Closing Thoughts
At the end of each of my courses I ask students to reflect in a number of ways about the work they’ve done over the past several weeks. While the specific questions I ask vary a bit from course to course, I tend to return to some version of the following:
- Narrative: Tell the story of your work in this class this semester. Where were you—as a reader and a writer—at the start of the term? Where are you now? How did you get there? What were some key turning points (or stuck points) in the unfolding of this story?
- Snapshot: If you had to pick one moment or event to stand for your experiences in this class, what would it be? Try to describe that moment as vividly as you can.
- Accomplishment: What piece of work for this class do you feel most proud of? Why? What did you learn in doing it?
I thought it might be interesting if you spent 10 or 15 minutes thinking in writing about these questions in relation to the course you’ve just taught. Don’t feel you have to respond to all three questions. A full answer to one or two of them would be great. We’ll read and talk about your responses when you’re done.
And, fyi, here’s the Seminar in Composition I taught this semester at Delaware, on Writing About Repair.
Seminar in the Art of Teaching Writing 