I\u2019ve been a part of Jenna Goldsmith\u2019s Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Faculty Learning Community (FLC) this year (we call ourselves WAC-Y). I highly recommend getting involved in this FLC! Great discussions about pedagogy, the purpose and importance of writing in our classes, and our role in our students\u2019 process of (self) discovery.<\/p>\n
Today our session was about \u201cProductive Uncertainty and Postpedagogical Practice.\u201d As\u00a0McIntyre (2018)<\/a> writes, \u201cPostpedagogy emphasizes experimentation and reflection as integral to composing processes, especially digital composing.\u201d Aside from our awesome discussion about how \u201cstruggle\u201d is part of the developmental writing process, \u201creflection\u201d on that process is just as important. Do our students know how to \u201cself-critique?\u201d Do we give them the tools to evaluate their work as part of this reflective process? As Peter pointed out, \u201cthere is nothing as good as a good rubric.\u201d<\/p>\n Related to our discussion, I ran across the attached article<\/a> about facilitating an important thought process for our students, namely, understanding the purpose of an assignment and how the work fits into course objectives, program requirements, professional goals, and life in general. <\/strong>The best part is that the example has students evaluate the course syllabus with these things in mind. I have never done this! (Today I shamefully admitted that I didn\u2019t do the reading for our WAC session because I didn\u2019t know there was any\u2026to my amazement, it was ON THE SYLLABUS<\/em>!) Point taken.<\/p>\n Look over the sample template.<\/strong> Imagine what might happen if we created such a guide for our students for most assignments. Do you think there would ever be a question in their minds about WHY<\/strong> we\u2019re having them do something in our class, WHY<\/strong> it matters to their discipline, or HOW<\/strong> they will use this in their life ever again? Not only does this structure require that students think (and write) about these things, but it also engages them in self-reflection\/critique of their work with a checklist and provides the rubric on which they will be assessed.<\/p>\n As you plan for next term, consider utilizing this assignment tool.<\/strong> More importantly, let your students know WHY you\u2019ve adopted this structure and WHY reflection and self-evaluation matters. The more we can contextualize our assignments within a course, program, and life in general, the better students will understand how to communicate the transferable skills they\u2019ve learned as part of their educational experience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve been a part of Jenna Goldsmith\u2019s Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Faculty Learning Community (FLC) this year (we call ourselves WAC-Y). I highly recommend getting involved in this FLC! Great discussions about pedagogy, the purpose and importance of writing in our classes, and our role in our students\u2019 process of (self) discovery. Today our… Continue reading