In some academic disciplines there is specific knowledge that must be taught to new students. These might be facts, certain skill sets, procedures, formulas, etc. This knowledge is, in a sense, absolute. They are things students must know or must know how to do in a particular way in order to be successful in that field. Composition is not like this. There are no absolute rules or formulas that we can teach our students that will guarantee their success as a writer. We can only act as guides for them and work to create writing environments that facilitate our students’ growth and development, both as writers and as critical thinkers.

In my mind, the most effective way of creating such an environment is through social interaction and collaborative learning. As Anne Ruggles- Gere explains “Knowledge conceived as socially constructed or generated validates the “learning” part of collaborative learning because it assumes that the interactions of collaboration can lead to new knowledge or learning” (Writing Groups). In classrooms that encourage these ideas, students are not just passive learners. They take a more active role in their learning. They work with the instructor and each other to improve their understanding of what makes good writing, to become more critical of their own writing style, and to develop their writing skills.

Subsequently, most of my course construction is designed in such a way that supports and facilitates this kind of interaction and community. In addition to the more traditional class discussions, I rely heavily on smaller group discussions. This is a less intimidating forum for some students so they are more likely to contribute their thoughts and ideas. I also use peer review workshops in which students work with each other as they draft and revise their essays. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I have several conferences throughout the semester with each student to discuss their work, their progress, and also any problems that they may be having in the course. I find these conferences to be an amazing tool as they enable me to reach each individual student and address their particular writing issues. I can go over their drafts with them and further explain my comments and questions. I also believe that these conferences make the students more comfortable with me as their instructor and also with the idea of seeking help. At the end of the semester, I collect portfolios of my students’ work. This includes all of their prewriting, revised drafts, and final drafts. I can then look at how each student has progressed through my course. From this I can get a sense of what was beneficial to them individually and what was less so. Nevertheless, I ask my students to write a final reflective narrative about their experience in the course. I want them to tell me what worked for them and what could be improved.

I teach because I love helping students to realize that they are able to be good writers. So many think that either they can write or they can’t. They see the ability to write as a gift, not a skill that can be developed. So it is a wonderful experience for me to not only watch them progress over the course of a semester, but to watch them as they see their own progression. It is incredibly rewarding to see a student come into his or her own.