teaching with writing
events, consultations, & support
events:
fall 2009 tww events
engaging controversies: writing pedagogy discussion series
past teaching with writing events
teaching with writing events
The Teaching with Writing series of events provides support and creates community for instructors across the University who use writing in their teaching. These workshops and panels are free and open to all University instructors on any campus.
For events over the lunch hour, lunch is provided for the first 30 registrants. Space for all events can be limited. Please register in advance through the Teaching with Writing interface (TWWi)
Phone reservations can be made by calling Mitch Ogden at 612.625.0849.
fall 2009 events
e n g a g i n g . c o n t r o v e r s i e s . d i s c u s s i o n
the erosion of writing skills
Friday, December 4
9:00–10:30 am
125 Nolte Hall (East Bank)
Teachers frequently make the claim that each generation of students gets progressively worse at writing. Texting, spell-check, and wanton neglect of grammar instruction are among the suspected culprits for the supposed decline. But what evidence do we have about the rise or fall of student writing abilities? In this open and daring conversation, we'll try to unpack and untangle perceptions and realities.
This is the third in a series of monthly "Engaging Controversies" open discussions that explore provocative issues that are dynamically related to writing, writing instruction, and pedagogy more broadly. Brief readings distributed in advance. Coffee provided.
to register, go to the TWWi
for more about Engaging Controversies discussions...
w o r k s h o p
better next time: a workshop to improve our writing assignments
Friday, December 11
12:30 – 2:00 pm
2-260 EE/CSi (Active Learning Classroom) (East Bank)
We've all probably given a writing assignment that produced less than sterling results. And maybe some of our writing assignments have even been disastrous, leaving us—and our students—frustrated and dismayed. Disastrous or not, we can always find ways to improve our writing assignments for the next round. Bring one or more of your assignments to this hopeful and helpful hands-on workshop. Faculty Writing Consultants from the Center for Writing will help you revise to make your assignments better next time.
Lunch will be provided for the first 30 registrants; to register, go to the TWWi
w o r k s h o p
grading retreat
Tuesday, December 22
8:30 am – 12:30 pm
15 Nicholson (East Bank)
At the end of a semester, the grading has got to get done. We can languish in solitude—or we can hunker down with a supportive (but quiet!) community of fellow teachers to motivate, encourage, and inspire us to persevere. The Center for Writing has space to spread out, pace, and fraternize towards the completion of this important and necessary pedagogical task. Come and go as suits your schedule, but join us for the first Center for Writing Grading Retreat. Beverages and refreshments will be provided to refresh and renew us.
to register, go to the TWWi
past fall 2009 events
e n g a g i n g . c o n t r o v e r s i e s . d i s c u s s i o n
what counts as "writing"?
Friday, October 2
9:00–10:30 am
125 Nolte Hall (East Bank)
"Writing" as a term has been defined so broadly as to risk rendering it meaningless. Join a spirited discussion considering the consequences of narrowing and broadening what we consider to be "writing" in the twenty-first century.
This is the first in a series of monthly "Engaging Controversies" open discussions that explore provocative issues that are dynamically related to writing, writing instruction, and pedagogy more broadly. Brief readings distributed in advance. Coffee provided.
for more about Engaging Controversies discussions...
w o r k s h o p
writing/research: a workshop for instructors
Thursday, October 8
12:00 - 1:30 pm
204 Walter Library (SMART Learning Commons) (East Bank)
As companion activities, writing and researching are generally inseparable. Students often struggle with both, and teachers may be challenged to support and structure these twin elements that are essential to learning at the University. The Center for Writing and the University Libraries team up to support instructors with a workshop that gives opportunity for deep reflection on and new approaches to teaching research and teaching writing.
Workshop facilitators: Kate Peterson (University Libraries); Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing)
w o r k s h o p
using writing to assess student learning (1st offering)
Friday, October 9
12:00 - 1:30 pm
135 Nicholson (East Bank)
As assessment continues to develop—as an institutional expectation and a theoretical practice—there are increasing opportunities to consider how we assess student learning in our classes. Writing has long provided flexible and adaptable approaches to assessment. This workshop aims to help instructors design writing activities and assignments that help you assess your students' learning.
Workshop facilitators: Kirsten Jamsen (Center for Writing); Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing)
w o r k s h o p
teaching (with) digital writing (1st offering)
Wednesday, October 14
2:00 – 3:30 pm
50 Humphrey (West Bank)
Most writing today is done digitally, creating opportunities for instructors to readily embrace digital tools, technologies, and techniques as a part of the writing they assign and the response they offer to student writers. In this interactive workshop, we will consider a variety of tools that might be appropriate for your specific assignments and students, and think with you about the ways in which wikis, blogs, social networking apps (Facebook, Twitter, Ning), course management software (Moodle, WebVista), document-sharing and co-authoring programs, online document mark-up tools, chat tools, clickers, and a slew of others can support the work you do with student writing.
