College Composition and Communication Jun 2020

Monstrous Composition: Reanimating the Lecture in First-Year Writing Instruction

Marika Seigel ; Josh Chase ; William De Herder ; Silke Feltz ; Karla Saari Kitalong ; Abraham Romney ; Kimberly Tweedale

Abstract

This article reports on one university’s experiment in resurrecting and reanimating the composition lecture, a one-hundred-plus student section dubbed “MonsterComp,” including the process, outcomes, and lessons learned. Although this restructuring of the first-year composition course was partially motivated by administrative pressures, the main motivation behind this experiment was to enhance teacher training and support while still retaining the workshop environment and low student-to-instructor ratio of traditional composition sections. The course involves multiple stakeholders, including the WPA and graduate student program coordinators, graduate student instructors, and course-based coaches from our university's writing center. Assessment of student work, observations of the course, and surveys administered to stakeholders indicate that the course was successful in terms of teacher training and preserving student learning outcomes.

Journal
College Composition and Communication
Published
2020-06-01
DOI
10.58680/ccc202030728
Open Access
Closed
Topics
first-year composition writing pedagogy writing centers writing program administration curriculum design

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Reed et al. (2024)
    Embracing Wobble: Mentoring Graduate Instructors in Big Composition
    College Composition and Communication
  2. Accardi et al. (2024)
    Feature: The Misalignment between the Discipline and the Teaching of Writing
    Teaching English in the Two-Year College
  3. Tharp et al. (2023)
    Actionable Empathy through Rhetorical Listening: A Possible Future for First-Ye…
    College Composition and Communication

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
  1. Decker (2005)
    “Diplomatic Relations: Peer Tutors in the Writing Classroom.”
     ↗
  2. Jones (1993)
    “Where Do We Go Next in Writing across the Curriculum?”
    College Composition and Communication  ↗
  3. Kemp (2005)
    “Computers, Innovation, and Resistance in First-Year Writing Programs.”
     ↗
  4. King (1993)
    “From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side.”
    College Teaching  ↗
  5. Lave (1991)
    Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation
     ↗
  6. Wenger (1998)
    Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

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