[As my 20th (!) year at Fitchburg State University kicks off, I’ll focus my Fall Semester previews on one thing I’m especially excited about for each of my courses. Leading up to a special post on a new scholarly project I’m very excited about as well!]
I’ve
taught at least one section of First-Year Writing I in every one of those 20
Fall semesters, so it’s fair to say that most of what happens in this course
will not be new to me (even if it’s genuinely the case that each community of
students forms its own identity in a way that keeps these courses fresh
nonetheless). But I do try to find ways to update the syllabi when possible,
and for my two sections this Fall I’ve done so with the culminating assignment,
a paper where the students combine personal and academic modes of writing
around a complex central topic of their choice. I’m a big believer in this final
paper, as it helps me remind students that their personal identities, voices, perspectives,
and experiences should always be part of their more formal academic work. But
here in 2024, it seems to me that for many students, this assignment might make
more sense with digital components (or as an entirely digital product), rather
than in writing on paper—so I’m going to include that as a parallel but distinct
option for this final paper, and hopefully we’ll work together to figure out
how each and every student can make this assignment fully and successfully theirs.
Next preview
post tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What
are you excited to teach or work on this Fall?
No comments:
Post a Comment