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FACULTY SEMINAR SYLLABUS

With Larry Ferrario (Seminar Leader) and Linda Pomerantz-Zhang (Project Director)
Spring 2006, Wednesdays, 1/25/06 – 5/10/06, 10:00am-12:30pm, SBS D225

eclp@csudh.edu

Larry’s email: lferrario@csudh.edu
Linda’s email: lpomerantz@csudh.edu
Annie's email: arocco@csudh.edu

Required Text: Engaging Ideas (John C. Bean)

Course Binder

SEMINAR DESCRIPTION and OBJECTIVES:
This seminar is designed to be a cooperative endeavor toward infusing writing, critical thinking and reading across the curriculum (WAC and CTAC). There is a multitude of current research portraying the effectiveness of writing as a tool for learning, sharpening reasoning and clarifying thinking processes. A main goal of the seminar is to introduce faculty to specific techniques for infusing, evaluating, and working with writing in their content courses. Faculty will be expected to adapt specific techniques according to the values of their discipline and goals of their courses, to produce revised and expanded syllabi that include WAC and CTAC components. We will address specific questions as to the pedagogy of writing, the change in culture that must take place for a WAC program to be successful, and potential problems that faculty may encounter as they begin to infuse these basic skills into their courses.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

In terms of cognitive and behavioral changes, successful faculty participants will be able to name, describe and apply a variety of WAC/CTAC components to a number of classroom situations, as demonstrated by newly developed writing exercises and revised syllabi. WAC and CTAC components may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

o Enhancing Critical Thinking through Group Work

o Evaluating Evidence

o Helping Students Analyze Materials

o Utilizing the Writing Process in Class Assignments

o Developing Strategies for Informal and Formal Writing

o Devising Rubrics and Creating Assignments

o Infusing Critical Reading Strategies

o Employing Various Types of Feedback

o Assessing Writing and Reasoning

o Encouraging Revision

o Using Visual Culture and Instructional Technology

o Handling the Writing Load in Large Classes

o Creating Strategies for Encouraging Reading and Reading Comprehension

These components may vary somewhat according to the interests of the participants and the discretion of the instructors.

 In terms of affective changes, successful faculty will come away with enthusiasm for and interest in the infusing of writing and critical thinking across the curriculum, and with a genuine desire to continue to explore methods by which writing can be used as a learning tool.


PARTICIPANT COMMITMENTS:

Faculty will be expected to attend all sessions and participate in seminar discussions and activities.

Faculty will be expected to revise or create at least 2 syllabi within their discipline to include WAC components, exercises and evaluative methods. To facilitate this project, faculty will keep a journal of “Reflections” on the seminar and seminar activities which Larry and Linda will collect and review periodically.

Faculty should be willing to administer Student Satisfaction Surveys in their WI courses offered up to 3 years after completion of the ECLP seminar.

Faculty will be asked to participate in either embedded assessment (about 20-30 minutes of in-class writing in the first two weeks, and again in the last week) of each of their WI courses, or administration of the Nelson-Denny (about 45 minutes of class time) for up to 3 years after completion of the seminar.

Faculty who teach multiple sections of the same course and have decided to make one of those sections writing intensive will be highly encouraged to compare embedded assessment results of WI sections with non WI sections.

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