how to develop critical thinking among university stem students

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• > Critical Thinking in Psychology
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Book contents

• Critical Thinking in Psychology
• Copyright page
• Contributors
• Chapter 1 An Introduction to Critical Thinking: Maybe It Will Change Your Life
• Chapter 2 Nobelists Gone Wild
• Chapter 3 Why Science Succeeds, and Sometimes Doesn’t
• Chapter 4 Critical Thinking and the Rejection of Unsubstantiated Claims
• Chapter 5 Promoting Critical Thinking by Teaching, or Taking, Psychology Courses
• Chapter 6 Avoiding and Overcoming Misinformation on the Internet
• Chapter 7 Critical Thinking Impacts Our Everyday Lives
• Chapter 8 Research Suffers When We All Agree
• Chapter 9 When All Is Just a Click Away
• Chapter 10 Critical Thinking
• Chapter 11 Evaluating Experimental Research
• Chapter 12 Critical Thinking as Scientific Reasoning
• Chapter 13 Critical Thinking in STEM Disciplines
• Chapter 14 Why Would Anyone Do or Believe Such a Thing?
• Chapter 15 Conclusion: How to Think Critically about Politics … and Anything Else!

Chapter 13 - Critical Thinking in STEM Disciplines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

Critical thinking in science and many other disciplines should encompass creative, analytical, practical, and wise thinking. Underlying it are both cognitive processes and dispositions–that is, what a person can do and what a person chooses to do. Critical thinking is both domain-general and domain-specific. The domain-specific elements of it cannot be well captured by general tests of critical thinking. We have found that critical thinking in STEM disciplines involves skills that are quite different from those involved in taking tests of cognitive and academic skills. Some of these skills are generating hypotheses, generating experiments, and drawing conclusions. In our tests of these skills, which we have administered to students at Cornell University, scores on the tests correlated not at all or even negatively with tests of academic preparation, such as the SAT and the ACT. Thus, universities that select future scientists and engineers on the basis of such standardized tests may be choosing the wrong people unless they can assure that those people are good scientific reasoners, not just good takers of analytically-oriented tests.

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• Critical Thinking in STEM Disciplines
• By Robert J. Sternberg
• Edited by Robert J. Sternberg , Cornell University, New York , Diane F. Halpern , Claremont McKenna College, California
• Book: Critical Thinking in Psychology
• Online publication: 19 December 2019
• Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108684354.014

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STEM into STEAM: Using Object-Based Learning to Develop Critical and Creative Thinking Among Students

Published in:

November 19–20, 2020

Virtual Symposium

Renee Evans , University of Miami Amanda Valdespino , University of Miami

Introduction

Developing critical and creative thinking in students is a goal of many higher education instructors (Kukhareva et al., 2020), as these skills can be used at all levels of learning and across disciplines. Critical and creative thinking is the ability to perform a variety of skills, including analyzing facts, generating and organizing ideas, defending opinions, making comparisons, evaluating arguments, solving problems, and producing unique solutions (Marapodi, 2003). Critical thinking has long been a buzzword in academia; it is crucial for students to develop critical thinking as a general lifelong skill that can be applied to the real world upon graduation (Oljar & Koulkal, 2019). However, with no specified definitions or criteria for these terms, or training for integrating critical and creative thinking, instructors struggle to implement such skills beyond standard practices (Haston, 2020).

Object-based learning (OBL) is an active-learning approach with tremendous potential to develop critical and creative thinking, particularly in the STEM classroom. Object-based learning is “a mode of education which involves the active integration of objects into the learning environment” (Chatterjee & Hannan, 2016). Employing discovery in learning, object-based learning provides opportunities for students to engage in deeper, authenticated learning that goes beyond a traditional STEM course curriculum.

Object-Based Learning: Overview

Object- based learning (OBL) inspires close observation and deep critical thinking through the experience of multisensory engagement (Thogersen et al., 2018). Students under the guidance of instructors work closely with curated objects, which in turn stimulates interest in acquiring and applying knowledge to other contexts in and out of the classroom. Central to object-based learning is the idea that working with objects mediates and strengthens learning because this interaction has a long-lasting effect on memory (Romanek & Lynch, 2008). Object-based learning is student-centered in that it promotes the building of knowledge by drawing on authentic object interaction experiences that cannot be easily replicated with 2D representations (Miles, 2018).

Objects in object-based learning can also be referred to as primary sources or material culture. They can include artworks, artifacts, archival materials, museum collections, or common, everyday objects. Instructors should be mindful that part of the object-based learning process is selecting suitable objects that align with learning outcomes for their coursework. These objects should demand sustained engagement from students as they attempt to decipher and interpret their purposes, socio-cultural significance, and how they were made (German & Harris, 2017). Object-based learning typically takes place in galleries, libraries, archives, or museums, otherwise known as GLAMs. However, object-based learning can take place within the classroom if working with everyday objects or digital representations. Another part of the object-based learning process for instructors is to cultivate partnerships with staff in GLAMs in order to coordinate access to objects and feasible methods of engagement.

