Field Knowledge
Knowledge in one's field in an essential part of one's professional obligation and integrity. There are many effective ways to stay current with the latest research and best practices including department activities, attending conferences, subscribing to academic journals, participating in teaching circles, etc. Here I will focus on some of my own personal readings and study, highlighting a selection of the most recent literature that I have chosen as an important part of my professional activity. I wish to emphasize the multidisciplinary role of my teaching over my tenure track years: ESL, developmental reading and writing, and English compositions courses. My educational background in both the humanities and social sciences reflects eclectic interests that, I believe, have served me well in such a diverse setting as Salt Lake Community College, and particularly in developmental education and ESL Advanced II level courses, which prepare students for success in first year college courses. Much of my reading and study, therefore, covers a range of subjects.
ESL
Several texts have greatly informed my thinking and teaching in ESL recently. The first is the book selected for the ESL Grammar Teaching Circle: The Grammar Book: Form, meaning, and use for English language teachers by Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marianne Celce-Murcia. As detailed in the Teaching Improvement subsection, this book has been an important tool in rethinking how I teach grammar to English language learners. The second book, Second Language Acquisition Myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching by Steven Brown and Jenifer Larson-Hall challenges several misperceptions about language acquisition. The third book, The Language Instinct by linguist and scientist Steven Pinker provides amazing insights and arguments about the nature of language and has made me think about language in ways I never even imagined. Vandergrift and Goh's Teaching and Learning Second Langauge Listening has so far offered valuable new insights into how to teach listening using a holistic approach based on metacognitive instruction. Most recently, I have been reading another useful book about grammar: Grammar to Get Things Done by Darren Crovitz and Michelle D. Devereaux. This book has proven to be very complementary to Larsen-Freeman/Celce-Murcia book and the ideas of form, function, and use are reinforced. Finally, I would add that I receive the TESOL bulletin to my College email, which is a constant source of interesting articles.
Developmental Reading and Writing
Of huge benefit to my thinking in the fields of developmental reading and writing have been two important edited volumes: Teaching Developmental Writing: Background readings and Teaching Developmental Reading: Historical, theoretical, and practical background readings. Both these volumes have provided me not only with interesting theoretical perspectives, but also practical information and even suggestions for classroom activities. Furthermore, each volume contains a long list of journals and other resources for future study. Finally, I have been interested in learning more about the history, current state, and future possible direction for developmental education in general; Developmental Education: Readings on its pasts, present, and future has provided me with ample information on that score.
English 1010
My time in the English Department allowed me to teach first year composition. Being a new instructor in English 1010 brought challenges and opportunities. I believe my teaching experience and education benefited me greatly and provided me with the necessary tools to successfully take on this course. I was able to familiarize myself with the textbooks for this course, choosing to focus on They Say I Say. I also spent quite a lot of time online researching rhetoric and how to teach rhetorical analysis. I was fortunate that colleagues were always ready and willing to share syllabi and teaching tips. I attended a workshop on teaching rhetoric hosted by English Department faculty (Feb. 26, 2016). Two additional resources that proved helpful in preparing me for this course were Responding to Student Writers by Nancy Sommers and Threshold Concepts in First-Year Composition by Doug Downs and Liane Robertson. The first is a very practical model for responding to student writing, which is helpful for responding to student writing in general and can be easily applied to ESL students. The second is a more theoretical model for teaching first year composition through threshold concepts, which essentially provides a framework of knowledge for students to apply to a wide variety of writing situations.
Lastly, I would also mention how the College provides many on-campus opportunities for professional activity and development. Listed below are a couple of some of the noteworthy events I attended more recently and my commentary on the Safi lecture I attended. When possible I try to avail of these and other events provided by the College and the Professional Development Center.
Lecture by Professor Omid Safi, Duke University: America and Islam: Peace and Justice in an Age of ISIS and Islamophobia. (April 4, 2016).
Lecture by Dr. Randy Bass, Georgetown University: Liberal Education in the New Digital Ecosystem. (April 6, 2016).
ESL
Several texts have greatly informed my thinking and teaching in ESL recently. The first is the book selected for the ESL Grammar Teaching Circle: The Grammar Book: Form, meaning, and use for English language teachers by Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marianne Celce-Murcia. As detailed in the Teaching Improvement subsection, this book has been an important tool in rethinking how I teach grammar to English language learners. The second book, Second Language Acquisition Myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching by Steven Brown and Jenifer Larson-Hall challenges several misperceptions about language acquisition. The third book, The Language Instinct by linguist and scientist Steven Pinker provides amazing insights and arguments about the nature of language and has made me think about language in ways I never even imagined. Vandergrift and Goh's Teaching and Learning Second Langauge Listening has so far offered valuable new insights into how to teach listening using a holistic approach based on metacognitive instruction. Most recently, I have been reading another useful book about grammar: Grammar to Get Things Done by Darren Crovitz and Michelle D. Devereaux. This book has proven to be very complementary to Larsen-Freeman/Celce-Murcia book and the ideas of form, function, and use are reinforced. Finally, I would add that I receive the TESOL bulletin to my College email, which is a constant source of interesting articles.
Developmental Reading and Writing
Of huge benefit to my thinking in the fields of developmental reading and writing have been two important edited volumes: Teaching Developmental Writing: Background readings and Teaching Developmental Reading: Historical, theoretical, and practical background readings. Both these volumes have provided me not only with interesting theoretical perspectives, but also practical information and even suggestions for classroom activities. Furthermore, each volume contains a long list of journals and other resources for future study. Finally, I have been interested in learning more about the history, current state, and future possible direction for developmental education in general; Developmental Education: Readings on its pasts, present, and future has provided me with ample information on that score.
English 1010
My time in the English Department allowed me to teach first year composition. Being a new instructor in English 1010 brought challenges and opportunities. I believe my teaching experience and education benefited me greatly and provided me with the necessary tools to successfully take on this course. I was able to familiarize myself with the textbooks for this course, choosing to focus on They Say I Say. I also spent quite a lot of time online researching rhetoric and how to teach rhetorical analysis. I was fortunate that colleagues were always ready and willing to share syllabi and teaching tips. I attended a workshop on teaching rhetoric hosted by English Department faculty (Feb. 26, 2016). Two additional resources that proved helpful in preparing me for this course were Responding to Student Writers by Nancy Sommers and Threshold Concepts in First-Year Composition by Doug Downs and Liane Robertson. The first is a very practical model for responding to student writing, which is helpful for responding to student writing in general and can be easily applied to ESL students. The second is a more theoretical model for teaching first year composition through threshold concepts, which essentially provides a framework of knowledge for students to apply to a wide variety of writing situations.
Lastly, I would also mention how the College provides many on-campus opportunities for professional activity and development. Listed below are a couple of some of the noteworthy events I attended more recently and my commentary on the Safi lecture I attended. When possible I try to avail of these and other events provided by the College and the Professional Development Center.
Lecture by Professor Omid Safi, Duke University: America and Islam: Peace and Justice in an Age of ISIS and Islamophobia. (April 4, 2016).
Lecture by Dr. Randy Bass, Georgetown University: Liberal Education in the New Digital Ecosystem. (April 6, 2016).