On Thursday night we gathered to engage with questions of Writing Across the Curriculum!
We wondered about:
- What challenges have faculty encountered while developing or considering developing writing assignments using open online tools and platforms?
- How can writing-to-learn strategies impact student learning? How can they impact the teaching process?
- How can you (and your students) use the OpenLab to realize the writing assignments you design?
- What does the future of writing assignments and open digital pedagogies look like?
Writing Fellow Elisa Jane Boyton opened the conversation with a discussion of Writing and Social Media. Boynton shared an exciting assignment where undergraduates told the story of Jane Eyre on Instagram! The assignment intended to create a place for students to engage in alternative and creative storytelling practices, but ended up also inspiring them to engage the material in complex and sophisticated ways.
Rebecca Devers, WAC Co-Coordinator and Assistant Professor of English discussed Using the OpenLab to Bridge Creative Writing and Critical Analysis. Dever’s demonstrated how her students write and then use literary analysis to respond to their classmates fictional narratives on the OpenLab.
Marianna Bonanome, WAC Co-Coordinator and Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, presented her experiences Incorporating Low-Stakes Writing in a STEM Class. Bonanome talked about how although she wasn’t trained to incorporate writing, when she did she found that it provided a way for students to interact with course content, connect new concepts with previous knowledge and retain key concepts.
This was our final Open Pedagogy event for the fall and we are planning two more for the spring. So please be in touch with ideas, reach out, stop by our office hours or come to a workshop! And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to “join” Open Pedagogy on the OpenLab to stay in the loop about upcoming events and discussions about open digital pedagogy at City Tech.
Want to learn more about writing-to-learn strategies and open digital pedagogies? Here are a few short pieces for reference:
- “Open Digital Pedagogy = Critical Pedagogy,” by Jody R. Rosen and Maura A. Smale (2015)
- “Dream Bloggers Invent the University,” by Jason Tougaw (2009)
- “The Challenges of Online Writing Instruction,” by Luca Zamparini (2016)
