Here is what they answered when I asked the question:     What did you learn this semester? 

Two years ago, a similar class answered the same question this way.

• Keep readers in mind.
• Use the thesis statement as a road map for readers.
• KILL PROCRASTINATION.
• Learn American-style writing.
• Learn to be a responsible college writer who can deliver a competent college essay.
• i-Movie is not hard, but fun.
• Ideas cannot stand without good evidence.
• The difference between revising, editing, and proofreading is huge. Don’t forget it.
• Don’t rant in your formal essays. You can do that just for yourself.
• Make sure topic sentences lay out what your paragraph is about–a mini road map.
• Use active voice. Eliminate “to be” verbs as much as possible.
• Write a strong first draft.
• Structure a good thesis to give a good direction to the paper
• Give a different style to your paper depending on your reader.
• Proofread.
• Have a good thesis before you start writing.
• Use the quotation sandwich.
• Topic sentences need to flow.
• Be an active and helpful team member.
• Getting feedback from your professor and your peers is effective.
• Ask “So what?” and “Who cares?” for better analysis of papers.
• Make eye contact during oral presentations.
• Be disciplined in your work.
• Tie up thoughts in the conclusion, and add something more.
• First impressions do not count (We read Pride and Prejudice!).
• Americans own things and ideas.
• In a sentence, paragraph, or paper, the most important thing comes last.

Faculty Minute for John Wilders (5/11/98):

Oscar Wilde divided people thus: “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” John Wilders most definitely belongs in the first category, for he and his wife Benedikte, have by their gracious presences, by their many contributions to the community of Middlebury, improved the tone of the place immeasurably.

John Wilders, graduate of Cambridge University, has taught at many colleges and universities: at Bristol, at Oxford for many years, even at such remote corners of the empire where strange versions of the mother tongue are intoned, such as Australia and California, but none where his heart, I know, has so well resided as at Middlebury. John began his association with Middlebury by teaching at the Bread Loaf School of English; shortly thereafter he was appointed professor of humanities at Middlebury college, and has now taught in the English Department for the last several years. During those years, John has been the most helpful and collegial of colleagues. He has made available generously his un-matched knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare to innumerable students and teachers. Colleagues from other departments have sought him out to give lectures on Shakespeare and Religion, Shakespeare and Philosophy–perhaps even Shakespeare and Economics or Shakespeare and Chemistry, for all I know. As a scholar, John is mightily admired far and wide, for his work on Shakespeare: his book on the history plays, The Lost Garden; his best-selling New Prefaces to Shakespeare, a collection of his introductions to each of Shakespeare’s 37 plays, which John prepared for the BBC television productions of all Shakespeare’s plays–a monumental project for which John served as literary advisor. Most recently, he has published the prestigious Arden edition of Antony and Cleopatra, and he is currently at work on a book about the Scottish tragedy, but I think when he arrives at the pearly gates, as some of us will also–eventually–the seraphic scribe will welcome him by saying, “Are you the John Wilders who did that splendid edition of Samuel Butler’s Hudibras? Allow me to shake your wing,  sir!” And as a teacher, he is almost too much loved by his students–certainly he makes things awfully hard for the rest of us.

John has in his life played many parts: he has  been a concert announcer on BBC radio, a religion panelist and actor  on BBC television, a member of the board of governors of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a guest at Buckingham palace, a recruit of her majesty’s navy, and on and on–I cannot list them all here. I have been fortunate enough to have been lunching with John once or twice a week for the time he has been teaching at Middlebury. In fact, we now preface every anecdote with the disclaimer, “I’m sure I’ve told you this before.” Actually, in all these years, he has never repeated a one to me, and I marvel anew during each lunch, at his fund of encounters, literary and theatrical, as he reveals some remarkable experience or other–the time Tom Stoppard painted his staircase for him, or when Joyce Carey, the actress, invited him to what he thought would be a romantic luncheon, or when he saw Richard Burton’s stage debut.

If I may end on a personal note: I knew John Wilders before I knew John Wilders. At the age of 12 or so I bought a recording of Julius Caesar performed by the Marlowe Society of Cambridge University in order to learn Julius Caesar’s speeches from the play properly. Little did I know that the actor reciting Julius Caesar’s lines on that recording–whose every inflection and modulation I taught myself to mimic–would become a dear friend and colleague. One of John’s line readings I best remember is “I am constant as the northern star.” And that has been true of John Wilders, he has been constant as the northern star, constant as a personal friend, constant in his principles, constant as a teacher to his students, constant as a colleague to the faculty, constant as a friend to the community.

