Competence-Based 15 Week Course

Unit 1: Weeks 1-3

In a class based in Kutz, Groden, and Zamel's ideology from The Discovery of Competence, equipping students with a problem-solving approach to personal learning functions as the foremost priority. To increase student engagement with class topics, texts and papers would focus on the connections between sociocultural communities and academic discourse communities. During the initial weeks of class, class objectives and learning goals (for students as individuals and the class as a discourse community) would be established through personal paragraphs and class discussion. Reading articles about reading and writing strategies and processes would attempt to increase students’ metacognition of their own writing processes. The first unit would conclude with a four-page paper of students’ personal analysis of their approach to academic reading and writing. The prompt would asking students to discuss their writing process, identify an area they would like to improve, and decide on strategies to test out as they work toward their learning goal.

Unit 2: Weeks 4-6

Establishing the importance of critical thinking and rhetorical reading strategies, students would be presented with a societal “problem” and asked to think and discuss on it in class and in writing. For example, if the topic was personal freedoms, students would find, establish, and discuss a connection to their personal lives. Course readings from varying voices and historical contexts within the academic and societal discussions of personal freedoms would broaden student's perspectives on the topic, encouraging further individual research coming in the next unit. A narrative would develop out of student's initial paragraphs, ending with a four-page paper on student’s personal connections to the course topic.

Unit 3: Weeks 7-9

Continuing students’ introduction into the academic community, this unit would focus on individual research on the course topic. Students would be given the tools to access academic journals, articles, and research. Rhetorical reading strategies would encourage critical analysis of information. The focus would be on transforming the previous unit’s personal narrative/discussion on the topic into a research-based paper: identifying the importance of personal opinions in encouraging interest and engagement with academic topics. Introducing formal research paper structure and style, students would have their first opportunity at writing in a conventional academic context—unlike previous informal and less-structured prompts.

Unit 4: 10-12

In this unit, students would have the freedom to decide on their own topic for research, based on personal interest. Organizing the class into small groups would allow students to support one another during the research process: sharing strategies, discussing various road blocks and solutions, asking questions about each other’s topics and theories, providing feedback on drafts, et cetera. A final research paper would be required (using original sources found by students), along with a response to each group members’ essay. This response is focused on furthering the conversation, not assessing peers essays. The learning objective is to increase student ability in instigating discussion and also continuing discourse through engagement with others’ ideas.

Unit 5: 13-15

The final unit would be focused on compiling a portfolio to show student progress. The teacher would have provided consistent, in-depth feedback on student writing throughout the semester. Students would be asked to review the teacher’s questions and suggestions along with any peer reviews, and then revise each research paper. The objective would be on incorporating feedback into improving writing, while also encouraging self-editing and revision. Student work becomes the course “text” where students must critically read and respond to their own writings.

The first paper on personal reading and writing strategies would be revisited. The final prompt would ask students to reflect on their first essay and chart their progress over the semester in their (hopefully increasing) comfort and confidence when using language—speaking, listening, responding, reading, and writing. The final result would be a portfolio including: the original learning goal essay, one personal narrative connecting to the course theme, two revised research papers, and a final reflective essay—allowing students to be critically and analytically aware of their own learning styles and strategies.