DR C—CAPTAIN'S LOG
ADVANCED ENGLISH COMPOSITION 102
ONBOARD AND ONLINE—WEEK TEN: MARCH 17 TO MARCH 23
ONBOARD—WEEK TEN
Day One and Day Two
This whole week I had one-on-one conferences with all of my onboard trainees. These conferences are 25 minutes each. I discuss and grade their research proposal.
The proposals contain the following:
A) Major Thesis
B) Intended Audience
C) Title
D) The Purpose expressed through the "soul/so-what sentence
E) Mini-thesis for each body theme
F) Choose at least five (5) works cited entries to place on a works-cited page; these entries should be from sources you plan to use in your paper. Also, if there are any works-cited entries one is not certain about its format, this is a good time to give it a try. No one will be penalized; this will give me an opportunity to help clarify the format.
G) Body Theme One
Now, unlike many who teach the writing of research papers as just one long paper, I do things differently. And it is in keeping with my definition of a research paper: It is just a collection of themes discussing three major aspects of a subject. And so, I suggest that they should set the research paper up in sections, each having a title. So, the first section, body theme one, is due with this proposal.
This proves to be a good way to expose the crew to writing a detailed research piece. First, many do not feel as overwhelmed. Second, discussing and grading the proposal items and the first body theme helps me clear up any ambiguity any trainee may have about the set up for this assignment. Third, this section serves as guidance for the writing of the rest of the research paper.
There are several examples in their handbook, on the Pass-Protected sites, and in the print portion.
ONLINE
These trainees had to submit the Diction Theme that was assigned to the onboard trainees just before Spring Break. The quality of their work was similar to that of the onboard trainees.
Also, there were reading assignments that should have prepared them for the upcoming research proposal assignment.
In addition, there was a reading assignment from a journal that had a collection of short stories, poems, and excerpts from books. These readings would provide the material for them to do an extra credit figures of speech assignment. This assignment would be due next week.
Reflections:
Always, I find the conferences invigorating. This is another opportunity for me to give that personal attention to each trainee. Yes, it can be exhausting, too. I begin conferences as early as 10:00 a.m. and, with other duties I must complete, may not be finished until after 5:30 p.m. However, these conferences give my trainees the opportunity to see me as more than just a captain who is a taskmaster but as a person who truly cares about them as individuals.
Generally, it is in these conferences that some trainees share very personal issues that have nothing to do with the assignment. Also, I have an opportunity to give some an intellectual, motherly “kick in the caboose” or just provide a listening ear. In other words, I find having these one-on-one conferences a key feature of my teaching. Most definitely, for those who are teaching college trainees, I strongly suggest this feature.
Oh, let me share an aside about one of the benefits of these conferences. A few years ago, one of my trainees shared that she was a jewelry maker. That really intrigued me since I own a business in which I do try to promote entrepreneurs. I did not say anything to her while she was my student trainee to make certain there would be no conflict of interest. So, it was not until about six months after her tour of duty onboard that I happened to see her. I shared with her my interest in her jewelry making and if she had any samples. She did. She shared them with me. And so, I decided to showcase her work on my company’s website. If you are ever interested, you can see her work on:
http://marketingnewauthors.biz/customized-jewelry-by-queennetzo/
Also, she did an interview on the company’s blog on August 27, 2018:
http://manasunriser.blogspot.com/2018/08/introducing-jewelry-designer-kayla.html
OK, enough of my yak ☺.
I shall continue to Week Eleven.
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