Past Syllabi
ENG 333: Technical Writing
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Abbreviated Teaching Philosophy
My pedagogy is rooted in the view that everyone has a voice and “writing as an art form belongs to all people.”[i] Writing is a practice that will be impacted by students’ real lives, their access to resources, their histories with education, and other aspects of their material and immaterial societal experiences. Therefore, I strive to engage students where they are and encourage using Englishes while fostering a supportive community environment that belongs to each student. In my classes, students can develop tools to reflect on how activities like writing and speaking can be social or political. As a Louisiana Creole who engages with Kréyòl in my creative and scholarly work, validating the use of not-just-standard English is integral work.
My teaching strategies are student-driven rather than curriculum-driven. Using Microsoft Form or Qualtrics surveys, I gauge student learning and receive feedback regarding their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the course. I incorporate student feedback during the semester and alter activities based on their responses when necessary. Additionally, my undergraduate classes produce collaborative rubrics for every major assignment. These collaborative rubrics allow students to see exactly what elements contribute to their success, provide a stake in their success, and promote investment. Focusing on collaboration, my classes encourage student voices. Rather than a traditional lecture model, I change activities approximately every fifteen minutes, encourage peer-to-peer learning via group work, jigsaw, and think-pair-share, ask questions, have students reflect via paper and pen in free writes, and they physically move around the classroom.
Culturally responsive teaching is more than diverse reading materials; although including diverse perspectives is important, it also provides opportunities for students to be experts. I frequently invite undergraduate students to think about their majors and career goals in their thinking and writing processes. While studying English is practical, innovative, and multi-purpose, I engage each student in their own learning journey. By encouraging students to pursue their interests and involve their pathways, they can experience the versatility of what they learn in the humanities.
The students in my classrooms are diverse in many ways; they come from various racial/ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic backgrounds, and many are nontraditional. My awareness of cross-cultural understanding is always evolving. I carefully listen to students and examine my positionality as I facilitate dialogue among students who offer a range of perspectives. In my syllabus, I include a “Community Policy,” which covers the expectations for behavior and delivers clear statements about what will not be tolerated in class, such as comments that are racist, homophobic, ableist, or Islamophobic. If a student makes such comments, even though we are free to make mistakes and learn, students will be asked to leave class and meet with me at my office before they are allowed to return to class. If this behavior is repeated, further disciplinary action will be pursued. Although I want to encourage everyone to grow, I do not believe it is fair or equitable to do so in such a way that exposes marginalized and systemically oppressed students to additional harm or violent speech.
Accessibility, flexibility, and remaining student-centered are integral to my pedagogy. I build my classroom space, digitally and in person, to accommodate students because I want my students to succeed. Working toward student success means engaging students, ensuring accessible content and activities, encouraging collaboration, remaining flexible, and incorporating feedback.
[i] This quote, “Writing as an art form belongs to all people,” is from Pat Schneider’s Writing Alone and With Others (2003)
My teaching strategies are student-driven rather than curriculum-driven. Using Microsoft Form or Qualtrics surveys, I gauge student learning and receive feedback regarding their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the course. I incorporate student feedback during the semester and alter activities based on their responses when necessary. Additionally, my undergraduate classes produce collaborative rubrics for every major assignment. These collaborative rubrics allow students to see exactly what elements contribute to their success, provide a stake in their success, and promote investment. Focusing on collaboration, my classes encourage student voices. Rather than a traditional lecture model, I change activities approximately every fifteen minutes, encourage peer-to-peer learning via group work, jigsaw, and think-pair-share, ask questions, have students reflect via paper and pen in free writes, and they physically move around the classroom.
Culturally responsive teaching is more than diverse reading materials; although including diverse perspectives is important, it also provides opportunities for students to be experts. I frequently invite undergraduate students to think about their majors and career goals in their thinking and writing processes. While studying English is practical, innovative, and multi-purpose, I engage each student in their own learning journey. By encouraging students to pursue their interests and involve their pathways, they can experience the versatility of what they learn in the humanities.
The students in my classrooms are diverse in many ways; they come from various racial/ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic backgrounds, and many are nontraditional. My awareness of cross-cultural understanding is always evolving. I carefully listen to students and examine my positionality as I facilitate dialogue among students who offer a range of perspectives. In my syllabus, I include a “Community Policy,” which covers the expectations for behavior and delivers clear statements about what will not be tolerated in class, such as comments that are racist, homophobic, ableist, or Islamophobic. If a student makes such comments, even though we are free to make mistakes and learn, students will be asked to leave class and meet with me at my office before they are allowed to return to class. If this behavior is repeated, further disciplinary action will be pursued. Although I want to encourage everyone to grow, I do not believe it is fair or equitable to do so in such a way that exposes marginalized and systemically oppressed students to additional harm or violent speech.
Accessibility, flexibility, and remaining student-centered are integral to my pedagogy. I build my classroom space, digitally and in person, to accommodate students because I want my students to succeed. Working toward student success means engaging students, ensuring accessible content and activities, encouraging collaboration, remaining flexible, and incorporating feedback.
