by Daniel Riches, Department of History To me, the most important role we serve as teachers of graduate students, especially early-career graduate students, is helping them along the path of transition from being students of a field to becoming (admittedly junior) professionals in that field. This process of becoming a professional is, in my opinion,
Tag: writing
Why Workshops Matter for Professionalization, Productivity, and Life!
by Jenny Shaw, Department of History One of the most important skills graduate students learn is how to receive, assimilate, and act on feedback from peers and mentors. Often, as with peer review, feedback comes anonymously, and in written form, so responses can be contemplated and thought through. But at conferences, seminars, and public talks,
Piloting ePortfolios in the First-Year Writing Program
by Jessica Fordham Kidd, Department of English On February 22, 2019, Natalie Loper, Brooke Champagne, and I participated in the Faculty Technology Showcase with a presentation on the First-Year Writing Program’s (FWP) ePortfolio Pilot program, which is in its second semester. This ePortfolio initiative was inspired by Dr. Kathleen Blake Yancey’s visit to UA in
Writing Across Media: A Hands-On Exploration of New Literacies
by Donna Branyon, Department of English In English 313: Writing Across Media (WAM) fall 2018, we examined modes of communicating, identified the conventions of media, and created several multimedia presentations. We looked at new media theories, including topics such as process, authorship, affect, design, and multimodality. Additionally, we spent a great deal of time exploring
The Benefits of Co-Writing with Students
Mairin Odle figured out one way to solve one core issue of teaching excellence across the university curriculum: how do students learn to write well in their discipline? Dr. Odle’s solution is to co-write alongside her students through a series of essay-related assignments. She writes that “Major writing assignments in this course are scaffolded, meaning
Marshmallow Launchers Spur Student Writing
by Donna Branyon, Department of English For the final project in EN 102 (freshman composition) and EN 319 (technical writing), we do versions of the marshmallow launcher project. Students are presented with an imaginary rhetorical situation: The UA Writing Center provides snacks for clients and consultants. They would like to be known as the most