UWP 104D: "Statement of Purpose for Submission to CSUS Master's Program"

Jolene Brown

Dr. S. Herring

University Writing Program 104D

March 20, 2009

Statement of Purpose for Submission to CSUS Master’s Program

Whether it was teaching my stuffed animals the importance of colors in relation to my coloring book, instructing my younger brother the intricacies of the multiplication table, training employees on-the-job, or assisting other students in my classes when I can—I have always been a teacher. It was a surprise to me when I decided that I wanted to be a college professor, but many of my friends and relatives were not at all surprised at my decision. It was not until I was in college that I realized I wanted to teach, when I was around students that I understood and could relate to. It came so naturally to me to assist fellow students, volunteering myself to those who needed an extra hand in my classes when I felt I could help. Being in college was a natural fit for me, and as I approach my first goal at UC Davis have come to realize that I wish to remain in the classroom giving the gift of education to future generations of college students. For this reason I wish to apply for the English graduate program at Sacramento State University, to study English composition and also receive a certificate in reading in adult education.

I believe that teaching is more than just explanation to students. As an English major, much of my education has centered on writing papers, but writing has not always been my strength. In fact, much of my college career I have suffered from a fear of writing that I have managed to overcome with the help and encouragement of some excellent college English professors. This is my motivation to instruct college English students, many of whom suffer from the same phobia as I did, and give them the motivation and self-confidence they need to write well and learn to enjoy at least some aspects of that which they loath. Specifically, I see the connection between good reading and good writing, and want to dispel the myth that they are separate entities, guiding students to conquer their fear of both.

One teacher, specifically, has inspired me to pursue teaching and has become a mentor for me throughout my college education. She was my English Reading 312 instructor at American River College, Professor Sue Rooney. Her class was the first class I took when I returned to college after a four year hiatus and it was the most challenging class I have ever taken. More important than just a grade, the next semester I realized how useful everything I learned in her class was and my success as a student improved dramatically because of what I learned in her class. She taught me something more important than better ways to read: she taught me the importance of student responsibility in education. Learning is more than reading a book and regurgitating the material; learning is students taking a pro-active approach to the material presented in every class, using it to explain the world around them, relating it to everything they do and committing to themselves to apply what they learn to their own lives. Whether it is nutrition, science, mathematics or literature, what students learn in school should become personal. Student should be taught to see the application beyond abstract ideas.

As a teacher I would commit myself to each student, maintaining standards that are achievable, but challenging. I consider myself an untraditional student because I did not attend college right after I graduated high school, instead going out into the work force for several years, and realizing through that experience that I wanted to pursue higher education. I managed a record store, a dream for any student out of high school, and in doing so gained valuable inter-personal skills as a manager and through interactions with very different kinds of people on a daily—even hourly—basis. I know this experience will allow me to reach out to every student, regardless of their position, culture, background, age, race, or gender. I have a special appreciation for returning students, especially those who have taken a substantial amount of time off from school to raise families or work full time. These students who have decided they want to pursue their education in spite of their lives outside of school are the ones I have a particular desire to help. I want to encourage them not to give up their dreams, regardless of their personal struggles, and see them realize their dreams no matter what those dreams might be.

The California State University, Sacramento has a program that would be perfect for me to see through my goal of teaching at a community college. The school offers the program I want to apply for, namely English composition, but also the certificate needed to instruct adult students in reading. Many instructors I respect and admire are graduates from the program I wish to apply for, and so I am familiar with the final product of education through Sacramento State. However, more importantly, the campus is also located in the community that I wish to remain a part of. As a Sacramento native, I want to give back to my community, assisting those people in Sacramento and giving my time to my neighbors. If I am accepted to Sacramento State I will have the opportunity to pursue my degree, and my future, in the city I call home, with people I love, surroundings that I am familiar with, at a school that allows me every opportunity to be the best college professor I can be. I look forward to working closely with the talented professors at Sacramento State University, pursuing my dream of helping and motivating others to pursue theirs.

UWP 104D: "Integrating Technology into College Classrooms"

Integrating Technology into College Classrooms

Technology is now a mainstay in our lives as Americans, and indeed as people living during what is no doubt the middle of an age determined by technological breakthroughs. It is no longer an option, more of a requirement, that a person be computer literate in order to market themselves as an ideal candidate for even the most basic jobs. It is for this reason that technology be integrated into college classrooms, both as a tool, and as an instructional method, to help adult students gain marketable skills for the work place. The importance of integration of technology, as both a tool for learning and communication, in a college class room is the most important task educators must face in the next decade. It must be taught to all levels of people as a skill that can be mastered for real-world application in a technologically demanding job market.

