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A Two-Left Assignment: “Courtesies” of Professor D. Stewart Distinguished Teaching Award Application Submitted by David D. Duncan, Professor of English and Education Palm Beach State College March, 2011 Celebration Luncheon Students from ENC1101/ENC1102 Hybrid

Celebration Luncheon Students from ENC1101/ENC1102 Hybrid...writer that my classmates and others would be interested in learning about. (Courtesy mini lesson about the importance of

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A Two-Left Assignment: “Courtesies” of Professor D. Stewart Distinguished Teaching Award Application

Submitted by David D. Duncan, Professor of English and Education

Palm Beach State College March, 2011

Celebration Luncheon

Students from ENC1101/ENC1102 Hybrid

A Two-Left Assignment: Courtesy of Professor D.

Introduction

For quite some years, my colleagues (in communications and other

disciplines) and I have agonized over what we could do to help students understand

the importance of not plagiarizing when doing research-related assignments. What

we sometimes fail to provide them with, however, are lectures, practices, and

techniques on HOW to avoid plagiarizing. Because students come from a variety

of academic backgrounds, not to mention learning styles and personalities, they

need to be “coached” so they will do well in all of their classes that require them to

do research-related work.

Requiring my students to do a Two-Left Assignment is the way I have of

“coaching” them to put into practice the work that goes on behind the scenes

before submitting a paper or assignment. Doing the Two-Left Assignment helps

my students with a way to not only understand how serious plagiarism can be to

their academic future, but a way to help them hopefully learn to appreciate what

actually goes on in preparing to turn in a well researched and written paper or

assignment (preparation for a speech or presentation, for example). By bringing to

the forefront the importance of following a few steps, using the Bedford Handbook

and the APA Manual as main texts for information, students are able to apply

practices in other classes, thus assuring overall retention and success.

Lesson Plan (Format borrowed from Kenneth Beare, About.com Guide)

A Two-Left Assignment

Warm-up

Presentation

Controlled Practice

Free Practice

Feedback

Warm-up (2 or 3 Class Periods) Theme of the Two-Left Assignment/Background:

As one of many “courtesies,” I share with my students the importance of knowing about their learning styles and personalities by helping them to apply the results of Bernice McCarthy’s (1986) 4MAT Learning Styles Inventory and by helping them to apply the results from taking a modified version of the Myers-Briggs Testing Instrument. With this new knowledge of themselves, I try to help them better able to understand the relationship between who they are as individuals and how that relates to them being able to understand the concepts and practices of doing research-related work.

• Applying 4MAT: Conducting research, of any kind, takes place in Quadrants 2 and 3 (4MAT System). Therefore, I discuss the principles regarding those Quadrants. For example:

Quadrant 2 is where, “Analytic Learning-Listening to and thinking about information; seeking facts, thinking through ideas; learning what the experts think,” take place.

Quadrant 3 is where, “Common Sense Learning-Thinking and doing. Experimenting, building, creating usability. Tinkering” take place.

Note: Quadrants 1 (Imaginative Learning) and 4 (Dynamic Learning) are not the focus

areas when doing research- related assignments. Students are therefore explained how

“stretching” takes place as a learner.

Applying Myers-Briggs: Conducting research, of any kind, takes place in the T description of the T-F Dichotomy (the way you make decisions) and the J description of the J-P Dichotomy (How you deal with the outer world). For example:

“People who prefer Thinking tend to make decisions based primarily on logic and on objective analysis of cause and effect.”

“People who prefer Judging tend to like a planned and organized approach to life and prefer to have things settled.”

Note: The other dichotomies (Extraversion-Introversion, and Sensing-N-Intuition, can be

examined in connection to doing research-related assignments. However, for this

activity, the obvious descriptions have been chosen.

Presentation (Teacher-centered Explanation/Using former students’

work shared visually by using data projector and document camera)

What is a Two-Left Assignment?

A Two-Left Assignment is a technique I use as a courtesy to teach my lit and education major students HOW to develop research skills and practices I cover in ENC 1102. It is called a Two-Left Assignment because when applying the 4MAT Learning System, teachers can look at each of the 4 Quadrants and consider giving their students activities that stimulate the left brain (analytical side of the brain) and the right brain (creative side of the brain). Doing research-related work requires students, at the beginning of the process, to be in Quadrant 2. When doing research, students use their left brain because research is not necessarily a creative endeavor (from an academic perspective). A Two-Left Assignment is broken down into four parts. The four parts are based on the application of skills/knowledge students will need to be successful in doing any research-related endeavor. The parts are as follows: 1) Creating a Title Page; 2) Citing (MLA or APA) and Annotating Sources; 3) Summarizing (MLA or APA) Sources; and 4) Creating a Working Bibliography (MLA or APA).

