Jeff Andelora's Teaching Page


Welcome to my teachinng page!  If you're registered for one of my classes, or if you're thinking about registering for one, the following information should help you know what to expect. For my current teaching schedule, go to this link: http://contacts.mesacc.edu/jeffrey.andelora

Background

I've been teaching English for twenty-five years--first at Mesa High School and, since 1996, here at Mesa Community College. I have three degrees from Arizona State University (and, yes, it took me a long time!): a BS in Business Administration, an MEd in Secondary Education/English, and a PhD in English with an emphasis in rhetoric and composition.  Currently, as MCC's English department chair, my time is divided between administrative work and teaching. However, it's telling that when people ask what I do for a living, the first words out of my mouth are, "I teach English."

Teaching Philosophy

I've been profoundly influenced by the educators and scholars I've worked with over the years, both as their student and as their colleague. Every one of these women and men clearly loved teaching, cared about their students, and brought a sense of joy, civility, and academic rigor to the classroom. For them, teaching was a calling. Not surprisingly, these are the very qualities that I try to bring to my own work. This is also why I find working at MCC so gratifying: it's a college that values good teaching and learning above all else. 

As a composition teacher, I see it as my job to help students grow as writers by presenting them with carefully-sequenced, increasingly-complex writing tasks and providing instruction and feedback at every step in the process.  I'm much more likely to comment extensively on rough drafts while there's still time for revision than on the final draft.  It's also my job to help students think like a scholar, which means providing evidence for their claims/assertions and engaging complex issues from multiple viewpoints.  I recognize that the language students are asked to master in college--carefully edited, written English--is not their native language, so I tailor my comments with an eye toward revision, specifically to help students consider the audience and purpose in any given rhetorical situation. I also hold daily office hours, during which I'm very happy to work with students on their writing.

Student Comments

Finally, I thought you might like to read what my students have to say about my courses.  At the end of each semester I ask students to grade the course (and me) by completing an anonymous evaluation (no names, no points).  I use this information to improve what I do in the classroom.  The following comments are from a recent English 102 class (the dreaded second-semester composition class!). I've chosen the most relevant questions* from the evaluation and included student responses below.  No responses have been omitted or edited.  I hope you find this information useful. If you have further questions, please contact me.

What did you like most about the course?

Did the instructor explain concepts and assignments clearly?

Was instructor feedback on your assignments fair? Helpful? Was it done in such a way that helped you improve your writing?

Did you feel that the instructor was approachable and willing to help you outside of class?

If you ever sought help from the instructor outside of class, was he helpful?

*I haven't included questions about clarity of course objects, sequencing of assignments, evaluation of the textbooks, etc.

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