Embedded Files
As writing-intensive courses, my classes certainly include guiding students through and helping them develop their individual writing processes with a series of formative and summative assignments. This selection of student work does not focus on the formal academic writing completed in my courses. Rather, I have selected works that represent core values I emphasize that encourage students to understand their composing process as a set of skills that transfer to project design and task completion beyond the 8.5" x 11" page. These values include the following from the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing and from Texas's core objectives for the Communication component area: curiosity, teamwork, openness of ideas, civic engagement, creativity, personal responsibility, persistence, and metacognition. These assignments demonstrate students composing for multiple genres and integrating a range of texts relevant to their academic disciplines. *All assignments included with permission from the students.
WRIT 1301 Composition 1: Information Literacy Group Project
Ivan Almendariz, Enxhi Hyska, Dieu Ngo, and Kavita Ramnath present their dialectical discussion, Justice or Murder Talk Show, on the 8th Amendment and the death penalty. *Students were required to use at least one social media source and to violate the agreed-upon rules of civil discourse by committing at least one logical fallacy.
DMST 5236 Digital Storytelling: Audio Narrative
Matt McKenzie created this audio narrative, AnAudioStory FirstDate, in partial fulfillment of his Digital Storytelling class. McKenzie uses voice and sound effects to tell the story of his first date with his wife. *Mini-projects had to tell a story in one modality.
DMST 5236 Digital Storytelling: Photo Narrative
Photo Narrative (Horror/Action Theme) was created by Kellie Duran in partial fulfillment of her Digital Storytelling class. Duran overlaid zombie and warrior character images over previously-taken travel photos. *Mini-projects had to tell a story in one modality.
Sora Hasegawa's porfolio website, "My Writing 1301 Experience," presents his reflection on Prof. Seahorn's Composition I course from fall 2018. Hasegawa built his site with GoogleSites. In addition to personal reflection on skills development, students connected their coursework to the WPA Outcomes.
Christi Deiss uses Blackboard's Journal tool to reflect on her experience in Prof. Seahorn's Advanced Writing course. Deiss is studying to be an early childhood teacher while working full-time as a high school administrative assistant. This portfolio details her experience in the class and the persistence she dedicated to mastering the course material.
Mentored Student Research/Teaching
- WGST 4308/WRIT 3307 [spring 2019]—For their "LGBTQ+ Theory, History, and Rhetorics" course, students created group zines in the subversive, counter-cultural, imperative-mood found in many of their early (1960s-1990s) readings. Three student groups chose to present their zines at UHCL's Student Conference on Research and Creative Arts. Jessica Clakley, Kaira Jackson, and Janai Baerga won the "Outstanding Commendation" Award for their zine, I am Here.
- LITR 5131 [fall 2018]—From my Online Writing Pedagogy course, two graduate students went on to present their end-of-course essays at local and national conferences. Patrick Graham presented his project, "The Asynchronous Feedback Session as a Presentation: A Performing Artist's Guide to OWI," as a poster presentation for the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (January 25, 2019) and presented the full essay at UHCL's Student Conference on Research and Creative Arts (2019). Timothy Morrow presented his project, "Interpretation & Supposed Identity: The Importance of Performative Persona in OWI," also at the Student Conference on Research and Creative Arts (2019) and is currently completing an IRB application to expand his study with the goal of trying to publish it as an article. Recent graduates, Cassandra Waggett and Chandler Barton recently accepted positions as online writing adjuncts.
- WRIT 3307 [spring 2014]—My undergraduate Advanced Writing student Jacqueline Buehler presented her end-of-course essay at the Texas Association for Gifted & Talented (TAGT). At the time, Jackie was a junior in the College of Education and had never presented at a conference. Students in this class simulate conference submissions by targeting their final essay toward a published call for papers (CFP). In addition to completing the assignment for class, Jackie asked me to help her submit to the actual conference she selected for the assignment. After her acceptance, Jackie and I worked together during the fall of 2014 to prepare the paper, and in December 2014, in Fort Worth, TX, she successfully presented her paper, "Soaring to New Heights: Addressing Social-Emotional Needs and Reducing Gifted Dropouts" to about thirty Texas K-12 educators.
- WRIT 5939 [spring 2013]—After working as an embedded TA in my online Advanced Writing course for an Independent Study in Writing, Lisa Hacker went on to teach her own sections of online Advanced Writing at UHCL. Hacker has now taught with us for six years.
- WRIT 3307 [spring 2012]—Also for the end-of-course CFP assignment referenced above, Communications major, Josh Crowhurst, and Art & Design major, Yadira De la Torre, presented their work at the 2012 Louisiana Conference on Language, Literature, and Culture in Lafayette, LA as part of the Media, Technology and the Imagination panel. After our class, I mentored the students to revise their essays for presentation, and in March 2012, Crowhurst presented, "From Urkel to Sheldon: Analyzing the Modern Portrayal of Geek and Nerd Culture in the Media," and De la Torre presented, "Photographic Manipulation: Effects on American Culture."
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