Writing in the Disciplines

1. Writing in the Disciplines Faculty Seminar August 23, 2007 Presenters: Alberto Esquinca and Kerrie Kephart, Teacher Education Kate Mangelsdorf and Jonna Perrillo, English

2. Nametags and Introductions Your Department Your Department Last thing you wrote (anything-even a shopping list!) YOUR NAME Title of last book read Favorite food

3. Building Background 1 What kinds of writing do professionals and scholars in your discipline do? Why do you write? For whom do you write? Types of Writing Purposes for Writing Main Audience Ex: lesson plan To guide instruction to meet learning goals and objectives Teachers, administrators

4. Building Background 2 What and why do you want your students to write? Which audience(s) do you want them to write for? Types of Writing Purposes for Writing Main Audience Ex: Reading responses To practice summarizing, reading for main ideas, and responding critically Professor & perhaps classmates

5. Building Background 3 What kinds of problems do students have with writing for your discipline? What gaps are there between the kinds of writing scholars in your discipline do and what you want your students to do? Gaps Students’ Problems Ex: Reading responses are a purely academic genre, not a professional genre. Ex: Students struggle to write learning objectives for lesson plans that capture key concepts Ex: The lesson plans students write tend to be “idealized,” and practicing teachers often complete prescribed forms.

6. Gallery Walk • Take a walk around and look at what other groups have written. • What common themes do you see? • What differences do you see?

7. Building Background: A Summary of Themes • Commonalities in academic writing across disciplines • Disciplinary differences in academic writing • Significance of gaps between student writing and “expert” writing: • How feasible is it to ask undergraduates to begin to write like scholars in the field? • Is it justifiable to assign forms of writing that are not like those that experts do?

8. Building Background 4 Quick Write: Writing is a critical means of learning how to be/think/act as a scholar in a discipline. Please take a few minutes to reflect on your own experiences of learning to write: • How did you learn to write for your discipline? • What was the most helpful aspect about writing that you learned through the course of your studies in your field? • Do you have a funny or sad story about learning to write? Write individually for 5 minutes, then share your experiences with someone outside your group whose favorite food you also like.

9. BREAK!

10. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment Purpose and Audience: What are your goals for assigning this writing? Why are you assigning writing rather than (or in addition to) an exam? How does this writing assignment connect to the goals of your course? How can you make this purpose clear to the students? Who will be the audience for the writing?

11. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment Task: What precisely are you asking the students to do? For example, do you want students to show that they understand major concepts, demonstrate original thinking, or practice types of thinking and writing in your field? Describe the task so that students will understand it. (Tip: Avoid words that might be vague to students, such as explore or touch on. More specific words are compare,contrast, classify, define, give examples, and so on.)

12. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment Resources: What texts, observations, or experience are the students expected to consult and/or refer to? Should they use only the texts assigned for the class? Is library or field research of some sort expected? How will these resources help students respond effectively to the assignment? How can you help students use these resources?

13. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment Format: How do you expect the paper to be organized? What headings, if any, are required? What are your requirements for length, font size, spacing, graphics, and so on? Is a title page necessary? What citation style, if any, should students use? Will they need to include a list of references? What is the best way to explain these format requirements to the students?

14. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment Students’ Backgrounds: How familiar are students with the type of writing you’re assigning? How does it compare with writing they’ve completed in the past? What will the students find easiest about the assignment? What will they find hardest?

15. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment Process: How long will the students have to complete the assignment? How much class time, if any, will you allot for discussing and completing the assignment? Will students analyze models of this type of assignment, write preliminary drafts, participate in peer reviews, work with you or a TA in one-on-one conferences, do revisions, prepare final drafts, and so on? Are these process steps required or merely suggested?

16. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment Criteria for Evaluation: In general, what will characterize a successful response to the assignment? What aspects of the assignment will weigh most heavily in your evaluation? How will you make your evaluation criteria explicit? When will students learn of this evaluation criteria? Time permitting, draft your evaluation criteria, making them as clear as possible.

17. Part II: Planning a Writing Assignment For Reflection: Does this type of writing have a name in your field? How does this type of writing relate to the writing that scholars in your discipline do? If it is different from the primary types of writing scholars in the discipline do, what is your pedagogical rationale for having students do this type of writing?