[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-599421-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-599421-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","structuration-and-genre-revising-teaching-observations-to-reflect-program-values","Structuration and Genre - Revising Teaching Observations to Reflect Program Values","","Revising writing-program teaching observation forms and processes to better reflect program values and support teacher development. The article examines how an observation form functions as a structurational nexus for shaping conversations among program participants and managing inherent tensions. It argues that reciprocal intentions must be sustained through intentional process design and tangible artifacts such as email correspondence and the form itself. It also details how the program uses the documents for both formative direction and summative evaluation within graduate teaching assistant (GTA) mentoring.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/structuration-and-genre-revising-teaching-observations-to-reflect-program-values/599421/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/structuration-and-genre-revising-teaching-observations-to-reflect-program-values/599421.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"WPS_1790064749","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the article’s central argument about revising teaching observations?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The article argues that a responsive teacher observation process can start with good intentions surfaced informally, but it must be sustained through intentional overall process design, especially via concrete artifacts like emails and the observation form.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the program use the teaching observation form in summative versus formative ways?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Summatively, it documents whether and how instructors complete required tasks in tandem with syllabus collection and supports follow-up mentoring when expectations are not met. Formatively, it guides curriculum development, supports workshop planning, enables constructive dialogue, and provides evidence for teaching portfolios.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What steps make up the observation process described in the document?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The process includes scheduling emails, an invitation to a pre-observation conversation, a classroom visit or online-access arrangement, completion of the form, the teacher’s review, and a post-observation discussion where both parties sign off before submission to the director of composition.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},599421,1792188746,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},3985747859154,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Structuration and Genre: Revising Teaching Observations to Reflect Program Values  \nAdrienne Jankens and Joe Torok  \nIn this article, we describe the process of revising our writing program’s teaching observation forms and processes over the last several years, drawing from descriptions of best practices in conducting teaching observations in writing programs (Comer; Jackson) . We analyze the teaching observation form as it functions in a structurational nexus to both manage participants’conversations about teaching and respond to the tensions inherent in the process (Giddens; Miller et al.) . Our argument is two-fold: 1) while a responsive and reciprocal praxis for a teacher observation process may begin with good intentions surfaced through informal conversations, teaching circles, and committee meetings, it is sustainably cultivated through the intentional design of the overall process, particularly through its tangible artifacts such as email correspondence and the observation form; and 2) the teaching observation form, as an object playing a pivotal role in a series of social interactions, is a key example of a writing program genre that has the potential to both demonstrate program values and frame responsible rhetorical interactions between program personnel.  \nPlease do forgive if this is out of order or not according to protocol, but I am frustrated and confused, and I could really use some guidance. I know that I am supposed to meet with my reviewer, but I really do not want to unless you feel it would do any good or be necessary. [They have] already been to my class twice, then drilled me with questions in between classes, and I am ready to be done with this one.  \n—Email to Adrienne from a recently observed instructor  \nThe teaching observation process and its related documents, though ubiq  \nuitous in teachers’ professional lives, are nevertheless often markers of tension. In our composition program, which is embedded in an English department at an urban research university, the various iterations of the form completed by observers have supported both formative and summative observations of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) . In an evaluative function, the form works in tandem with the syllabus-collection process conducted program-wide each term, documenting whether and how instructors carry  \nComposition Studies 51.1 (2023): 65–90  \nout required tasks. Instructors who do not meet expectations for teaching their assigned course are paired with faculty mentors for instructional support, further conversation, and more observation. In a formative capacity, the documents provide direction for curriculum development and workshop planning, models for teacher-to-teacher conversations, a vocabulary for constructive dialogue, and evidence of performance for teaching portfolios. However, while program personnel agree on the larger function and value of the teaching observation process, we have often seen short-term challenges emerge from instructors’ initial review of completed forms, from observers’engagement with the form, and even from participants’ attempts to schedule observations. These tensions are the impetus for the revision work we describe in this article.  \nOur department primarily funds PhD students, and sometimes MA students, from across English studies concentrations. These GTAs teach approximately one fourth of general education composition sections. The courses they teach (basic writing, introductory college writing, or intermediate college writing) attend to learning outcomes that include reading, writing, research, and reflection; this last outcome is an important correlate with our graduate-level teaching practicum learning outcomes. We, a tenure-track assistant professor (Adrienne) and an associate professor of teaching (Joe), previously collaborated for several years on the program’s mentoring committee, strategizing mentoring support for new and experienced GTAs alongside and after their work in the","cbCain495pngTXAV","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCain495pngTXAV","pdf",253367,26,"English","# Structuration and Genre: Revising Teaching Observations to Reflect Program Values\n## Teaching observation forms as a nexus for conversation and tension\n## Summative and formative uses of the observation documents\n## GTA teaching assignments, mentoring roles, and the multi-step observation process","[{\"question\":\"What is the article’s central argument about revising teaching observations?\",\"answer\":\"The article argues that a responsive teacher observation process can start with good intentions surfaced informally, but it must be sustained through intentional overall process design, especially via concrete artifacts like emails and the observation form.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the program use the teaching observation form in summative versus formative ways?\",\"answer\":\"Summatively, it documents whether and how instructors complete required tasks in tandem with syllabus collection and supports follow-up mentoring when expectations are not met. Formatively, it guides curriculum development, supports workshop planning, enables constructive dialogue, and provides evidence for teaching portfolios.\"},{\"question\":\"What steps make up the observation process described in the document?\",\"answer\":\"The process includes scheduling emails, an invitation to a pre-observation conversation, a classroom visit or online-access arrangement, completion of the form, the teacher’s review, and a post-observation discussion where both parties sign off before submission to the director of composition.\"}]","Structuration and Genre - Revising Teaching Observations to Reflect Program Values | PDF",1792088739,66]