603.05 Creative Writing Pedagogy
Instructor: Tom Wayman
Because most North American authors earn their living as teachers of imaginative writing, this course will provide instruction and experience in creative writing pedagogy. In Fall Session, students will develop their pedagogical skills in a seminar context. These skills will be exercised in Winter Session as each student teaches one-third (one genre) of a section of ENGL 387.49, a three-genre (poetry, fiction, drama) undergraduate introductory creative writing half course. The Creative Writing Pedagogy class will continue to meet during Winter to consider issues arising from the specific instructional experience. A teaching stipend of one-third of a GA(T) will be paid to each Pedagogy student.
The Creative Writing Pedagogy course is open to PhD students, and to MA students in their second year. Because Pedagogy students will team-teach two sections of the introductory creative writing half course, enrollment in ENGL 603.05 will be limited to six students. Students interested in enrolling should write a brief (250-500 word) letter indicating the extent of their interest in the subject. The letter could touch on previous teaching experience (not required), writing and educational background (especially as the latter pertains to creative writing), and relevant life experiences. Deadline for receipt of the application letter is June 1, 2007; please send by email to the instructor at twayman [at] ucalgary [dot] ca.
The Fall portion of the course will deal with both micro and macro teaching concerns. The former will cover workshop management (elicitation and response to student writing and critiquing), time management (balance of information transfer, writing exercises, and workshop), development of curriculum (selection and organization of information, including exercises, plus written and oral responses to published work and public readings), use of textbooks and other written examples, grading theory and practice. Macro concerns will include personal goals as a teacher, overarching pedagogical goals of the curriculum, strategies to frame or provide a platform for the diverse aspects of a syllabus, and varying student learning styles. Visits to the seminar by veteran practicing creative writing teachers other than the instructor will occur.
The Winter portion of the course will consider reports on problems, solutions and unresolved difficulties encountered in the classroom. While the latter will provide a chance to learn from classmates' immediate pedagogical tragedies and triumphs, the role of and resources for career-long instructional development will also be examined.
Students during the Fall will be asked to prepare as a seminar presentation and in written form a four-week introductory curriculum for poetry, fiction and drama (including evaluation strategies). A revised version of one of these syllabuses will be required once the instructor has announced the specific teaching assignments for Winter Session. In addition, each ENGL 387.49 course team, once teams are constituted by the instructor, will prepare an oral and written presentation of a unifying overview for the section of the introductory course the team will teach. A final paper due in April 2008 will allow the student to reflect on the efficacy of the course as a whole based on her or his teaching experience in Winter Session. The instructor will attend for purposes of providing feedback and adjudication a class being taught by each student (under scrutiny will be curriculum implementation, workshop management, and information transfer).
Course Texts:
Burroway, Janet. Imaginative Writing: The Element of Craft (Penguin Longman).
Minot, Stephen. Three Genres: The Writing of Poetry, Fiction and Drama (Prentice Hall).
Thiel, Diane. Crossroads: Creative Writing Exercises in Four Genres (Pearson Longman)
Many handouts (sample curriculums, etc.) will be provided, possibly as a course pack.