The digital age is upon us, and those countries catching up are learning to focus their attentions on the use of computers and digital technologies as a way of inching up the world ladder. It is the younger generations that have the edge in the job markets of tomorrow, having been surrounded by technology from early ages. This trend leaves many adults scrambling to catch up in an increasingly foreign job market that emphasizes the use of computers and technology that they have little or no experience with. This is exactly why adult education must integrate technologies into their classrooms. The article Technology and Equity Issues in the educational handbook Kaleidoscope realizes that “it is also clear that technology should be one of the principal tools by which students learn to manage the ever-increasing base of knowledge they will need to achieve success” (Ryan 412). The integration of computer literacy into the foundations of the college system, much like the standards of basic reading, writing and math skills, would be one way for adult Americans to get and keep their edge in the already competitive job market.

Even the simplest technology integrations into the college classrooms can prove effective for students. One teacher preparation program at a community college integrated the use of digital photography into their program, using digital photos of good student work as examples for current and future students (Wursta 788). This, in turn, inspired the teachers-in-training to use creative technologies to show their own student’s work off through digital formats. Explaining the move to technology integration Melanie Wursta writes: “In the past, some teacher educators have stressed the importance of presenting engaging, motivating lessons to children yet sometimes expected college students to learn primarily through reading and listening. By combining verbal discussion with visual documentation and hands-on learning, faculty can create dynamic, vibrant, college learning environments” (793). In using technology in the education of future teachers, the faculty is also showing those teachers how to integrate it into their own classrooms, while creating a fun, multifaceted learning environment.

It has become a trend to take an ‘all or nothing’ approach to classroom technology, with many schools opting for purchase of expensive, and often useless, technology for classrooms over the traditional school necessities. Programs such as music, art, field trips and libraries suffer for the sake of having the newest computers, hardware or software. To compound the problem, the colleges often lack the funding to train their teachers how to effectively integrate it, leaving students to figure it out on their own. Another Kaleidoscope article titled The Mad Dash to Compute points out the unproven educational outcomes of computer use in classrooms: “Computers, which have as yet demonstrated questionable effects on student learning, must not be bought at the expense of proven staples of mental development, such as art, music, drama, debate, physical education, text literacy, manipulatives, and hands-on learning aids” (Ryan, 389).

There are definitely risks that educators take when focusing their time, money and efforts on using computers in the classroom. In the book titled The Cultural Dimensions of Educational Computing: Understanding the Non-Neutrality of Technology addresses the shortcomings of technology in relation to cultural differences among students. Although the book was written a decade ago, many of the arguments are still relevant to the education of students by computers. One example is regarding computer use replacing such necessities as cultural education. The book argues “The cultural orientations that are weakened in the classroom include the forms of authority and skills associated with the oral traditions: folk arts and technologies, substantive traditions of the community…the fine arts, and the values related to…care, competence, and frugality in the use of the world” (6). This one sided approach of technology in education can be avoided through integration of technology into the classroom. Instead of marginalizing other forms of instruction computers should be used as a way of highlighting other methods of instruction. Computers are integrated into the workforce, and education must use the workforce as an example to build curriculum helping students use technology as a means for their education, rather than as an end of education.

Before technology is brought into a classroom there must be curriculum in place to guide the instruction of students in the online classroom. Instructors should be trained in the best methods of delivery when instructing students in the online environment: “…instructional designers need to look for innovative ways to facilitate quality teaching and learning recognizing that simply converting a face-to-face course to an online course does accomplish the task…methods of instructional delivery may need to be modified for the online environment” (Aragon 155). Funding for schools can be scarce at times, and it comes in cycles, and it is when schools become funded they jump at the opportunity to get technology for their campus, often without adequate planning in how to implement it. If the class curriculum for the implemented online classes is not adequate, students will not successfully complete the course. There are several reasons for this, including learning style, presentation of the materials, and overwhelming amounts of work. Making the class materials available comfortably and understandably becomes the online teacher’s primary goal.

Integration should be the primary goal of community colleges that wish to send out their graduates prepared for the workforce. Too often colleges try to move to an entirely online curriculum, when in reality is it rare that an employee is required to perform their job entirely online. One of the most important things that colleges should teach their students is the social skills and team work that comes with working with other students cooperatively in small groups or pairs. This aspect of education is what becomes more valuable to students in the workforce. Unfortunately, it is also this lesson in socialization that is lost in those courses that are taught poorly online, because teaching group cooperation in online environments can be done. A teacher who is more comfortable facilitating discussions in person should teach a hybrid online or an in person course, where they have access to their students in a real-life environment.

