PCS
Homepage | As stated in the course descriptions, the main objectives of this course
are to give you regular practice in writing in a non-threatening atmosphere.
Every other week you will be given an assignment to write and the week following
you will be asked to correct, give feedback to, comment on one of your peer's
texts. So that you can gain practice in many different topics, the assignments
include a variety of topics and rhetorical patterns. Unlike traditional
courses in which your audience is the "expert" teacher, your writing
in this course will be geared toward your peers. This has two advantages:
1) this approach simulates real-world writing where most communication is
intended to pass along information to peers and 2) gives you the opportunity
to practice academic-style writing away from the threat of grades or negative
outcomes from a teacher. This is intended to give you the freedom and motivation
to generate and develop your own style of writing. This technique also offers
other advantages that will become apparent to you as we go through the course.
However, in this student-centered environment (as opposed to a teacher-centered environment), it is necessary that you take on more responsibilities for your own learning. There is no teacher in class to remind you that the assignment is due, for example. While offering you the freedom to write on the day and time you pick yourself, this course also requires more self discipline than teacher-centered courses. This student-centered course also requires that you take on more responsibilities for your fellow students. The feedback your peers get will be from you. Writers want, like, and need feedback. Getting feedback is an important part in the learning process. In order for this to function properly, it is necessary that everyone take this part of the course as seriously as the writing process itself. When you receive a peer's text to correct, please send a quick reply saying that you have received it - "Got it!" That way, the writer will have the assurance that it has not gotten lost in cyber space and then send the corrected text back to your peer within a week of receiving it. When correcting the text, it is not necessary to "find" every mistake. Pointing out a few of the most obvious errors to the writer each week is more helpful than a text full of "red marks". The writer is more likely to work on the few errors than on many. By only pointing out errors that you are sure of, you are also less likely to make a false correction. However, as a response to answers I received on questionnaires about past courses, several times throughout the semester I will ask you to try and find "all" the errors that you can. Even then, you should only correct what you are sure of. It is better to miss a correction than to make a false one! In the end though, the feedback that writers are most interested in is your general impression: did they fulfill the assignment and did you enjoy it? My task in the course is, besides creating the writing assignments, to facilitate your efforts. I tune in to my e-mail (almost) daily in order to answer any questions that may arise and to alleviate any problems. So if you are unsure about a structure, you may ask me (making sure you send me enough context). And if for some reason you do not get your corrected text back within the allotted week, please feel free to send it to me to correct. Final assessment for a Schein or (as the case may be) my signature will be based on portfolio evaluation. That means that your total effort in the class will be assessed and emphasis placed on your effort and development. Please keep all of your assignments and corrections in one folder for easier collection. At this point I wish you a good start and most importantly a lot of fun! Caroline Coit
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