Preview Review of Issues for Pedagogy and the Profession Small-Group Discussions Whole-Class Discussions Tips for Oral Exams Oral Exam Practice English

Preview •Review of Issues for Pedagogy and the Profession

•Small-Group Discussions

•Whole-Class Discussions

•Tips for Oral Exams

•Oral Exam Practice

English 714Ed Nagelhout 8 September 2010

Writing Prompt


Based on your reading for tonight, what do you believe are the three most important pedagogical issues facing our profession?

Pedagogy and the Profession

Readings categorize pedagogy in:

•Disciplinary Contexts

•Practical Applications

•External Influences

•Professional Frames



The Disciplines of English Studies


•Importance of historical awareness

•Plays for power

•Speculative Grand Narrative

•Emancipation Narrative




•Different Disciplines, although Elbow is a bit cliché.

•Culture of Literature

•Culture of Composition




“The most destructive common-sense myth about literacy acquisition is that since it is ‘a basic skill,’ it ought to come quickly and cheaply.”


Pedagogical Practices


“Mystory seeks to develop a reflexive praxis that constantly questions both its subject and its authority to be subjective.”


Pedagogical Practices


“Unlike written compositions, the internal logic of a Web piece is likely to appear first in the visual construction of the page—not only in the images chosen but the colors, the placement of text or links, the font, the use of white space, and other elements linked more closely to the world of graphic design than to composition pedagogy.”


Pedagogical Influences


•Standardizing curricula has impact on pedagogy.

•Students have impact on pedagogy.

•Reflective Practice


Three Assumptions


• Mastery of subject matter

• Develop in isolation

• “Learning” to teach ends with the degree



“Pedagogical inquiry involves a shift away from concepts to be acquired and theories to be mastered and toward ongoing, locally specific dialogue between teaching and research, action and reflection. It requires, at the same time, an examination of the systemic conditions that continue to position research above teaching, mastery above inquiry.”



“Valuing pedagogy, making pedagogy central to professing, requires more than scholarly efforts and more improved training practices. It requires a rethinking of entrenched notions of the discipline that determine the relationship of teaching to scholarship and that reinforce a limited conception of who the professor is and should be.”


Key Question:


“How much has pedagogy changed English Studies?”


Research Practices

Our work is developmental, but

•More Precise

•More Focused

•Pedagogy as separate



Guiding Questions:

1.What role does pedagogy play in post-secondary English Studies?

2.Why is pedagogy an important aspect of post-secondary English Studies (or not)?

3.How is pedagogy presented in larger discussions of English Studies at colleges and universities?


Writing Prompt


Summarize and then describe how your article answers, specifically, one of the guiding questions for this research topic.

Small Group Discussions

Where does pedagogy “fit” in the profession? What is an ideal fit? Where are the margins? What are the implications for these positions?


Positioning Pedagogy


How do we professionalize teaching? What are ideal processes in the profession? Where are the margins? What is acceptable? Unacceptable?


Processing Pedagogy


How can the profession privilege pedagogy? Where are the pedagogical margins in the profession? What are the implications for promoting pedagogy in the profession?


Promoting Pedagogy

Whole Class Discussion


Report findings from small-group discussions:•Positioning•Processing•Promoting


Writing Prompt 1.What is your biggest fear about the oral exams?

2.What is the best piece of advice you have received about taking the oral exams?


Oral Exam Tips

If you have a reading list, be sure to understand each item on the reading list; more importantly, understand relationships among the items.


Oral Exam Tips

Maintain focus throughout the exam Maintain self-confidence and composure Maintain good eye contact and posture


Oral Exam TipsBe an intelligent listener. Listen carefully and make sure you understand exactly what is being asked. Don't interrupt. Wait until the examiner finishes the question before you start to answer.


Oral Exam Tips

Organize Your Responses

Pause briefly after each question is asked.

If you don’t understand the question, ask for clarification

Compose your thoughts and organize your answer.


Oral Exam Tips

Answer the Question

Be direct and to the point.

State what you know and stop.

Use two or three key points or examples to demonstrate your knowledge.


Oral Exam Practice


For Next Week • Read materials for Writing Assignment #1: Writing about Teaching

• Continue Topic #2 Research (due Sept. 16)

• Begin Research for Topic #3 (Due Sept. 23) English 714

Ed Nagelhout 8 September 2010

Documents

Preview Review of Issues for Pedagogy and the Profession Small-Group Discussions Whole-Class Discussions Tips for Oral Exams Oral Exam Practice English