Roy Turner Portfolio

Lone Star College—Montgomery
ENGL 1302- section 4003
Roy Turner
Fall 2015

Welcome
Welcome to English 1302, the second in our two-part college writing sequence. This course builds on
your experience in English 1301 and other writing situations you have participated in, and is meant to
deepen those reading and writing skills. The full syllabus will be available online, but here are some fast
facts you will want to look over before we begin the semester.

We will meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in G 211, from 10:00 to 10:50 am. You will need
one book for the class: Arguing About Literature. We will begin using the textbook during the first week
of class, so buy or rent a copy as soon as possible. Readings from the book will be assigned at least
once a week throughout the semester.

Additional materials, including the class calendar, assignment details, and links to resources to help you
in your coursework, will be available online. I will also use the course web page to communicate with
you, and you will submit your assignments electronically through the course dropbox feature.

What to Expect
This is a writing class, and we will spend at least a few minutes every day doing writing exercises. Come
to class ready to participate in these and other activities meant to help you think deeply bout topics
and practice writing skills that will be important to your success in the class.

Here are my promises to you, and my expectations for you:

I promise that:
 Class time will be valuable and productive
 Lessons and materials will be well-prepared and engaging
 Communication from you will be responded to promptly and clearly
 Feedback on your assignments will be targeted and focused on your growth as a writer
 Your comments and input will be respected and appreciated

And I expect that:
 You will come to class and be prepared
 You will ask questions about what we are discussing and why we are doing certain things
 You will respect, support, and challenge yourself and your classmates

My attitude is that any students can succeed and become a better writer. It will require work, and at
times you will be pushed out of your comfort zone. But if you work hard and ask questions when you
are stuck, you will see yourself become a much more confident and capable writer.

Finally, here are some of the things we will do and learn over the course of the semester. The course is
divided into three units, with the first focusing on the question “Who are you?” Unit 2 will look at
relationships, asking the question “How are you shaped by other people?” Our final unit will expand on
this theme to address an issue of your choosing in a large-scale research work. Each unit will include a
small preliminary assignment and a larger essay.

Getting Started
On the first day of class we will go over more details related to the course, the assignments, and the
things you should learn this semester. In preparation for that, please read the following blog entry by
author Seth Godin and think about the ideas it raises:

Anything worth shouting about is worth shouting into the wind.

Because if enough people care, often enough, the word spreads, the standards change,
the wind dies down. If enough people care, the culture changes.

It's easy to persuade ourselves that the right time to make change happen is when it's
time. But that's never true. The right time to make it happen is before it's time. Because
this is what 'making' means.

The most devastating thing we can learn about our power is how much of it we have.
How much change we could make if we would only speak up first, not last. How much
influence we can have if we're willing to look someone in the eye and say, "yes." Or,
"this is our problem, too." Or, "this must stop."

Yes, there's wind, there's always been wind. But that doesn't mean we should stop
shouting.

Student Prep Strategy: Getting them to read!

I appreciated this section from McKeachie, as I have always struggled with this aspect of my teaching.
For years I taught developmental writing at the community college level, and so many students would
be unable to buy the textbook for several weeks that it became easier to not require them to read early
on in the semester, which would then poison the well in terms of my expectations for the students and
their expectations for the workload. The emphasis on accountability was helpful.

And I am finding some good strategies in this for my online British Literature classes this semester. I am
requiring a two-page reading log for each week, in which students need to comment on both the
breadth of their reading and then some depth in talking about one piece that stood out to them. This
helps me ensure that they are reading widely for the week and then that they are engaging critically
with the texts.

The other key to this lies in making the reading logs relevant to the larger assignment. Since each
reading log is worth about 1% of the final grade, it would be easy to skip one week. But at the end of a
five-week unit, there is a larger report due that requires students to synthesize from several reading
selections of their choice. I explain that this assignment is significantly easier if they have read well
throughout the unit, and their reading logs can provide them with the raw material they need for the
larger assignment.

In addition, weekly discussion board conversations allow students to address specific questions and
respond to each other’s ideas. This gives them a chance to learn from each other and to compare the
quality of their engagement with the texts to that of their classmates. I respond briefly with
encouragement, praise, advice, and additional questions to ponder based on their comments.

