Opportunities

March 2024

Are you thinking about gathering midterm feedback from your students?

Check out these upcoming opportunities for learning and lunch (provided free when you register)!


January 2024

As the Spring 2024 term begins, Writing in Psychology (WEC) is here to support you!

For Students: 3 resources you can share with your students:

For Instructors: Teaching With Writing is offering several valuable workshops and panels this semester, on topics including AI and team writing.


October 2023

Informal Writing Assignments in the ChatGPT Era
Wednesday, October 25, 1-3 pm

If a chatbot can spit out a plausible answer, why even bother assigning short writing exercises? This in-person workshop will introduce instructors to strategies for using in-person and online writing tasks that invite students to explore thinking routines important to your course content in ways that rely on their own knowledge. Participants are welcome to bring current informal writing activities for revision or to come with ideas for new topics and questions.  Click here to learn more.
 

Teaching With the ABT Method: Short writing assignments for critical thinking and communication.
Tuesday, October 3, 12-1 pm (lunch provided)

In all academic disciplines, students need writing skills to communicate with others and to practice writing as an embodied act of critical thinking. However, writing, the teaching of writing, and the assessment of writing can be laborious or feel out of reach for classes already packed with content. This workshop offers faculty a concise and compelling writing method that can be practiced and assessed during class time.  Click here to learn more and to register.


September 2023

Classroom Uses of ChatGPT
Friday, September 29, 12-1:30 pm (Zoom)

This panel brings together teachers and researchers to explore the implications of these new technologies for instruction and our possible teaching and learning futures.  Click here to learn more and to register.
 

Student Writers and Masters of the Modes of Inquiry
Tuesday, September 26, 12-1 pm (lunch provided)

This interdisciplinary writing-instruction workshop will consider classroom-level approaches to the following institutional learning outcome: Master a mode of inquiry.  Click here to learn more and to register.


April 2023

May 16/17: Workshop "Reorienting Ourselves Toware Anti-Racist Classroom Assessment" and Keynote "Crafting Meaningful, Anti-racist Feedback in Classrooms" by Dr. Asao Inoue, Arizona State University. 

Organized by CLA First-Year Writing, Undergraduate Education, Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 


March 2023

Are you asking your students to write using sources? Check out this “Greatest Hits” collection of Teaching With Writing Blog posts devoted to this topic. These 4 posts can help you explain to your students the why and how of sourcing.

Interested in learning about alternatives to conventional grading practices?  Attend the Teaching With Writing panel discussion below to learn more.

  • Beyond Conventional Grading: Alternate Possibilities (and Challenges) to Assessing Student Writing
    Friday, April 7, 2023, from noon - 1:30 pm at 101 Walter Library
    In this panel, two instructors will describe their experiences with grading contracts, specifications grading, portfolios, and ungrading. A student panelist will also share their experiences with alternative assessment models. Free lunch included! Register Here

November 2022

If you are preparing for a deluge of student writing assignments to grade, learn how to streamline your process with pre-written comments in this TWW blog post.

Want to learn more about equity and student writing? Join the upcoming discussion (Thursday, 12/1, 9-10 am)
Writing with Equity in Mind: What is Translanguaging and what does it mean for student writing?


October 2022

Using or considering student presentations in your course?

Come hear a cross-disciplinary panel of teaching colleagues talk about their approaches to presentations: Wednesday, 10/12, 12 - 1:30 pm. All instructors are welcome. Lunch is provided.

Read more and register here.

Interested in assigning group writing projects but worried about group dynamics and unequal participation?

Check out this recent TWW blog post.


September 2022

As the Fall 2022 term begins WEC Psychology is here to support you!

Three resources you can share with your students:


August 2022

Psychology Writing Assignment Ideas & Tune-up for Fall 2022

Gearing up for fall and looking for new writing assignment ideas or help revising current ones? 
Come hear about creative ways to develop and assess your students' writing skills while we provide your lunch!

Hosted by Pamela Flash, Director of the Center for Writing, and Caprice Niccoli, WEC Liaison for Psychology

Wednesday, 8/31, 11:30am-12:30pm, Register here

Teaching with Writing: Commenting on and Grading Student Writing – Workshop for New Teaching Assistants 

Wednesday, August 24, 2022
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Rapson 56 (East Bank)
Register online by August 19, 2022

Are you new to grading student writing (essays, research papers, problem sets, online discussions, posters, lab reports…)? Wondering how to respond effectively, efficiently, and fairly? This half-day workshop is intended for teaching assistants and graders who will be responding to and grading student writing for the first time in 2022-2023. Throughout the afternoon, we’ll discuss general approaches to responding to, commenting on, and grading student writing.

You’ll have the opportunity to practice with writing samples from actual students in various disciplines, work with writing specialists to develop specific grading and commenting strategies for your course, and learn about the resources available through the Center for Writing.