Dear John, what we owe you is incalculable. Thank you.

Submitted by: John Bertolini, Ellis Prof. of the Liberal Arts

`When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

`The question is,’ said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

`The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master – - that’s all.’

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Words have meaning. We all know that, but sometimes like Humpty Dumpty college students think they can use words without taking into account the actual meaning of those words.  Student writers often forget that on the other side of those words, a real reader (a faculty member grading their papers) is reading and struggling to understand words that have been misused.

First-year students, especially, try to fit into the college experience both socially and academically. In their writing, they use words they think the faculty want to read, words they hope will make them seem part of the academic community. Too often, they have, at best, only a half-knowledge of the meaning of these words. When students use words they have not mastered, the end result is confusion and miscommunication, and we write the dreaded word, “Diction” in the margin.

Frequently, when I discuss their papers with my students, I hear myself asking, “Would you actually ever say this word in any conversation with anyone?” If the answer is no, I suggest they find a word they feel more comfortable using.   Often when I ask students what they think a misused word means, they shrug or laugh self-consciously. Sometimes I even get an honest, “I don’t know,” or “No idea.”

I encourage my students to convey their ideas in the words they have mastered. As they read more and absorb more, they naturally will grow into a wider vocabulary, and they will become comfortable in the language of academic discourse. Along the way, I ask them to treat their words and their readers with honesty and respect.

1. editing process is useful–print  drafts to read somewhere else helpful–fully explain quotations
2. set paper aside to marinate–use more details–flow and coherence
3. thesis more concise–reread papers several times–comma plus and!
4. how to write a paper–structure of a paper–introduction–thesis-unity/coherence/development–passive voice–participles
5. collaborate and edit with peers–write in drafts–eliminate passive
6. paper with thesis statement–good flow of ideas–dep and indep clauses–analyze in an essay
7. dangling modifiers-write in complete non-fragmented sentences–analyze other writings and use their techniques
8. use scientific method on papers–details! eliminate redundancy
9. word placement–subtle changes can hold reader’s interest–paragraph structure–participles!!
10. comma splices! topic sentences! drafts are your friend (esp. when done before midnight)
11. difference between hyphen (-) and dash (–) consider reader’s feelings when writing–use other media to express ideas, too
12. MLA citations–avoid change in verb tenses–do not create your own facts about a book or movie
13. thesis statement–topic sentence–how to make conclusion better
14. how she writes and her strengths and weaknesses–passive voice–form a stronger argument by manipulating sentences, paragraphs, paper as a whole
15. grammar rules–add specific details to thesis statement–coherent sentences
16. topic sentence should start the paragraph– avoid this and that in the beginning of a sentence–difference between long and short sentences in paragraph can help ideas
17. participles–dangling modifiers–adding new ideas to the conclusion

Attracting hesitant faculty, especially tenured, senior faculty, to the first year seminar classroom is not always an easy task. This roundtable will focus on ways to engage and retain faculty instructors and develop their willing and enthusiastic participation, while strengthening the important Faculty/Student Affairs/ Writing Tutorial connection. The discussion will encourage other institutions to share best practices, discuss challenges, and brainstorm new ideas for faculty engagement.

Here are my handouts for the session:

• History and Background of Middlebury’s FYS program
• Peer Writing Tutor Info and “Harvest Cycle” of Faculty Development
  • Dublin 08 FYS as a Locus for Faculty Development:
    Creating Mini Learning Communities
  • Montréal 09 Growing Faculty and Students
    in FYS Learning Communities
  • San Francisco 08 FYS as a Locus for Faculty Development: Creating Mini Learning Communities
    • Middlebury College
    • First-Year Seminar Program
    • Center of Teaching, Learning, and Research
    • Pedagogy Series
    • Information for Faculty Teaching Writing Courses
    • Peer Writing Tutor Information for Faculty

  Middlebury Links

Here are my presentation notes:



Key Piece of Advice:

Tell your story often and in many venues. And listen, really listen, to what your faculty have to stay.