Object Based Learning: Benefits and Challenges

The University of College London’s website on teaching and object-based learning cites various benefits of this type of teaching strategy, including directly connecting students to course content; encouraging students to engage all of their senses; helping students collaborate during discussions and draw conclusions based on evidentiary support; and promoting the value of GLAMs. With teachers acting as conduits of learning between student and object, there are many possibilities for students to develop critical and creative thinking skills. Students can observe objects to ask deeper questions, solve complex problems provided by instructors, interact with peers on group projects, or even re-interpret objects via creative means. These activities or exercises can be done through major assessments, classroom discussions, or using technology such as AR/VR to replicate images. Ultimately, contact with objects enhances a student’s understanding of research and material culture, and provides them with rare access to experiential learning (Chatterjee & Hannan, 2016).

When trying to implement object-based learning in the classroom, there are common challenges instructors may face. One is time. Instructors need sufficient time to lesson plan, select and gain access to objects, and coordinate with GLAM staff. When instructors also have to teach a core curriculum, it may not seem worth it to embark on object-based learning strategies or search for primary sources through a vast museum collection. Another challenge is limitation of access to certain objects. Not all objects located within special collections or galleries can be handled by students due to their fragile conditions. Instructors “need to consider the needs of the learners, but also the needs of the objects” (Chatterjee & Hannan, 2016). Finally, instructors may not have the proper training or resources to implement object-based learning in the classroom. Both faculty and students need time to familiarize themselves with object-based learning and what is expected of them. This was made even more evident from a study that was conducted involving fifteen instructors from the humanities and social sciences at the University of Miami. The goal of the study was to understand how the university can best support instructors using objects to facilitate learning. It was found that training was critical to incorporate objects successfully into the learning process. That same study found that success was also dependent on choosing objects that had valuable connections to the course material (Baydoun et al., 2020).

Object-Based Learning at the University of Miami

At the University of Miami (UM), faculty are encouraged to implement object-based learning in their courses through the Mellon CREATE grant program. The CREATE grants are designed to enhance learning and engagement at the university by facilitating close collaboration and resource-sharing ( Welcome to CREATE ). Specifically, awards made under this program are intended to promote the integration of objects in the University of Miami’s libraries and Lowe Art Museum’s permanent collections into object-centered teaching, learning, and scholarship. Awarded recipients have included a professor of art history, who asked her students to create virtual and real 3D-printed models of Greek and Roman sculptures using photogrammetry, and a professor in medicine, who employed visual-thinking strategies when looking at artifacts to improve clinical skills.

According to the Australian Curriculum, “activities that foster critical and creative thinking should include both independent and collaborative tasks and entail some sort of transition or tension between ways of thinking” ( Critical and Creative Thinking ). It further states that “critical and creative thinking can be encouraged simultaneously through activities that integrate, reason, logic, imagination and innovation.” In the spring of 2019, Assistant Professor in Practice Dr. Ines Basalo incorporated object-based learning into her engineering materials science course. In Dr. Basalo’s course, students learned about the structure and properties of metals and ceramics and one of her goals was to stimulate interest in the role that minerals play in the design of engineering systems. Typically, Dr. Basalo would teach these concepts through interactive lectures, homework exercises, and quizzes. However, she wanted to engage her students in a more hands-on, exploratory approach. Therefore Dr. Basalo decided to incorporate object-based learning into her teaching of the course. At the University of Miami’s on-campus Lowe Art Museum, Dr. Basalo worked with senior instructional designer Renee Evans and identified several artifacts that originated from different parts of the world and at different time periods. Students worked in groups to research the region and time period, completed a questionnaire at the museum individually and as a group, and created a PowerPoint presentation along with an audio guide for the Lowe Art Museum to use. The interaction was three-fold: students interacted with the subject, object and peers. Kukhareva and Koulle (2020) argue that it is ‘the interaction with the discipline that is being facilitated through the interaction with artifacts and with peers.” Overall, students enjoyed participating in the activity, and Dr. Basalo plans on working with the Lowe Art Museum in the future on more object-based learning activities.

Implementation Recommendations and Conclusion

Prior to implementing object-based learning in courses, instructors should consider learning outcomes, teaching and learning strategies, object distribution, and the questions they would like students to investigate about the object. Once those areas have been addressed, instructors should think about how the object will be introduced to students, how peer-to-peer interaction will be facilitated, and how students will apply what they have learned to real-world contexts. Finally, instructors will need to consider how students will be assessed, the tangible products that students will create as evidence of their learning, and any necessary grading criteria.

