1^st lesson free

Alexandra

Price $43
Answer 1h
Students
Number of students Alexandra has accompanied since arriving at Superprof
2
Number of students Alexandra has accompanied since arriving at Superprof

$43/h

1^st lesson free

English
Creative writing
Writing
English Literature

PhD graduate with degrees in English, Psychology, Creative Writing, and Literature teaches Creative Writing, English, Rhetoric, Composition, Technical Communication, and Literature to high school and

English
Creative writing
Writing
English Literature

Lesson location

- online

About Alexandra

I have 10 years of tutoring and teaching experience at the high school and undergradute levels. Over the years, I have taught courses in Advanced Literature, Creative Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication. I have also tutored students on the SAT, GRE, and college admission exams. For the last seven years, I have taught at the University of Texas at Dallas, where I also received my PhD in Literature. I hold further degrees from the University of Toronto (English and Psychology) and Edinburgh-Napier University (Creative Writing). My fiction writing has appeared in magazines such as PodCastle, Deep Magic, and James Gunn's Ad Astra Magazine.

About the lesson

It is my belief that teaching is an inherently interdisciplinary vocation, and effective instructors must do more than anticipate students’ academic needs. In order to understand how students learn, instructors should be well versed in disciplines such as cognition, sociology, philosophy, critical theory, semiotics, and psychology among others. My pedagogical style prioritizes the relationship between language and consciousness, employing elements of psychology and cognition in order to facilitate learning. In particular, my approach emulates Carl Rogers’ non-directive teaching style, in which the instructor becomes integrated into the group as opposed to manipulating it. Like Rogers, I view teachers as facilitators of learning, considering positive individual and group relationships to be at the heart of a conductive learning environment. My non-directive teaching style means I prioritize guidance as opposed to prescription, aiming to lead students to their own answers and provide avenues for further consideration as opposed to clear-cut answers.

In my teaching, I aim to remain aware of the cognitive limitations on attention. Overcoming habituation through diversification of activities and stimulation is central to my philosophy. Offering some level of unpredictability and/or change in a curriculum keeps students from becoming complacent and falling into patterns of unconscious, repetitive behavior. For this reason my teaching employs defamiliarizing techniques in order to increase awareness and mindfulness in the classroom. I believe that rendering the familiar, unfamiliar, increases the length and difficulty of perception, which in turn stimulates critical thought. My defamiliarizing techniques involve analyzing linguistic, cognitive, and behavioral patterns that have become automated by social convention, and rendering visible their arbitrary mode of signification.
Remaining mindful of the role of constraint in learning is also among my primary concerns as an instructor. By defining clear rhetorical situations, or genres, in my classroom, I aim to give students an opportunity to foster multiple selves. My approach encourages students to become conscious of the various facets of themselves they inhabit in order to respond to rhetorical situations as typified modes of action. Defining genre also has the positive side-effect of aiding in the development of students’ voices. This aspect of my philosophy seeks to reconcile Walker Gibson’s and Peter Elbow’s conceptions of voice: to propose that voice can be both a mode of “role playing,” or responding appropriately to a given rhetorical situation, as well as an authentic expression of oneself. My purpose in this is to dispel the misconception that adapting to the conventions of genres and the expression of one’s true self are mutually exclusive. Students should also be made aware of the symbiotic system that is genre formation – while adhering to the rhetorical demands of a given genre, they are simultaneously involved in that genre’s creation. Fostering an awareness of students’ roles in genre formation serves to give students agency in their education, allowing them to understand that they are not the passive recipients of information, but co-creators of knowledge. This follows Plato’s belief that knowledge and truth can only be attained through collaboration.

While I believe that defining genre in the classroom gives purpose, direction, and structure to rhetorical responses, I remain aware of the limits of categorization. As per Jacques Derrida’s theory of deconstructionism, I aim to use language in order to show that every dominant ideology is founded on a false binary. Privilege is inherent within every binary, which involves a dominant and supplementary term. In the false binary of speech/writing, writing is a supplement to speech. By using language to dismantle binaries, my purpose is to reveal theoretical frameworks and make students aware of the hierarchical nature of language that leads to categorization at its best, and discrimination at its worst. In a composition, writing, or communication course, students should be taught not only how to use language to accomplish their own means, but how to grow conscious of linguistic conventions that normalize and systematize certain modes of thinking.

The generation and cultivation of creativity are integral to my pedagogical ethos. Having taught both essay and creative writing at the university level for a number of years, I realize that both endeavors require modes of expression that transcend the mere delivery of information. I aim to foster awareness of the intentional fallacy in students’ creative and academic pursuits; that is not only to say that I encourage students to inject purpose into their writing, but that such purpose should be communicated effectively in the author’s absence. When teaching, I encourage students to conceptualize themselves as authors, and in the process to be deliberate in the formation of their authorial identities. My teaching uses theories and histories of authorship to heighten students’ awareness of the privileges and biases inherent in the ownership of ideas, particularly after the introduction of copyright laws. While modern Western society equates authorship with inventiveness, the linguistic predecessor “auctor” had more to do with adhering to the authority of a cultural antecedent. Remaining aware of shifting terms of signification around the concept of the “author” can help students decide what authorship means for them in a modern society of technology and collaboration.

As an instructor, I place importance upon exposing students to a breadth of perspectives and experiences. In compiling diverse reading lists and discussion topics, I aim to question why, historically, underrepresented minorities have been stifled by sociological interpretations in their pursuits of authorship, while privileged authors have been afforded the luxury of an assumed universality in their analyses of the human condition. My study of authorship asks why we are predisposed to read certain authors through politically-motivated lenses and dissects the ways in which these readings can be limiting. As is understood by linguistic philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard in his analysis of the “language game,”author and reader/listener are equally important in the generation of meaning, and so students should remain cognizant of their responsibility to write as well as read critically. I believe that the investigation of authorship and its historical precedents is imperative in beginning to formulate a response to Samuel Beckett’s famous question, “What does it matter who is speaking?”
are equally important in the generation of meaning, and so students should remain cognizant of their responsibility to write as well as read critically. I believe that the investigation of authorship and its historical precedents is imperative in beginning to formulate a response to Samuel Beckett’s famous question, “What does it matter who is speaking?”

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5h: $214
10h: $428

online

$43/h

free lessons

The first lesson with Alexandra will allow you to get to know each other and discuss your needs for future lessons.

PhD graduate with degrees in English, Psychology, Creative Writing, and Literature teaches Creative Writing, English, Rhetoric, Composition, Technical Communication, and Literature to high school and

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About Alexandra

About the lesson

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Pack prices

online

free lessons

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PhD graduate with degrees in English, Psychology, Creative Writing, and Literature teaches Creative Writing, English, Rhetoric, Composition, Technical Communication, and Literature to high school and

Lesson location

About Alexandra

About the lesson

Rates

Price

Pack prices

online

free lessons

Similar English tutors in Garland

Leonie

Evie

Henry

Heath

Ann

Mary

Alex

Loren

Michael

Victoria

Neha

Adie

Angela

David

Kylie

HH Enterprises

Hina Rajab

Mary

Cheryl

Dahi

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