Writing Across C the urriculum - WAC Clearinghouse

[Pages:119]Writing Across Cutherriculum

A Guide to Developing Programs

Susan H. McLeod Margot Soven

editors

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Writing Across the Curriculum: A Guide to Developing Programs

Copyright 1992 / 2000 Susan H. McLeod and Margo Soven Published on the World Wide Web, July 17, 2000, with the permission of Susan H. McLeod and Margo Soven by Academic.Writing: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Communication Across the Curriculum at . Originally published by Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA 1992. For information about this book, contact the editors via their listed contact information at .

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Table of Contents

PREFACE ..............................................................................................................................vii

1. Writing Across the Curriculum: An Introduction........................................................... 1

WAC IN THE NINETIES....................................................................................................... 1 DEFINING WAC: WRITING TO LEARN AND LEARNING TO WRITE............................. 2 SETTING UP A PROGRAM: POSSIBLE COMPONENTS .................................................. 4

2. Getting Started .................................................................................................................... 9

FIRST: FACULTY DIALOGUE ............................................................................................ 9 MODELS FOR WAC PROGRAMS ..................................................................................... 10

The Faculty Dialogue Model........................................................................................... 10 Avoid the "Training Model," "Conversion Model," and "Problem-Solution Model".... 11 SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES FOR BEGINNING A WAC PROGRAM............................. 12 The Initiator..................................................................................................................... 13 The Initial Planning Committee ...................................................................................... 13 The First Workshop......................................................................................................... 15 PITFALLS TO AVOID ........................................................................................................ 16 FINDING RESOURCES ..................................................................................................... 18 Grants .............................................................................................................................. 18 Collaboration With Other Schools .................................................................................. 18 WHAT WILL A WAC PROGRAM COST? .......................................................................... 19 RESTARTING A WAC PROGRAM AFTER A HIATUS...................................................... 20

3. Faculty Workshops ........................................................................................................... 23

PLANNING WAC WORKSHOPS........................................................................................ 24 SUSTAINING THE WORKSHOP COMPONENT .............................................................. 32 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 33

4. Starting a WAC Program: Strategies for Administrators ............................................ 35

THE FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP ............................................................... 35 AFTER THE WORKSHOP: CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION ................................ 36 OPERATIONALIZING WAC ON YOUR CAMPUS............................................................ 37 YOU ARE NOT ALONE ...................................................................................................... 41

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5. Writing Across the Curriculum and/in the Freshman English Program .................... 43

THINKING THEORETICALLY, CONCEPTUALIZING THE PROGRAM ........................ 44 TURNING THEORY INTO PRACTICE.............................................................................. 45 ANTICIPATING THE DIFFICULTIES, AVOIDING THE PITFALLS............................... 47

6. Writing-Intensive Courses: Tools for Curricular Change ............................................ 52

DEVELOPING WRITING-INTENSIVE COURSES IN THE DISCIPLINES...................... 53 What Makes a Course "Writing Intensive"? ................................................................... 53 Role of the WAC Program in the Development of WI Courses .................................... 54

FACULTY-CENTERED CONTROL OF THE WRITING-INTENSIVE REQUIREMENT.. 55 FACULTY INCENTIVES .................................................................................................... 57 WI COURSES: HOW RESEARCH CAN INFORM PRACTICE AND CHANGE ............... 58

7. WAC and General Education Courses ........................................................................... 63

TENDENCIES IN GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES.................................................... 63 THINKING PROGRAMMATICALLY ................................................................................. 73 APPENDIX.......................................................................................................................... 75

8. Writing Components, Writing Adjuncts, Writing Links .............................................. 78

COMPONENTS: UC SAN DIEGO ..................................................................................... 80 ADJUNCTS: UCLA AND UC SANTA BARBARA .............................................................. 81 LINKS: UC DAVIS, UNC AT CHAPEL HILL AND UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON.... 83 ASSUMPTIONS AND PITFALLS OF INTEGRATED WRITING PROGRAMS................. 87

Assumptions Made by All Integrated Writing Programs................................................ 87 Key Features of Integrated Writing Programs: Summary Comparisons......................... 88 TRAINING & SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS IN INTEGRATED WRITING PROGRAMS .. 90 SCHEDULING AND PUBLICITY ...................................................................................... 91 INFLUENCES OF INTEGRATED WRITING INSTR. ON DISCIPLINE LECTURES....... 92 INFLUENCES OF INTEGRATED WRITING INSTR. ON TRAD. COMPOSITION.......... 92

9. The Writing Consultant: Collaboration and Team Teaching....................................... 94

THEORHETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................... 95 THE PROCESS OF COLLABORATION: A WORKING MODEL...................................... 95

Stage 1: Joint Goal Setting .............................................................................................. 97 Stage 2: Inquiry and Self-Study ...................................................................................... 98 Stage 3: Creating a Context............................................................................................. 99

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Stage 4: Implementation................................................................................................ 100 Stage 5: Evaluation........................................................................................................ 101 REPLICATING THE RESULTS........................................................................................ 101 TEAM TEACHING............................................................................................................ 101 Establishing Common Goals......................................................................................... 101 Asking Responsibilities and Defining Roles................................................................. 102 Establishing Evaluation Procedures .............................................................................. 103 THE RISKS OF COLLABORATION................................................................................. 103 ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF COLLABORATION.......................................................... 104 PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE.................................................................................... 104 APPENDIX........................................................................................................................ 104

10. The Writing Center and Tutoring in WAC Programs .............................................. 109

RATIONALE...................................................................................................................... 109 Advantages of Tutoring................................................................................................. 109 Advantages of a Writing Center.................................................................................... 111

STRUCTURE AND SERVICES OF WRITING CENTER IN A A WAC PROGRAM ........ 112 Basics: Facilities, Services, and Training...................................................................... 112 WAC Coordination ....................................................................................................... 113

GETTING STARTED ........................................................................................................ 115 PITFALLS TO AVOID ...................................................................................................... 119

11. Changing Students' Attitudes: Writing Fellows Programs....................................... 123

ASSUMPTIONS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................ 123 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM............................................................................... 124 HOW TO INITIATE AND MAINTAIN A WRITING FELLOWS PROGRAM ................... 128 PITFALLS TO AVOID ...................................................................................................... 129 EVALUATION OF WRITING FELLOWS PROGRAMS................................................... 130

12. Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 132

WHAT NEXT? ................................................................................................................... 134 WHAT ARE THE ROADBLOCKS TO WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM? ........ 135

Appendix Starting a WAC Program: Recommended Reading ...................................... 138

WAC PRINCIPLES AND DEFINITIONS ......................................................................... 138 CONDUCTING FACULTY WORKSHOPS ...................................................................... 138 WAC STRATEGIES FOR ASSIGNING AND EVALUATING WRITING.......................... 138

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WAC TEXTBOOKS ........................................................................................................... 138 PROGRAM EVALUATION ............................................................................................... 139 WAC AND THE WRITING PROGRAM............................................................................ 139 WAC IN PARTICULAR CONTEXTS ................................................................................ 139 About the Contributors ...................................................................................................... 140

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