A powerful concept of object-based learning is the potential to place the student into the same position as those who created or curated the objects (Valdespino & Larson, 2019). Interacting closely with objects stimulates students’ awe and curiosity, which are central to the object-based learning approach. Object-based learning is a mode of discovery through which the object itself becomes an essential critical and creative thinking tool for students.

Chatterjee, H. J., & Hannan, L. (2016).  Engaging the Senses: Object-Based Learning in Higher Education . Taylor & Francis Group.  http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/miami/detail.action?docID=4920714

Critical and Creative Thinking . (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2021, from  https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/critical-and-creative-thinking/

German, S., & Harris, J. (2017). Agile Objects.  Journal of Museum Education ,  42 (3), 248–257.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2017.1336369

Haston, A. L. (2020).  Critical thinking in higher education stem: A qualitative faculty perspective .

Kukhareva, M., & Koulle, K. (2020). Layers of interaction: Object-based learning driving individual and collaborative active inquiry. In 1209364769 901457885 A. Lawrence (Ed.),  Innovations in Active Learning in Higher Education  (1st ed., pp. 148-161). University of Sussex

Larson, C., Baydoun, S., & Pickens, R. (2020, September 3). Supporting Teaching with primary sources at the University of Miami. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from  https://academictechnologies.it.miami.edu/_assets/pdf/executive-summary-supporting-teaching-with-primary-sources-at-the-university-of-miami.pdf

Marrapodi, J. (2003).  Of the Requirements of ED7590 Critical Thinking and Adult Education .

Miles, B. (2018, May 16). Unleashing the pedagogical power of object-based learning.  TECHE .  https://teche.mq.edu.au/2018/05/unleashing-the-pedagogical-power-of-object-based-learning/

Romanek, D., & Lynch, B. (2008). Touch and the Value of Objects Handling: Final Conclusions for a New Sensory Museology.

Thogersen, J., Simpson, A., Hammond, G., Janiszewski, L., & Guerry, E. (2018). Creating curriculum connections: A university museum object-based learning project.  Education for Information, 34 (2), 113–120.  https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-180190

Valdespino, A., & Larson, C. (2019).  Object-Based Learning | Academic Technologies . Object-Based Learning.  https://academictechnologies.it.miami.edu/explore-technologies/technology-summaries/object-based-learning/index.html

Welcome to CREATE! | The Andrew W. Mellon CREATE Grants Program . (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2021, from  https://www.library.miami.edu/create/

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STEM, Creativity and Critical Thinking: How Do Teachers Address Multiple Learning Demands?

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• Deborah Corrigan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8324-8217 6 ,
• Debra Panizzon 6 &
• Kathy Smith 6  

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This chapter provides real examples that highlight how teachers must translate the concepts of creativity, critical thinking and the integrated nature of STEM in their practical realities. Such practical realities also require teachers to think about pedagogical approaches and their behaviours such as standing back with a clear pedagogical purpose, using questions to prompt student thinking and actively valuing student ideas become essential aspects of teaching practice to enhance student critical and creative thinking. Teachers also need opportunities to focus on their own thinking around these concepts by sharing and developing cumulative thinking around the nature of knowledge which defines disciplines and how to integrate this thinking with critical and creative thinking in STEM education. There is benefit in understanding creativity as a process of producing new ideas and critical thinking as evaluating and making value judgements in relation to evidence and arguments. In translating these concepts of creativity, critical thinking and STEM into practical realities, teachers need to consider the contexts in which they operate and look for opportunities and manage the risks that will arise. Such translations and considerations are not only difficult but are also often highly problematic in education traditions and structures that are already well-established.

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Reaching for the Star: A Model for Integrating Creativity in Education

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Acknowledgements

The researchers acknowledge the support from the Department for Education South Australia in funding the project discussed and permitting teacher contributions. We specifically acknowledge the Case Studies written by Ginny McTaggart, Roxanne Ware and Heather Brooks who agreed to the inclusion of identified excerpts in our chapter.

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Corrigan, D., Panizzon, D., Smith, K. (2021). STEM, Creativity and Critical Thinking: How Do Teachers Address Multiple Learning Demands?. In: Berry, A., Buntting, C., Corrigan, D., Gunstone, R., Jones, A. (eds) Education in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85300-6_6

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The effectiveness of STEM approach on students' critical thinking ability in the topic of fluid statics

Parno 1 , E Supriana 1 , A N Widarti 1 and M Ali 2

Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd Journal of Physics: Conference Series , Volume 1882 , The 1st South East Asia Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics International Conference (SEA- STEM IC) 2020, 20-22 October 2020, Indonesia Citation Parno et al 2021 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1882 012150 DOI 10.1088/1742-6596/1882/1/012150

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1 Physics Education, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia

2 School Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

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Critical thinking is a skill which ranks first in STEM activity in the 21st century learning, whereas research about the effectiveness of STEM approach implementation to increase students' critical thinking ability (CTA) is still limited. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness between 7E LC and STEM-Based 7E LC models on increasing students' CTA in the material of Fluid Statics with a quasi-experiment research and Pre- and Post-test Design. The subject of the research was senior high school students in Malang, Indonesia, which was distributed in Experiment (STEM-LC) and Comparison (LC) classes. The Experiment class planned, made, and tested 2 engineering products, namely a miniature of hydraulic lift and submarine. Critical Thinking Skills Test instrument was used with the alpha Cronbach reliability of 0.94. The data was analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, N-gain, Mann-Whitney U test, ANCOVA, and effect size. This research found that both models were effective in building students' CTA. Furthermore, the enhancement in students' skill was affected by the different initial state and the different treatment of learning. However, both are independent of each other. STEM-LC model resulted in significantly better CTA in students than LC model. However, STEM-LC model was more effective than LC. The field practice of the STEM-LC method had a medium impact than the LC method in increasing students' ability.

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Strategies to Increase Critical Thinking Skills in students

Teach Better Team October 2, 2019 Blog , Engage Better , Lesson Plan Better , Personalize Student Learning Better

In This Post:

• The importance of helping students increase critical thinking skills.
• Ways to promote the essential skills needed to analyze and evaluate.
• Strategies to incorporate critical thinking into your instruction.

We ask our teachers to be “future-ready” or say that we are teaching “for jobs that don’t exist yet.” These are powerful statements. At the same time, they give teachers the impression that we have to drastically change what we are doing .

So how do we plan education for an unknown job market or unknown needs?

My answer: We can’t predict the jobs, but whatever they are, students will need to think critically to do them. So, our job is to teach our students HOW to think, not WHAT to think.

Helping Students Become Critical Thinkers

My answer is rooted in the call to empower our students to be critical thinkers. I believe that to be critical thinkers, educators need to provide students with the strategies they need. And we need to ask more than just surface-level questions.

Questions to students must motivate them to dig up background knowledge. They should inspire them to make connections to real-world scenarios. These make the learning more memorable and meaningful.

Critical thinking is a general term. I believe this term means that students effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate content or skills. In this process, they (the students) will discover and present convincing reasons in support of their answers or thinking.

You can look up critical thinking and get many definitions like this one from Wikipedia: “ Critical thinking consists of a mental process of analyzing or evaluating information, particularly statements or propositions that people have offered as true. ”

Essential Skills for Critical Thinking

In my current role as director of curriculum and instruction, I work to promote the use of 21st-century tools and, more importantly, thinking skills. Some essential skills that are the basis for critical thinking are:

• Communication and Information skills
• Thinking and Problem-Solving skills
• Interpersonal and Self- Directional skills
• Collaboration skills

These four bullets are skills students are going to need in any field and in all levels of education. Hence my answer to the question. We need to teach our students to think critically and for themselves.

One of the goals of education is to prepare students to learn through discovery . Providing opportunities to practice being critical thinkers will assist students in analyzing others’ thinking and examining the logic of others.

Understanding others is an essential skill in collaboration and in everyday life. Critical thinking will allow students to do more than just memorize knowledge.

Ask Questions

So how do we do this? One recommendation is for educators to work in-depth questioning strategies into a lesson launch.

Ask thoughtful questions to allow for answers with sound reasoning. Then, word conversations and communication to shape students’ thinking. Quick answers often result in very few words and no eye contact, which are skills we don’t want to promote.

When you are asking students questions and they provide a solution, try some of these to promote further thinking:

• Could you elaborate further on that point?
• Will you express that point in another way?
• Can you give me an illustration?
• Would you give me an example?
• Will you you provide more details?
• Could you be more specific?
• Do we need to consider another point of view?
• Is there another way to look at this question?

Utilizing critical thinking skills could be seen as a change in the paradigm of teaching and learning. Engagement in education will enhance the collaboration among teachers and students. It will also provide a way for students to succeed even if the school system had to start over.

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Promoting critical thinking into all aspects of instruction.

Engagement, application, and collaboration are skills that withstand the test of time. I also promote the integration of critical thinking into every aspect of instruction.

In my experience, I’ve found a few ways to make this happen.

Begin lessons/units with a probing question: It shouldn’t be a question you can answer with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’ These questions should inspire discovery learning and problem-solving.

Encourage Creativity: I have seen teachers prepare projects before they give it to their students many times. For example, designing snowmen or other “creative” projects. By doing the design work or by cutting all the circles out beforehand, it removes creativity options.

It may help the classroom run more smoothly if every child’s material is already cut out, but then every student’s project looks the same. Students don’t have to think on their own or problem solve.

Not having everything “glue ready” in advance is a good thing. Instead, give students all the supplies needed to create a snowman, and let them do it on their own.

