Article by Dr. Stacey Parham
A Judson College English professor and two freshman students made a presentation at the recent Associate of College English Teachers of Alabama (ACETA) Conference in Fairhope, Ala.
Dr. Stacey Parham, Assistant Professor of English, Sarah Green of Sumiton, Ala. and Victoria Douglas of Jacksonville, Ark., presented a panel discussion at the ACETA conference, which was held from March 13 to 14, 2015.
The theme of this year’s 67th annual ACETA conference was “A Place in the Sun,” and other presenters discussed sun, fun, success, struggle, and writing in a series of panels over the course of the weekend. The three Judson presenters led a session entitled “Defining Success: An English Composition Class Writes ‘Their Place in the Sun.’” During their panel presentation, they discussed how students created definitions of success in an undergraduate composition classroom and shared the students’ perspectives on determining, defining, and achieving success, while exploring the goals of the composition classroom in facilitating that student work.
“The presenters represented Judson College well with thoughtful reflections on their achievements in the writing classroom while engaging this nebulous idea of success to thoughtfully reflect the conference theme,” Parham said. The presentation revealed what students in the class had gained from writing an essay in which they articulated their definitions of success. Douglas and Green shared video clips that they had recorded of students from Judson’s spring ENG 102 classes, positing their own definitions of success.
“Attending the conference was a very unique, enjoyable experience. I especially enjoyed presenting at our panel and ‘teaching’ the audience about our definitions of success,” Green said.
“Presenting at the conference was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about ourselves and our fellow students. The experience was truly unique, and I enjoyed every minute of it,” Douglas said.
According to Parham, the presentation provided an opportunity for the participants to reflect on their own classroom practices and to engage their students in similar learning goals. Friday night’s keynote address featured Frye Galliard, writer in residence at the University of South Alabama, and Kathryn Scheldt, songwriter and guitarist. Frye read passages from his book The Quilt and the Poetry of Alabama Music, and Kathryn Scheldt played acoustic guitar.
PHOTO: ACETA Conference presenters, from left-to-right, Sarah Green, Dr. Stacey Parham, and Victoria Douglas. Photo by Dr. Stacey Parham.