportunity to give a low-stakes presentation on a given day’s reading and a higher-stakes Pecha Kucha style presentation on the third major project.

• Team Work: Many of the daily exercises will involve cooperative teamwork of several students. Some of the major projects will require teams of students to work together for an extended time on a collaborative project. Developing rhetorically effective communication is also process-driven. This means that we will rely on peer review to improve your writing as part of a process of revision that you can employ in your other classes and in the workplace.

• Multimodality: The assignments in this class were designed to give you an opportunity at working with WOVEN modalities in different ways. As we will learn from our neuroscience readings, humans integrate and remember information that is meaningfully conveyed using multimodalities. You will learn how to do this more effectively.

• Professional Responsibility: It is your responsibility to follow the schedule, obtain notes from your classmates when absent, communicate with the professor if there are concerns or problems that might affect your success in the class, and safeguard your work by keeping multiple backups.

Communication The best and most efficient way to contact me is by email. Please feel free to email me with your questions about the readings, assignments, or anything else pertaining to the class. While I am not an official advisor, I can offer first-hand advice and I can point students toward Georgia Tech resources for student success. I will not discuss grades by email, but I will be happy to discuss student grades in person during my office hours or by appointment. Please feel free to stop by during my office hours, but please send me an email beforehand so that I can prepare appropriately for what you would like to discuss. I will send official announcements to the class by email. Each student is expected to check her or his email before class. Office Hours I encourage students to meet with me outside of class to discuss their classwork and other university-related matters. Due to my experience of students rarely consulting me during scheduled office hours, I will now offer office hours by appointment only. Students should send me an email at least 24 hours in advance requesting a meeting. I am on campus on MWF, so

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please let me know what your schedule is on those days, and I will reply with a time that accommodates both of our schedules. Digital Activities and Resources In our class, all of your major projects and daily assignments will have some kind of electronic component. Therefore, students will need their laptop in class each day unless otherwise instructed. For some of your projects, you will need to use software and online technologies to create videos, presentation slideshows, and websites. I do not require you to own the software and equipment that you will need to accomplish this. While you will likely use a camera or iPhone as your video camera, you can also check out equipment such as mini-DV camcorders or iPads from the library’s Gadgets and Multimedia Equipment (http://www.library.gatech.edu/gadgets/). The library’s Multimedia Commons also has the Adobe Creative Suite including Dreamweaver, which you can use to build your website. The library provides on-going workshops on the software you will need to use in our class (http://www.library.gatech.edu/calendar/libclasses.php). Additionally, Georgia Tech has institutional access to Lynda.com, the technology tutorial website. I highly recommend this invaluable resource. Programmatic and Shared Policies Go to http://goo.gl/niuy0c for common ENGL1101/1102 policies on Learning Outcomes, Evaluation Equivalencies, Evaluation Rubric, Attendance, Participation in Class, Non-discrimination, Communication Center, Accommodations, Academic Misconduct, Syllabus Modifications, Week Preceding Final Exams (WPFE), and Reflective Portfolio.

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Tentative Schedule I believe that classes should be organic and adaptive for each group of students. Therefore, I reserve the right to alter the following tentative schedule depending on the needs of the class as a whole. This also means that you have to be involved and invested to reap the greatest reward from our class. If you have suggestions for supplemental readings or viewings, please share them with me. If you have questions about the course content, please speak with me. Week Day Date Reading/Announcements Work Due 1 M 8/19 Instructor, class, and syllabus

introductions. Signup for Twitter if you do not already have an account (or signup for an account to use with our class).

W 8/21 WOVENtext Part 1: Specifically read these sections: Introduction, Critical Concepts, and T-Square.

Discussion: What we have to work with: the human brain.

Print out and sign the syllabus policy and use forms on the last page of syllabus.

F 8/23 Living with Complexity ch 1-3

Discussion: What is complexity and (perceived) simplicity?

5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading.

2 M 8/26 Living with Complexity ch 4-6 Discussion: Why should we focus on audience in our rhetorical communications?


W 8/28 Living with Complexity ch 7-9

Discussion: Managing complexity with multimodal communication.


F 8/30 Sign up for upcoming reading presentations beginning in week four.

Writing exercise on T-Square. Discussion. Introduce Project 1, Writing the Brain.

Submit Introductory Project to T-Square before class. 1 Tweet summary of Living with Complexity in class.

3 M 9/2 Official Holiday, No Class W 9/4 We will meet for the first half

of class in our regular classroom. Then, we will walk over to the CommLab for a tour, Clough Commons, Level 4, Room 447.

F 9/6 Library Tour, meet in Library’s entrance rotunda (adjacent to corner of Cherry St. and Bobby Dodd Way). You do not need your laptops

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today. 4 M 9/9 John Medina’s Brain Rules,

Introduction and Exercise (2 chapters). Peer review Project 1 Posters.

Writing exercise on T-Square. Student led introduction. Discussion.

Project 1 Poster draft due on T-Square. 5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading.

W 9/11 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Wiring


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Project 1 Poster due on T-Square.