Giving independence will allow students to become critical thinkers because they will have to create their own product with the supplies you give them. This might be an elementary example, but it’s one we can relate to any grade level or project.

Try not to jump to help too fast – let the students work through a productive struggle .

Build in opportunities for students to find connections in learning.  Encouraging students to make connections to a real-life situation and identify patterns is a great way to practice their critical thinking skills. The use of real-world scenarios will increase rigor, relevance, and critical thinking.

A few other techniques to encourage critical thinking are:

• Use analogies
• Promote interaction among students
• Ask open-ended questions
• Allow reflection time
• Use real-life problems
• Allow for thinking practice

Critical thinking prepares students to think for themselves for the rest of their lives. I also believe critical thinkers are less likely to go along with the crowd because they think for themselves.

About Matthew X. Joseph, Ed.D.

Dr. Matthew X. Joseph has been a school and district leader in many capacities in public education over his 25 years in the field. Experiences such as the Director of Digital Learning and Innovation in Milford Public Schools (MA), elementary school principal in Natick, MA and Attleboro, MA, classroom teacher, and district professional development specialist have provided Matt incredible insights on how to best support teaching and learning. This experience has led to nationally publishing articles and opportunities to speak at multiple state and national events. He is the author of Power of Us: Creating Collaborative Schools and co-author of Modern Mentoring , Reimagining Teacher Mentorship (Due out, fall 2019). His master’s degree is in special education and his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Boston College.

Visit Matthew’s Blog

Fall 2024 Semester

Undergraduate courses.

Composition courses that offer many sections (ENGL 101, 201, 277 and 379) are not listed on this schedule unless they are tailored to specific thematic content or particularly appropriate for specific programs and majors.

• 100-200 level

ENGL 151.S01: Introduction to English Studies

Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Sharon Smith

ENGL 151 serves as an introduction to both the English major and the discipline of English studies. In this class, you will develop the thinking, reading, writing and research practices that define both the major and the discipline. Much of the semester will be devoted to honing your literary analysis skills, and we will study and discuss texts from several different genres—poetry, short fiction, the novel, drama and film—as well as some literary criticism. As we do so, we will explore the language of the discipline, and you will learn a variety of key literary terms and concepts. In addition, you will develop your skills as both a writer and researcher within the discipline of English.

ENGL 201.ST1 Composition II: The Mind/Body Connection

In this section of English 201, students will use research and writing to learn more about problems that are important to them and articulate ways to address those problems. The course will focus specifically on issues related to the mind, the body and the relationship between them. The topics we will discuss during the course will include the correlation between social media and body image; the efficacy of sex education programs; the degree to which beliefs about race and gender influence school dress codes; and the unique mental and physical challenges faced by college students today. In this course, you will be learning about different approaches to argumentation, analyzing the arguments of others and constructing your own arguments. At the same time, you will be honing your skills as a researcher and developing your abilities as a persuasive and effective writer.

ENGL 201.S10 Composition II: Environmental Writing   

Monday/Wednesday/Friday 1-1:50 p.m.

Gwen Horsley

English 201 will help students develop the ability to think critically and analytically and to write effectively for other university courses and careers. This course will provide opportunities to develop analytical skills that will help students become critical readers and effective writers. Specifically, in this class, students will:

• Focus on the relationships between world environments, land, animals and humankind.
• Read various essays by environmental, conservational and regional authors.
• Produce student writings. 

Students will improve their writing skills by reading essays and applying techniques they witness in others’ work and those learned in class. This class is also a course in logical and creative thought. Students will write about humankind’s place in the world and our influence on the land and animals, places that hold special meaning to them or have influenced their lives and stories of their own families and their places and passions in the world. Students will practice writing in an informed and persuasive manner, in language that engages and enlivens readers by using vivid verbs and avoiding unnecessary passives, nominalizations and expletive constructions.

Students will prepare writing assignments based on readings and discussions of essays included in "Literature and the Environment " and other sources. They may use "The St. Martin’s Handbook," as well as other sources, to review grammar, punctuation, mechanics and usage as needed.

ENGL 201.13 Composition II: Writing the Environment

Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:45 a.m.

Paul Baggett

For generations, environmentalists have relied on the power of prose to change the minds and habits of their contemporaries. In the wake of fires, floods, storms and droughts, environmental writing has gained a new sense of urgency, with authors joining activists in their efforts to educate the public about the grim realities of climate change. But do they make a difference? Have reports of present and future disasters so saturated our airwaves that we no longer hear them? How do writers make us care about the planet amidst all the noise? In this course, students will examine the various rhetorical strategies employed by some of today’s leading environmental writers and filmmakers. And while analyzing their different arguments, students also will strengthen their own strategies of argumentation as they research and develop essays that explore a range of environmental concerns.

ENGL 201 Composition II: Food Writing

S17 Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:45 p.m.

S18 Tuesday and Thursday 2-3:15 p.m.

