Department or Program English

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Course Numbers 303, 304, 305, 402

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Semester Hours 303, 304, 305: 3; 402: 4

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Frequency of Offering each—every year

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Course Titles British and American Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism, Modernism and Postmodernism, Teaching Secondary English

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Catalog Description varies

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These are existing courses previously approved

by A2C2 yes

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This is a new course proposal no

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Proposal Category Oral Communication Flag  (Remove Oral flag effective fall semester 2004)

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Department Contact Gary Eddy

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Email Address geddy@winona.edu

General Rationale:

EN 303, 304, and 305 to be required of all Bachelor of Arts and Communication Arts and Literature majors, and EN 402 required of Communication Arts and Literature majors, call upon students to make connections among texts of certain time periods (and those before and after) and between literature and history. Their success relies on discussion and oral presentation of research. EN 402 specifically requires students to teach lessons in the classroom. For all the above courses oral communication skills will be fostered and developed in these courses in particular in the English curriculum.

--have section enrollments of 25 or fewer*; they are thus relatively small classes that therefore allow for clear guidance and feedback from the instructor

--require students to make at least one individual and several small group oral presentations in these courses. These presentations will be based on research designed and constructed by the students themselves.

--require the instructor to provide direction for these projects, offer support and advice on oral presentation skills, and assess student accomplishment.

--demand student accountability and quality work. The total percentage of the grade based on these presentations and discussions will vary by instructor but will be at least 10% of the final grade. As students must complete all assignments for these courses, those who do not complete the oral communication components will not pass these courses.

a. earn significant course credit through extemporaneous oral presentations. Participation in class discussion is a requirement of many courses in the department, but in the literary history courses a significant percentage of the final grade for the course will be based upon both structured formal research presentations as well as daily discussion of the texts of the course. Please see the attached syllabi (Appendix A) for EN304 and 402 for detailed descriptions of the assignments. In the attached examples, the oral presentation component constitutes approximately 20% of the final grade. In EN 402 prospective teachers will present lessons before the class and instructor. This portion of the course constitutes approximately 30% of the final grade.

b. understand the features and types of speaking in their disciplines. The oral research presentations demonstrate the key skills of professionals in the fields of literature and writing. They call upon students to understand, organize, and clearly communicate complex information in an informal setting. This is the skill of the teacher, of the student in the graduate seminar, and of the writer at a writing conference. The presentations will therefore be assessed on their understanding of the research, the organization of the presentation and the clarity of the delivery. To prepare students for this task, instructors will address the key features of speaking in the discipline, the various contexts for oral communication, and the skills required of the presenter.

c. adapt their speaking to field-specific audiences. Students will have the background (terminology, research skills, reading ability, organizational skills) to succeed in oral presentations because these skills are inculcated in EN 290 Literary Studies. They will

apply these skills before an audience of well-read, informed students of literature. Their presentation of research will include introducing sources, citing (and reciting) lines of verse or text; contextualizing comments; responding to questions and criticism from the audience.

d. receive appropriate feedback from teachers and peers, including suggestions for improvement. While individual instructors may vary in the forms of their responses to student oral presentations, all do provide a variety of methods of feedback. Attached (Appendix B) is a presentation rubric handed out to students in advance of the first presentation. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions during the class period and may offer feedback afterward via a brief response rubric.

e. make use of the technologies used for research and speaking in the field. Students will be expected to make use of the on-line databases (J-STOR, ERIC, e.g.) and may choose to use such presentation software as Powerpoint or to make use of networked classroom facilities. Students will also be encouraged to use the internet as part of the research process.

f. learn the conventions of evidence, format, usage, and documentation in their fields. Students will be expected to use textual evidence to support claims, introduce and integrate primary and secondary research materials; and to speak correctly and appropriately for the audience. Often presentations will include student-produced handouts that will provide annotated bibliographies or other directions for further research.

If students complete all of the above successfully, their success will enhance their final grades.

*Note to department: Pending department approval

EN 303-305 ask students to make connections between literature and the social and cultural history of the past two centuries and between historical periods. The classroom will be a place for students to theorize and to express their ideas and connections and for the instructor to amplify the information presented. Thus, instructors will be

English Department Oral Communication Flag: An Introduction for Students

This course is designed to satisfy the requirements of the WSU University Studies program by providing you with experiences in oral communication aimed at enhancing your skills as a communicator. As a student in this course you will:

a. Earn significant credit through extemporaneous oral presentations. Much of your success in the course will be determined by the ways you communicate your ideas and research to others. This is a crucial facet of the work of the discipline for professionals, academicians, and students alike. The percentage of the grade devoted to presentations will vary, but it will be impossible to earn an A in a course without a successful presentation.

b. Understand the features and types of speaking in the discipline of English. Scholars of literature and writing will find themselves presenting their ideas and research at professional conferences, before audiences of their peers, and to audiences outside the discipline. Among the types of speaking expected of professionals we find the following most common: oral presentations of research, responding to questions, public readings, delivery of speeches or talks on a variety of topics, and classroom presentations of texts and research.

c. Adapt your speaking to field-specific audiences. Specialized audiences in the field of literature and language study have specific requirements that must be met if they are to fully engage the ideas or research of a speaker. We will address these in class and they will constitute a significant portion of the grade for oral presentations.

d. Receive appropriate feedback from teachers and peers, including suggestions for improvement. While much of what we consider feedback for oral presentations in our discipline amounts to audience questions and polite applause, the criteria for successful presentations in the course will be made explicit and your performance will be evaluated, in some cases by peers exclusively, in others by the teacher alone, and in others by some combination of the two. There will be formative critique to ensure a good performance as well as summative critique that evaluates the performance.