The Writing Fellows workshop series will begin this week and run through the end of the spring semester. The Writing Fellows Program will offer five sessions to support faculty who use writing in the courses they teach, with a goal of building the wider culture of writing on campus.
All sessions, open to faculty and staff across disciplines, will take place in the CELT Conference Room, 123 Penfield Library. They include:
- Wednesday, March 27, 11:30 a.m.: "Short and Sweet: Responding to Student Writing Effectively and Meaningfully," led by Writing Across the Curriculum Director Michael Murphy. This session will focus on what are often seen as irreconcilable needs in responding to student writing -- the need to say something that matters and the need to get that big stack of papers finished sooner rather than later.
- Thursday, April 4, 11:10 a.m.: "Breaking the Cell Phone Spell: Nudging Students Into Thought in the Digital Age," led by School of Communication, Media and the Arts Fellow Ken Nichols. Students are as bright as ever, but many find themselves struggling to concentrate because of the constant interruptions erupting from their smartphones. Nichols will discuss and develop strategies to help students engage in deeper and more critical thought in between their Snapchat sessions.
- Monday, April 8, 1:50 p.m.: "How to Use Creative Writing Skills to Write Academic Papers," led by College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Fellow Tony Caputa. This workshop will offer ways to incorporate basic creative writing techniques and exercises into academic writing.
- Wednesday, April 24, 11:30am: "Encouraging Students to Revise," led by School of Business Fellow Melissa Webb. Students don't always write purposeful revisions. Sometimes, students find developing and fine-tuning ideas an unnecessary chore; other times, students sit with their drafts and don't know where to go next. During this workshop, Webb will discuss practices such as peer review, instructor feedback, student reflections and assignments that motivate.
- Thursday, May 9, 11:10 a.m.: "A Scaffolded, Community-Based Podcast Project," led by Assistant Director for Writing Across the Curriculum Stephanie Pritchard. Scaffolded projects help students work through a series of deadlines with several low-stakes assignments. Podcast projects encourage students to write with a specific audience and purpose in mind. This workshop will focus specifically on a community-based podcast project (from an English 102 class) that can be adapted to fit other course material.