Teaching with Writing: Assigning and Assessing Student Writing – Workshop for Graduate Student Instructors

Thursday, August 25, 2022
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Peik 375 (East Bank)
Register online by August 19, 2022

Are you a graduate student teaching a stand-alone section as the instructor of record? This half-day workshop will address strategies for integrating and assessing writing activities and assignments that will help your students learn and succeed.

Working with instructional consultants from the Writing Across the Curriculum program, participants will have opportunities to review and discuss the components of effective writing assignments, design writing-to-learn activities, and both develop and refine responding and grading strategies.

March 2022

Help your students understand the importance of written communication in their future career by sharing the Psychology Affiliates survey results. This could be a great way to connect your writing assignments to Career Readiness.

Want 5 Tips for Helping Your Students Through a Writing Assignment?
Find the tips here TWW Blog Post

Help your students understand scholarly “conversations” through backward and forward citations.
Find an assignment idea here  TWW Blog post

Want to level-up your rubrics for writing assessment?
Get ideas for improving your rubrics here TWW Blog post

Virtual workshop
Weds., 3/16/2022, 1-2:30 pm
Learn how to teach effective techniques for summarizing and paraphrasing various texts, including print-based articles, digital content, audio, and video. Register here

Panel and Discussion (in-person with lunch provided)
Fri., 4/1/2021, 12-1:30 pm
Come see how faculty members and graduate instructors are providing students with opportunities to present research in multimodal ways, using a combination of written words, images, sound, and video. Register here


January 2022

Want to know how the University Libraries can best support your student writers? 
Check out this recent Teaching with Writing Blog post to learn more.

Are you interested in taking a closer look at teaching through writing in your discipline? There is a grant for that!
Learn more here (letters of intent due Friday, March 4th, 2022).


November 2021

Want to improve your rubrics for writing assignments?
Register for this in-person panel (Nov. 17th, 2021, with lunch!) that brings together faculty members who have used rubrics and grading sheets to inform their instruction and to develop activities that help students meet the learning goals of their courses.

Struggling to balance student writing support with all your other work demands?
Register for this in-person, interactive workshop (Dec. 9th, 2021) that will address strategies for simplifying and streamlining the process of assigning, assessing, and grading writing.

Thinking about adapting your class writing activities to more diverse modalities? 
Register for a virtual short course (in January) focused on developing and implementing assignments and activities that support multimodal communication—assignments involving visual, audio, and/or alphabetic text.


March 2021

Are you considering surveying your students for midterm feedback on how things are going? 
Check out these great tips from the Teaching With Writing blog.

Want to learn more about using social annotation to read and discuss articles with your students?
Workshop: Designing Social Annotation Activities to Support Student Reading and Writing
Wednesday, March 17, 2021, 1:00 pm–2:30 pm

Are you wondering how you can address equity in your writing assessments?
The Center for Writing has drafted this set of recommendations and resources to help you.  Including this workshop in May.


November 2020

Writing in Psychology - UG Instructor Cross-Pollination Events
Invitation to All UG Instructors (faculty, staff, and grad students)

  • Come hang out with your teaching colleagues to share ideas for UG-student writing activities!
  • Have a writing assignment or activity you are excited about or are struggling with? Join us for an exchange of writing assignments and activity ideas over lunch or happy hour!
  • WEC liaison, Caprice Niccoli, will host 2 casual hangouts that acknowledge our current blend of home and work. Center for Writing director, Pamela Flash, will also be there for support. 

Lunch: Bring your lunch and share your ideas [Dec. 3rd, 2020, 12:30-1:30pm].  Click here to sign up.
Happy Hour: Bring your favorite beverage and share your ideas [Dec. 10th, 2020 7-8pm]. Click here to sign up.
Zoom links will be sent to those who sign up. Session enrollment will be limited to allow time for participation by all. Hope to see you there!


Have you heard the buzz about social annotation? 
Check out this recent Teaching With Writing blog to learn how it can scaffold student understanding of academic literature. Silke Moeller [email protected] can help you to integrate these tools in your course.


How to provide feedback for students
Are you assigning writing to your students online this semester and interested in engaging, creative ways to provide feedback? Check out this Teaching with Writing (TWW) blog post on audio and video feedback.


Attention Fall 2020 TAs and Graduate-student Instructors: If you will be grading student writing these webinars are for you!
Teaching with Writing Webinars for TAsTwo interactive webinars for graduate instructors (GIs) and teaching assistants (TAs) focus on commenting and grading student writing (papers, problem sets, lab reports, presentations, posters, etc.). Commenting on and Grading Writing (September 1, 2020) is offered to Teaching Assistants who assist with faculty-directed courses, either running sections or contributing in other ways. Assigning and Assessing Writing (September 2, 2020) is offered to TAs who serve as graduate student instructors for stand-alone courses. Participation is free, but you must register for one of the two sessions by August 25, 2020. Registered participants will be sent information before the webinar workshop.  (Offered through the Center for Writing.)


