Your Sharing component will have two parts:
- Materials you post on the Forum discussed below
- Your additions to the Harry Potter Pedagogy Project
These materials may somewhat overlap! We'll discuss the second one more in class.
In 2003 I created a Message Board called The TESL Reading & Writing Forum: http://www.eslweb.org/resources The Forum was created to provide a place for teachers to share their teaching tips, handouts, syllabi, lesson plans, and more. It currently has over 1,500 members, over 4,000 posts and over 13.1 million total pages views.
Over the course of the semester, you will need to post your own ideas and/or lessons to the Forum AND also respond to some of the posts by your fellow teachers.
What should your posts be about?
On many weeks the topic for the post might follow the theme for the week. For example, during week 8 of the course we’ll be discussing The Process Approach. So, if you choose to make one of your posts that week, you could find or create something that relates to the Process Approach. However, your posts do not need to follow the topic for the week. Indeed, I would expect that many will not. If you find or think of something that relates to Teaching ESL Reading/Writing, but it does not fit with the theme for the week, post it.
What can I post?
As noted above, you may post materials you either find or come up with on your own. However, DON’T ONLY post things you find. Some of your posts must also be your own original ideas (just try for some balance—I won’t require a specific percentage of “found versus original”). Also, if you do post something you find, you MUST provide an accurate bibliographic citation for the source of your materials.
As far as specifics regarding “what” you can post, that is difficult! Think about any topic you’ve seen in any writing book or in any class on writing. I can say this—your posts could range anywhere from a single simple idea (e.g., A great way to present information on the difference between “the” and “an”) to full lesson plans. Again, try for some balance in terms of post length.
How many posts should you make?
You should make a minimum of 7 “original” posts to the forum over the course of the semester. These original posts are expected to be “substantial.” What this means is that you are sharing ideas that you as a teacher might also find useful. These are not necessarily full lesson plans, but are a resource that a teacher might make use of for a class. In addition, you should respond to posts made by some of your fellow teachers each week.
Note: Posts to the forum should be written for a General Audience of Teachers. Remember-the majority of users are not from UIUC, so avoid saying things like “..as we talked about in class….”
What is it worth?
25% of your course total
(consider this percentage when making your posts ;-)
When are they due?
Your posts will be done over the course of the semester—DO NOT wait until the end of the semester to do them all!!! You MUST make at least 50% of your posts by the midpoint of the semester (see daily schedule). Also, I won’t grade any posts put up after the last day of the course—Tuesday, May 1st