Jodi Andrews

In this composition class, students will critically analyze essays about food, food systems and environments, food cultures, the intersections of personal choice, market forces and policy and the values underneath these forces. Students will learn to better read like writers, noting authors’ purpose, audience organizational moves, sentence-level punctuation and diction. We will read a variety of essays including research-intensive arguments and personal narratives which intersect with one of our most primal needs as humans: food consumption. Students will rhetorically analyze texts, conduct advanced research, reflect on the writing process and write essays utilizing intentional rhetorical strategies. Through doing this work, students will practice the writing moves valued in every discipline: argument, evidence, concision, engaging prose and the essential research skills for the 21st century.

ENGL 221.S01 British Literature I

Michael S. Nagy

English 221 is a survey of early British literature from its inception in the Old English period with works such as "Beowulf" and the “Battle of Maldon,” through the Middle Ages and the incomparable writings of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Gawain - poet, to the Renaissance and beyond. Students will explore the historical and cultural contexts in which all assigned reading materials were written, and they will bring that information to bear on class discussion. Likely themes that this class will cover include heroism, humor, honor, religion, heresy and moral relativity. Students will write one research paper in this class and sit for two formal exams: a midterm covering everything up to that point in the semester, and a comprehensive final. Probable texts include the following:

• The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Middle Ages. Ed. Alfred David, M. H. Abrams, and Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
• The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Sixteenth Century and Early Seventeenth Century. Ed. George M. Logan, Stephen Greenblatt, Barbara K Lewalski, and M. H. Abrams. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
• The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. Ed. George M. Logan, Stephen Greenblatt, Barbara K Lewalski, and M. H. Abrams. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
• Gibaldi, Joseph. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
• Any Standard College Dictionary.

ENGL 240.S01 Juvenile Literature Elementary-5th Grade

Monday, Wednesday and Friday noon-12:50 p.m.

April Myrick

A survey of the history of literature written for children and adolescents, and a consideration of the various types of juvenile literature. Text selection will focus on the themes of imagination and breaking boundaries.

ENGL 240.ST1 Juvenile Literature Elementary-5th Grade

Randi Anderson

In English 240 students will develop the skills to interpret and evaluate various genres of literature for juvenile readers. This particular section will focus on various works of literature at approximately the K-5 grade level. We will read a large range of works that fall into this category, as well as information on the history, development and genre of juvenile literature.

Readings for this course include classical works such as "Hatchet," "Little Women", "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Brown Girl Dreaming," as well as newer works like "Storm in the Barn," "Anne Frank’s Diary: A Graphic Adaptation," "Lumberjanes," and a variety of picture books. These readings will be paired with chapters from "Reading Children’s Literature: A Critical Introduction " to help develop understanding of various genres, themes and concepts that are both related to juvenile literature and also present in our readings.

In addition to exposing students to various genres of writing (poetry, historical fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, picture books, graphic novels, etc.) this course will also allow students to engage in a discussion of larger themes present in these works such as censorship, race and gender. Students’ understanding of these works and concepts will be developed through readings, research, discussion posts, exams and writing assignments designed to get students to practice analyzing poetry, picture books, informational books and transitional/easy readers.

ENGL 241.S01: American Literature I

Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:45 p.m.

This course provides a broad, historical survey of American literature from the early colonial period to the Civil War. Ranging across historical periods and literary genres—including early accounts of contact and discovery, narratives of captivity and slavery, poetry of revolution, essays on gender equality and stories of industrial exploitation—this class examines how subjects such as colonialism, nationhood, religion, slavery, westward expansion, race, gender and democracy continue to influence how Americans see themselves and their society.

Required Texts

• The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Package 1, Volumes A and B Beginnings to 1865, Ninth Edition. (ISBN 978-0-393-26454-8)

ENGL 283.S01 Introduction to Creative Writing

Steven Wingate

Students will explore the various forms of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction and poetry) not one at a time in a survey format—as if there were decisive walls of separation between then—but as intensely related genres that share much of their creative DNA. Through close reading and work on personal texts, students will address the decisions that writers in any genre must face on voice, rhetorical position, relationship to audience, etc. Students will produce and revise portfolios of original creative work developed from prompts and research. This course fulfills the same SGR #2 requirements ENGL 201; note that the course will involve a research project. Successful completion of ENGL 101 (including by test or dual credit) is a prerequisite.

ENGL 283.S02 Introduction to Creative Writing

Jodilyn Andrews

This course introduces students to the craft of writing, with readings and practice in at least two genres (including fiction, poetry and drama).

ENGL 283.ST1 Introduction to Creative Writing

Amber Jensen, M.A., M.F.A.

