Professional Development and Workshops

Writing Fellows Program and Writing Across the Curriculum Institute

The Writing Across the Curriculum Writing Fellows program is an established professional enrichment experience focused on helping faculty plan and offer courses infused with writing. It is for any interested faculty member or for any interested full- or part-time lecturer at EMU wishes to incorporate writing into specific undergraduate or graduate courses or who will be teaching a Writing-Intensive (W) course in the major.

Writing Fellows participate in a four-day Writing Across the Curriculum Institute held each spring. The Institute provides participants with the opportunity to develop or refine a course that uses writing. Topics include developing and addressing writing outcomes; integrating writing outcomes with other course learning outcomes; planning and developing assignments; supporting student writing through instruction, feedback, and staged activities; using formal and informal writing; grading, responding to, and assessing student writing; and managing the paper load. Participants also become familiar with the services and support offered by the Office of Campus and Community Writing, including student and faculty writing support provided by the University Writing Center.

Writing Fellows benefit from opportunities both during and beyond the Institute to interact with colleagues from across campus and to consult with writing experts. Fellows also have access to Cognitive Coaching support and electronic instructional resources.

Writing Fellows receive an honorarium for participating in the Institute. They benefit from ongoing consultations and from access to electronic resources, including instructional materials that assist them with teaching their course(s). Writing Fellows also benefit from interaction and discussion about student writing with other colleagues from across campus.

Up to 25 faculty members are selected each year to participate in the Spring Writing Institute and in the Writing Fellows program for the following academic year. Faculty members must be available for all four days of the Institute.

Applications are made available in late January and can be sent to Dr. Ann Blakeslee via email ([email protected]) or via campus mail (English Department, 612 Pray-Harrold). Questions about the Institute can also be directed to Ann.

Advanced Writing Fellows Program and Spring Communication Across the Curriculum Advanced Institute

The Communication Across the Curriculum Advanced Fellows program is for faculty members who have previously participated in a Writing Across the Curriculum Spring Institute. Those who are interested in incorporating team projects with reading, writing, and speaking components are especially encouraged to apply. The Institute is focused on helping faculty develop particular expertise in integrating communication competencies in their courses and programs.

Advanced CAC Fellows participate in a three-day Advanced Communication Across the Curriculum Institute. Participants use the Advanced CAC Institute as an opportunity to identify purposes for integrated projects and to develop outcomes that infuse reading, writing, speaking, and teaming. The three days are used to explore effective strategies for developing and implementing such projects, to design or re-design a course project, to consider and incorporate appropriate guidance and support for student success, and to develop rubrics for assessment. Faculty members leave the Institute with confidence in their ability to design, support and effectively assess a team project.

Up to 15 faculty members are selected to participate in the Advanced Communication Across the Curriculum. Faculty members must have participated previously in a WAC Institute. They must also be available for all three days of the Institute.

Applications are made available in late January and can be sent to Dr. Ann Blakeslee via email ([email protected]) or via campus mail (English Department, 612 Pray-Harrold). Questions about the Institute can also be directed to Ann.

Writing Across the Curriculum Advanced Retreats

Reading-Writing Connections

At this retreat, we will explore—through reading, activities, and conversation—connections between reading and writing and how to design assignments that support our students in both areas. We will explore ways to scaffold reading and writing in the assignments we give. The purpose of this retreat will be to develop ideas and strategies for helping students engage productively with the academic texts we assign and to gain facility in using those texts in their writing.

Applications are made available in late January and can be sent to Dr. Ann Blakeslee via email ([email protected]) or via campus mail (English Department, 612 Pray-Harrold). Questions about the Retreat can also be directed to Ann.

Discussion: "The Meaningful Writing Project: Learning, Teaching, and Writing in Higher Education"

In this retreat, we will discuss the book, The Meaningful Writing Project (Eodice, Geller, & Lerner,  2016). The book reports the results of survey and interview research carried out at three universities focused on how students perceive the writing they are assigned and the qualities of the writing they find most meaningful.

Participants will be asked to read the book in advance, and our conversations will focus on student learning; transfer of writing strategies; metacognition; and qualities of effective, successful, and meaningful assignments. The purpose of the retreat will be to develop ideas and strategies for making our assignments more meaningful for students. We will explore implications of this work for our teaching, classes, assignments, and programs.

Applications are made available in late January and can be sent to Dr. Ann Blakeslee via email ([email protected]) or via campus mail (English Department, 612 Pray-Harrold). Questions about the Retreat can also be directed to Ann.

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