Contact
| Dept: | English |
| Email: | mtremmel@iastate.edu |
| Office: | 347 Ross 527 Farm House Ln. Ames IA 50011-1054 |
| Phone: | 515-294-9780 |
| Office Hours: | Monday 1-4; Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday: 8:30-4 |
Bio
Courses I am Teaching
ENGL 500: Teaching Multimodal Communication
ENGL 417e: Student Teaching: English and Literature
Degrees
Ph.D., Rhetoric and Composition Studies and Critical Studies in the Teaching of English, Michigan State University,
M.A., Educational Systems Development, Michigan State University
B.S.E., English, Central Michigan University
Research Areas
Composition theory and pedagogy with particular interest in motivation for writing and shaping ideas in writing; genre theory; multigenre/multi-modal discourse
About My Teaching
I work with graduate students on effectively teaching Foundation students. I also work with future secondary English teachers in methods classes, through advising, and during their student teaching semester. Seeing all the different kinds of students with whom I work grow and develop is the most rewarding part of what I do.
How I Came to Teach what I Teach
Loving both vocal music and literature and having a passion from an early age for teaching, I studied English as my undergraduate major and choral music as my minor. After graduation, I taught a variety of English courses for 20 years in a grade 7-12 school in Michigan. While teaching, I became interested in broader issues of teaching beyond the my individual classroom, searching out reading and degree programs that allowed me not only to improve my teaching effectiveness but also to work with other teachers on their praxis. While still working on my Ph.D., I joined the English department faculty in 1998 and became an academic adviser in 2010, allowing me to teach in a new one-on-one way.
Recent Publications
“Forget Formulas: Teaching Form through Function in RAAW.” Composition Studies 45.2 (2017): 113-29.
“Laying our Burden Down: Saying Final Goodbyes to Theme Writing.” Journal of Teaching Writing 30.1 (2015): 55-76.