This course explores creative writing as a way of encountering the world, research as a component of the creative writing process, elements of craft and their rhetorical effect and drafting, workshop and revision as integral parts of writing polished literary creative work. Student writers will engage in the research practices that inform the writing of literature and in the composing strategies and writing process writers use to create literary texts. Through their reading and writing of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction, students will learn about craft elements, find examples of those craft elements in published works and apply these elements in their own creative work, developed through weekly writing activities, small group and large group workshop and conferences with the instructor. Work will be submitted, along with a learning reflection and revision plan in each genre and will then be revised and submitted as a final portfolio at the end of the semester to demonstrate continued growth in the creation of polished literary writing.

• 300-400 level

ENGL 424.S01 Language Arts Methods grades 7-12  

Tuesday 6-8:50 p.m.

Danielle Harms

Techniques, materials and resources for teaching English language and literature to middle and secondary school students. Required of students in the English education option.

AIS/ENGL 447.S01: American Indian Literature of the Present 

Thursdays 3-6 p.m.

This course introduces students to contemporary works by authors from various Indigenous nations. Students examine these works to enhance their historical understanding of Indigenous peoples, discover the variety of literary forms used by those who identify as Indigenous writers, and consider the cultural and political significance of these varieties of expression. Topics and questions to be explored include:

• Genre: What makes Indigenous literature indigenous?
• Political and Cultural Sovereignty: Why have an emphasis on tribal specificity and calls for “literary separatism” emerged in recent decades, and what are some of the critical conversations surrounding such particularized perspectives?
• Gender and Sexuality: What are the intersecting concerns of Indigenous Studies and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and how might these research fields inform one another?
• Trans-Indigeneity: What might we learn by comparing works across different Indigenous traditions, and what challenges do such comparisons present?
• Aesthetics: How do Indigenous writers understand the dynamics between tradition and creativity?
• Visual Forms: What questions or concerns do visual representations (television and film) by or about Indigenous peoples present?

Possible Texts

• Akiwenzie-Damm, Kateri and Josie Douglas (eds), Skins: Contemporary Indigenous Writing. IAD Press, 2000. (978-1864650327)
• Erdrich, Louise, The Sentence. Harper, 2021 (978-0062671127)
• Harjo, Joy, Poet Warrior: A Memoir. Norton, 2021 (978-0393248524)
• Harjo, Sterlin and Taika Waititi, Reservation Dogs (selected episodes)
• Talty, Morgan. Night of the Living Rez, 2022, Tin House (978-1953534187)
• Wall Kimmerer, Robin. Braiding Sweet Grass, Milkweed Editions (978-1571313560)
• Wilson, Diane. The Seed Keeper: A Novel. Milkweed Editions (978-1571311375)
• Critical essays by Alexie, Allen, Cohen, Cox, King, Kroeber, Ortiz, Piatote, Ross and Sexton, Smith, Taylor, Teuton, Treuer, Vizenor, and Womack.

ENGL 472.S01: Film Criticism

Tuesdays 2-4:50 p.m.

Jason McEntee

Do you have an appreciation for, and enjoy watching, movies? Do you want to study movies in a genre-oriented format (such as those we typically call the Western, the screwball comedy, the science fiction or the crime/gangster, to name a few)? Do you want to explore the different critical approaches for talking and writing about movies (such as auteur, feminist, genre or reception)?

In this class, you will examine movies through viewing and defining different genres while, at the same time, studying and utilizing different styles of film criticism. You will share your discoveries in both class discussions and short writings. The final project will be a formal written piece of film criticism based on our work throughout the semester. The course satisfies requirements and electives for all English majors and minors, including both the Film Studies and Professional Writing minors. (Note: Viewing of movies outside of class required and may require rental and/or streaming service fees.)

ENGL 476.ST1: Fiction

In this workshop-based creative writing course, students will develop original fiction based on strong attention to the fundamentals of literary storytelling: full-bodied characters, robust story lines, palpable environments and unique voices. We will pay particular attention to process awareness, to the integrity of the sentence, and to authors' commitments to their characters and the places in which their stories unfold. Some workshop experience is helpful, as student peer critique will be an important element of the class.

ENGL 479.01 Capstone: The Gothic

Wednesday 3-5:50 p.m.

With the publication of Horace Walpole’s "The Castle of Otranto " in 1764, the Gothic officially came into being. Dark tales of physical violence and psychological terror, the Gothic incorporates elements such as distressed heroes and heroines pursued by tyrannical villains; gloomy estates with dark corridors, secret passageways and mysterious chambers; haunting dreams, troubling prophecies and disturbing premonitions; abduction, imprisonment and murder; and a varied assortment of corpses, apparitions and “monsters.” In this course, we will trace the development of Gothic literature—and some film—from the eighteenth-century to the present time. As we do so, we will consider how the Gothic engages philosophical beliefs about the beautiful and sublime; shapes psychological understandings of human beings’ encounters with horror, terror, the fantastic and the uncanny; and intervenes in the social and historical contexts in which it was written. We’ll consider, for example, how the Gothic undermines ideals related to domesticity and marriage through representations of domestic abuse, toxicity and gaslighting. In addition, we’ll discuss Gothic texts that center the injustices of slavery and racism. As many Gothic texts suggest, the true horrors of human existence often have less to do with inexplicable supernatural phenomena than with the realities of the world in which we live. 

