Keene State College

Writing Task Force

The Writing Task Force, a multi-disciplinary faculty group formed in 1994 to improve student writing and strengthen Keene State's commitment to writing, believes that since writing is something that all of us do, as scholars, it is something that we can all help to teach. However, we realize that few of us have the opportunity to engage in the kind of reading, reflection and dialogue that can result in more effective ways to teach, assign, and evaluate student writing.

We invite applications from all full-time, tenure track faculty. The details of this program are outlined below.

Summer Seminar, August 4-8, 2008

The work of the Institute begins with a weeklong seminar during which we will:

• Examine the connection between writing and learning, and why teaching writing is important in all disciplines.
• Help you to apply these theories to your own courses. In other words, whether you teach Biology, Physical Education, or English, you'll have the opportunity to design new writing assignments and establish new criteria for evaluating student writing.
• Provide an opportunity to work closely with faculty in other disciplines to find ways to use writing as a tool for learning and not just a method of evaluation.

Fall, 2008 - Turning Theory Into Practice

During the fall semester, partipants will:

• Incorporate what you have learned during the Summer Seminar into one of your courses and share those revisions during a retreat on September 26, 3 - 5 p.m.
• Work with one of the workshop facilitators during the semester to monitor the effectiveness of new assignments and how new ways of giving feed back, etc. are going.
• Share at least one class session with the workshop facilitators so that we can gain a clearer understanding of how students are responding to the changes in writing assignments.
• Attend a final retreat to discuss the process on December 5, 3 - 5 p.m.

Spring, 2009 - Assessment & Research

During the spring semester, participants will:

• Write a summary of their work including the changes they experimented with, their observations about the teaching of writing, and a discussion of the impact on their own development as educators.
• Share these reports at a Writing Task Force-sponsored workshop during the Spring '09 semester.

Application Procedures and Stipends

1. Interested faculty need to complete our online application at www.keene.edu/wtf by May 5, 2008.
2. You will be informed by late May about your participation in the program. Please be sure to reserve all the dates listed above; those for the Summer Seminar as well as the follow-up meetings.
3. The stipend for participation in the year-long Institute is $1,250 paid in two installments: $1,000 at the completion of the Summer Seminar and $250 at the end of the fall semester.

Workshop Facilitators

Mark Long, Associate Professor of English, was Assistant Director of the Expository Writing Program at the University of Washington;

Kirsti Sandy, Associate Professor of English and Coordinator of Thinking and Writing at KSC, has created a training program for teaching assistants in collaboratively-taught classrooms at Illinois State University; and

Phyllis Benay, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of the Center for Writing brings twelve years of experience promoting writing-across-the-disciplines at KSC, as well as a doctorate in cognitive development and learning.

What Participants Have to Say About Their Experience

"The biggest impact of the Writing Institute's program on my teaching is that as a scientist I am assigning writing projects with a sense of confidence and authority that I've never experienced before. I've lost much of my timidity over assigning written work and become more creative and enthusiastic. This newly found security is due in part to the knowledge that the support and expertise is there when I need it."
Susan Whittemore, Biology, 2005

The Writing Institute has had a pervasive effect on my teaching. I approach writing assignments with a new set of questions that I ask myself before I communicate my expectations and I have a new language with which to articulate them. In other words, I finally understand what part I play in the college's efforts to teach writing across the curriculum.
Linda Baker, Psychology, 2004

"The Calderwood Institute weeklong experience in the summer has really made me reflect on every assignment that I hand to my students this semester. I think about possible changes and ways to receive a better end product."
Jeff Timmer, Physical Education, 2005

"The Calderwood Writing Institute came at a great time for me. I have wanted to focus on my teaching in general and for years have been frustrated with the fact that I am always struggling with teaching writing (of all types) within the context of my discipline, never having had any training to do so."
Pam Smith, Health Science, 2005

"The Institute helped to re-shape the way I continue to think about writing. One concept that has struck me is that of staking a claim. The process of revising assignments to incorporate that notion and support students to do so is challenging. Ongoing support from Institute leaders provides avenues for discussion, further revisions, and ways to come to balance the content of courses with the writing process."
Evie Gleckel, Education, 2005

"In my case, students of Graphic Design know they must learn to visually communicate ideas, but it often takes some convincing to get these same students to appreciate the advantage of developing good written communication skills as well. I believe the institute has greatly increased my ability to demonstrate and discuss the value of effective written communication in the classroom."
Bob Kostick, Graphic Design, 2004

"It drove home to me how much writing itself is a way of learning, not just a way of demonstrating learning. While I have myself learned a lot from the writing I have done I was never conscious enough of this process to convey that or emphasize that in my classes. This new way of thinking about the role of writing in learning provides a sounder basis for its use in the classroom."
Rosemary Gianno, Anthropology, 2003

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