teaching with writing
past events
past events of summer 2009
teaching with writing 2009: an annual five-day seminar for faculty members & instructors
This seminar presents an opportunity for busy faculty members and instructors to focus
exclusively
on strategies for integrating meaningful writing instruction into their courses. All discussions are interdisciplinary, lively, and practical. Each session also involves participants in hands-on activities using sample writing assignments and student-written drafts.
commenting on + grading student writing: a two-day seminar for new and experienced teaching assistants from all disciplines
in this two-day seminar, new and seasoned teaching assistants will have
opportunities to...
• consider writing process from student writers’ vantage points
• discuss course-appropriate, discipline-specific writing criteria
• practice writing comments that encourage revision
• create assignment-specific grading schemes that ensure fair assessment
• increase efficiency
• hear from a panel of award-winning instructors
summer hunker: faculty writing jumpstart
Monday, June 1 - Friday, June 5
9:00 am - 3:00 pm (additional writing time available before and after)
204 Walter Library (SMART Learning Commons)
Join a small community of faculty members for a week of focused writing attention that aims to give time, space, and support for you to get your summer writing projects started with gusto. Each day will include dedicated independent writing time and brief structured writing activities, as well as organized opportunities to seek feedback and response from fellow writers. Hunker down with us and build the momentum you need to reach your summer writing goals.
past events of spring 2009
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
collaborative writing
Wednesday, February 4
12:00 – 1:30
101 Walter Library (East Bank)
We often require students to write collaboratively without attending to all of the complexity of such writing. Work styles, group dynamics, and assignment design all converge in a collaborative writing assignment, making it a particularly complex activity for the student and the teacher. Instructors on this panel share how they structure, organize, and manage collaborative writing assignments and projects in their classes.
Panelists: Phil Barry (Computer Science and Engineering), Pat Bruch (Writing Studies), Roger Miller (Geography)
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 hegemony of the thesis statement
Friday, February 6
9:00–10:30 am
12 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
Where does thesis-driven writing drive us?
for more about Engaging Controversies discussions...
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
science writing
Tuesday, February 10
2:30 - 4:00
135 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
Although students sometimes assume that writing is not important in science courses, science instructors know that writing in the sciences is as vital as writing in any other discipline. Scientists from diverse disciplines on this panel talk about how they incorporate writing—and writing instruction—in their science classes.
Panelists: Tom Chase (Mechanical Engineering), Leslie Sharkey (Veterinary Clinical Sciences), Tom Walsh (Physics)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
peer response, peer review
Thursday, February 19
12:00 – 1:30
12 Biological Sciences (St. Paul)
Sharing writing with an audience of peers brings myriad benefits and can take many productive and effective forms. Deploying activities of both peer response and peer review not only helps students improve their writing, but it also helps them become more aware and reflective about writing in general. In this panel, instructors will share how they structure and organize peer response and peer review work in their classes.
Panelists: Todd Arnold (Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology), Matt Kimlinger (Writing Studies), Eric Watkins (Horticultural Science)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
approaching grammar
Wednesday, February 25
2:30 - 4:00
140 Nolte (East Bank)
Everyone says that teaching grammar is someone else's job. But what if we could each own a part of it? What if every instructor could, without claiming expertise as a comprehensive grammarian, confidently and competently address a handful of grammatical concepts? Might a collective effort help a generation of students manage the particularities of grammar?
In this panel, instructors will share their own approaches to addressing grammar, grammatical errors, and grammatical correctness in their teaching and their writing assignments.
Panelists: Tim Gustafson (Writing Studies), Holly Littlefield (Strategic Management & Organization), Kim Strain (Writing Studies)
w o r k s h o p
wiki writing workshop
Thursday, February 26
12:00 - 1:30
50 Humphrey (West Bank)
Wikis have achieved an explosive popularity in college classrooms. They offer promising possibilities for student learning and student writing, but wikis must be carefully contextualized, integrated, and groomed in order to achieve their pedagogical potential. This workshop will present various ways to use wikis successfully in our teaching, sending participants forth with grounded ideas and concrete plans for implementing wiki writing. This workshop is not designed to address technical "how-to" questions, although resources for technical support will be identified.
Jude Higdon (Technology Enhanced Learning), Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing)
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
writing: solitary genius or communal geist?
Friday, March 6
9:00–10:30 am
12 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
What is the true spirit of writing?
for more about Engaging Controversies discussions...
w o r k s h o p
grading & responding workshop
Wednesday, March 11
2:30 – 4:00
N647 Elliot Hall (East Bank)
Grading and responding to student writing are crucial components of teaching—and of teaching with writing. This workshop offers approaches and strategies that make grading and responding effective and efficient. Participants will consider and practice specific techniques for grading and responding, including grading rubrics and various response.
