Coherence

From Parmelee Welsh, co-editor

In our educational setting, examples, definitions and explanations of coherence can most commonly be found in a writing textbook; however, in the Corpus of Contemporary American English, coherence appears most commonly in an intellectual context, such as the American Economist or School Psychology Review.  This concept of logical unity is essential for critical thinking in any field, especially for students learning English to prepare for university education. 

Modeling logic in our daily classroom routines can build coherence into every interaction with students. By opening our lessons with clear goals and showing the logical steps to practice those skills, we can show the students a clear, linked purpose for every class.  When we effectively use cohesive transitions within our teaching, the students learn that the connection between ideas is as important as the ideas themselves.  Even ending our classes with clear conclusions and summaries demonstrates that we value logical, intentional coherence in all our thinking, planning and writing.   In “Effectiveness of Lesson Planning:  Factor Analysis,” Panasuk and Todd (2005) state, “Planning a lesson involves teachers’ purposeful efforts in developing a coherent system of activities that facilitates the evolution of students’ cognitive structures.” Through reflective teaching, Lorie Wood demonstrates how we can improve day-to-day classroom activities and lessons by being thoughtful and implementing purposeful introductions, transitions and conclusions.

Furthermore, valuing unity throughout our program builds coherence. Our scaffolded curriculum emphasizes a clear progression of skills through each level.  To further highlight this unity, the IEC Canvas course templates deliver each course in similar formats, so students interface with content consistently and clearly.  In addition to the template courses, effective assessments build coherence by reflecting the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs).  Olivia Livneh expands on this cohesion by discussing how to vet, create and evaluate test questions.

The authors in this issue have found even more applications of coherence to our teaching practice. By not isolating English language learning to the classroom, Kendra Stanley explains how students can experience coherence through social justice education.  Luke Coffelt provides a review of a presentation on student engagement from CoTESOL.  Reporting on a current resource, Matt Morley demonstrates how speech to text technology can build students’ speaking self-awareness.  In an interview, Ruth Moore discusses how to maintain coherence while co-authoring and publishing. Looking over his career, Larry Fisher finds coherence in the glory days, both then and now.  Finally, Tom Germain and Agnes Farkas Roszell write a tribute to Larry Fischer commemorating his 43 years with the IEC and his remarkable contributions to CoTESOL.

Speaking of tributes, our center operates as a unified whole due to the congenial and collegial collaboration of all the faculty and staff to support and care for each other and the students.  I recognize the value of each individual and thank them for how they have uniquely enriched and deepened our working relationships.  Specifically, I offer my highest praise and thanks to Lorie, as this is the last issue that she will be co-editing—her expertise and teamwork are invaluable in writing and publishing this faculty journal. Coherence, therefore, influences many aspects of our center personally, professionally and programmatically.