Teachers who have mastered integrating group cooperation into their online courses are those who grade forum posts and responses, have group assignments as a mandatory part of the course, and allow students to post pictures, setting up “profiles” so students can get to know one another beyond a text on a page. This kind of instruction can be welcoming for some students, who are accustomed to networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, but also allow older adults to get to know one another in a more familiar face-to-face way. However, this kind of freedom requires instructors to be aware of everything their students post, and to discipline those students who put inappropriate items on their profile.

Technology is not going to disappear from our culture because it is a means to make life easier. In fact, the easier technology becomes to use the more important it will be for adult educators to embrace it and prepare adequate instruction for their students. Teacher training should integrate technology into their curriculum, showing future teachers the importance and usefulness of technology as a route to effective education, from young children to adults. This will create a well-trained work force prepared, technologically, for any career the person chooses, and computers will no longer be a mystery for those adults who are only now realizing the importance of technological knowledge in their jobs. Integration of technology into schools will only create more opportunities for people outside of school, regardless of age, career, or culture.

Works Cited

Aragon, Steven R., and Elaine S. Johnson. "Factors Influencing Completion and Noncompletion of Community College Online Courses." American Journal of Distance Education 22.3 (2008): 146-58. ERIC. CSA. 9 Mar. 2009 <http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&id=doi:10.1080/08923640802239962>.

Bowers, C.A. The Cultural Dimensions of Educational Computing: Understanding the Non-Neutrality of Technology. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 1988.

Ryan, Kevin and James Cooper, eds. Kaleidoscope: Readings in Education. Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.

Wursta, Melanie, Judy Brown-DuPaul, and Laura Segatti. "Teacher Education: Linking Theory to Practice through Digital Technology." Community College Journal of Research and Practice 28.10 (2004): 787-94. ERIC. CSA. 9 Mar. 2009 <http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=H7EJUDE04N6LUD67>.

UWP 104D: "Purpose, Process and Reflection: Taking Bright Adult Students to the Next Level"

Purpose, Process and Reflection:

Taking Bright Adult Students to the Next Level

Sue Rooney reflected on the question for a moment before she answered. It was not a long moment; much of what she wants to say has already been said before, in other conversations at other times. She has always wanted to be a teacher; so much of what she is telling me is restatements of what she has told herself, her family, her friends, her children and her students over the last twenty years of her career. “You see,” she starts out, “I remember being in school, as young as grade school, and I could never understand why students who were really bright—I mean, really, really smart, you could just see it and hear it when they talked—why they would do so bad in school. They were the ones I was interested in. The ones who had learning disabilities always had extra help, but those smart ones, they never did—they were the ones I wanted to help.”

Professor Sue Rooney was my teacher for a class titled Academic Textbook Reading at American River College during the fall semester of 2005. She is an inspirational teacher who judges each student on the own potential and pushes them to achieve what she knows they are capable of. “When I was first hired at American River College, back in 1989, I noticed how little help there was for students who were not ‘basic skills’ but not quite ready for university-level college work. There was a gap that needed to be filled by English reading courses to help those students reach the next level.” She teaches every student in her class ways of improving their reading strategies, and by doing so, opens doors for students who never knew they were capable of achieving even the most fantastic dreams. Without her motivation and guidance, many students would have given up on their educational goals before even knowing their own potential.

“Reading is a process in the mind: when teaching a student to write well you have their finished product in front of you to judge, critique and see their problems. It is not the same with reading and poor writing is always a reflection of poor reading.” Professor Rooney saw a gap in the college education system for those students she wanted to help, and immediately sought to fill it. Her first step was to create a department at the college to be the foundation for those classes that students needed, and, with the help of another instructor, she founded the Reading department as a sub-department of English. “Teaching at a college is different from teaching K-12. People choose to go to college, and by doing so have made a decision to seek out their own education. Education comes from the Latin word educere which means to ‘lead out.’ That’s what I’m here to do—lead them out into the world better educated, amply prepared for their next stage, be it work or university.”

“So,” I ask, “is it safe to say that you take responsibility for your student’s learning?”

“No, absolutely not,” Professor Rooney answered. “I take responsibility for what is in my power: as a teacher I can only provide them with the right environment, give them the tools, and be there for them, but I do not take what is theirs. I want my students to be responsible for their own learning—these are adults, and I treat them like adults.”

“How do you do that?”

“I challenge the students to ask ‘why.’ I want them to question what they do in their classes, in my class, and it is when they find the answer to the ‘why’ they realize the power they have as students. They can think critically about their own education and they know what they are working for. I also ask myself the same question: an effective teacher should always reflect on why they do what they do. It is the teacher’s responsibility to teach as much as it is the student’s responsibility to learn.”

Her philosophy on teaching comes alive in her classrooms, as Professor Rooney challenges her students who prove what they know. It is not only about passing tests; it is about the application of what they are learning in her class to their other classes that is the mark of the successful student. “I want my students to have ah-ha moments, when they realize how they can improve themselves.”