Background


* administrative support/ faculty voted in FYS over 20 years ago. Specifics and history of the program on the Middlebury handout.
* Since 2004, FYS director also director of CTLR (supports both faculty and students in learning and teaching), so CTLR supports students with writing, math, and study skills professionals and with peer mentors, tutors. CTLR also supports faculty with faculty development opportunities, such as workshops and consultations.



Three Components for Successful Faculty Buy-in


1. flexibility/opportunity–What do faculty get out of this experience?
* flexibility–choice of topic–opportunity to teach something different, of special interest, or topical
* opportunity to making it manageable–team support (peer writing mentor, librarian/ed tech) enables faculty to experiment and risks
* flexibility–choosing a team–whole, part, choosing its members, no team
* opportunity to bonding with students and to understand what the next crop of students is like
* opportunity to lure students into your area of study
* opportunities for tenured and junior faculty to experiment with different pedagogies and tools
* creating the students they want to see in their other courses

2. information–How are faculty getting information about your program and help when they need it?
* e-mails & online info, face to face group meeting in spring
* faculty development opportunities–Pedagogy series in June, in January, and throughout the year
* Writing Retreat in August
* follow up meeting in fall
* ability to consult with members of the writing program throughout the year
* website info about advising and teaching writing

3. follow-up–How do you know if your faculty and students are engaged? If your program is successful?
* midterm survey peer writing tutors
* check ins by librarians
* end of the semester evaluation
* five-year longitudinal study of the class of 2010 (Teagle Grant)
* Ward Prize



Conclusion


* not without challenges
* not without changes
* not without shifting monetary support
* You can’t take anything for granted: not money, not support. You have to keep telling your story, listening for problems, urging your faculty members to tell their stories to each other.

Here are links to previous First-Year Experience Conference Middlebury presentations:

Jane Austen's house in Chawton

In June I took a longed-for trip to England with my younger daughter to visit Jane Austen sites.  I hope to write more about this trip later. (In a few weeks, I will be on leave and will be immersed in all Austen all-the-time), but here are a very few of the over 3,000 pics I took on my trip.

This fall, I’ve spent most of my professional time tutoring writing, an experience I have thoroughly enjoyed. I have some thoughts about the process of turning good high school writers into good college writers that I hope to write about once the semester is over. Another thing that has filled my time is Middlebury’s  Web Redo project. With two other colleagues, I’ve been working on the four sites for our offices (Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research; Office of Learning Resources; Writing Program, and First-Year Seminar Program).  I’m not linking here because the old sites will disappear, and the new ones aren’t ready yet.  I’m saving my opinion of Drupal until the process is complete.  I’m guessing when the process is finally  complete, all the work and frustrations will have been well worth the effort.  Stay tuned.

Tech Fair, Co-sponsored by the CTLR and LIS @ Middlebury on Thursday, June 4th.

I looked at some of the ways I’ve used technology in four classes:

• WRPR 0202 Writing to Heal (15) (digital media projects)
• FYSE 1144 Jane Austen and Film (15) (digital media projects, on-line discussions before and during the semester, RSS feeds)
• WRPR 1813 Mystique of Pride and Prejudice (20) (off campus experts online with students)
• WRPR 0100 Writing Workshop 1 (digital media projects)

Mack made posters for all of us who presented:

]]> http://sites.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/06/09/tech-fair/feed/ 0 http://sites.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/03/07/speaking-to-the-choir-the-jane-choir/ http://sites.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/03/07/speaking-to-the-choir-the-jane-choir/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:16:20 +0000 Mary Ellen Bertolini http://sites.middlebury.edu/slices/?p=70 I had such fun speaking to Jasna-VT last Sunday about Jane Austen’s Persuasion! Janites Deb and Kelly have created an articulate and welcoming group that sponsors a variety of Jane-related talks and events throughout the year. One of my favorites has been the Birthday Tea complete with Regency Dancing by the Burlington Country Dancers.

The great joy I felt in speaking to this group came from the fact that the audience knew their Austen backwards and forwards– not only Persuasion, which was Sunday’s topic, but the whole Austen corpus as well.  I love to introduce Austen to my students, some of whom have only a fleeting film familiarity with her work before the course begins, but what a treat to share my thoughts with the Jane Austen Choir in Vermont!

Thank you, Janites in Vermont and everywhere.