Spring 2009 Mini-Seminars Approaches to Teaching the W Course

January 29
{Thursday]

Responding to Student Writing: Are There Better Ways To Grade?
Tom Deans, Associate Professor of English and Director, University Writing Center

Responding to student writing is among the most important and time-consuming things we do in W courses. In this session we will review experience-tested ways of responding effectively. We will discuss how to streamline responses by having students do self-assessments, how (and how much) to comment on drafts, when (and when not) to grade drafts, and how to encourage students to take more responsibility for their own revising and editing.

February 18
[Wednesday]

Using Peer Review in W Courses
Tom Deans, Associate Professor of English and Director, University Writing Center
Matthew Singer, Assistant Professor of Political Science

Many instructors use peer review as a way to encourage revision and create a sense of intellectual community; others remain skeptical that students are willing or able to respond productively to one another’s drafts. This workshop will introduce several options for employing peer review in writing-intensive courses, plus detail one professor’s approach to introducing productive peer critique.

March 18
[Wednesday]

Understanding Chinese Student Writers: Implications for Tutoring and Teaching
Jelena Runic and Julio Villa Garcia, Graduate Students, Department of Linguistics

Drawing on their experience working with first-language Chinese writers at UConn, as well as on research in English as a Second Language, the presenters will explain several key grammatical issues that typically challenge native Chinese students who write in English. They will also discuss how awareness of those issues can improve our teaching.

May 13
[Wednesday]

Looking Ahead: Designing Your Next W Course
Tom Deans, Associate Professor of English and Director, University Writing Center

This mini-seminar is intended for those preparing to teach a writing-intensive course in the coming semester. We will address several questions: What are university-wide expectations for W courses? How do most people integrate content coverage and writing instruction? How can we design robust but still manageable revising processes for our courses?