Gina Rumore (History of Science & Technology)
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
critical consciousness, critical thinking, and writing
Friday, April 3
9:00–10:30 am
12 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
How does writing make us think and act critically?
for more about Engaging Controversies discussions...
w o r k s h o p
summer teaching workshop: managing compression and constraints
Thursday, April 9
12:00 – 1:30
101 Walter Library (East Bank)
Teaching in the summer sessions brings both challenges and opportunities. The compression of the term introduces certain constraints but also affords a unique focus and intensity. This workshop is designed to support instructors who will be teaching in the upcoming summer term, offering ideas for designing the course schedule, readings, and assignments—especially writing assignments.
Ilene Alexander (Center for Teaching and Learning), Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
trajectories from first-year writing: connecting writing through the curriculum
Wednesday, April 15
12:00 – 1:30
115 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
First-Year Writing (FYW) is the beginning point for student writing in the University. But it is hardly the end. In this discussion, we'll learn about how FYW approaches teaching students to write, and we'll trace that trajectory through the approaches of faculty who teach writing in their disciplines.
Tom Reynolds (Writing Studies, FYW Director),
Patty Fillipi (Writing Studies),
Todd Arnold (Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology),
Pamela Flash, moderator (Writing-Enriched Curriculum)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
senior papers & projects
Wednesday, April 29
12:00 – 1:30
2-260 Electrical Engineering/Computer Science (EE/CSci) (East Bank)
The senior paper or project is a culmination of students' learning experiences in their major. It is an opportunity to practice, apply, and demonstrate the writing abilities germane to our departments and disciplines. Faculty with experience advising senior projects will discuss sequencing, advising, and designing senior papers and projects so that they are effective and influential learning experiences.
Panelists: Denise Guerin (Design, Housing, & Apparel), Gordon Hirsch (English), Leslie Schiff (Microbiology)
fall 2008 discussions and workshops
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
writing & teaching in graduate school: a conversation between graduate students and recent PhDs
Tuesday, September 23
140 Nolte
This informal lunch conversation invites graduate students to discuss connections between scholarship and teaching—two endeavors that always involve writing. The conversation will be facilitated by three recent PhDs who bring fresh ideas and broad experiences to stimulate and encourage even fresher ideas from graduate students as scholar-writers and as teachers of student-writers.
Panelists: Anne Carter (Graduate School), Mitch Ogden (Center for Writing), Cassie Scharber (Curriculum & Instruction)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
digital writing, writing online
Thursday, October 2
140 Nolte
Blogs and wikis are just the beginning. As digital and online media continue to emerge and expand, their utility and ubiquity in our classrooms increase as well. This lunchtime panel will explore a variety of approaches to using and assigning writing in digital and online modes in order to get pedagogical gain from these technological innovations.
Panelists: Phil Barry (Computer Science), Rick Beach (Curriculum & Instruction), Joanna O’Connell (Spanish & Portuguese)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
avoiding plagiarism: writing the wrongs
Wednesday, October 15
140 Nolte
Long construed as the great plague of education, plagiarism continues to infect the experience of teaching and learning in our classes. In many cases, plagiarism’s ill effects can be preempted by careful preparation and assignment design. Panelists in this session will share strategies and resources that help student writers avoid plagiarism (including uses of SafeAssign, Turnitin.com’s replacement) as well as productive responses to plagiarism and plagiarists.
Panelists: Pat Eliason (Writing Studies), Sarah Hobbie (Ecology, Evolution & Behavior), Kate Peterson (University Libraries)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
responding to student writing
Thursday, October 23
146 McNeal (St. Paul)
Rarely do students receive more affective—and potentially effective—messages from us than when we respond to their writing. In this panel discussion experienced teachers will discuss their techniques for responding to student writers, including designing and coordinating peer response.
Panelists: Ilene Alexander (Center for Teaching & Learning), Esam El-Fakahany (Psychiatry), Tim Gustafson (Writing Studies)
p a n e l . d i s c u s s i o n
assignment design: inspired, intelligent, or evolutionary
Wednesday, November 12
101 Walter Library
Our writing assignments sometimes fall short of our objectives. Creating writing assignments is just like writing: we draft, revise, and revise again. These experienced panelists share approaches to assignment design that create effective writing assignments that minimize headaches, heartaches, and handwringing. Beverages and light refreshments provided.
Panelists: Todd Arnold (Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology), Kit Hansen (Writing Studies), Holly Littlefield (Strategic Management & Organization)
c o l l o q u i u m
writing research colloquium: interdisciplinary studies of writing grants
projects
Friday, November 21
135 Nicholson
This colloquium features the original writing research of our own University of Minnesota faculty, based on projects funded by the Center for Writing’s Interdisciplinary Studies of Writing (ISW) Grants:
Best Practices in Teaching Writing in Engineering: A Synthesis and Forum Analysis (David Beard, Writing Studies, UMD)
Factors that Influence the Efficacy of Student-to-Student Peer Review of Scientific Writing (Mark Stellmack and Yasmine Kalkstein, Psychology)
Integrating Critical Thinking in Pharmacy Student Writing Assignments Using the University’s e-Portfolio System (Kristin Janke, Pharmacy)
spring 2008 discussions and workshops:
writing assignments and activities that work
Wednesday, February 6
135 Nicholson
In this panel discussion, we’ll share a variety of low- and high-stakes writing assignments, including in-class writing activities that deepen learning and improve student writing.