[i] This quote, “Writing as an art form belongs to all people,” is from Pat Schneider’s Writing Alone and With Others (2003)
Excerpts from Student Evaluations
Excerpts from Mid-Semester (Anonymous) Feedback:
“They helped me better understand how to express an opinion/argument through rhetorical analysis.” – ENG 101, Fall 2024
“[the] Professor takes plenty of time on explaining what we read, how to write, and important information we need.” – ENG 101, Fall 2024
“Having a collaborative rubric was helpful to me. It not only let me have some say in how my papers would be evaluated, but it also gave me a fuller understanding of why it was structured so.” – ENG 101, Fall 2024
Excerpts from Student Course Evaluations (Anonymous):
“The professor facilitated group feedback sessions that were helpful, and they also created a cozy environment to learn.” – ENG 223, Spring 2024
“They made sure we knew, above all, that we could always use them for a resource. For anything concerning the class and outside of it. Although it was a classroom setting, Emily did an amazing job at making the class feel comfortable and conversational…It was very engaging and informative. Most classes don't have a mix of both. They took the time to learn our names, as small of a class as we were, and actively listened whenever we talked about problems we were having, shared successes, or just had questions (about anything). It was really refreshing and I'll really miss the class.” – ENG 223, Spring 2024
“I love this class, it has been my favorite class and gave me a positive experience with English that I had not received in academia.” – ENG 223, Spring 2024
“They're very thorough on how they teach… they make class interesting and make sure we're prepared to tackle an assignment. They also give very good and clear feedback!” – ENG 101, Fall 2023
“The professor was always there for their students and was understanding of everyone's different situations.” – ENG 101, Fall 2023
“Professor Goldsmith is an amazing instructor. They showed that they care about their students throughout the course in many ways. One of the best things about this class is that the word count for the papers was manageable.” – ENG 203, Spring 2023
“They were always very kind to us students and willing to help with anything that we needed. The expectations on all assignments were very clear and they communicated any class schedule changes or class info with us. I also liked how they gave us background information about the stories and authors that we were studying.” – ENG 203, Spring 2023
“They helped me better understand how to express an opinion/argument through rhetorical analysis.” – ENG 101, Fall 2024
“[the] Professor takes plenty of time on explaining what we read, how to write, and important information we need.” – ENG 101, Fall 2024
“Having a collaborative rubric was helpful to me. It not only let me have some say in how my papers would be evaluated, but it also gave me a fuller understanding of why it was structured so.” – ENG 101, Fall 2024
Excerpts from Student Course Evaluations (Anonymous):
“The professor facilitated group feedback sessions that were helpful, and they also created a cozy environment to learn.” – ENG 223, Spring 2024
“They made sure we knew, above all, that we could always use them for a resource. For anything concerning the class and outside of it. Although it was a classroom setting, Emily did an amazing job at making the class feel comfortable and conversational…It was very engaging and informative. Most classes don't have a mix of both. They took the time to learn our names, as small of a class as we were, and actively listened whenever we talked about problems we were having, shared successes, or just had questions (about anything). It was really refreshing and I'll really miss the class.” – ENG 223, Spring 2024
“I love this class, it has been my favorite class and gave me a positive experience with English that I had not received in academia.” – ENG 223, Spring 2024
“They're very thorough on how they teach… they make class interesting and make sure we're prepared to tackle an assignment. They also give very good and clear feedback!” – ENG 101, Fall 2023
“The professor was always there for their students and was understanding of everyone's different situations.” – ENG 101, Fall 2023
“Professor Goldsmith is an amazing instructor. They showed that they care about their students throughout the course in many ways. One of the best things about this class is that the word count for the papers was manageable.” – ENG 203, Spring 2023
“They were always very kind to us students and willing to help with anything that we needed. The expectations on all assignments were very clear and they communicated any class schedule changes or class info with us. I also liked how they gave us background information about the stories and authors that we were studying.” – ENG 203, Spring 2023
USM's 2024 Teaching Assistant of the Year Photo Link: https://www.usm.edu/news/2024/release/graduate-school-student-research-symposium.php |
Excerpt from the University of Southern Mississippi’s 2024 Teaching Award of the Year Announcement:
https://www.usm.edu/graduate-school/graduate-school-attachments/arete_2024.pdf
“It is because of instructors like Emily that USM retains first-year students, many of whom are first-generation college admits who need encouragement and granular-level instruction to meet classroom milestones. Emily is dedicated to their own students, but also the general population of undergraduates at USM.”
—Dr. Monika Gehlawat, Professor of English, Associate Director of Humanities
“At the core of Emily’s teaching identity is a focus on anti-racist pedagogy, one that values student-centered learning and meets each of them where they are coming from in terms of their specific backgrounds. This is not easy work, but Emily approaches this challenge with enthusiasm at every turn. Emily is a teacher who consistently adapts successfully to a range of situations.”
—Dr. Adam Clay, Associate Professor of English and Director for the Center of Writers
https://www.usm.edu/graduate-school/graduate-school-attachments/arete_2024.pdf
“It is because of instructors like Emily that USM retains first-year students, many of whom are first-generation college admits who need encouragement and granular-level instruction to meet classroom milestones. Emily is dedicated to their own students, but also the general population of undergraduates at USM.”
—Dr. Monika Gehlawat, Professor of English, Associate Director of Humanities
“At the core of Emily’s teaching identity is a focus on anti-racist pedagogy, one that values student-centered learning and meets each of them where they are coming from in terms of their specific backgrounds. This is not easy work, but Emily approaches this challenge with enthusiasm at every turn. Emily is a teacher who consistently adapts successfully to a range of situations.”
—Dr. Adam Clay, Associate Professor of English and Director for the Center of Writers