Teaching a college literature course for the
first time can be intimidating. However, if you are well-prepared, the idea of
teaching college literature class should start to sound fun and exciting. To
teach literature to college students, you will need to incorporate strategies
that work at the college level, find ways to maintain a positive class
environment, develop a teaching strategy that is comfortable for you, and
design a course that meets your department’s requirements.
Teaching at the College Level
1.
1
Motivate students to do the reading with quizzes. One of the biggest challenges of teaching
college literature is getting your students to come to class prepared. One way to
motivate your students to do the readings and come to class ready to discuss
them is to give daily reading quizzes.[1]
·
You can either create
simple short answer quizzes or assign writing prompts that will test your
students' knowledge of the reading. Give these quizzes at the beginning of
every class. You may even incorporate the quizzes into your class discussions,
such as by asking students to share their answers.
·
Make sure that you
give an adequate amount of points for the quizzes and responses. For example,
if the quizzes for the entire semester are only worth 5% of the overall grade,
then some students may not see these as worthy of their time and effort. Instead,
consider making the quizzes worth around 20 to 30% of the total grade.
2
Require students to come to class with questions. Another option to motivate students to do the
assigned readings is to require students to come to class with questions about
the reading. You can then use your students' questions to kick off the class
discussion.
·
For example, you might
require your students to bring in a set of three discussion questions per class
and invite students to ask questions at random. Then, you could also collect
the questions at the end of the class and give points to students who completed
the questions.
·
Make sure that you
explain how to write a good discussion question before you start requiring your
students to bring in questions. Explain to students that good discussion
questions should be open-ended. They should not result in a yes or no answer,
or a single answer, such as “What was the name of Mrs. Dalloway’s visitor?”
Instead, a good question might be something like, “What is the significance of
the lines from Shakespeare’s Cymbeline that Mrs. Dalloway reads? Do these lines
seem to have importance to anyone else but her? Why or why not?”
3
Provide participation opportunities within lectures. If you give a lecture, make sure that you
include a participation opportunity about every seven to 10 minutes. These
opportunities should allow your students to respond, discuss, or ask questions
about the material. Some good strategies that you might use include:[2]
·
Asking rhetorical
questions. For example, while reading Mrs. Dalloway, you might ask your
students something like, “What is the purpose of an internal dialogue?”
·
Having students share
a similar experience with a neighbor. While reading Mrs. Dalloway, you could
encourage students to identify something that they have in common with
Clarissa, or another character.
·
Requesting that
students paraphrase a concept that was just described. If you introduce a
theoretical concept that sheds light on the text you are reading, then you
might request that your students break into pairs or small groups and attempt
to put the concept into their own words.
4
Incorporate theory. At the college level, students should be exposed to literary
theory. If your department has a specific course meant to introduce students to
theory, then you may be able to request that students incorporate theory into
papers or presentations. If not, then you may need to provide some instruction
to help students understand and use literary theory.
·
For example, you could
require students to craft discussion questions that incorporate a specific type
of literary theory, such as feminist, psychoanalytic, or Marxist theory. Or,
you could assign different schools of literary theory to individual students or
small groups and require them to develop an analysis of a text using that
theory.
5
Discuss specific passages with your students. Close reading is essential when teaching
literature at the college level, so make sure that you devote plenty of class
time to close reading. Try to pick one passage per class or invite a student to
pick one passage per class and focus on it for 15 to 20 minutes.
·
For example, you might
invite one student per class to read a favorite paragraph aloud and invite the
rest of the class to discuss that paragraph.[3]
·
You can also ask other
students to point to other areas of the text that connect with the first
student’s chosen paragraph as a way to deepen the conversation.
6
Turn in-class discussions into in-class writing assignments. Some passages may be too difficult for
students to develop a response on the spot. In these situations, you can always
direct your students to free write to help them generate ideas.
·
For example, if you
notice that students are struggling to comment on a passage or that the
discussion is limited to only a handful of students, give them five to 10
minutes to free write about the passage.
·
Avoid filling the
silence with your voice. Keep in mind that there will be times when your
students are silent, but it is usually because they are struggling with a
question or concept. Allow them some time to struggle silently rather than
giving them your answers.