1. The rhyme scheme for “On Seeing the Elgin Marbles” is that of:
a. Shakespearean sonnet
b. Villanelle
c. Italian sonnet
d. Epic poem
i. (Remembering)

2. Which of the following is an example of a Shakespearean sonnet?
a. “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”
b. “When I have fears that I may cease to be”
c. “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”
d. “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
i. (Applying)

3. Briefly outline the events recounted in “The Eve of St. Agnes.”
i. (Understanding)

4. Write a one-page feminist analysis of “Lamia,” using specific passages to support your
interpretation of how the feminine is imagined in the text.
i. (Evaluate)

ENGL 1302 Annotated Bibliography

The first assignment for this unit is to write an annotated bibliography for your research essay. This
assignment requires 10 high-quality academic sources related to your research project. For each source,
list the bibliographic information in MLA format. Then write a brief paragraph for each source,
summarizing the source and explaining how it relates to your research. Demonstrate that you have
looked for relevant and useful sources, and that you have read each one carefully and have a good sense
of how it might support your project. This assignment--which should be approximately 3-4 pages in
length--is worth 20 points toward your final grade.

In grading your bibliography, I will focus on three things:

1. The scholarly quality of each source
2. The relevance to your research project
3. The correctness of your MLA formatting

I will grade your bibliography as follows

Criterion Excellent Acceptable Poor
Quality
Relevance This source The source is
Formatting
represents good, but The source
lacks
serious and 1 point either dated .5 points 0 points
current or contested credibility

scholarship in within the

the field field

The source The source The source is
unrelated or
aligns well .5 seems .25 too simplistic 0 points
0 points
with the points tangential to points The
formatting
research topic the project does not
match the
The MLA .5 There are a .25 guidelines of
format is points few minor points MLA style
correct issues with

your
formatting

Each source can earn up to two points, for a total possible score of 20.

Complete BOPPPS Sample Lesson

COURSE: ENGL 2323—British Literature, 1887-Present
Lesson Title: John Keats & High Romanticism

Bridge: Watch YouTube video on Keats: https://youtu.be/P3afZ5KxNzY
Discuss the idea of Keats as a tragic genius, and how this fits with what we have been studying about Romanticism
10 minutes

Course Student Learning Outcome: #3 Demonstrate knowledge of the development of characteristic forms or styles of expression during different historical
periods or in different regions.

Learning Objectives:
 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to articulate an explanation of how John Keats’ odes represent High Romanticism in terms of both
content and style.
 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to synthesize the contrasting arguments about mortality found in one or more of Keats’ poems and
another work by a different poet of the period, explaining how those ideas together portray the key values of Romanticism.

Pre-Assessment: Students will take the brief reading comprehension quiz at https://app.box.com/s/cii9fnuk4btzghx3rwxjhhpvcpjq0jhd

5 minutes

Participatory Learning:

Time Instructor Activities Learner Activities Lesson Materials

5 Explain activity—one-sentence summary Review the readings for the day, choose one poem, write a Large post-it notes
minutes one-sentence summary/response
15 Explain activity—gallery walk Transfer summary to post-it note, gallery walk
minutes
15 Readers’ theater—choose three summaries, read the Selected students read and discuss their summaries
minutes associated poems

Post-assessment: Choose another text to compare to the Keats text you chose. Identify thematic and stylistic differences and similarities. For next time,
prepare a one-paragraph discussion to share with your classmates.

Summary: For next time, work on the comparison paragraph, and read the selection s by Shelley.

Adjunct Certification
Program Showcase

Roy Tuner
English 2323—British Literature
November 6, 2015

Context

• This lesson plan falls approximately four weeks
into the semester

• By this time, students should be in the habit of
reading the assigned texts and coming to class
ready to discuss them

• We routinely devote class time to discussing the
readings, but this lesson plan is meant to be
more active than traditional sit-and-talk formats

• Today we are looking at John Keats

Bridge—Video

• Today students will watch a brief video based on
a Keats poem, including a reading of the text

• The goal is to engage students in both reading
and hearing the text

• The video also refers to the 2009 film Bright
Star about the relationship between Keats and
Fanny Brawne

Objectives

• By the end of this lesson, students will be able to
articulate an explanation of how John Keats’
odes represent High Romanticism in terms of
both content and style.

