Classes I’ve Taught
RHET 105
At the University of Illinois, Rhetoric 105 is the most commonly taken class that fulfills the Composition I requirement. In this class, students get instruction in research-based writing so they can craft argumentative essays of the sort they might encounter throughout undergraduate study.
Every instructor approaches Rhet 105 a little differently. In my course, I incorporate a few additional types of instruction. First, I offer instruction on digital literacy skills. These skills can include everything from basic word processor usage to tools that help students effectively search academic databases for relevant and credible sources. Traditional-age college students are often skilled users of digital tools, but that doesn’t mean composition instructors should teach to the myth of the “digital native.” It’s impossible to be an expert user of all of the myriad composition tools students encounter during their studies, so I make time to incorporate this training into my class.
Additionally, I take Rhet 105 as an opportunity to introduce students to multimodal composing theory and practice. Yes, students write research papers and other types of essays in my Rhet 105 classes, but they also create PowerPoint presentations, Lego sculptures, flyers, interactive demonstrations, or other more-than-textual compositions, and they learn how such “texts” can support their rhetorical goals.
Curious? Join me in Rhet 105!
INFO 303
INFO/WRIT 303 “Writing Across Media” is an advanced composition class cross-listed in both Informatics and Writing Studies. Advanced composition courses ask students to learn and apply principles of writing, rhetoric, and communication as they compose their own original work. Additionally, advanced composition courses tend to promote drafting, revision, and activities such as writing-to-learn and genre awareness.
Writing Across Media—which has been affectionately nicknamed WAM—asks students to do all of this, but with a twist. Before coming to WAM, students have probably written lab reports, literature reviews, research papers, and other text-based academic documents, and these are the types of compositions they think of as “writing.” But PowerPoint presentations, speeches, RSO-sponsored bake sales, personal websites, and scientific posters can also be understood as writing! In WAM, instructors introduce students to some of the core principles of multimodal composing and design theory. While students do compose traditional written work in this advanced composition class, they also learn and apply principles of multimodality to thoughtfully create more-than-textual compositions, which can include video games, podcasts, flyers, maps, business cards, video advertisements, and screen-printed sweatshirts.
As with Rhet 105, instructors of WAM have flexibility in how they develop the course. When I teach WAM, I position multimodal composing within the frameworks of embodiment, sensory multimodality, data ethics, semiotics, and new and emerging technologies. Additionally, I reward students’ for their engagement with productive failure and a sense of play. We cover a lot of ground in sixteen weeks, but we have a lot of fun, too!
Tempted? Join me in INFO/WRIT 303!