Two-Left Assignment in Practice: The topic of the assignment to be researched is

discussed first.

For students taking my lit courses, the discussion is about the life of a writer that the students choose from the anthology (AML 2010, AML 2020, AML 2600) or main text of the course (LIT 1370). Students are given a thesis statement shell: _____ is a writer that my classmates and others would be interested in learning about. This must be done in preparation for writing a five-paragraph essay Report. (See Presentation Check-off Sheet.)

For students taking my EDF 2085: Introduction to Diversity for Educators class, the discussion is about terms they should begin to be familiar with throughout their college/university experiences as Education majors. This includes terms such as teaching, learning, education, education (USA), multiculturalism, diversity, classroom management, and teacher effectiveness, to name a few. Students do not write reports, but they do have assignments that are research-related. (See General Education Learning Outcomes, Course Learning Outcomes, and Methods of Assessment on syllabus.) Emphasis is on helping them to strengthen their research skills since they

will be doing research-related work for many of their courses….well into graduate studies. A Two-Left Assignment (APA documentation style) is assigned as a spin-off for teaching students HOW to create annotated bibliographies.

Controlled Practice Lit Students: Once students have chosen their writer, they must do the following:

Pay attention to the thesis statement that has been provided: _______ is a/an _______ writer that my classmates and others would be interested in learning about. (Courtesy mini lesson about the importance of a thesis statement and other writing practices from ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 is provided, using the Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)

Locate three (3) sources (1 book source/not online, 1 Internet/website source, and 1 encyclopedia source/not online) on the life of the writer and print/copy the information for later use in the researching process. Right after a source is determined to be a good one, the citation information (MLA) is written on the back of the source just the way the documentation style shows it should be. Writing the citation information on the back of the source helps save time when typing the Working Bibliography, which will be changed to the Works Cited page (MLA) once the Report has been written.

Annotate each source one at a time. (Courtesy mini lesson about annotating is provided, using the Bedford Handbook, 8th ed, Chapter 4.)

After annotating a source, hand write a 1 page summary about that source before going on to the next source. (Courtesy mini lesson about summarizing is provided, using the Bedford Handbook, 8th ed., Chapter 4.)

Type up Working Bibliography, using the citation information that was placed on the back of each source. (Courtesy mini lesson about what a Working Bibliography is and how it should be done (MLA) is provided.)

Type up Title Page (MLA)

Order of work before paper clipping is as follows: 1. Title Page (MLA); 2. Annotated Source #1; 3. Handwritten Summary from Source #1; 4. Annotated Source #2; 5. Handwritten Summary from Source #2; 6. Annotated Source #3; 7. Handwritten Summary from Source #3; 8. Working Bibliography

Controlled Practice Education students: Once students have been given the term/subject to research, they must do

the following:

Pay attention to the term/subject that has been assigned. (Courtesy mini lesson about the importance of focusing on term/topic assigned and other writing practices from ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 is provided, using the Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)

Locate three (3) sources (First time using traditional encyclopedias only). Future assignments come from using online journal and other periodical sites, bound journals and other periodicals, and books. Printing/Copying the information for later is done in the researching process. Right after a source is determined to be a good one, the citation information (APA) is written on the back of the source just the way the Bedford Handbook or APA Manual shows the style should be. Writing the citation information on the back of the source helps save time when typing the Working Bibliography, which would be changed to the References page (APA) if a paper has to be written.

Annotate each source one at a time. (Courtesy mini lesson about annotating is provided, using the Bedford Handbook, 8th ed, Chapter 4.)

After annotating a source, hand write a 1 page summary about that source before going on to the next source. (Courtesy mini lesson about summarizing is provided, using the Bedford Handbook, 8th ed., Chapter 4.)

Type up Working Bibliography, using the citation information that was placed on the back of each source. (Courtesy mini lesson about what a Working Bibliography is and how it should be done (APA) is provided.)

