Material to Post Later
On Locations
Small group rooms are as follows:
Group 1 (with Heidi Nobles)—URL (pending)
Group 2 (with Tamika Carey)—URL (pending)
Group 3 (with Patricia Sullivan)—URL (pending)
On Deliverables
Since one of our goals is to provide practical, hands-on opportunities for designing and refining writing experiences, we will be asking you to create one of three-types of deliverables throughout the seminar. They include:
Preparation Activities - These readings, screenings, and invention writing tasks should enrich or challenge your thinking about the topic of the day.
Daily Deliverables - Slightly more developed, these activities ask you to apply the insights from the day. If time permits, we will revisit them during the Afternoon Workshop and the final Check-in for the day.
Ideally, these activities will fold into
your final presentation, a ten-minute presentation where you share with us two aspects of your writing pedagogy. More specific details to come.
Daily Deliverables
Monday—
Select a course that you have taught, will teach, or imagine teaching someday.
Draft a rough working schedule for a 15-week format, labeling at least:
the names or themes of your major units
the major assignments you’d plan for (exams, essays, etc.) and target due dates
where you would place the following writing instruction:
giving a broad overview your course’s major writing assignments and associated grading rubrics
introducing any style guide or similar formatting requirements
introducing each individual major writing assignments/grading rubric
reinforcing style guide/similar formatting requirements
smaller, low-stakes, write-to-learn (W2L) writing assignments
peer review
covering mechanical issues, including grammar, using and citing sources, etc.
revision opportunities
You can refer to this sample schedule as needed.
Note any questions this exercise raises for you.
For example, you might wonder how to achieve more effective peer review, or how you’re supposed to allow for revision grading and still get any sleep, or what kinds of W2L assignments would be best for your course, etc.
Finished schedule drafts due by 11:59 p.m. to this folder (link pending).
Daily Assignments
Before arriving at the Institute on Tuesday, please:
First write: As tomorrow’s session is on Scaffolding and Assignment Sequence Design, this prompt asks you to reflect on a frustrating major writing assignment you encountered somewhere in your trajectory as a writer. What was the assignment? What was the source of the frustration? And, given where we are at this stage of this week’s institute, what would you have done differently as the student completing the assignment or as the instructor? Please post in the discussion forum called “Tuesday’s Warm-Up Prompt”.
Then collect: Locate a major writing assignment that undergraduates in your department/program will likely have to complete. This may be one of your former assignments or one that you have acquired from a fellow instructor. Post the assignment on the corresponding discussion board with some information describing the course, level, and aims. “Tuesday’s Major Writing Assignment”
Finally, read: Gottschalk and Hjortshoj chapter (also located in the “Resources” folder on Collab) and skim chapters 6, 7, and 13 in Bean.
Before arriving at the Institute on Wednesday, please:
Read Bean: 290-316; 317-22; 333-336.
Watch video of real students and teachers talking about getting and giving feedback (about 35 minutes) “Across The Drafts: Students and Teachers Talk about Feedback” Harvard University Center for Teaching Excellence April 2014. The total video is 33:34 minutes long but is broken up into two parts. The first 1-18:40 minutes is about getting and giving feedback. This is the part I’m asking you to watch.
Note: The next part of the video “Shaped by Writing: The Undergraduate Experience” (from 19:00 onward) consists of (sometimes gushy) excerpts from Harvard’s study on undergraduate writing experience (comments by both students and professors). Watching it is optional (but good fun).
Please post to Collab forum titled “Responding to Student Writing - Wednesday, August 12” before 9 am Wednesday:
If you have taught writing before in any of your courses, please post an example of student writing (3-6 pages or reasonable excerpt from a longer work that makes sense) from your course. Please remove the student’s name. Include the assignment and name of the course. Do not include your comments or grade. Please do not choose the worst or best piece of writing; if possible choose an example somewhere in the middle. Ideally the writing should be a MS word document or pdf file.
If you haven’t taught writing before in any of your courses, you can post a sample of your own writing, ideally with a professor’s comments. If not, at least post a piece of your own writing (not the worst, not the best, a draft you’d welcome comments on.
Be prepared to discuss the following reflection questions:
How do we manage the labor that is involved in assigning, commenting on and evaluating student writing?
When and how do we comment on student writing? How do we help students make effective use of our comments and other materials (such as handouts, peer review, workshops)?
What are some options for addressing matters of style and grammar?
What goals do you have for responding to student writing in your course?
Before arriving at the Institute on Thursday, please:
Submit your portfolio to the appropriate Collab Forum.
Be prepared to give your presentation and facilitate a follow-up discussion.
Be prepared to listen attentively and participate in discussions of your peers’ presentations.