Writing Matters
UWC to fund $3,000 award
The University Writing Center has created an award to recognize innovation and excellence in the teaching of a writing-intensive (W) course. The new University Writing Center Teaching Award is being funded for five years with one $3,000 award given annually.
According to Dr. Valerie Balester, Executive Director of the University Writing Center (UWC), the award acknowledges the work of faculty members teaching W courses.
“The W courses are meant not only to improve students’ writing abilities, but also to encourage them to think critically about topics central to their discipline,” Balester explains. “These courses truly enhance the quality of our students’ undergraduate education.” (more…)
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Faculty Spotlight: For Mike Stecher, the proof is in the writing
Mike Stecher had his doubts. An associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Stecher wasn’t sure about transforming MATH 220, a course on the fundamentals of discrete mathematics, into a writing-intensive (W) course.
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From the Director
As I have listened to colleagues talk about implementing the writing-intensive requirement, I’ve heard two persistent concerns: handling the increased work load and coping with instructors’ lack of knowledge about how to teach writing.
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Help is on the way
This spring the University Writing Center (UWC) began training the first Undergraduate Writing Assistants, a select group of talented students who will next fall be assigned to assist some of the faculty members teaching writing-intensive (W) courses.
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‘It’s not the Inquisition’
What does it take to propose a writing intensive (W) course? Sarah Bednarz, associate professor of geography, is in a unique position to know. For the past year and a half she’s served on the W Course Advisory Committee, which reviews faculty proposals for courses designed to meet the writing-intensive requirement. This fall Bednarz also went before her fellow committee members with a proposal of her own.
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Rubrics make the grade
For many instructors the least enjoyable part of teaching writing is grading papers. Not only is it time-consuming, it’s often baffling. One paper has solid supporting evidence, but a weak introduction and a practically non-existent conclusion. Another paper does little but parrot back your lectures, yet its sentences flow smoothly and convincingly. A third argues persuasively but is laden with surface errors. Which one is best? What grade does each deserve?
