So how does this work? 

The model courses are composition curricula that fulfill the learning outcomes for the 1101 and 1121 learning sequence.  In these courses, we describe for you the major assignments. We’ve also made suggestions for in-class activities and homework.  Additionally, we’ve developed cloneable course sites on both Blackboard and Open Lab  that fit with these curricular designs. The model courses are not required for composition instructors at City Tech, but we suggest you give them a shot once or twice! 

Mainstream Curriculum, Core Books and Co-Req at CUNY– what’s all this? 

You’ll see that there are three curricula for both 1101 and two for 1121. The curricula are interchangeable– meaning you can mix and match the readings, unit assignments and other exercises as you see fit.  (The final portfolio is the same.) All curricula are designed with City Tech’s learning outcomes and new curricular principles in mind, and the units share key similarities. We worked together to design the curricula in tandem, with slightly different readings. So you can take one unit from mainstream and another from the Co-Req or Core Books, and it will work just fine! A student will also be able to take a Core Books or Co-Req 1101 and move easily into a mainstream 1121, or vice versa. As the model course program goes on, we hope to have more and more units and models. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Mainstream Curriculum

The “mainstream curriculum”  is anything but mainstream! That said, it’s the curriculum used in the majority of composition classes (which is how it got its name.) This two-course trajectory uses a variety of diverse texts and innovative teaching methods to help students engage their curiosity and to build their research, reading and writing skills. We also hope it will help them develop more confidence (and even joy) with writing. Find materials for the mainstream 1101 model course and the mainstream 1121 model courses here. 

Core Books at CUNY

Core Books at CUNY is modeled on the Columbia Core Curriculum and funded by a CUNY-wide Teagle Foundation grant. City Tech is collaborating with three other CUNY campuses to integrate common texts that raise broad humanistic questions into writing courses. The project fosters a community of learners and instructors through curricular coherence and shared texts.  

The model syllabi we have created emerge from the City Tech curriculum planning groups involved with this initiative. We hope these syllabi will provide you with useful and engaging materials for English 1101 and English 1121. Review the materials on the ENG 1101 Core Books Model Course and the English 1121 Core Books Model Course.

Co-req 1101 Curriculum

While the 1101 Co-requisite is a six-credit course, it covers the same learning outcomes and goals as the mainstream and Core Books courses, and the curricula are very similar.  If you are teaching a non-co-req section of 1101, you are welcome to revise the co-req curriculum to fit your needs. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here is an overview of  the goals of all of the Model Course curricula: 

For more info on how to teach for transfer click here