7
Include group activities. Some students will not feel comfortable speaking up in class, at
least early on. Therefore, it is helpful to include small group activities into
your classes so that all students have the opportunity to contribute to class
discussions. Including group activities, or cooperative learning, in your
classroom can also benefit students by providing them with the opportunity to
learn from their peers.[4]
·
You might begin some of
your classes by dividing your students into groups and assigning them a
question about the day’s reading. Or, you might ask students to focus on a
particular passage or chapter and develop some ideas and/or questions to add to
the class discussion.
·
For example, if you
are reading Mrs. Dalloway, then you might start the class by asking students,
“How does Virginia Woolf transition from one character’s point of view to
another? Find an example from the text to support your answer.”
Creating a Positive Class Environment
1.
1
Use scaffolding to teach difficult skills. Scaffolding is when you teach students to do
something that is one level beyond their abilities and then support them
through the task. The students should develop mastery over the skill after
practicing it a few times and then you can remove the support.[5]
·
For example, you might
introduce close reading by guiding your students through a close reading of a
passage during one class, then provide your students with chances to do the
same during class time. Then, you might ask your students to do a close reading
of a passage outside of class and write about it in a paper.
2
Model skills and strategies in the classroom. Your students will often observe you and
emulate the skills that you model for them in your class. Therefore, it is
important that you model the types of skills that you want your students to
learn.[6]
·
For example, you might
model good questions for your students with the questions that you ask in
class. Or, you might model good writing for your students by showing your
students a paper that you wrote while you were a student.
3
Ask questions. Asking questions can help students to connect what they have
read with their own knowledge and experiences. It is especially important to
ask questions that will help your students make connections between the
readings and their own lives.[7]Make sure that you
ask your students some thoughtful questions during classes to help them find
effective ways to enter the conversation.
·
Focus on open answer
questions, rather than yes, no, and other single answer questions. Ask
questions that start with “Why” and “How.” If you do ask any single answer
questions, then make sure that you invite students to say more by asking “Why”
and “How” questions.
·
For example, if you
have just finished reading Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, then you might ask
your students something like, “How does Woolf tell the story?” and “What does
this format reveal about the way we narrate our own lives?”
4
Use visual aids. Using images, films, and other visual aids can be quite
beneficial for students who are more visual learners. No matter what your
preferred form of teaching, you should consider incorporating some kind of
visual aid into your classes. This can range from high-tech, such as a
PowerPoint, to low-tech, such as notes and doodles on the whiteboard.
·
For example, creating
a PowerPoint that pairs difficult concepts with images may help some students
to gain understanding of a book that a spoken lecture might not.
·
Films can also be
helpful aids to include. For example, you might use a film to provide a
compliment to a complicated scene in a book, or as a point of comparison after
the class has finished reading a book.
5
Encourage your students. To maintain a positive environment in your literature class, you
will have to offer your students encouragement for contributing to the
discussion. This can just be a simple, “Thanks for bringing that up,” after a
student finishes a comment or question. Or, you can offer more personal
responses. For example, you might say something like, “I wondered the same
thing when I first read Mrs. Dalloway.”
·
Thank your students at
the end of each class for their participation as well. For example, you might
say something like, “I really enjoyed our discussion today. Thank you all for
contributing such excellent ideas.”
·
Avoid criticizing your
students’ interpretations or shutting them down if something is unclear. If
something that a student says is unclear, then you can prompt the student to
clarify by asking something like, “That is an interesting thought. Why do you
say that?” Or, “It seems like you are wrestling with a difficult concept. Do
you want to expand or open up the topic to the rest of the class?”
·
Avoid praising the
quality of a question. Saying that you think a question is “good” might lead
others to think that their questions are not good. Therefore, try to avoid this
type of praise. Instead, stick to remarks that will encourage students. You can
even use non-verbal encouragement, such as smiling, nodding your head, or
giving a thumb up.[8]
Developing Your Strategy
1.
1
Work with a mentor. Some departments may assign you a mentor to help you as you
begin to teach. If your department does not assign you a mentor, then you might
consider choosing someone for yourself. Choose someone who you think is
well-suited to help you develop your teaching skills.
·
For example, if you
are a medievalist, then you might ask another medievalist in your department if
he or she would be willing to serve as your mentor. However, having the same
scholarly interests is not a requirement for a good mentor. You might simply choose
someone who you think would make a good mentor because of his or her
personality and experience.[9]
2
Develop your knowledge of pedagogy. You can improve your knowledge of pedagogy and
what works for teaching literature by attending conferences and by reading
articles about teaching literature. Try to view presentations and read articles
that connect with the texts you are teaching.
