Professional Development Opportunities

Being an Assistant Director

The FYC program is directed by two faculty members and four Assistant Directors (AD's). AD's are graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and an interest in assisting others. AD's mentor new teachers, answer questions, help solve problems, lead Professional Development meetings four times a semester, organize Composition orientation each semester, work on curriculum development, and aid in selecting new textbooks. Additionally, all teaching assistants teaching Composition for the first time at OSU are assigned an AD to help with everything from writing the syllabus to policy questions and problem students. Because many colleges and universities seek faculty who can develop programs and act in administrative capacities, being an Assistant Director not only enhances one's own teaching but provides an important credential for the future.

Participation in Course Shadowing and Cross-Visitation

In the Course Shadowing program, new graduate students who have not previously taught spend at least one semester observing the classes of experienced teachers who have volunteered to host them. Cross-Visitation allows experienced teachers to visit one another's classes to offer comments and learn from one another. Both programs contribute to the professionalization of Composition instructors through providing opportunities to describe and discuss one's teaching practices and to take a leadership role.

Presentations at Orientation and at Academic Conferences

During Fall and Spring Composition orientation week, instructors present their particular expertise to others in the FYC program. Such presentations range from simply sharing an assignment in a handout exchange to running sessions on such topics as teaching critical reading, adapting creative writing techniques to FYC, or using games to teach analysis and editing.

Graduate students at OSU also regularly present at such conferences as the Conference on College Composition and Communication and the regional and national NCTE and National Writing Center Association conferences.

Teaching Awards

OSU offers graduate students awards to recognize their accomplishments as teachers of writing. Candidates nominate themselves by providing a teaching portfolio containing a statement of teaching philosophy, student evaluations, sample assignments, and letters of reference from others who have seen them teach. Prizes are awarded in Composition, Technical Writing, and TESOL.

English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu

Recent Comp & Rhetoric Graduate Student Conference Presentations

Kala Blankenship-
“Strengthening the Center Through Strategizing Diversity.”
The Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition. October 2004.

Christine Harrell-
"Exploring the Anti-Intellectual Rhetoric of Creationism"
Conference on College Composition and Communication. March 2004.

"Topic Control in E-Discussions: Gendered Talk in a First-Year Composition Class."
Conference on College Composition and Communication. March, 2003.

Rachel Key-
“Taking the College to the Student: Making Composition Matter on United States Navy Ships.”
Conference on College Composition and Communication. March 2004.

Lacy Landrum-
“The Rhetoric of Drug Education Web Sites: Science with a Wink and a Smile.”
Conference on College. Composition and Communication. March 2004.

Michael McCamley-
“Reading Students, Students Reading: (A)literacy Habits Among Creative Writing Students at Oklahoma State University .” Conference on College Composition and Communication. March 2004.