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Thursday, February 18, 2010
9:30 am - 12:00 pm and repeating at 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Refreshments will be served!
Facilitator: Dr. Chris Anson, University Distinguished Professor, Professor of English
and Director of the Campus Writing and Speaking Program at North Carolina State University
Recent research has shown that frequent, intellectually engaging writing activities result in "deep learning" such as stronger analysis, synthesis, and integration of ideas from various sources. The National Survey of Student Engagement shows that students who are assigned writing report greater personal, social, practical, and academic learning and development, all of which are related to success and retention. Yet across much of higher education, students still don't write consistently and widely enough, either to enhance their learning of course material or to improve their communication abilities. By assigning little writing, teachers are missing an opportunity to strengthen students' learning and engage them in the material.
But how can faculty in all disciplines integrate writing into their courses—even large lecture sections—and not feel that it intrudes on their course "coverage" or asks them to teach something they weren't trained to teach? And how can we do so without overburdening ourselves?
In this interactive session, participants will explore ways to design, support, and evaluate effective, learning-based writing assignments in all disciplines and weave them into their courses to enhance student engagement—without adding significantly to the time they spend on their teaching.