• By the end of this lesson, students will be able to
synthesize the contrasting arguments about
mortality found in one or more of Keats’ poems
and another work by a different poet of the
period, explaining how those ideas together
portray the key values of Romanticism.

Pre-Assessment

• The students will then take a brief reading
comprehension quiz based on the readings for
the day

Participatory Learning

• Students will choose a poem and write a one-
sentence summary/response

• They will then revise and transfer this to a alrge
post-it note

• They will participate in a gallery walk to read
each other’s work

• I will choose three summaries and ask those
students to read their selected poem and
summary to the class in a reader’s theater

Post-Assessment

• After the exercise, students will choose a poem
by another author we have studied

• Each student will compare this and the poem by
Keats that he/she looked at in class

• For next time, students will write a one-
paragraph discussion comparing these two
poems

Summary

• Our next poet will be Percy Shelley, and we will
look at how his work relates to Keats’ poetry

Roy Turner
ACP Facilitator Course
Reflective Essay
I have a complicated history with professional development activities; while I believe
strongly in ongoing professional growth and life-long learning, I find much of what happens
in workshops, classes, and online settings tired and ineffectual. Whether it’s On Course, The
Academy for Leadership, DiSC, Strengths Finder, or any of the other myriad approaches to
professional development, they all seem to suffer from the same flaw: they presuppose a
universal norm for participants and a single end goal, and, as a result, they fail to provide a
truly meaningful, individualized experience that can translate into long-term change in
teaching and learning. I look back at these kinds of experiences and see value in each one,
but also an imbalance between potential and payoff. While it avoids many of the most
serious drawbacks of these programs, the ACP has some of the same limitations, and I am
left at the of the program somewhat ambivalent.

Having said that, I am grateful to have participated in the program, and the opportunity to
focus on crafting a lesson plan with intentionality and attention to detail has been valuable.
Because I see the classroom as a site for exploration and discovery tailored to the needs of
the specific students, I cannot plan out a lesson months or weeks in advance, leaving me
often hours before class with much left to decide. And while I like the flexibility this affords
me, I cannot deny that it means some opportunities are going to be missed because there
simply isn’t time. So looking closely at one hour of class and determining what to do has
been eye-opening. It’s probably fair to say that I will never plan all of (or most of, or even
many of) my lessons this way, I am glad to have this opportunity to draw on for future
lesson planning.

Roy Turner
ACP Facilitator Course
Reflective Essay
This has already been valuable in making some connections that I have always struggled
with. The articulation between big-picture course- and program-level goals and the minutia
of classroom meeting time befuddles me, and this has undergone a transformation of sorts.
Again, I’m too set in my ways and stubborn to do this with every class session, but having a
clearer sense of how what we do on any given day ties back to the course outcomes can
only make my teaching more effective. And the real value of the program has come from
seeing other faculty do this in their disciplines. The idea of learning in a community—
which I believe in yet struggle to accept fully—has been evident in this program, and really
is its main strength.

The real payoff, however, will be down the road. I am currently planning out my Winter
break, and the BOPPS lesson plan for this program is at the heart of how I am rethinking
my British Lit class. Being able to think deliberately about the principles and ideas we have
been discussing will give a sense of focus and direction to that course preparation effort.

As for improving the program, I am a bit at a loss. The challenges the ACP faces are inherent
in its design. Any multidisciplinary program sacrifices content depth and expertise for
broad applicability and diverse perspectives. I am certainly not advocating for a
department-based program for adjunct faculty, as that would have its own limitations. But I
will freely admit that the ideas that I found the most valuable were those shared by fellow
English faculty. And the very nature of my discipline will always make some pedagogical
approaches a weak fit.

My other hang-up is BOPPS itself, or rather, any highly rigid model for lesson planning. For
years, I evaluated part-time faculty using Gange’s Nine Events, and while I find that a useful