I’m an English professor specializing in composition and literacy studies. I’ve worked with first-year students for over 20 years. I’m also a parent. My oldest enrolled as a first-year student at my employer this fall. 🧵 Like many 1st years, she had a difficult semester, and it was made worse by the fact that she developed c.diff about 6 weeks into the term. She had never been so sick in her life. Her experience confirmed many things I already knew about higher ed and taught me a few more.

The comp theory/practice course for new TAs I teach as part of my WPA duties will be fully online this year, so I'm re-thinking everything, especially assignments. Curious, fellow WPAs: what types of writing do you assign in your course? #WPAlife #TeamRhetoric More details: the class is two weeks long. In the past, writing a Philosophy of Composing and the syllabus, schedule, and assignments have been the major assignments, in addition to discussion boards, responses, etc.

I started teaching composition online in 2008. Here are some things I've learned over the years (a thread). #onlinelearning #digped #teamrhetoric #WPAlife There are REASONS why online courses have higher DWF (drop/withdraw/fail) rates. One huge reason is that these courses can feel impersonal. Another is a lack of feeling accountable. Anything we as instructors can do to the improve the affective element of the course is critical.