March 26, 2016

Dear Awards Committee,

In the summer of 2015, I had the opportunity to intern in Erin Workmans ENC 2135
class for four weeks. As part of the internship, I observed her course four times a week for the
four-week span, and also helped provide comments on drafts, run conferences, and facilitate
class discussion. I am a first-year PhD Student in the Rhetoric and Composition department and,
having never taught before, utilized Erin as a source of advice and support as I learned about
teaching of ENC 2135. Throughout my observations and conversations with Erin, I have always
been impressed by the pedagogical forethought and theoretical foundation in her teaching.
As an instructor, Erin is deliberate and thoughtful with each and every assignment large
or small that she assigns her students. From the platforms that students utilize to compose in
class and at home, to the discussion questions, to the in-class writing activities, each act is
purposeful and well thought out. Erin holds her students to a high level of excellence in the
classroom, but she also provides ample support through previous student examples and
individualized feedback for both student journals and assignment drafts. Erin includes
challenging texts and provides ample support to help students as they grapple with challenging
concepts through intentional journal assignments, visual mapping exercises, nuanced group
assignments and purposeful in class writing assignments. Erin integrates technology into her
classroom, teaching her students the skills necessary to compose in the 21st century. Erins
assignments are both challenging and purposeful, and she supports them thoroughly through
these projects.
Erin utilizes Teaching for Transfer curricula in her teaching, which adds another level of
intentionality to her pedagogy. Erins goal as an instructor is to teach specific content guided by
key terms, facilitate reflection, and help students articulate their own theory of writing that they
will take with them as they encounter new writing situations in the future. The students in Erins
course spend the first time developing an understanding of a key term through several course and
outside texts collaboratively, teaching them how to synthesize material, define challenging terms,
and work together to compose a cohesive text. For the second assignment, Erins students write a
research paper that explores the various ways writing is used in their intended major, for which
students conduct primary research both observing and interviewing professionals in their field of
choice. Lastly, students remediate their researched paper and develop new genres that explain the
various ways writing is utilized in their intended major. The final reflection of the course is
composed in a genre of the students course and asks students to consider how their
understanding of writing through their integration of key terms comes together into an
individualized and cohesive theory of writing. Erins pedagogy emphasizes the writing process
and revision, as evidence by her choice to use ePortfolios as an assessment tool.
Erin is both a purposeful and intelligent instructor who is passionate about equipping
students with the skills to be successful participants in academic and professional environments
through their acquired composing knowledge. I have learned a great deal from Erins teaching,
and am consistently impressed with the level of intentionality and engaging assignments Erin
brings to her classroom. Erin is an exemplary example of an instructor who upholds the
principles and values of the Florida State University College Composition Program.

Sincerely,

Rachel Efstathion