Type up Title Page (APA)

Order of work before paper clipping is as follows: 1. Title Page (APA); 2. Annotated Source #1; 3. Handwritten Summary from Source #1; 4. Annotated Source #2; 5. Handwritten Summary from Source #2; 6. Annotated Source #3; 7. Handwritten Summary from Source #3; 8. Working Bibliography (APA)

Free Practice

(“The only way out is through.”) Students are given two due dates for submitting the Two-Left Assignment. The first due

date is for me to see how they have done. The second due date is for a grade. Using a cooperative learning exercise (Support Groups or Clock Appointments), I have students sit with one another, so they have another pair of eyes viewing/editing their work. I then, using the data projector or the document camera, either show students examples from other students’ work, or I take student volunteers who do not mind sharing their work on the screen. Students are also encouraged to email me their work (Title Page and Working Bibliography), and they should use the Two-Left Checklist that I provide and go over with them, so they can keep track of what they are doing and how it should be done.

Feedback

(“The game is a lot more fun when you know the rules.”)

On the day students submit their Two-Left Assignment, I have them check ONE MORE

TIME (Smile) that they have done what they were supposed to have done. I go over each step and part of the Two-Left with them before collecting it. They turn in their Two-Left Checklist, so I can see if they used it, and I use the Two-Left Checklist as a way of evaluating their work. Once I return the Two-Left, I ONE LAST TIME (Smile) go over the mistakes students made overall and discuss the importance of putting those research skills into practice in other courses. As the semester progresses, I continue to give them other assignments which will help them get more practice and see other learning situations to use their new skills. Of course, the true test (Celebration/4th Quadrant) is when they take other courses and are able to reap the benefits of the knowledge and experience they have.

Documentation • Putting Annotating Into Practice/Evidence of Need for Two-Left Assignment

(General Education Learning Outcomes and Course Learning Outcomes)

AML 2010: American Literature Before 1865

EDF 2085: Introduction to Diversity for Educators

• Presentation Check-off Form/Literature Courses/From Syllabus (Two-Left)

• Two-Left Assignment: Student Contribution/AML 2010

• Presentation Check-off Form/Literature Courses/From Syllabus (Report and Guide)

• Report and Guide: Student Contribution/LIT 1370

• Two-Left Assignment for Annotated Bibliography: Student Contribution/EDF 2085

• Annotated Bibliography: Student Contribution/EDF 2085

• Grade Distribution for Two-Left Assignment (MLA)/AML 2010, Spring, 2011

• Grade Distribution for Two-Left Assignment (APA)/EDF 2085, Spring 2011

Presentation Check-off Form/Literature Courses/From Syllabus

Name: ___________________________________

Professor David D. Duncan

Presentation Check-off Form

Writer: ____________________________________

Type/Title of Literature: ________________________________________________________

Course/Literary Period: __________________________________________________________

Due Date for Two-Left Assignment: ______________________________________

Due Date for Report and Guide: __________________________________

Presentation Date: ____________________________

(Date each section of your form as you complete each task.)

_______Two-Left Assignment (Sources needed about the life of the writer: 1 traditional encyclopedia source-Bedford 539-540, #18; 1 Internet/Online/Website source- Bedford 548-558, #s 34-55; and 1 book source-Bedford 535-548 or Foreword, Introduction, Preface, or Afterword from a book Bedford 542, #20). Order of Two-Left Assignment Information (1. MLA Title Page; 2. Three (3) Sources, each one critically read/annotated, summarized, and alphabetized according to MLA bibliographies written on the back of each source; and 3. MLA Working Bibliography) Note: A Two-Left Assignment is just a technique used for gathering, critically reading, and summarizing sources to write a report or any research-related paper.

Grade: _______

_______2-3 Page Report and Outline about writer (MLA Style Typed Outline/Prose, MLA Style Five Paragraph Essay – NO PARENTHETICAL CITATION, and MLA Bibliography-Works Cited) Note: Besides three (3) sources from Two-Left Assignment, the anthology (AML 2010, 2020, and 2600) may be used as a fourth source. Be sure to note addition on Works Cited.

Grade (Hard Copy): _______

Grade (Reading): _______

_______1-3 Page Guide to Literature from Anthology/AML 2010, 2020, or 2600 or Bible/LIT 1370 (Five Parts: 1- Tell us what page to go to; 2- Type and read your 7-12 Sentence Paragraph Summary informing us what the literature is about; 3- Read the title and the literature to us, but if the piece is long, read the beginning stanza or paragraph and the ending stanza or paragraph; 4- Take us through the literature by first going over the title, and then telling us the page numbers as you move yourself along in the literature from beginning to end, showing us three examples of the way your writer uses figurative language… See Chapter 55, Bedford ; 5- Type and read a 4-7 Sentence Paragraph sharing with us what you learned as a result of reading this piece of literature.) Note: Classmates should be following along with a pencil as literature is being broken down.

