by Regan Breeden, WIC Intern

The WIC program and staff would like to congratulate the 16 faculty participants of the Fall 2019 WIC Seminar.

Top row, from left: Nadine Orozco, Paul Hughes, David Kerr, Angelika Buchanan, Kristen Macuga, Maddy Bean, Kate Shay, Ana-Maria d’Ernesti, Scott Ables, Matthew Fuller (WIC Intern)

Lower row, from left: Kim Townsend, Mary Smallman, Andrea Allen, Natasha Mallette, Vicki Tolar Burton, Betsey Miller, Alex Werndli (WIC Intern), Regan Breeden (WIC Intern)

Not pictured: Chris Stout, Kelly Chandler, Marisa Yerace (WIC GTA)

Over the course of five weeks, participants in the 2019 Fall Seminar explored pedagogical nuances of WIC through their engagement with numerous informal writing-to-learn exercises. These included write-and-pass, looping, a change-three-things exercise, and more. 

Building on faculty interest in peer review of WIC assignments, the seminar focused in on varied approaches for responding to student writing, including strategies for administering feedback for Ecampus students. Participants also reviewed assignments for each other and discussed ways to guide students through the drafting process.

At seminar’s end, faculty evaluated the seminar as effective and full of wisdom and useful information instructors might not otherwise learn; one faculty member said the best part was “hearing from other participants in the course as well as the formal presentation. It was a good balance of both.”

2018 WIC Fall Seminar Faculty Recognized

By Lindsay Schwehr, WIC GTA

The WIC Faculty and Staff would like to congratulate the 13 faculty participants of the Fall 2018 WIC Seminar.

Over the course of five weeks, participants in the 2018 Fall Seminar engaged in various in-class informal writing assignments and activities. These assignments included looping, a write-and-pass exercise, a change-3-things exercise, and more.

After engaging in these activities, participants returned to the group in order to discuss their process with these informal writing assignments and the explored topic. Faculty participants engaged heavily in pedagogy surrounding Writing-to-Learn ideologies, exploring new ways to engage their students in informal writing activities and ungraded writing. Participants also discussed new or different approaches to responding to and evaluating student writing. During one of the seminar sessions, faculty participants provided writing assignments used in their current curriculum for workshop and revision.

At seminar’s end, faculty evaluated the seminar as being highly engaging and thought provoking; one faculty member said, “The seminar allowed me the chance to experience the thinking process and experience myself, and see how these new ideas can be beneficial to my students.”

It was a pleasure and privilege sharing the learning space of the WIC Fall Seminar. This year’s participants were:

• Jennifer Alix-Garcia, Applied Economics
• Jonny Armstrong, Fisheries and Wildlife
• Kelly Biedenweg, Fisheries and Wildlife
• Christy Anderson Brekken, Applied Economics
• Lauren Dalton, Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Jason Fick, Music Technology
• Tasha Galardi, Human Development and Family Sciences
• Jaga Giebultowicz, Integrative Biology
• Adela Hall, World Languages and Cultures
• Shawn Massoni, Microbiology
• Ethan Minot, Physics
• Betsy Rock, Business
• Justin Wettstein, Climate Science

WIC Fall Seminar Faculty Recognized

By Ruth Sylvester

The WIC program and staff would like to congratulate the 17 faculty participants of the Fall 2017 WIC Seminar.

This fall, the seminar brought together faculty from such disciplines as economics, music, biology and design, among others. Over the five weeks of the seminar, faculty participants explored pedagogical nuances of WIC through their engagement with numerous informal writing-to-learn exercises. Following last year’s interest in peer review of WIC assignments, the seminar focused in on varied approaches for responding to student writing, including strategies for administering feedback for Ecampus students. Participants also reviewed assignments for each other, discussed ways to guide students through the drafting process, and shared rubrics for long graded writing assignments.

In evaluating the seminar, faculty showed their enthusiasm for teaching writing and learning new writing strategies. They appreciated “idea sharing among like-minded faculty members” and “the collegial environment…invaluable for generating ideas and building a network of resources.”

During Winter Term, the WIC program will offer a new workshop, Intersections of Critical Thinking and Assignment Design. This workshop will be held on Wednesday, February 21, 2018, from 2-4pm in Milam 215, and refreshments will be provided. Sign up for it here.

It was a privilege and pleasure sharing the learning space of the WIC Fall Seminar. This year’s participants were:

*Jennifer Anderson – Education
*Beau Baca – Academic Advising/College of Liberal Arts
*Natchee Barnd – Ethnic Studies
*Elise Bradley – Education
*Lisa Ellsworth – Fisheries and Wildlife
*Deann Garcia – Graphic Design
*Becky Haddad – General Agriculture
*Deborah John – Kinesiology
*Nate Kirk – Integrative Biology
*Meta Landys – Integrative Biology
*Deanna Lloyd – Crop and Soil Sciences
*Megan MacDonald – Kinesiology
*Randy Moore – Fisheries and Wildlife
*Dana Reason – Contemporary Music
*Linda Richards – History of Science
*James Sterns – Applied Economics
*Liz White – Education

Some snapshots from the seminar:

Thanks to Teagan Lochner and Caryn Stoess for the photographs.

By WIC Team

The WIC program and staff would like to congratulate the 16 faculty participants of the Fall 2016 WIC Seminar. We are pleased to have these members of the WIC community committed to seeking professional development in the teaching of writing across the disciplines.

This year’s seminar reflected growing interest in peer review within WIC courses and between WIC faculty. Our participants were so encouraged during a peer review session of class assignments that they expressed interest in future opportunities to consult their WIC colleagues. As a result, the WIC staff plans to organize peer review sessions for WIC faculty beginning in Winter 2017. Seminar participants also found discussion on feedback and evaluation strategies helpful, many of them vowing to improve the feedback students receive in their classes. Not to worry though, their students will have many opportunities to practice writing before evaluations in the form of minimally-graded writing-to-learn activities our faculty tried and enjoyed during the seminar. In general, seminar participants were enthusiastic about taking activities, strategies, and ideas from discussion and implementing them into their classes.

In evaluating the seminar, participants noted that they enjoyed the interdisciplinary collaboration. One seminar member saw this collaboration as a reminder of what writing challenges our students navigate on a daily basis:

The best part of the seminar was “discussing things in small groups with faculty from other programs. I think hearing other perspectives is helpful in understanding how they use writing because I do end up teaching many students from other schools and colleges.”

It was a privilege and pleasure sharing the learning space of the WIC Fall Seminar. This year’s participants were:

• Julia Bradshaw (Art)
• Rachael Cate (Electrical Engineering)
• Marjorie Coffey (Academic Success Center)
• Ashley D’Antonio (Forest Ecosystems & Society)
• Kimary Fick (Music)
• Reem Hajjar (Forest Ecosystems & Society)
• Elizabeth Helman (Theatre)
• Nicole Holck (New Media Communication)
• Ian Munanura (Forest Ecosystems & Society)
• Ted Paterson (Business)
• Matt Powers (Forest Engineering, Resources & Management)
• Walt Ream (Microbiology)
• Ana Ribero (Writing, Literature & Film)
• David Rothwell (Human Development & Family Sciences)
• Kirsten Winters (Computer Science)
• Mila Zuo (Writing, Literature & Film)

We were excited to work with you and look forward to continuing to do so in the future!