A Writing Teacher Learns from his Students

College writing classrooms are often sites of self- reflection for our students, places where we encourage them to examine who they are and what they do. Such introspection, however, is not available solely to our students. As teachers, we, too, can find in our classrooms a kind of transformative knowledge. This teacher research study documents the attempts of a college writing teacher to use response oriented, student-centered pedagogy as a means of providing practical learning experiences for his students while simultaneously providing a self-reflective professional development opportunity for himself. To this end, Dr. Boozer promotes a dialogue with his students that seeks not only to encourage their own expressive writings, but elicits their criticism and analysis of their teacher s practice, as well. By identifying as a learner in the classroom, Dr. Boozer attempts to model the inquisitory behavior he seeks in his students, and throughout the semester, he learns about the merits and shortcomings of his classroom practice, while concurrently supporting the development of what he hopes will become an interpersonally connected classroom writing community.

Autorentext

Dr. Wesley Boozer is an assistant professor at Hodges University in Naples, Florida, where he teaches courses in composition and literature and serves as editor of the student literary journal. He holds an M.Ed. and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric & Linguistics. His other areas of academic interest include speech, theatre and modern foreign languages.