Grade (Hard Copy): _______

Grade (Reading): _______

Please save your work on your hard drive and/or USB drive and print out two (2) copies of your Report and your Guide, one set to submit to me and the other set to be used by you when you present. Please do not ask me to return your work once you have submitted it.

_______Visual/Audio/Oral Interpretation/Creative Aid /PowerPoint (5 to 7 slides) (Due on

date of presentation)

Grade (Visual/Audio/Oral Interpretation/Creative Aid): _______

Grade (Presenting of Visual/Audio/Oral Interpretation/Creative Aid): _______

_______ Dated Notes/Classmates’ Presentations (Spiral Notebook) Note: Pay special attention to dates, historical events, historical places, relatives, friends, other writers, and people mentioned in the reports. (Remember critical listeners write down their own thoughts, ideas, and questions as they listen.)

Grade: _______

Overall Grade: _______

AML2010: American Literature Before 1865

A Two-Left Assignment: Phillip Freneau

Student Contributor: Altaneisha Gatling

LIT1370: Bible as Literature

Report and Guide: Solomon

SolomonBrooke Carter

Professor DuncanLIT 1380, Saturday

19 March 2011

KING SOLOMON

A Man of Immense Wealth, Profound Wisdom, and Multiple Wives

Student Contributor: Brooke Carter

Presentation Check-off Form/Literature Courses/From Syllabus

Name: ___________________________________

Professor David D. Duncan

Presentation Check-off Form

Writer: ____________________________________

Type/Title of Literature: ________________________________________________________

Course/Literary Period: __________________________________________________________

Due Date for Two-Left Assignment: ______________________________________

Due Date for Report and Guide: __________________________________

Presentation Date: ____________________________

(Date each section of your form as you complete each task.)

_______Two-Left Assignment (Sources needed about the life of the writer: 1 traditional encyclopedia source-Bedford 539-540, #18; 1 Internet/Online/Website source- Bedford 548-558, #s 34-55; and 1 book source-Bedford 535-548 or Foreword, Introduction, Preface, or Afterword from a book Bedford 542, #20). Order of Two-Left Assignment Information (1. MLA Title Page; 2. Three (3) Sources, each one critically read/annotated, summarized, and alphabetized according to MLA bibliographies written on the back of each source; and 3. MLA Working Bibliography) Note: A Two-Left Assignment is just a technique used for gathering, critically reading, and summarizing sources to write a report or any research-related paper.

Grade: _______

_______2-3 Page Report and Outline about writer (MLA Style Typed Outline/Prose, MLA Style Five Paragraph Essay – NO PARENTHETICAL CITATION, and MLA Bibliography-Works Cited) Note: Besides three (3) sources from Two-Left Assignment, the anthology (AML 2010, 2020, and 2600) may be used as a fourth source. Be sure to note addition on Works Cited.

Grade (Hard Copy): _______

Grade (Reading): _______

_______1-3 Page Guide to Literature from Anthology/AML 2010, 2020, or 2600 or Bible/LIT 1370 (Five Parts: 1- Tell us what page to go to; 2- Type and read your 7-12 Sentence Paragraph Summary informing us what the literature is about; 3- Read the title and the literature to us, but if the piece is long, read the beginning stanza or paragraph and the ending stanza or paragraph; 4- Take us through the literature by first going over the title, and then telling us the page numbers as you move yourself along in the literature from beginning to end, showing us three examples of the way your writer uses figurative language… See Chapter 55, Bedford ; 5- Type and read a 4-7 Sentence Paragraph sharing with us what you learned as a result of reading this piece of literature.) Note: Classmates should be following along with a pencil as literature is being broken down.

Grade (Hard Copy): _______

Grade (Reading): _______

Please save your work on your hard drive and/or USB drive and print out two (2) copies of your Report and your Guide, one set to submit to me and the other set to be used by you when you present. Please do not ask me to return your work once you have submitted it.

