scholarly journals Re-Imagining the First Year as Catalyst for First-Year Writing Program Curricular Change

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Crank ◽  
Sara Heaser ◽  
Darci L. Thoune
Keyword(s):  
College Retention ◽  
Habits Of Mind ◽  
Curricular Change ◽  
First Year ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Research Project ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Multiple Measures ◽  
Writing Course

This article describes a revision of a first-year writing program curriculum using the pillars of the Reimagining the First-Year Program. The authors adapted principles related to mindset and habits of mind from both college retention scholarship and composition scholarship. After developing a research project in order to understand what elements of mindset correlate with readiness for credit-bearing writing courses, the authors created a multiple measures placement system for enrolling students in a credit-bearing first-year writing course with co-requisite support.  

Building a local learner corpus

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica H. Kwon ◽  
R. Scott Partridge ◽  
Shelley Staples
Keyword(s):  
Faculty Members ◽  
First Year ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Teaching Interventions ◽  
Learner Corpus Analysis ◽  
Writing Instructors

Abstract This paper describes the construction process involved in creating a robust local learner corpus of texts produced by international students in a first-year writing course at a large public, mid-western university in the U.S. We show how involving faculty members and graduate students of our local writing program in the process of learner corpus analysis provides them with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge as writing instructors, course designers, and, ultimately, knowledge producers. An additional benefit of such an undertaking is that the corpus can become part of the infrastructure of a research community that allows continued contributions by others individually and collaboratively. We also illustrate the usefulness of our local learner corpus for research, teaching, mentoring, and collaboration within our writing program with examples of the research projects and teaching interventions we have developed.

Wearable Writing

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Chew Kit Tham
Keyword(s):  
Technical Writing ◽  
Wearable Technology ◽  
Composition Pedagogy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Google Glass ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Composing Process ◽  
Writing Technology

As technology continues to become more ubiquitous and touches almost every aspect of the composing process, students and teachers are faced with new means to make writing a multimodal experience. This article embraces the emerging sector of wearable technology, presenting wearable writing strategies that would reimagine composition pedagogy. Specifically, the article introduces Google Glass and explores its affordances in reframing student peer-review activities. To do so, the author presents a brief overview of wearables and writing technology, a case study of how the author deployed Google Glass in a first-year writing course, and a set of tips for using wearable technology in general and technical writing courses.

Using Wikipedia to Teach Written Health Communication

2016 ◽  
pp. 247-258
Author(s):  
Melissa Vosen Callens
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
First Year ◽  
Plain Language ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
The World ◽  
Patient Provider Communication ◽  
Student Apathy

Unlike first-year writing courses, upper-division writing courses often require students to engage in discipline specific writing. In the author's upper-division course, Writing in the Health Professions, students examine health literacy as it pertains to both oral and written patient-provider communication. Students edit and expand a Wikipedia article for the final course assignment. The advantages of this assignment are threefold. First, students write for an authentic audience, decreasing student apathy. Second, students engage civically, improving health information accessed by millions of people across the world. Finally, students improve content of existing articles and broaden the scope of new articles written, leading to more diverse content and perspectives. In this chapter, the author discusses the above assignment, providing descriptions of scaffolding activities. Potential drawbacks of using Wikipedia to teach students how to write using plain language is discussed, in addition to strategies that might limit these difficulties.

Evaluation in the course development process

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Van de Poel ◽  
Jessica Gasiorek
Keyword(s):  
Development Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
Course Development ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
The University

Evaluation is a critical but frequently underutilized part of the (language) course development process. Instructors’ reasons for avoiding it vary, but often include the concern that conducting evaluations will draw time and attention away from course content. Using All Write, a first-year writing course at the University of Antwerp, as a case study, this article shows how mechanisms for feedback and evaluation can be incorporated into course materials with minimal impact, as well as demonstrates the benefits of evaluation as both a validation process and a guide for course revision. Moreover, it will show how the stakeholders, primarily learners, but also teachers, may be drawn into the process and potentially benefit from it.

We Want to Know Who Our Students Are

PMLA ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Bizzell
Keyword(s):  
Composition Studies ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
First Year ◽  
Discourse Communities ◽  
Intellectual Work ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Origin Story

Composition studies concentrates on students, not texts. We in this field want to know who our students are. What abilities to use language do they bring to the academy? What new kinds of intellectual work are they able to do? What challenges does academic discourse pose for them? These are research questions we explore with rigor but also compassion and, sometimes, admiration. My favorite origin story claims that this field's modern iteration sprang from reluctance to use first-year writing courses, required at most universities, simply to eject the “boneheads.” Instead, we learned from Mina Shaughnessy and others to regard even the most struggling undergraduate writers as agents, operating among intersecting and competing discourse communities. For us, student writers are not solitary creators, nor are they intertextual blurs.

From Expository Blog to Engaged E-Portfolio

2016 ◽  
pp. 51-72
Author(s):  
Jill Darling
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Electronic Portfolio ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Public Writing ◽  
Constructivist Pedagogy ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Learn By Doing

This chapter illustrates a student-centered pedagogy in process through the example of an electronic portfolio final assignment in two First-Year Writing courses. The philosophy behind the assignment is based in cultural studies, constructivist pedagogy, and multimodal studies. If students learn by doing, they also learn about culture through critique, public writing, and reflection. Students can thus become engaged as writers and citizens through constructing web-based texts focused on social issues and written from personal perspectives.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document