As part of its ongoing efforts to improve teacher preparation, the Writing Program sponsors a mentor-teacher program in which inexperienced TAs will be assigned to the E110 classrooms of experienced writing teachers. Mentor-teachers will be awarded a $250 stipend.

A section of E110 may only have a single mentee. Instructors who will teach more than one section of E110 in the fall, however, may apply for more than one mentee grant.

All E110 instructors in good standing—MA and PhD students, tenure-track faculty, continuing non-tenure track faculty, temporary faculty, S-contractors—are eligible for this program.

Please note that one of the program requirements listed below is a preferred but not required criterion—using the Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing, concise edition. As new TAs will be using Allyn and Bacon in their spring sections of E110, the mentor-teacher experience will offer them the maximum benefit if they see this material incorporated into the classrooms of our program’s experienced teachers. However, as not all instructors may wish to commit to using this text, it is optional for mentor applicants. All other criteria listed below are mandatory program features.

Program applicants should email Carolyn Clark (cclark@udel.edu) of their interest in the program. Please indicate in this message whether you are willing to integrate Allyn and Bacon into your mentee section(s).

Mentor Responsibilities 

• Attend the Writing Program’s pre-semester mentor meeting
• Meet biweekly with mentee to answer questions and provide formative feedback on revision comments, grades, and classroom instruction
• Supervise at least two class meetings led by mentee
• Provide mentee at least 72 hours notice prior to mentee teaching experiences
• Integrate Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing into course plan (preferred but not required)

Mentee Responsibilities

• Attend all class meetings
• Offer three class meetings of instruction (at least two of which must be supervised by the mentor-teacher, one may be unsupervised at the mentor’s discretion)
• Shadow grade at least two sets of student essays and discuss grades with mentor-teacher
• Respond to at least two sets of student drafts and discuss comments with mentor-teacher
• Offer two office hours each week to mentor section

Topics to Be Discussed by Mentor and Mentee

• Syllabus construction
• Grading criteria
• Facilitating classroom discussion
• How to handle the paper load
• Classroom ethos

Contact Michael McCamley (mccamley@udel.edu) with any questions.