_______Visual/Audio/Oral Interpretation/Creative Aid /PowerPoint (5 to 7 slides) (Due on

date of presentation)

Grade (Visual/Audio/Oral Interpretation/Creative Aid): _______

Grade (Presenting of Visual/Audio/Oral Interpretation/Creative Aid): _______

_______ Dated Notes/Classmates’ Presentations (Spiral Notebook) Note: Pay special attention to dates, historical events, historical places, relatives, friends, other writers, and people mentioned in the reports. (Remember critical listeners write down their own thoughts, ideas, and questions as they listen.)

Grade: _______

Overall Grade: _______

EDF2085: Introduction to Diversity for Educators

Two-Left Assignment for Annotated Bibliography: Classroom Management

Student Contributor: Andrew Mendez

EDF2085: Introduction to Diversity for Educators

Annotated Bibliography: Classroom Management

Student Contributor: Andrew Mendez

Grade Distribution for Two-Left Assignment (MLA)

AML 2010: American Literature Before 1865, Spring, 2011

and

Grade Distribution for Two-Left Assignment (APA)

EDF 2085: Introduction to Diversity for Educators, Spring, 2011

Grade Distribution for Two-Left Assignment (MLA)

AML 2010: American Literature Before 1865, Spring, 2011

Title Page

_____ Is my title page correct? (MLA or APA) Circle style assigned.

_____ Is my title correct as assigned?

_____ Did I double space?

_____ Did I use Times New Roman, 12 font as assigned?

_____ Is all of my academic information correct, including the day, month, and year

according to MLA or APA?

A – 17 B – 3 C – 1 D – 1 F – 0

Sources

_____ Did I write the citation information (MLA or APA) on the back of each of my

sources as I gathered them? (MLA, Bedford Handbook, Chapter 53 and APA,

Bedford Handbook, Chapter 56)

_____ Did I annotate each of my sources thoroughly? (See Bedford Handbook, Chapter

4, pp. 86-89.)

_____ Are my personal thoughts, ideas, feelings, reactions, definitions of terms, etc.

evident in my annotations? (See Bedford Handbook, Chapter

4, pp. 86-89.)

A – 4 B – 3 C – 11 D – 2 F – 2

Summaries

_____ Did I use 8 ½ by 11 lined paper to write the draft of my summaries?

_____ Does the first sentence in each of my summaries have the title of the text, the name

of the author, and the author’s thesis . . . ? (See Bedford Handbook, Chapter 4, pp.

92-93.)

_____ Did I use in-text citations, both direct (using quotation marks and page or

paragraph numbers) and indirect (paraphrasing but remembering to use page or

paragraph numbers)?

_____ Did I mention the author’s name throughout the summary?

A – 0 B – 4 C – 10 D – 6 F – 2

Working Bibliography (APA)

_____ Did I type and center the words, Working Bibliography at the top of my page?

_____ Are my citations in alphabetical order?

_____Are my citations done MLA or APA documentation style, whichever was

assigned?

_____ Are my margins correct?

_____ Did I indent second line of citation?

A – 3 B – 5 C – 5 D – 8 F – 1

No Checklist or Late

(Students who were given a Checklist but either did not use it to help keep track of whether they were doing the TLA correctly, forgot the Checklist at home, or did not turn in the

Checklist and TLA on time.)

8

Grade Distribution for Two-Left Assignment (APA)

EDF 2085: Introduction to Diversity for Educators, Spring, 2011

Title Page

_____ Is my title page correct? (MLA or APA) Circle style assigned.

_____ Is my title correct as assigned?

_____ Did I double space?

_____ Did I use Times New Roman, 12 font as assigned?

_____ Is all of my academic information correct, including the day, month, and year

according to MLA or APA?

A – 10 B – 6 C – 1 D – 0 F – 0

Sources

_____ Did I write the citation information (MLA or APA) on the back of each of my

sources as I gathered them? (MLA, Bedford Handbook, Chapter 53 and APA,

Bedford Handbook, Chapter 56)

_____ Did I annotate each of my sources thoroughly? (See Bedford Handbook, Chapter

4, pp. 86-89.)

_____ Are my personal thoughts, ideas, feelings, reactions, definitions of terms, etc.

evident in my annotations? (See Bedford Handbook, Chapter

4, pp. 86-89.)

A – 4 B – 4 C – 1 D – 4 F – 3

Summaries

_____ Did I use 8 ½ by 11 lined paper to write the draft of my summaries?

_____ Does the first sentence in each of my summaries have the title of the text, the name

of the author, and the author’s thesis . . . ? (See Bedford Handbook, Chapter 4, pp.

