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Call for Papers (video)
Get PDFYou can access this video call for papers with captions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvp_vuL1Xws&ab_channel=VirginiaCommunityCollegesStudentSuccessCente
Do the Verb. Become the Noun: Writing Towards a New Identity
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The initial composition course in the community college has the potential to be a transformative space for the identity formation of adult learners towards the linguistic signifier of scholar. Freshman students of variable ages enter a new culture which demands the negotiation of an alternative academic language, an adaptation to the post-secondary culture, and the development of the critical thinking required for academic work. All of these factors can destabilize identity as students confront long-held beliefs and biases in their studies (Bartholomae, 1985; Tingle, 2004; Bracher, 2006). Students who are unable to adapt to the new environment are likely to leave without realizing personal goals. Adjusting pedagogy to support students through a transformative stage will increase student success.
In this study, freshman composition students reflect on their identities as writers in both pre and post treatment writings which were controlled within the classroom by the instructor. In the treatment, student identity threat was protected through multiple low-risk opportunities, as Peter Elbow (2000) recommends, in order to increase engagement in writing without fear of evaluation. This practice is described as doing the action of the curriculum (the verb) to create a sense of one as writer (the noun). Opportunities to write without the threat of evaluation were offered multiple times at each course meeting. In-class prompting encouraged students to reflect on readings and experiences while writing in their own home language, the language of thought. Post treatment reflections revealed a shift in linguistic identity markers, with 85% of students exhibiting language supporting an increased sense of agency and control over their written products and a rising confidence in their sense of self as a writer. Few, however, claimed the identity of writer, though most exhibited control over their writing destiny through definitive goal statements. This increase in confidence and control indicates that thoughtfully applied pedagogy can shift student identity to that which supports successful post-secondary learning
Review of Flower Darby and James M. Lang’s Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes
Get PDFIn their 2019 book Small Teaching Online, Flower Darby and James M. Lang present a model for online instruction that uses what the authors call the “small teaching” approach, which posits that college faculty should look for small, high-impact changes they can make to their teaching practice in place of wholesale overhauls. The authors explore the unique challenges that online learners struggle with, from feeling disengaged to feeling overwhelmed by the demands of self-directed learning, then offer practical, sustainable solutions for each. Their text thus offers helpful teaching practices both for new online teachers and veterans
Reducing Stereotype Threat in the Classroom
Get PDFThis brief pedagogical essay, focusing on social science classrooms, provides fellow instructors with practical strategies and advice in reducing the presence of stereotype threat in their classrooms. Techniques of task reframing, practices of positive affirmation, the providing of constructive criticism, the incorporation of marginalized groups into course content, and suggestions for meeting stereotype threat head-on are discussed as are some strategies students can adopt themselves. While the methods of stereotype threat reduction addressed in this essay can help curtail some of the negative impacts of racism’s micro-level forces, stereotype threat must also be considered a structural problem that requires structural solutions
Front Cover (Summer 2020)
Get PDFThe cover art is by Rosemary Gallick. This acrylic painting was created as a reflection on losing a dear colleague, friend, and well known national author who was part of the VCCS. When Bob Bausch passed last year, Rosemary wondered where his feisty energy had gone. Spirits Rising is a hopeful and uplifting artwork that transcends the physical world. Gallick believes that the artwork embraces the theme of New Horizons and visually imagines the possibilities