Curious about which session to attend this fall…here’s a teaser… Laurel Smith, Bri Kerschner, and Maura Smyth, Century College “No More Papers on the Death Penalty! Engage Your Students’ Creativity with the Change Your Neighborhood Argument Assignment” One of the most dreaded assignments in freshman composition is the researched argument. Unsure how to develop interesting […]
TYCA to You–To essay, or not to essay
August 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment
…that is the question! In the September call for feedback from TYCA Midwest followers, we’re talking about the essay as genre. How relevant is the essay genre to today’s college students? What other genres do you teach in your composition courses? Please use the link below to respond to these and other questions on the topic. Your […]
Meet the Board–Andrew Anastasia
June 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Andrew is the Membership Coordinator for TYCA Midwest. He is assistant professor of English at William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. His research and professional interests include social justice assessment praxis, basic writing pedagogy, queer and feminist pedagogies, and psychodynamic group relations theory. He recently completed his Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition at the […]
TYCA to You–Hybrid Composition Courses
May 5, 2017 by 1 Comment
In the next edition of TYCA to You, we’ll be talking about hybrid composition courses and how they work for you. Interested in offering your two-cents? Here’s what we’d like to know… 1) How does your school handle hybrid courses? Do students have to take orientation to sign up? Do these classes count as a regular […]
Office Hours–Proposal Writing Tips for First-Timers
April 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Proposal Writing Tips for First-Timers by Michelle Byrne, University of Akron I wrote my first conference presentation proposal when I was first hired at my college. I had never heard of TYCA, never written a presentation proposal, was brand new to my college, and clueless. Fortunately, I had three outstanding colleagues who ignored all that […]
TYCA to You–Politics in the Classroom
February 1, 2017 by 1 Comment
Dear TYCA Midwest Members: Let your voice be heard! Please respond to the survey below about the role politics should (or shouldn’t) play in the composition classroom. The survey has 6 questions and shouldn’t take you much longer than 5 minutes. Your feedback on these questions may be used in the next Midwest Update in the […]
Message from the Chair–Losing My Patience
November 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Losing My Patience by Michelle Byrne, University of Akron My students wonder why writing is “so hard.” My students just want me to tell them “how to do it.” They ask me to help them brainstorm, and they wonder if they are “doing it right.” In years past, I am usually patient with them. College […]
Conference Reflection–Ode to TYCA
October 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
So, maybe there’s a reason I leave TYCA-MW last, when I do attend. Maybe I am meant to be the non-elected, unofficial reflector of the event. Maybe I’ve become that person because I travel the farthest, typically, to TYCA-MW, being the North Dakota rep and all. Maybe it’s because I love to write journal entries about my life […]
Office Hours–From Then to Now
October 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment
From Then to Now by Helen Lepp Friesen, Ph.D., University of Winnipeg I never really had any intention of being a university writing professor. Like many young graduates with an MA in English I had lofty idealistic dreams of writing the next great American novel and becoming a full time sought after writer. The fall […]
What Works for Me–A “Killer” Assignment
October 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Murder Mysteries and English Composition: An Interesting (Dead Man’s) Bridge to Academic Literacy by Sarah Justice, English Instructor, Columbus State Community College My Composition I classes have the same topic: sustainability. I feel college students should engage in topics that are integral to the continuation of human society so that they can vote, protest, or perform […]