Multilingual Graduate Students: Do you need support with writing? Consider a course designed just for you!
Writing Studies offers a course for international (second-language) graduate students (WRIT 5051) that targets students who are in the process of writing course papers, research projects, thesis, or dissertations.  It has been a popular course for international students given the very practical and targeted nature of the content that goes well beyond grammar and structure. Click here to for the catalog description
For further questions, please contact Sheryl Holt [email protected].


Instructors: Wondering how to adapt your writing assignments for online instruction?  The Center for Writing can help!
TEACHING WITH WRITING ONLINE: Details and registration
~ 10 hours: 1 week, August 24-28, 2020 with synchronous meetings on Monday, August 24th, Wednesday, August 26th, and Friday, August 28th from 2-3 PM

This modular short-course supports faculty members and instructors as they devise (or revise) online writing assignments and activities appropriate to a particular course. Using a combination of brief synchronous discussions and structured asynchronous activities, participants will devise and receive feedback on high- and low-stakes writing assignments and activities. They’ll also become familiar with online tools for commenting upon and grading student writing. NOTE: To ensure cross-curricular relevance, we define “writing” to include diverse forms of text including words, numbers, figures, sketches, and visuals, etc.


WEC Instructional Support
Our WEC support staff in the Center for Writing are available to help instructors in a number of ways.  Below are a couple of examples.  They can:

  • Hold virtual teaching consultations with instructors as they adapt writing assignments and commenting/grading protocols. They can also review writing assignments/materials via Google Drive.
  • Join virtual TA meetings in order to help troubleshoot questions related to writing assignments, commenting practices, or grading.

Request a consultation!


Writing Feedback
Looking for different ways to provide feedback to student writing online?  Consider audio or video feedback! Learn more in this recent TWW Blog post.


Looking for ideas and support to transition student assessments and activities, including writing, online?
The Center for Writing is very focused on providing instructor support right now. A consultant is available to discuss how to adapt in-class activities and assessments. They are offering both individual and small group consultations via Zoom.  Use this link to request a consultation:  http://writing.umn.edu/tww/requestform.html

Also, check out this Teaching With Writing (TWW) blog for things to consider when transitioning:  https://blog.tww.umn.edu/transitioning-online-writing-instruction-tools-and-strategies-instructors


Student Peer-Review Activities
Are you considering peer-review for student writing?  Do you use it already but want tips on how to make it more effective? Check out this recent Teaching With Writing (TTW) blog post: "Peer response activities: Overcoming perceived barriers"


Center for Writing Funding Opportunity
Have an idea for a study of teaching or learning with writing?  There is a grant for that!


Want to increase student engagement with course reading, viewing, and listening materials through writing?
Check out this Teaching With Writing (TWW) Blog Post "Writing to Promote Engagement: Writing about reading, viewing, and listening."


Looking for instructional activities that blend writing and spatial information?Teaching With Writing (TWW) Series, Thursday, February 20, 2020, from 12 to 1 PM (lunch provided)

Presenters: Evan Roberts (Sociology), Christopher Saldin (History), Ann Waltner (History)

Increasingly, faculty have begun to build spatial tools, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Story Maps into their assignments. In this panel, instructors will share examples of writing assignments that integrate spatial technologies, provide samples of student work, and discuss ways to incorporate spatial reasoning and tools into the classroom. Click this link for details and registration.


Psychology Section Leader and Teaching Assistant Workshop & Lunch

**CANCELLED**Due to low enrollment.

Putting flawed student papers to work: Teaching with writing samples
Friday, February 28, 2020, from 12 to 1 PM in Elliott 219. Lunch is provided to all who sign up by February 24.
Co-facilitated by Pamela Flash (Director, Writing Across the Curriculum) and Caprice Niccoli (WEC Faculty-Liaison and Assistant Professor, Psychology)

People who assign writing know that handing out general writing tips, referring students to writing style guides, and/or copyediting student drafts don’t usually result in improved writing practices or products. Why not? Because these approaches don’t require student writers to detect, diagnose, and remedy the writing issue that they are having on their specific and current projects. In this brief workshop, we’ll consider using student writing excerpts, i.e., writing from students who were working on the same or similar assignments, instead.  When asked to look at carefully chosen excerpts and answer questions, “What’s the problem here?” “What revision do you suggest?,” student writers can learn more about how to revise than they would learn from a page of tips or comments.  

 

Caprice Niccoli-Waller

Caprice Niccoli-Waller

WEC Liaison
Department of Psychology

Pamela Flash

Pamela Flash

WEC Support Staff
Center for Writing