92-93.)

_____ Did I use in-text citations, both direct (using quotation marks and page or

paragraph numbers) and indirect (paraphrasing but remembering to use page or

paragraph numbers)?

_____ Did I mention the author’s name throughout the summary?

A – 3 B – 3 C – 4 D – 3 F – 4

Working Bibliography (APA)

_____ Did I type and center the words, Working Bibliography at the top of my page?

_____ Are my citations in alphabetical order?

_____Are my citations done MLA or APA documentation style, whichever was

assigned?

_____ Are my margins correct?

_____ Did I indent second line of citation?

A – 7 B – 3 C – 1 D – 4 F – 2

No Checklist or Late

(Students who were given a Checklist but either did not use it to help keep track of whether they were doing the TLA correctly, forgot the Checklist at home, or did not turn in the

Checklist and TLA on time.)

5

Comments Before Grading, students were given directions in class and told what a Two-Left Assignment is and that it is a courtesy. They were encouraged to write down directions; shown examples of former students’ work using the data projector and the document camera; emailed copies of a former student’s title page and Working Bibliography; mini lectured using Bedford, 8th ed., Chapter 4; and given a Two-Left Checklist for checking their own work before submitting the work.

After Grading, students were reminded why it was necessary for them to know research skills, practices, and techniques; instructed to open the Bedford Handbook again and read info with me; explained the connection Two-Left components had to the writing of their Report, using check-off page from syllabus.

Areas of Strengths: Once shown HOW to make title pages and bibliographies, students did well.

Areas of Weakness: Even though students were shown HOW to annotate and summarize, grades show they need more practice.

Suggestion: Students should be given a Two-Left Assignment in any course that requires them to do research-related work. Too often students are required to write research papers or to do research-related work; however, they are not instructed, perhaps as a courtesy of the professor or perhaps in a lab setting, to do the “behind the scenes” research skills such as annotating and summarizing. Students are also in the need of being reminded in every course that time management is an issue in doing research-related work. Students who are 4MAT 1’s and 4’s and Myers-Briggs E’s and P’s typically need to be reminded that research requires them to budget their time, so they are able to spend time with family, friends, and events while setting time to get work done. Also, research can be a very lonely academic activity for students. The 2 Quadrant, which is on the Reflective side of the learning cycle, is where critical thinking and writing take place. Students have to be helped to understand that doing research takes them away from others; it is not a social academic endeavor. As the years go by, it is hopeful that students will come to understand that with time management, they can take advantage of what spending time in the Information Age can do for them in their academic lives and in their social lives.

Concluding Thoughts

(“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I

understand.”) Dewey (1938)

A Two-Left Assignment: “Courtesies” of Professor D.

Kolb, McCarthy, Myers, Briggs, and Dewey (from John Dewey: Experience &

Education, 1938) are experts whose ideas, principles, practices, and teaching methods I have

adopted as my own over the years as an English and Education professor. Their research in the

areas of teaching, learning styles, and personality development has provided me with a language

to use to help students know why they either embrace the world of research or they do not

embrace the world of research. It is a world that if students are not guided through properly,

once they are in the academic arena, they will, in frustration, give up.

The Two-Left Assignment helps to remedy, or even soften, the daunting aspect of doing

research-related work. Once students learn the importance of annotating and summarizing text,

along with doing title pages and bibliographies, they can sometimes develop this sense of

empowerment that can carry them through their college and university lives, well into their

professional lives. Former students, who have either left Palm Beach State College to continue

their education at other universities or who have remained here at Palm Beach State College to

earn their bachelors degree, have told me in passing that although they hated having to do Two-

Left Assignments, they are glad they had to do them.

King Solomon wrote, “. . . there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) I agree

with him, for this English/Education prof happened to come along in the 20th/21st Centuries, and

given the teaching/learning styles and personality traits that make him who he is, he came to

realize that in providing his students with various courtesies, the Two-Left Assignment began

to manifest itself into a worthy tool for his students to use always. Like a coach “makes” his/her

players do certain skills at practice, so the players can, without thinking about it, perform to their

best ability in a game, so, too, does the practice of doing Two-Left Assignments help students

develop confidence in doing research-related work in their other classes.

I appreciate the opportunity to share with the Committee my application for the Stewart

Distinguished Teaching Award for 2011.

Kindest regards,

David D. Duncan, Professor of English and Education (1324/INFJ)

Palm Beach State College