Workshop Schedule

29 May 2001--1 pm to 4 pm: Standards and Expectations for Writing of Beginning Skidmore College Students

Expository Writing is a Foundation Requirement of the Skidmore curriculum. But beyond the writing seminars and writing-intensive courses, what are the standards and expectations we hold in 100- and 200- level courses. How do we help students meet those expectations? How do we respond to student writing that is clearly below these expectations?

The session will include an examination of papers across-the-disciplines first-year students.

Draft of Expectations for first-year writing developed during the workshop.

30 May 2001--10 am to 3 pm: Standards and Expectations for Discipline-based Writing

Building upon the articulation of basic college literacy from Day 1, we'll shift our attention to the standards and expectations for writing students do in their discipline-based courses. By examining sample student papers from discipline-based courses, professional style manuals, and writing guides, participants will begin to develop a list of expectations for students writing in their discipline.

The session will examine the relationship between disciplinary expectations for writing and standards and expectations for basic college literacy. In addition, participants will examine the similarities and differences among the standards and expectations of the disciplines represented in the workshop and will discuss what faculty can do to help students understand and navigate these distinctions.

31 May 2001--10 am to Noon: Designing Writing Assignments

Based upon the standards and expectations for college writing participants have developed in the first two days of the workshop, this session will examine principles and guidelines for creating paper assignments that can generate the kinds of writing we expect from our students.

1 pm to 3 pm--Responding to Student Papers

We convey and reinforces our standards and expectations about student written work by through the ways we respond to student papers. This session will discuss a variety of approaches for responding to student papers effectively.

1 June 2001--9 am to 10:30: Publishing your Writing Guidelines on the Web

Several departments at Skidmore have already already created web pages for their own writing guidelines. Faculty members who have created writing webpages--such as Dan Curley (Classics), Kathy Cartwright (Geosciences), and Bill Fox (Sociology)--will join the workshop to discuss how and why they created writing resources for their disciplines and how they have integrated the writing guidelines published on the web into their courses.

10:45 am to Noon: Planning your projects

Workshop participants will share their plans for the contents and format for their department-based writing resources, focusing on specific issues they are facing in developing writing standards for their discipline and in designing their materials.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

27 August 2001

Workshop participants will reconvene in August for a half-day meeting to present their completed projects and discuss and critique the products among themselves.

September

During September, workshop participants will share their writing resources with members of their departments to gain suggestions for revision and, ultimately, the department's endorsement of the information presented.