English
School of Arts and Letters
ENGLISH 7990—Directed Readings for English Teachers
General Information
If you are nearing the completion of your graduate MEd or MAT degree, you need to contact Dr. Linda Williams (lswilliams@northgeorgia.edu; 706-864-1681; 308-A Dunlap Hall) to begin making plans for this graduate capstone course. No later than the semester before you enroll in this course, contact Dr. Williams to set an appointment when you can talk with her about possible areas of study, faculty committee members, and other general guidelines for this course. The syllabus below will give you additional information about this course.
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Department of English
Course: English 7990
Course Title: Directed Readings for English Teachers
Instructor: Varies
Prerequisite: Enrollment in final semester of the M.Ed. or M.A.T. Program
Catalog Description: This capstone course involves a study of no fewer than ten works in the English discipline, which will culminate in a guest lecture, a portfolio, a written exam, and an oral exam. The student will work in conjunction with a committee chosen from the English graduate faculty; however, the course will be completed as an independent study for the most part. Through the process, the student will develop methods of independent inquiry and self-directed study.
Course objectives: The student, in conjunction with a faculty member chosen from the English graduate faculty to be the major professor, will determine areas of weakness, career objectives and expectations, and academic interests. Using this information, the student and major professor will determine what area or areas will be represented on a list of no fewer than ten book-length works or their equivalent. The student, the student’s major professor, and two other members of the English graduate faculty will then draw up the reading list. The student will demonstrate competence over the list by completing both a written and oral examination, by presenting a fifty-minute guest lecture, and by developing a portfolio, which the student may elect to use to meet partially the criteria of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Methods of Instruction: The student will work independently under the direction of three members of the English graduate faculty, one of whom will be the major professor who will have responsibility for coordinating the committee and reporting the final grade. Each committee member will advise and direct the student, determining and approving the reading list, recommending beneficial secondary works, checking the student’s progress, reviewing the student’s portfolio, critiquing the guest lecture, providing practice experiences for the exams, and evaluating the oral and written exams.
Evaluation: The student must demonstrate competence determined by all three committee members in all four of the evaluation tools: the written exam, the oral exam, the lecture, and the portfolio. The portfolio will consist of items such as the following: the reading list, reader responses to each work on the list, ideas for teaching a representative sample of works from the list, secondary criticism suitable for teaching the works on the list, and class notes related to the works on the list that will help in teaching those works.
Course content:
Week 1 Determine major professor and meet with committee to begin drawing up reading list.
Week 2 Read, work on portfolio
Week 3 Read, work on portfolio. Meet with faculty to finalize reading list.
Week 4 Read, work on portfolio. Meet with major professor to schedule exams and guest lecture.
Week 5 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 6 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 7 Read, work on portfolio. Meet with faculty, review progress and portfolio.
Week 8 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 9 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 10 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 11 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 12 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 13 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 14 Read, work on portfolio.
Week 15 Take written and oral exams, portfolio review.
Knowledge Base:
A. Required texts—Varies by student as explained above.
B. Supplemental readings—Varies by student as explained above.
General Expectations:
Attendance: Students are responsible for meeting with the faculty members on their committee. Failure to do so in a timely manner may result in failure of the course.
Incompletes: Incompletes are awarded only when a student is doing satisfactory work, but for non-academic reasons beyond the student’s control, is unable to meet the full requirements of the course.
