2008 Professional Development Workshops
The IWR offered the following workshops in the winter and spring terms. If you have an idea for a workshop that you’d like to facilitate or attend, please contact
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, Executive Director of the Writing and Rhetoric Program.
Winter
Why Isn’t It Clear? Strategies for Improving Clarity in Student Writing
Let’s face it: writing “unclear” in the margins of student papers doesn’t do much to improve student writing. In this workshop, Karen Gocsik (Writing and Rhetoric Program) demonstrated how to diagnose and respond to muddled syntax and muddled ideas.
Composing Arguments with Images and Video
Professors are discovering how assigning multimedia compositions not only enhances our students’ visual literacy, but also makes them better writers of traditional essays. In this workshop, Karen Gocsik (Writing and Rhetoric Program) and Deb Brooks (Government) shared ideas for assignment design and assessment strategies. They also screened successful video compositions.
Conferring with Students
What are best practices in conferring with students? Stephanie Boone, Nancy Crumbine, and Karen Gocsik (Writing and Rhetoric Program) were joined by Brian Smith (MALS TA) and Head Writing Assistant David Gorman in a discussion of strategies for successful student conferences.
The Diagnostic Research Assignment
How do we find out what students know about research and the Library? What kinds of assignments are appropriate at each stage of the learning process? Librarian Laura Braunstein led a discussion about diagnosing research skills and designing assignments that help students develop library skills.
Spring
Designing Effective Writing Assignments
How do we craft writing assignments and assignment sequences that meet our course aims? Larry Crocker (Philosophy), Karen Gocsik (Writing and Rhetoric Program), Jennifer Sargent (Writing and Rhetoric Program), and Kim Williams (Education) talked about their assignment sequences and the rationales that govern them.
Educating Students About Plagiarism: "The Cite is Right!"
How might we engage students in a conversation about plagiarism that is actually fun? Laura Braunstein (Library), Sara Chaney (Writing and Rhetoric Program), Karen Gocsik (Writing and Rhetoric Program), and Barbara Knauff (Academic Computing) engaged faculty in "The Cite is Right," a game show designed to expose students to institutional values about plagiarism, and to familiarize them with proper citation protocol. This game show was piloted with Writing 2-3 students in January. (See complete story below)
Crosstalk
This second Crosstalk, led by IWR Director Tom Cormen, brought together Writing 2-3 instructors, Writing 5 instructors, and First-Year Seminar instructors to share methods and discuss common concerns.
Inside the “The Cite is Right!”
A Game Show to about Academic Integrity
Designed by IWR Executive Director Karen Gocsik, English Language and Literature Librarian Laura Braunstein, Writing 2-3 Instructor Sara Chaney, and Senior Instructional Technologist Barbara Knauff, “The Cite Is Right!” (held on January 24, 2008) fostered a discussion about plagiarism, ethics, and citation among students in Writing 3. Over ninety students attended the event, using "clickers" to respond to questions and case studies, while teams of students competed for points and prizes.
“The Cite Is Right!” was an opportunity to begin a conversation with students about institutional values and the norms and conventions of academic discourse. The game-show format allowed students to discuss these serious issues in a fun, non-threatening environment. The audience response system (clicker) technology actively engaged all students—each student had to think through every scenario and submit a vote. The anonymity of the system accommodated a variety of learning styles by allowing students to participate in the discussion without being singled out, while students who wished to offer comments and feedback were encouraged throughout the event. The team invited multiple perspectives and welcomed debate among students. Although chaotic at times, the event was a great success, stimulating ongoing discussions about academic integrity in each of the seven sections of Writing 3.