F 9/13 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Attention


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Project 2

5 M 9/16 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Short-term memory and Long-term memory (2 chapters)



W 9/18 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Sleep



F 9/20 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Stress


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Email draft of Project 1 essays to team members. Submit draft of Project 1 essay to T-Square.

6 M 9/23 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Sensory integration and Vision (2 chapters). Peer review team members’ essays over weekend. Return and discuss in teams during class.



W 9/25 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Survival. Introduce Project 2, “Maximizing the Brain’s Potential.”


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Project 1 Tweets, Poster, and Essay, and Reflection (including all drafts) due on T-

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Square. F 9/27 John Medina’s Brain Rules,

Gender Writing exercise on T-Square. Student led introduction. Discussion.


7 M 9/30 John Medina’s Brain Rules, Exploration


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Project 2 outline due on T-Square (team leader only).

W 10/2 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Preface and The Witchery of Story



F 10/4 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, The Riddle of Fiction



8 M 10/7 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Hell is Story-Friendly


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Project 2 Script due on T-Square (team leader only).

W 10/9 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Night Story



F 10/11 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, The Mind is a Storyteller. Last day to drop classes with “W” grade.


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Last day to drop individual courses with a “W” grade.

9 M 10/14 Fall Recess. No class.

W 10/16 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, The Moral of the Story


5 meaningful tweets about what you learned from the reading. Project 2 Storyboard due on T-Square (team leader only).

F 10/18 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Ink

Writing exercise on T-Square. Student led introduction.

5 meaningful tweets about what you

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People Change the World Discussion. learned from the reading.

10 M 10/21 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Life Stories



W 10/23 Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, The Future of Story



F 10/25 Movie day: Watch Project 2 team videos.

Project 2 due on T-Square. Each team member will submit collaboratively produced outline, script, storyboard, and link to video.

11 M 10/28 Movie day: Watch Project 2 team videos.

W 10/30 Introduce Project 3, “Putting Neuroscience to Work,” and Final Portfolio Project. What is Pecha Kucha 20x20? http://www.pechakucha.org

5 meaningful tweets about Pecha Kucha.

F 11/1 Conducting Research Basics. 5 meaningful tweets about research resources available through/in Georgia Tech’s Library.

12 M 11/4 Team meetings to discuss books and proposals.

Bring a book from the library to share with your teams. Project 3 Proposal due on T-Square.

W 11/6 Studio time for project 3. F 11/8 Team meetings to peer review

outline. What kinds of photos do you want to anchor your presentation? In-class research and writing.

Project 3 Outline due on T-Square.

13 M 11/11 Team meetings to peer review script. Discuss topics.

Project 3 Script due on T-Square.

W 11/13 Photography bootcamp. F 11/15 Studio time for project 3. 14 M 11/18 Powerpoint bootcamp for

Pecha Kucha.

W 11/20 Studio time for project 3. F 11/22 Project 3 Pecha Kucha

Presentations. Project 3 (proposal,

outline, script, Powerpoint, and reflection) due on T-Square.

15 M 11/25 Project 3 Pecha Kucha Presentations.

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W 11/27 Project 3 Pecha Kucha Presentations.

F 11/29 Thanksgiving Holiday. No class.

16 M 12/2 WPFE. Final Portfolio Workshop.

W 12/4 WPFE. Final Portfolio Workshop.

F 12/6 WPFE. Final Portfolio Workshop.

17 Final exam week, 12/9-12/13

Final portfolio due on T-Square by the end of your section’s final exam period. No late portfolios will be accepted. Carefully note your section’s deadline below. ENGL 1101 G3, MWF 12:05-12:55: Dec 9 (Monday), 11:30am-2:20pm ENGL 1101 L, MWF 2:05-2:55: Dec 13 (Friday), 11:30am-2:20pm

Please remember to contact me if you have any questions about the class at any time during the semester. And remember to hang in there:

Composite image created by Mark Warbington.

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Syllabus/Policy Acknowledgment and Permission Statement PLEASE READ, SIGN, AND RETURN THESE STATEMENTS BY DAY, DATE. I affirm that I have read the entire syllabus and policy sheet for _______________ and understand the information and the responsibilities specified. ____________________________________________ print name ____________________________________________ signature ____________________________________________ date DIRECTIONS: Read carefully and check all that apply.

o I give my instructor, JASON W. ELLIS, permission to use copies of the work I do for this course, as examples in this and other courses, as examples in presentations, and in print and electronic publications.

o I do NOT give my instructor, JASON W. ELLIS, permission to use copies of the work I do for this course, as examples in this and other courses, as examples in presentations, and in print and electronic publications.

Please indicate whether you want to be acknowledged if your work is used:

o Please use my name in association with my work.

o Please use my work, but do NOT acknowledge me. If your instructor decides to use your work, he//she may wish to contact you. Please provide your contact information below: _________________________________________________________________________ print name _________________________________________________________________________ signature _________________________________________________________________________ email address _________________________________________________________________________ phone number _________________________________________________________________________ print permanent address _________________________________________________________________________ print campus address _________________________________________________________________________ date

Documents

ENGL 1101, Writing the Brain: Composition and Neuroscience · Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. Norman, Donald