Teaching - DR. KIMBERLY C. HARPER
Education should...
"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today." El Hajj Malik El Shabazz
People from all over the world believe that to live, work, and strive in America means that they can transform their lives. I too believe in transforming power of American society, but my focus lies with education. I believe that education can transform a life and change the trajectory of one’s future, and I know that written communication provides students with a powerful platform for sharing and developing their own voice. That is why my teaching philosophy is centered on the transforming power of education and the written word. The best educators are those individuals who appreciate a multi-faceted pedagogical approach to teaching. This approach helps me balance between a writing pedagogy that combines expressivism and social constructionism. These approaches seem to cater the most to students’ writing needs and allow their voices to remain in the context of the composition. Conferencing, collaborative learning and peer editing grew out of social construction. Each involves the student inclusiveness. Conferencing allows the student to express oneself when meeting one-on-one with the instructor instead of writing an essay and submitting it for a grade. Collaborative learning consists of group work. Students work together collectively to write an assignment or collaborate on a group project. Lastly, peer editing allows students to provide feedback on their peer’s work. Accurate peer editing can feel less intimidating to a student when being evaluated by a fellow classmate. Process writing derives from expressivism because it empowers the student’s involvement. This theory centers on writing by emphasizing the necessity of a process of stages in the discourse community to exhibit as well as monitor a student’s progress. It is writing to rediscover one’s subject and improve the writing product simultaneously. It involves five steps: planning, organizing or outlining, drafting, proofreading or editing and revision. As an educator I believe my function in the classroom has multiple roles. I am part teacher, friend, counselor, cheerleader, and life coach—when needed. My goal as an educator is to create an environment that encourages students to experience education as the practice of freedom and help them use their education as a means for realizing their own potential.
Advanced Rhetoric & Argumentation
African-American Women’s Rhetoric
Grant Writing, Reports and Proposals
Hip Hop Discourse
Social Justice and Technical Communication
With my student's permission, below are some pictures from my classroom activities and other stuff we've done together. Over the years I've had students from A&T's Early College in my courses as well. Here is a link to one student, Keyera Wynn, conducting a user test in class.