Continuing a practice I most recently iterated at the end of the May 2018 session at DeVry University in San Antonio, and following closely the patterns established in previous practice, comments below offer impressions of class performance among students enrolled in ENGL 062: Introduction to Reading and Writing during the July 2018 session at that institution. After a brief outline of the course and selected statistics about it, impressions and implications for further teaching are discussed.

Students enrolled in ENGL 062: Introduction to Reading and Writing during the July 2018 session were asked to complete a number of assignments in quick succession. Many, and the weightiest, related to the overall course project; others were homework meant to practice skills used in the workplace and in later stages of the course project. Those assignments and their prescribed point-values are below, with relative weights shown in the figure below:

• Homework (a developed paragraph, a summary and response, and two essays in two versions each)- 370/1,000 points
• My Reading Lab (reading skills and reading level assessments)- 300/1,000 points
• Discussion Posts (three posts in each of two graded discussion threads weekly)- 280/1,000 points
• Reflection on Progress and Plan for Improvement- 50/1,000 points

As before, most assignments were assessed by means of rubrics provided by the institution. Some few were assessed on a percentile basis from standardized testing conducted as part of University-wide course requirements.

The section met on Thursdays from 1800-2150 in Room 107 of the San Antonio campus of DeVry University. Enrollment was low–only two students as the class began, dropping to one before the class ended–so presentation of students’ statistics is inappropriate; there are insufficient numbers to allow either anonymity or the extraction of useful data.

Teaching so small a class had its benefits, certainly. I’ve got a fair amount of experience as a tutor, so I was able to operate the class as a sort of extended tutorial, though my tutorials are usually more responsive and flexible than a prescribed assignment sequence allows. I do have to note that the relatively low workload made for an easier time of things for me, and I am not ungrateful–particularly given that the next session looks like it will ask quite a bit of me (I’m only teaching one class, but it has 28 students in it as I write this–and it’s a wholly online composition course). In all, it catered to my strengths, and I feel I did a good job of it this time around.

I still appreciate having had the chance to teach again, and I once again look forward to having others in the new session and in sessions yet to come.

Discussion was meant to address questions from the previous week and earlier before turning to summative thoughts about the course. Time to complete the assignment for the concluding week of the course was to have been offered.

Class is reminded of the upcoming assignment:

• Homework: Reflective and Planning Postscript, due online as a Word document in APA format before the end of 1 September 2018

The session closes at the end of the day on Saturday, so all work must be submitted by then to be counted.

The class roster listed one student enrolled, unchanged from last week. None attended, assessed informally. No student attended the most recent office hour.

After addressing questions from the previous week and earlier, class turned to workshopping student work in advance of the second draft of the final essay being due. Student questions were addressed as they arose.

Students are reminded of upcoming assignments:

• Discussions (three posts per graded thread), due online before 0059 on 27 August 2018
• Homework: Essay 2, Graded Draft, due online as a Word document in APA format before 0059 on 27 August 2018
• My Reading Lab: Reading Textbooks Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 20 August 2018
• One selection from My Reading Lab: Next Reading (in the Reading Level part of My Reading Lab; requires the Lexile Locator [which will be unscored]), due online before 0059 on 20 August 2018

The class roster listed but one student enrolled, a decline of one from last week. The student attended and participated well. No student attended the most recent office hour.

Class was intended to address questions from the previous class meeting and before and turn to organizational patterns before briefly treating some concerns of paratext. Instructor absence prevented that, however. Instructional materials, including an attendance-equivalent, were sent to students.

Students are reminded of upcoming assignments:

• Discussions (three posts per graded thread), due online before 0059 on 20 August 2018
• Homework: Essay 2, First Draft, due online as a Word document in APA format before 0059 on 20 August 2018
• My Reading Lab: Patterns of Organization and Inference Topics and Post-Tests, both due online before 0059 on 20 August 2018
• One selection from My Reading Lab: Next Reading (in the Reading Level part of My Reading Lab; requires the Lexile Locator [which will be unscored]), due online before 0059 on 20 August 2018

The class roster listed two students enrolled, unchanged from last week. No students attended the most recent office hour.

