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| | Toni Glover, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Director of Composition
University of Scranton
Department of English
University of Scranton
Scranton, PA 18510
(570) 941-7905
glovera2@scranton.edu
Teaching Philosophy
“My teaching philosophy is goal oriented.”
Example: WRTG 107: Course Description:. In WRTG 107 students develop critical thinking skills that form the basis for academic analysis and the synthesis of original ideas. To be successful in this course, students must engage in open and frank discussions (both oral and
electronic). As critical thinkers, you will be asked to re-examine your perspectives on complex social issues and academic questions. You will be expected to make interesting claims, and support those claims with evidence. This is not a creative writing course. The only creativity should be in the synthesis and construction of new ideas
and perspectives. The most important goal of this course is to help you learn to ask and answer challenging questions. In doing so, you will discover your written voice and learn to use it effectively in order to contribute to the academic community and world you live in.
“Teaching the whole student means we must engage the many different epistemologies and intelligences that inform us. I do not believe we can teach students the ‘right’ way to think, however noble and well meaning that may be. I encourage my students to develop meta-cognition,
to learn how they think, and thus become aware of their learning process.”
Example: In WRTG 107, I students ask to describe the writing process they used to produce academic papers in high school. I then ask each student to identify a writing activity that was productive for them individually, and why. This self reflection leads to a class
discussion of multiple intelligences and learning differences, which in turn, gives me the opportunity to explain the importance of developing meta-cognition that will help them understand the learning activities and environments that benefit each of them most.
“My students must ask and answer their own questions.”
Example: In WRTG 107 I do not assign paper topics. We study a variety of rhetorical approaches, but each student must choose the social issue or controversy they wish to investigate. After engaging in several generative writing activities, students must state their own
claims and defend them using a variety of rhetorical schemes.
“Indeterminate forms of knowledge such as emotion, intuition, spirituality and creativity have been historically subjugated to a pervasive Western reliance on logic. Admitting the importance of artistic and intuitive forms of knowledge does not deny the need for rational
thought. It simply opens the door for students to develop a more complete world-view, affording them a reality that leads to more meaningful and diverse interpretations of human behavior, culture, literature and the creative arts.”
Example: Academic argumentative writing is most successful when it engages the three Aristotelian rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos. Students in WRTG 107 learn they cannot rely on evidence alone to defend their claims. The first writing assignment is designed
to demonstrate the complex interaction of rhetorical elements. Each student is asked to bring in an editorial or newspaper article that takes a strong position on a current controversy. They must then analyze the article’s language and identify specific example’s where the author uses emotion, personal history, and other indeterminate
forms of knowledge to persuade her readers. (Voices, CH 9)
My approach to teaching is student centered. Grounded in the educational philosophies of John Dewey and Paolo Friere, the core of my personal pedagogy requires that I accept students as individuals who bring with them a life experience that should be respected and validated.
I encourage them to expand that experience rather than rely on it for answers to complex issues. We discuss biases and the rules of our linguistic communities.
Closing Comment: My teaching philosophy and approach to the pedagogy of composition classes informs the way I structure my courses most importantly in that it demands an enormous amount of flexibility. While the course objectives do not change, the day to day activities and
discussion vary widely due to the range of preparation students bring to WRTG 107. This flexibility should not be mistaken for a lack of organization, on the contrary, it is a difficult teaching methodology and requires skill to keep the goals of the class always in focus. The path to those goals will vary from class to class, and
students are often uncomfortable when faced with the opportunity to help shape the sequence of assignments and the freedom to choose their own topics, but rigorous research in the field of composition pedagogy demonstrates this method to be the most effective way to impart long lasting composition skills.
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