Dr. Edward Vavra
e-mail: evavra@kissgrammar.org
Teaching Experience

Thirty-six years, including Freshman Composition, remedial writing, advanced essay, grammar for teachers, Speech, Russian, Continental Literature, Russian/ Soviet Novel, Word-Processing, Using an Integrated Computer Program, Desk-top Publishing.

Published

"Tales from Shakespeare and the Remedial Writer," The Leaflet. Vol. 106, No. 1 (Winter 2007), 24-34.
"Grammar Is Back, but When Will We Start Cooking?" English Journal. Vol. 92, No. 3 (Jan 03), 86-89).
"On Not Teaching Grammar." English Journal. Vol. 85, No.7 (Nov. 96), 32-37.
"Welcome to the Shoe Store?" English Journal. Vol. 82, No. 5 (Sept.,93), 81-84.
"Vygotsky and Grammar Instruction." Composition Chronicle. Vol. 3, No. 1 (Feb., 1990), 4-6.
"Grammar and Syntax: The Student’s Perspective." English Journal. Vol. 76, No. 6 (Oct 87), 42-48.
"Professors Have Failed to Teach Evaluation." Chronicle of Higher Education. Oct. 22, 1986. 47.
"Preposition Proposition." Instructor. May 86. 92.
"Review" of What Makes Writing Good. Teaching English in the Two-Year College. 12 (1985). 318-320.
"Response to Patrick Hartwell," College English. 47 (Oct 85). 647-9.
"The Unmentionable Politics of Fyodor Gladkov’s Cement," Russian Language Journal. 38 (1984). 101-113.
"Afterword" to Fyodor Gladkov’s Cement. NY: Ungar, 1980.
"Meditations on the Teaching of Russian," AATSEEL’s Newsletter, Oct., 1980.

Work History

    Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Pennsylvania College of Technology, 1990-2017
    Associate Professor, Shenandoah College, 1985-1990.
    Assistant Professor, Shenandoah College, 1976-85.
    Director of Financial Aid, Shenandoah College, 1983-4.
Degrees
    Ph.D. (75) Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (Russian Language and Literature)
    M.A. (74) Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (Russian Language and Literature)
    B.A. (67) SUNY, Binghamton. (Russian Language and Literature)
Developer: The KISS Grammar Curriculum

Workshops & Conference Papers

    "Sea of Faith; Land of Doubt: Arnold’s ‘Dover Beach,’ Sesame Street, and the SAT," Conference 88 on Critical Thinking, Newport News, VA. April 7, 1988.

    "Remedial/Developmental English and the American Fallacy," April 29, 1987. NYCLSA, Rochester, NY.

    "The Syntax of Thinking," Conference 87 on Critical Thinking, Newport News, VA. April 8, 1987.

    "Searching for a Pedagogical Syntax," Veal Seminar, NCTE Spring Conf., Louisville, KY. March 26, 1987.

    "Teaching Syntax, Teaching Thinking," Delaware Valley Writing Conf., West Chester, PA. March 1, 1986.

Languages
    Russian, French, Italian, and German, from strongest to weakest.
Editing
    Syntax in the Schools, a newsletter for English teachers, 1984-1999.
ERIC
    "The Sequential, Syntactic, Remedial Tutorial." ED 263 594. (Paper presented at 7th Conference, East Central Writing Centers Assoc., Gannon University, May 85.)

    "A New Method and Curriculum for Teaching Writing and Grammar," ED 277 003. (Paper presented at 10th Conference of Society of Educators & Scholars, Oct 85, Edward Williams College.

Computers
    Created CAOW, a computerized version of Art Whimbey's Analyse, Organize, Write.
    Taught "Desk-top Publishing" (COM 341, primarily PageMaker).
    Taught "Word-Processing" (COM 155, Word Perfect).
    Taught "Using an Integrated Computer System" (COM 342. primarily with Microsoft Works).
    Taught "Animated Computer Graphics" (COM 362, using GRASP)
    Required students to use word-processing for all papers (including Freshmen composition, and make my comments on the disk copies of students’ papers, which they then revise.
Memberships
    National Council of Teachers of English, 1983-2003;
    Association of Teachers of English Grammar (Treasurer, and editor of newsletter), 1990-2003;
    Writing Program Administrators of Virginia, 1986-1990;
    Virginia Council on English Education, 1987-1990;
    Society of Educators and Scholars, 1985-88;
    Modern Language Association, 1976-86;
    American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, 1976-83.