“Can you explain?”

“Well, just the other day in R.A.D. [Reading Across the Disciplines] I had a student who is seeing me for help with his political science class. He missed some questions on his last exam and we went over it question by question, and I was asking him why he missed each one. As it turns out, he knew exactly why he missed each question and could tell me those things he neglected to study in the first few weeks of the semester. The student was amazed! And, more importantly, he identified his weaknesses and strengths and is already changing his tactic to do better on the next exam.”

“What do you teach students in your class that you think is the most important?”

“Three things: purpose, process and reflection. These are what drive everything I do with students in my lecture class and in R.A.D.” I thought back to her class when I took it several years ago and remembered having to do different reading exercises and writing journals on them. “Is that why we did those journal entries in your class?”

“Exactly why! Metacognitive journals are an important part of the learning process. After students identify ‘why’ they are doing something, and they have completed the task, they then must reflect on the activity from beginning to end. This brings the student recognition of their strengths and, more importantly, their weaknesses, and by doing so, they can begin to identify how to improve their next attempt.”

Sue believes that many teachers focus too much on the products of learning and not the process. In order for students to move through the learning process effectively they must have the ability to identify their purpose for learning because if there is no purpose students feel as though they are wasting their time and it becomes a mental block for learning. At the end of the interview, Sue offered me advice:

“Jolene, when you begin teaching and you’re standing in front of that class for the first time, remember that each student is an individual and for every student you have a different approach to the material. Always work on improving your class, your style, your approach, your interaction—the students will see the work you put into it, and they will match you. And, most importantly, never, ever, ever lower your standards. The moment you lower your standards to accommodate your students you are no longer a teacher and you are not instructing. I love this job, and the moment I stop loving this job I will retire.”

Professor Sue Rooney has seen her dream through for more than twenty years. She set out to help those students who needed a push to the next level, be it through instruction, encouragement, or a little of both. I am proof of her strength as a teacher; I give her credit for inspiring me, indeed many students, with making successful transitions to a four-year prestigious universities. Reading Across the Disciplines, or RAD as it is called around campus, has grown steadily and silently for eight years in a room slightly larger than a walk-in closet. Students now flock to the program en masse, leading to an expansion of the program outside of English students, to assist students in programs such as electronics, nursing, engineering, mathematics, paramedics and science. Her vision has taken off, leading to years of students who realize the importance of reading in their classes, and have gone on to be successful in four-year universities.

ENL 164: "Remainder:Reminder" Response to Remainder by Tom McCarthy.

I liked this book.  It reminded me of so many ideas that we have discussed in this course, and some of them nearly forgotten.  It was as though I were hunting out the concepts, much like our narrator was hunting for his building, and when I discovered them I was elated in my realization of them, much like he was when he discovered his building. It was a way of bringing to life those abstract ideas that, until now, were only floating around in the corners of my mind, and had not found a conception to pin themselves to: a seemingly realistic use of unrealistic abstractions.

On pages 55 and 56 our narrator describes a group of homeless people across the street from the coffee shop where he is enjoying his 'short cap:'  "I started seeing a regularity to the pattern of their movements...It was complicated though: each time I thought I'd cracked the sequence, one of them would move out of turn or strike out on a new route."  This is an example of the clinamen, in the pattern of the moving people, suddenly broken by one person who moves different from it.

Another part of the novel that reminded me of an idea we’ve discussed is page 96:

“I imagined looking on from overhead, from way above the city, picking out Naz’s people, each one with a kind of tag on them, a dot like police cars have to help police helicopters pick them out. I imagined looking down and seeing them all—plus me, the seventh moving dot, my turning and redoubling etching out the master pattern that the other six were emulating.”

This passage reminded me of something we had discussed that I could not quite place, much like the memories that plague this narrator. I realized that it was part of our discussion on Meillassoux: the seventh case, “a seventh side to the die that emerges as the die is thrown; a pure emergence that does not ‘pre-exist’ its own existence” (notes 1/22/2009). Our narrator, and indeed these new memories that have emerged to him as a result of his accident, are an example of the seventh case, which has emerged into his mind without existing prior to the accident.

There are also very obvious references to the simulacrum that Baudrillard discusses in his paper “The Precession of Simulacra.” Throughout the novel the narrator creates for himself representations—perfect representations—of certain experiences, places, and memories, for the sheer pleasure of doing so. On page 67 the narrator states: “I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my money. I wanted to reconstruct that space and enter it so that I could feel real again.” The house itself was a haven for the narrator’s “re-enactments of events that hadn’t happened but which, nonetheless, like the history in Kevin’s pop sing, were on the verge of being repeated” (134).