·
For example, if you
are teaching Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, you can read journal articles about the most
successful pedagogical strategies for teaching this work. Or, if you attend an
author specific conference, such as a Virginia Woolf conference, then you might
try to attend pedagogy presentations that discuss teaching Woolf in general or
a specific text, such as The Waves or Orlando.
3
Reflect on your favorite professors. Think back to the professors that taught your
favorite college literature courses to start getting some ideas for teaching
strategies. Some questions you might ask yourself include:
·
What teaching methods
did your favorite professors use in class?
·
What did you like
about these teaching methods?
·
How did these methods
help you to understand and discuss difficult texts?
·
What (if anything)
would you change about these methods if you decide to use them in your class?
4
Identify your strengths. Based on past teaching experiences, you may already have a sense
of what you excel at in the classroom. For example, you might be really good at
making and giving PowerPoint presentations, or facilitating class discussions,
or developing interesting group activities.
·
Make a list of your
strengths in the classroom as well as any other personal strengths that you
think might lead you towards some effective teaching strategies.
5
Ask colleagues for suggestions. Your more experienced colleagues are excellent
resources for learning about teaching strategies and getting lesson plan ideas.
Whether you are a graduate assistant who is just starting to teach or a tenure
track professor, you can learn something new from a more experienced member of
your department.
·
Try setting up a
meeting with someone who also teaches literature in your department. Ask for
suggestions on what works, feedback on your current ideas, resources that might
help you, and general advice.
·
Consider asking to
observe other literature classes to see how other teachers encourage discussion.
6
Write out your teaching philosophy. A teaching philosophy communicates your goals
and values as a teacher. Creating a teaching philosophy may even help you to
develop your teaching skills, so it is a good idea to write out your teaching
philosophy even if you do not need to. Most teaching philosophies include:[10]
·
your ideas about
teaching and learning
·
a description of the
strategies that you use to teach
·
an explanation of why
you teach the way that you do
Designing a Course
1.
1
Check the departmental requirements. Your English department might have specific
guidelines for the course you are teaching, so it is important to check before
you start designing your course. For example, you might be required to teach
specific texts, give certain assignments, or incorporate specific concepts.
·
Ask your department
chair or another supervisor if you can see other professors' syllabi to get
ideas about how your course should look. Use these syllabi to help you
determine how you can meet the department’s requirements for the course.
2
Consider choosing a theme. If you are teaching a special course for your
department, then you may already have a theme. However, you can always add a
theme for even more focus. If the course does not have a theme, then you may
find it easier to identify readings and craft assignments by choosing a theme.
Some common literature course themes include:[11]
·
African American
literature
·
Author courses, such
as Shakespeare, Chaucer, or Dickens
·
Family
·
Food
·
Gender
·
Myth
·
Rural or Urban
literature
·
Symbolism
·
Time periods, such as
the 20th century, the Enlightenment, or the Renaissance
·
Types of literature,
such as poetry, short stories, drama, or novels
·
Utopian or dystopian
literature
·
Women writers
3
Make a list of books and other texts. Once you have identified your theme, start
listing potential texts that you could teach for that course. This list may
include far more books or other works than you could realistically teach. Just
keep in mind that you can narrow down your list later on.
·
You can also ask
colleagues for suggestions. Someone who has taught for a long time might be
able to suggest texts that work really well for the course you are teaching.
·
For example, if you
wanted to teach a course that focuses on women writers, then you might include
on your list works by Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, and Zora
Neale Hurston.
4
Develop a reading schedule. Once you have decided on the works that you
will include in your course, you will need to develop a reading schedule.
First, decide what order you would like your students to read the texts. Then
you can devise a schedule for how much of each text you will read each week.
·
Consider the length of
the texts as you develop your reading schedule. For books and other long works,
you will need to break the readings into manageable sections. For short works,
such as poems or short stories, you may be able to read the entire piece for
one class.
Choose assignments. Most literature classes require students to
write at least one paper, but you can also include different types of
assignments. For example, you might also include presentations, discussion
leading activities, or quizzes and exams.
·
Make sure that you
check the course requirements to determine what (if any) assignments are
required by your department.
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