Eric Korankye is a PhD English student specializing in Rhetoric and Composition at Illinois State University (ISU). He teaches Business Writing, First-Year Composition, and Advanced Composition, and also serves as the New Instructor Mentor in the ISU Writing Program, providing mentorship and pedagogical support to new writing instructors. As an international interdisciplinary researcher and teacher from Ghana, Eric is committed to designing and practicing social justice pedagogies in Composition Studies, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication, focusing on design justice, students’ language rights advocacy, legitimation of international scholarly knowledge, and working against intersectional oppression against students of color.
What do you think is the most important recent development or pedagogical approach in teaching composition?
Composition in this technocultural age has been impacted by the emergence of digital tools, technologies, multiliteracies, and the (r)evolution of rhetorical genres for composing. These digital innovations unavoidably have several implications on composition pedagogies, especially in terms of integrating the use of online platforms for collaborative writing and multimedia composition, to meet the interconnected and interdependent needs of writers in our composition classrooms.
For teaching composition, this means more than instructors reexamining their teaching practices, but also actively 1) integrating innovative assessment practices for student writers’ multimodal composition artifacts, 2) (re)framing traditional perceptions about writing, genres of writing, and audiences of writing, 3) (re)situating privileged canons, theories, and practices in composition studies, 4) valuing occluded writing traditions, knowledges, and languages of student writers from minoritized backgrounds, 5) foregrounding composition courses on rhetoric and multiliteracies, and 6) navigating the affordances and constraints associated with emerging writing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) that have recently become topical in composition studies.
When these pedagogical practices are (re)inforced in the teaching of composition, student writers’ perceptions and approaches about composing will change, and in the long run, shape their own composing and learning practices in the classroom and apply them effectively in their worlds outside the classroom.
How do you ensure your course is inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive?
In contemporary times when the ubiquity of multiculturalism and multilingualism is gradually phasing out the previous homogeneous demography in most composition classrooms, it is important that composition classes move beyond homogenous conceptualizations to value inclusivity, equity, and culturally responsiveness. This shift can be achieved by designing and practicing anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and culturally-sustaining pedagogies which ensure that the course materials, readings, activities, assignments, language practices, and classroom cultures reflect a diverse range of voices, perspectives, cultural experiences, and ways of knowing.
Instructors need to incorporate texts from authors of different backgrounds and identities, especially BIPOC authors, and include course content that represents various cultures, traditions, histories, and experiences. This (re)alignment also means instructors’ valuing culturally relevant examples, contexts, case studies, and references that are relevant and relatable to students from diverse backgrounds. This can help students see their identities reflected in the course materials and establish connections to their own experiences.
Instructors need to continuously create a supportive–safe and brave–classroom environment which makes all students feel valued and respected. Instructors need to value students’ right to their own languages, encourage open dialogue, respect differing opinions, avoid biases and stereotypes, and create opportunities for students to share their experiences and ways of knowing.
Eric’s Assignment That Works
Below is a brief synopsis of Eric's assignment. For the full activity, see Professional Outlook Portfolio Project Prompt.
My “Assignment That Works” is the Professional Outlook Portfolio project, the second major project I assign in the ENG 145.13 Writing Business and Government Organizations course I teach at Illinois State University (ISU). In this Project, student writers will create a resume and a blog/website profile that match their education and work experiences. They will also search and find a job posting which they will respond to and write a cover letter for. After completing all these writing tasks, they will create an uptake document, explaining and describing their composing practices throughout the project.
This project has been designed to help student writers become more critical, creative, and capable as both consumers and producers of business writing (e.g., resume/CV, job posting, business/personal website, etc.). The goal is also to provide writers with hands-on experience in building a solid marketable professional outlook for their chosen career path and exploring various business writing genres.
In assigning this project, we read and annotate the project prompt together and ask questions. We workshop for project ideas in subsequent classes, and the feedback from student writers shows that the project offers them hands-on experience in creating business writing genres that they can use in real life.
