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Collaborative Practices
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What are some examples/types of subjects instructors use for theme-based courses?Subject possibilities are limited only by imagination. Generally, topics for basic writing courses will be broad in scope, to allow for a wide range of exploration. Many scholars advocate using topics that students may feel they have a stake in. Below is a short list of possibilities.
Questions for further study
To respond to these questions, you may choose to start a new FAQ or add to this one, see guidelines / instructions for Using CompFAQs Wiki Annotated Bibliography Bartholomae, David, and Anthony R. Petrosky. Facts, Artifacts, and Counterfacts: Theory and Method for a Reading and Writing Course. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1986.
The foundational work in theme-based course construction specific to basic writing, this book outlines a course used by the authors, and then provides supporting studies from other voices in the field. Supporting articles deal with authority in the basic writing classroom, the discourse aspects of BRW, revision, and editing. http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/basicbib/content/cd_cdut.html Dickson, Marcia. It’s Not Like That Here. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1995.
Dickson presents an alternative approach to a theme-based course from Bartholomae and Petrosky, partly in response to challenges she sees with the course construction the latter authors employ. Dickson re-envisions the coursework through the lens of a different basic writing demographic than is typically examined. http://www.boyntoncook.com/products/0351.aspx Molstad, Mary Frew. “Winners and Losers: A Course for Basic Writers.” Courses for Change in Writing: A Selection from the NEH/Iowa Institute. Ed., Carl H. Klaus and Nancy Jones. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook, 1984. 98–105.
By framing her course within the idea of examining what defines “winning” and “losing,” Molstad attempts to focus on students developing confidence as writers. Molstad argues that because many of these students come to her class with the perception of themselves as “losers” academically, they come well-armed to examine what these terms mean in multiple contexts. Silverman, Henry. “’The American Dream’: A Developmental Course in Writing and Learning.” Courses for Change in Writing: A Selection from the NEH/Iowa Institute. Ed., Carl H. Klaus and Nancy Jones. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook 1984. 67–74.
Silverman outlines a year-long writing intensive course run by the Department of American Thought and Language at Michigan State University which combines study of American history and culture with written communication. Silverman argues that this course, focusing on “the American dream” and directed specifically at basic writing students, will help them engage in the problems and concerns of typical American students. Note: this department at MSU is now called the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures.
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