Panelists: Todd Arnold (Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology), Martin
Sampson (Political Science), and Patricia Hemmis (Housing, Design, & Apparel)
responding to student writing
Tuesday, February 12
101 Walter
In this interactive workshop, we'll discuss (and practice) ways to read student drafts, articulate meaningful comments, and manage the paper-load.
Facilitator: Gina Rumore (History of Science & Technology)
Respondents: Sara Berrey (English) and Charles Swanson (Computer Science &
Engineering)
grading student writing
Friday, February 22
10 McNeal, St. Paul campus
In this panel, we'll share time-efficient systems for grading student writing (holistic grading, rubrics, portfolios) and share strategies for this important, but challenging, teaching activity.
Panelists: Jennifer Gunn (History of Science & Technology), Leslie Schiff
(Microbiology), and Jerry Shannon (Writing Studies)
responding to non-native graduate writers
Wednesday, February 27
101 Walter
In this interactive workshop, we'll practice strategies for reading and responding effectively to the writing done by non-native graduate students.
Facilitators: Kit Hansen (Writing Studies) and Kim Strain (Writing Studies)
“it's all about efficiency”: lunch and conversation for TAs who teach with writing
Wednesday, March 5
30 Humphrey
In this roundtable discussion for teaching assistants, three experienced TAs will facilitate a discussion about balancing the roles of graduate student and teacher.
Facilitators: Sara Berrey (English), Gina Rumore (History of Science & Technology), and
Greg Schneider (Writing Studies)
teaching with writing online
Friday, March 7
101 Walter
In this panel, we'll explore why we would want to use WebCT/Vista, Google Docs, UThink blogs, or other online technologies to teach with writing, and how we can do so effectively.
Panelists: Phil Barry (Computer Science and Engineering), Kirsten Jamsen (Center for
Writing), and Eric Watkins (Horticultural Science)
past engaging controversies discussions
fall 2008 engaging controversies discussions:
technology enhanced learning: is google making us stoopid? and other burning questions
Friday, October 10
12 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
The first in the Engaging Controversies series, this discussion will bring us together to consider how the architectures of online technologies influence our learning and thinking. One or two short articles will be distributed to participants in advance to frame the conversation.
owning ideas: intellectual property, propriety, and plagiarism
Friday, November 7
12 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
The second in the Engaging Controversies series, this discussion will bring us together to consider the contested notions of intellectual property and their relationship to scholarship, publication, and teaching. One or two short articles will be distributed to participants in advance to frame the conversation.
profitable education: corporatization of higher education & writing instruction
Friday, December 5
12 Nicholson Hall (East Bank)
The third in the Engaging Controversies series, this discussion will bring us together to consider the trends and culture of business in higher education and writing instruction in particular. One or two short articles will be distributed to participants in advance to frame the conversation.
spring 2008 engaging controversies discussions:
disciplinary differences #2
Friday, February 1
10:30–11:45 am
12 Nicholson Hall
Some faculty members and students perceive absolute and irreconcilable differences between the writing (and thinking) done in scientific and humanistic disciplines. Others feel that beneath superficially differentiated formats and styles, all academic writing engages similar core questions and ideas. Who’s right? How do these beliefs affect student writers?
Here are two readings that should help us frame our discussion on Friday: Judith Langer's "Speaking of Knowing: Conceptions of Understanding in Academic Disciplines," and Susan Peck MacDonald's "Patterns in Disciplinary Variation."
writing = skill or ability?
Friday, March 7
12 Nicholson Hall
First-year students usually write differently from fourth-year students. Is it either realistic or pedagogically sound for us to expect threshold skills that progress toward mastery? Or, is writing an ability that advances and recedes as students’ academic abilities mature? Are abilities acquired differently from skills?
academic writing meets digital literacy
Friday, April 11
12 Nicholson Hall
It is reasonable to suspect that ubiquitous digital interfaces are affecting students’ writing and thinking strategies, but what, specifically, is changing? And, in what ways might we alter the ways we assign and teach writing to make our teaching relevant to today’s computer-literate students?
For this discussion, we've selected three articles:
WIDE Research Centre Collective. “Why Teach Digital Writing?” KAIROS 10.1. Fall 2005 http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/10.1/binder2.html?coverweb/wide/index.html (Click link)
Sosnoski, James. “Hyper-readers and their Reading Engines,” in Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century Technologies,” Hawisher, Gail and Cynthia Selfe (Eds). Logan Utah; Utah State University Press, 1999.
Berninger, Virginia W. and William D. Winn. “Implications of Advancements in Brain Research and Technology for Writing Development, Writing Instruction, and Educational Evolution,” in Handbook of Writing Research, McArthur, Steve Graham, and Jill Fitzgerald (Eds). New York: Guildford Press, 2006.
If you have time to read only one, we suggest the first of these, “Why Teach Digital Writing?” even though the other two are engaging and provocative too.
Questions to consider as you're reading (PDF file)
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