DEPARTMENT

OF ENGLISH PROFESSIONAL WRITING Michael J. Salvo, Associate Professor Director of Professional Writing salvo@purdue.edu 765-337-3203

October 1, 2011 Teaching Report for Jessica Jacobs To whom it may concern, This letter is a teaching report for Jessica Jacobs. I observed the candidate teaching ENGL 420 on October 22, 2012. ENGL 420, Business Writing, is a course offered by the Department of English every Fall, Spring, Maymester, and Summer semester. The course serves about 2,000 Purdue students per year (in about 90 sections), students chiefly majoring in the areas of technology, management, consumer and family sciences, liberal arts, and agriculture. The course is taught by faculty and graduate teaching assistants, most of whom are PhD students in the Department of English. All new teachers of business writing complete a graduate practicum in the teaching of professional writing and attend regular professional development workshops. Overall, Jessica Jacobs made excellent use of classroom technology, showing slides and examples from the textbook and students used their stations to write individually and in groups. Indeed, the class was quiet when Jessica was at the front of the room and erupted in on-task discussion and clacky-clacking of keyboardsthe sounds of writingwhen they were concentrating on their own writing tasks. It was an excellent productive classroom atmosphere, and students clearly understood their roles. It was an excellent classroom session, and the result of daily attention to effective teaching and consistent application of structure and order to the classroom session. Jessica Jacobs is an effective and reliable classroom instructor. Jessica Jacobs taught a very successful section of Business Writing. Below, I describe what I observed in support of this analysis her teaching. Jessica Jacobs started class on time and explained the plan for the day after taking attendance. The plan was that class would open with 10 minutes of discussion of slides with reference to the kinds of research students were completing in support of the marketing assignment a fourweek assignment sequence in which students completed primary and secondary research in support of a fictional business. Then the class would then break up into work groups and review each others work. The class followed this structure precisely with five minutes at the end for advance planning for with discussion of upcoming deadlines.

Salvo Jacobs

At first, students were reluctant to volunteer information. Two students opened up and began to talk about their experiences locating information and were concerned about the reliability of their research. Jessica asked them about comparisons between their own findings and what they were reading. Discussion shifted to professional resources in their own disciplines. Students offered examples of such resources: journals and related professional publications. The groups erupt in discussion: all the attention is on completing assignments informed by these elements of page design and formatting, readability, and technical accuracy. Jessica circulates around the classroom. Group leaders ask questions while group members are articulating their roles. Jessica is moving around, making observations, addressing vocal and reticent students alike, prompting for further information and explanation. It is clear that students understand their roles, respect the classroom structure, respect their teacher, and things are going very well. I watch as Jessica decides to wait and skip a group in the middle of their decision-making. She returns after they have come to consensus and asks them what decisions have been made. This is a solid classroom community with every member of the class engaged in discussion and productive action. One group has asked a key question and Ms. Jacobs makes a class wide announcement with global comments. This group is nervous about the overall project and Jessica reminds them of the project parameters and what she expects them to have done by the upcoming weekly deadline. The next deadline will arrive the following Friday. Students relax, confident that they have an appropriate amount of work to stay busy but are not overwhelmed: its a balancing act Jessica has articulated well as students have substantial work to do but they are not overwhelmed. Jessica lingers with the group for a few moments, and leaves only when the group seems satisfied, and completes her rounds with ten minutes remaining in the hour. With ten minutes remaining, the room quiets, and Jessica again takes the floor. She repeats the focus for the week reminding them of the slides with which she opened the class period, and has the students plan for the next class. She reiterates the upcoming dates and deadlines, and dismisses on time. Students linger to ask questions. Jessica Jacobs is an excellent professional writing teacher and brings much from her own work into the classroom. Thank you,

Digital signature file: email salvo@purdue.edu for confirmation.

Michael J. Salvo Associate Professor & Director of Professional Writing

Department of English Heavilon Hall, Room 324 500 Oval Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038 765) 494-3740 Fax (765) 494-3780 www.cla.purdue.edu/english/