Workshop facilitators: Paul Baepler (Digital Media Center); Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing)
w o r k s h o p
using writing to assess student learning (2nd offering)
Wednesday, October 28
2:00 – 3:30 pm
1-143 Carlson (West Bank)
As assessment continues to develop—as an institutional expectation and a theoretical practice—there are increasing opportunities to consider how we assess student learning in our classes. Writing has long provided flexible and adaptable approaches to assessment. This workshop aims to help instructors design writing activities and assignments that help you assess your students' learning.
Workshop facilitators: Kirsten Jamsen (Center for Writing); Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
responding to graduate student writers
Wednesday, November 4
12:00 – 1:30 pm
140 Nolte (East Bank)
Giving response on the writing of students is among the most powerful and important means of interaction between faculty and their students. When those student writers are graduate students, the relational dynamics shift in important ways. This session convenes a panel of experienced faculty members who will share their own approaches to giving feedback and comments to graduate students they work with, attending to issues that include committee politics, non-native speaker concerns, and professional development.
Panel members: Doug Margolis (faculty, Second Language Studies); Candance Doerr-Stevens (PhD student, Curriculum & Instruction); Julia Robinson (faculty, Architecture); Jasmine Tang (PhD Student American Studies); Dan Keefe (faculty, Computer Science)
e n g a g i n g . c o n t r o v e r s i e s . d i s c u s s i o n
i write, therefore i learn?
Friday, November 6
9:00–10:30 am
125 Nolte Hall (East Bank)
The concept of "writing to learn" is well established throughout our educational systems, constituting something of a "first law" of writing across the curriculum. Although many of us believe that when we write we enhance our learning, have we taken the opportunity to explore the limits and mechanisms of our belief? Join an energetic conversation that delves into a neglected topic.
This is the second in a series of monthly "Engaging Controversies" open discussions that explore provocative issues that are dynamically related to writing, writing instruction, and pedagogy more broadly. Brief readings distributed in advance. Coffee provided.
for more about Engaging Controversies discussions...
w o r k s h o p
teaching (with) digital writing (2nd offering)
Thursday, November 12
12:00 – 1:30 pm
50 Humphrey (West Bank)
Most writing today is done digitally, creating opportunities for instructors to readily embrace digital tools, technologies, and techniques as a part of the writing they assign and the response they offer to student writers. In this interactive workshop, we will consider a variety of tools that might be appropriate for your specific assignments and students, and think with you about the ways in which wikis, blogs, social networking apps (Facebook, Twitter, Ning), course management software (Moodle, WebVista), document-sharing and co-authoring programs, online document mark-up tools, chat tools, clickers, and a slew of others can support the work you do with student writing.
Workshop facilitators: Paul Baepler (Digital Media Center); Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing)
c o l l o q u i u m
writing research colloquium: interdisciplinary studies of writing grants projects
Friday, November 13
12:00 – 2:00 pm
135 Nicholson (East Bank)
This colloquium features the original writing research of our own University of Minnesota faculty and students, based on projects funded by the Center for Writing’s Interdisciplinary Studies of Writing (ISW) Grants:
Bridge students talk back: Analyzing the writing component of the Summer Bridge Program
Pat Bruch & Tom Reynolds (Writing Studies)
Digital writing in a doctoral level pharmacotherapy course for physical therapy students
Amy Pittenger (Pharmacy, Office of CyberLearning and Outreach)
Teaching discipline-specific writing to horticulture students using an online module
Eric Watkins (Horticultural Science)
consultations
Consultants from the Center for Writing are
available to consult one-to-one on the following issues related to teaching with writing:
- effectively integrating writing and writing instruction in courses across the disciplines
- devising
effective syllabi and writing assignments
- responding
to student writing
- creating
grading criteria
- running a grade norming session with TAs
To request
a consultation, contact Mitch Ogden via email or
by calling 612.625.0849.
In addition, Faculty Writing Consultants have been appointed from across a wide spectrum of academic disciplines. These faculty members are also available to consult with University instructors on issues related to teaching with writing. You can review the areas in which they research and teach here. You are welcome to contact them to discuss topics and questions about teaching with writing.
top of page
center for writing library
The Center for Writing houses a collection of texts, journals, and reproducible handouts on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies; Writing Across the Disciplines (WAC); and Writing in the Disciplines (WID). These resources are available for limited check-out or use within our offices. View our collection online.
Front desk staff in 10 Nicholson Hall will be able to help you access materials from the Center for Writing library.
top of page
|
