Engaging Each Other's Writing Programs: Sharing Information Across Michigan Colleges and Universities
stol...@gvsu.edu
"Engaging Each Other's Writing Programs: Sharing Information Across Michigan Colleges and Universities"
MI-WPA Affiliate Session, Corridors ‘19
Phase II Teaser
This session will provide an opportunity for writing program administrators and writing instructors to share information and resources about particular programmatic issues they are facing at their home institutions. Results from the survey distributed by the MI-WPA affiliate last spring showed that one of the biggest areas of interest among members was finding ways to share program information across institutions, so our aim for this session is to create space for participants to share ideas, brainstorm solutions, and explore cross-institutional opportunities for collaboration and research.
Participants will be invited to join conversation groups focused on general topics common to all writing programs, and the facilitators will offer conversation starters (or seeds) to help you begin. Near the end of the session, each group will share “one great idea” they heard or developed together through their collaborative conversation.
Conversation Topics and Seeds
Curriculum revision. What is the current state of your program’s curriculum? What are its defining features and strengths? In what ways do you think your program’s curriculum could improve? If you’ve recently revised your curriculum, how did that process go and what did you learn from it?
Assessment. What are your program’s assessment practices? What is the most important/interesting thing you’ve learned about your program through assessment? What are the institutional constraints/affordances related to assessment at your institution? What strategies have you used to make assessment meaningful to your program?
Placement/articulation issues. How does your institution approach placement? How effective is your program’s placement strategy? How does your institution evaluate transfer credit? What strategies have you developed to evaluate transfer credit equitably?
Professional Development. How does your program handle professional development (e.g., how/when is it delivered, if at all)? What kind of support do you receive from your institution for persona and/or program professional development? What are the most pressing professional development needs in your program?
Budget Concerns. How is your program’s budget handled? How have budget cuts influenced the work done in your program? What strategies have you developed to “do more with less”?