After addressing questions from the previous class meeting and before, discussion turned to paraphrase and summary before responding to student questions about orthography. In-class practice was offered, and time was allotted for student work.

Students are reminded of upcoming assignments:

• Discussions (three posts per graded thread), due online before 0059 on 13 August 2018
• Homework: Summary and Response, due online as a Word document in APA format before 0059 on 13 August 2018
• My Reading Lab: Paraphrasing and Summarizing Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 13 August 2018
• One selection from My Reading Lab: Next Reading (in the Reading Level part of My Reading Lab; requires the Lexile Locator [which will be unscored]), due online before 0059 on 13 August 2018

Class met as scheduled, at 1800 in Room 107 of the San Antonio campus. The class roster listed two students enrolled, unchanged from last week; one attended, assessed informally. Student participation was good. No students attended the most recent office hour.

After a note about the abortive class meeting of the previous week, discussion turned towards the needs of introductions and conclusions before moving on to revision strategies. In-class practice with selected revision techniques was offered, and time was allotted for student work.

Students are reminded of upcoming assignments:

• Discussions (three posts per graded thread), due online before 0059 on 6 August 2018
• Homework: Essay 1, Final Draft, due online as a Word document in APA format before 0059 on 6 August 2018
• My Reading Lab: Implied Main Ideas Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 6 August 2018
• One selection from My Reading Lab: Next Reading (in the Reading Level part of My Reading Lab; requires the Lexile Locator [which will be unscored]), due online before 0059 on 6 August 2018

Class met as scheduled, at 1800 in Room 107 of the San Antonio campus. The class roster listed two students enrolled, unchanged from last week; one attended, assessed informally. Student participation was good. The most recent office hour was canceled due to another obligation on the instructor’s part.

Class was to open with treating questions from the previous class meeting before turning to concerns of writing as a process and of essay structures. Some time would have been allotted to work on student assignments. However, neither of the students enrolled attended.

Students are reminded of upcoming assignments:

• Discussions (three posts per graded thread), due online before 0059 on 30 July 2018
• Homework: Essay 1, Review Draft, due online as a Word document in APA format before 0059 on 30 July 2018
• My Reading Lab: Outlining and Mapping Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 30 July 2018
• My Reading Lab: My Reading Lab: Outlining and Mapping Topic and Post-Test Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 30 July 2018
• One selection from My Reading Lab: Next Reading (in the Reading Level part of My Reading Lab; requires the Lexile Locator [which will be unscored]), due online before 0059 on 30 July 2018

Students, please keep in mind that the post-tests provide the grades for My Reading Lab assignments.

 

After treating questions from the previous class meeting, discussion turned to concerns of definition (prescriptive/descriptive, denotation/connotation), broad genres, paragraphing, and expected paper formatting. Some time was allotted to work on student assignments.

Students are reminded of upcoming assignments:

• Discussions (three posts per graded thread), due online before 0059 on 23 July 2018
• Homework: p162, #5 in the course textbook, a developed paragraph due online as a Word document in APA format before 0059 on 23 July 2018
• My Reading Lab: Vocabulary Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 23 July 2018
• My Reading Lab: Stated Main Ideas Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 23 July 2018

Students should note that My Reading Lab will be down overnight between 20 and 21 July. Submissions should be made accordingly.

Class met as scheduled, at 1800 in Room 107 of the San Antonio campus. The class roster listed two students enrolled, unchanged from last week; one attended, assessed informally. Student participation was good. No students attended the most recent office hour.

For the first meeting of the July 2018 session, discussion focused on introductions to the class and to its participants. Attention was given to course structure and requirements, including how to access course materials. Basic reading and writing concepts received attention, and some time was afforded to work on student assignments.

Students were reminded of upcoming assignments:

• Discussions (three posts per graded thread, plus contributions to the Introductions thread), due online before 0059 on 16 July 2018
• My Reading Lab: Learning Path Diagnostic, due online before 0059 on 16 July 2018
• My Reading Lab: Active Reading Strategies Topic and Post-Test, due online before 0059 on 16 July 2018

Class met as scheduled, at 1800 in Room 107 of the San Antonio campus. The class roster listed two students enrolled; one attended, assessed informally. Student participation was good. No students attended the most recent office hour.