ENGL 485.S01: Undergraduate Writing Center Learning Assistants 

Flexible Scheduling

Nathan Serfling

Since their beginnings in the 1920s and 30s, writing centers have come to serve numerous functions: as hubs for writing across the curriculum initiatives, sites to develop and deliver workshops and resource centers for faculty as well as students, among other functions. But the primary function of writing centers has necessarily and rightfully remained the tutoring of student writers. This course will immerse you in that function in two parts. During the first four weeks, you will explore writing center praxis—that is, the dialogic interplay of theory and practice related to writing center work. This part of the course will orient you to writing center history, key theoretical tenets and practical aspects of writing center tutoring. Once we have developed and practiced this foundation, you will begin work in the writing center as a tutor, responsible for assisting a wide variety of student clients with numerous writing tasks. Through this work, you will learn to actively engage with student clients in the revision of a text, respond to different student needs and abilities, work with a variety of writing tasks and rhetorical situations, and develop a richer sense of writing as a complex and negotiated social process.

Graduate Courses

Engl 572.s01: film criticism, engl 576.st1 fiction.

In this workshop-based creative writing course, students will develop original fiction based on strong attention to the fundamentals of literary storytelling: full-bodied characters, robust story lines, palpable environments and unique voices. We will pay particular attention to process awareness, to the integrity of the sentence and to authors' commitments to their characters and the places in which their stories unfold. Some workshop experience is helpful, as student peer critique will be an important element of the class.

ENGL 605.S01 Seminar in Teaching Composition

Thursdays 1-3:50 p.m.

This course will provide you with a foundation in the pedagogies and theories (and their attendant histories) of writing instruction, a foundation that will prepare you to teach your own writing courses at SDSU and elsewhere. As you will discover through our course, though, writing instruction does not come with any prescribed set of “best” practices. Rather, writing pedagogies stem from and continue to evolve because of various and largely unsettled conversations about what constitutes effective writing and effective writing instruction. Part of becoming a practicing writing instructor, then, is studying these conversations to develop a sense of what “good writing” and “effective writing instruction” might mean for you in our particular program and how you might adapt that understanding to different programs and contexts.

As we read about, discuss and research writing instruction, we will address a variety of practical and theoretical topics. The practical focus will allow us to attend to topics relevant to your immediate classroom practices: designing a curriculum and various types of assignments, delivering the course content and assessing student work, among others. Our theoretical topics will begin to reveal the underpinnings of these various practical matters, including their historical, rhetorical, social and political contexts. In other words, we will investigate the praxis—the dialogic interaction of practice and theory—of writing pedagogy. As a result, this course aims to prepare you not only as a writing teacher but also as a nascent writing studies/writing pedagogy scholar.

At the end of this course, you should be able to engage effectively in the classroom practices described above and participate in academic conversations about writing pedagogy, both orally and in writing. Assessment of these outcomes will be based primarily on the various writing assignments you submit and to a smaller degree on your participation in class discussions and activities.

ENGL 726.S01: The New Woman, 1880–1900s 

Thursdays 3–5:50 p.m.

Katherine Malone

This course explores the rise of the New Woman at the end of the nineteenth century. The label New Woman referred to independent women who rebelled against social conventions. Often depicted riding bicycles, smoking cigarettes and wearing masculine clothing, these early feminists challenged gender roles and sought broader opportunities for women’s employment and self-determination. We will read provocative fiction and nonfiction by New Women writers and their critics, including authors such as Sarah Grand, Mona Caird, George Egerton, Amy Levy, Ella Hepworth Dixon, Grant Allen and George Gissing. We will analyze these exciting texts through a range of critical lenses and within the historical context of imperialism, scientific and technological innovation, the growth of the periodical press and discourse about race, class and gender. In addition to writing an argumentative seminar paper, students will complete short research assignments and lead discussion.

ENGL 792.ST1 Women in War: Female Authors and Characters in Contemporary War Lit

In this course, we will explore the voices of female authors and characters in contemporary literature of war. Drawing from various literary theories, our readings and discussion will explore the contributions of these voices to the evolving literature of war through archetypal and feminist criticism. We will read a variety of short works (both theoretical and creative) and complete works such as (selections subject to change): "Eyes Right" by Tracy Crow, "Plenty of Time When We Get Home" by Kayla Williams, "You Know When the Men are Gone" by Siobhan Fallon, "Still, Come Home" by Katie Schultz and "The Fine Art of Camouflage" by Lauren Johnson.