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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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Seminar-style Freshman Composition Course
Designing and Piloting a Seminar-style Freshman Composition Course will support the development, delivery, and ongoing evaluation of an innovative approach to teaching English composition to incoming freshman at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. The revised paradigm addresses writing skill deficiencies frequently displayed by first-year students across the nation. Since the ACIE awards were announced, Jonathan Ritz, English, UPJ, has resigned as director of this project to accept a position at a different university. His UPJ English department colleagues Catharine Kloss and David Magill will assume responsibility as project director and co-director, respectively. Both have worked with Ritz in the preliminary planning of this project. The revised freshman writing curriculum and delivery format will not only address necessary writing skills but will promote intellectual engagement and academic participation as students begin their academic careers. Multiple sections of the two-term course sequence will be taught to enrollments of 18 or fewer students, thereby facilitating individualized, student-oriented instruction delivered in a hands-on seminar/tutorial format. During 12 weeks of seminar training, faculty scheduled to teach these composition sections will collaborate with colleagues and the UPJ writing director to develop the core curriculum, special first year writing features of the course, assignments, and methods of evaluation. The core curriculum will ensure a universal approach to teaching composition across all sections rather than reflecting an individual instructor’s background in literature or writing and will expose students to writing skills in different disciplines. Beyond the core curriculum, the teaching faculty will identify a theme for each section which will be reflected in the learning activities, assignments, and writing topics (e.g., diversity or technology). Consequently, students will be able to register for a section with a theme consistent with their own interests and, therefore, more motivating to them. Students’ culminating assignment will be a portfolio exit exam graded by two faculty from different sections. Ritz expects the “work will be more focused with a clear set of purposes.” Evaluations of the curriculum and process outcomes, including the exiting portfolios, will contribute to ongoing collaboration among participating faculty and the writing director and any subsequent revision of the course materials, process, and faculty training component if appropriate.
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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for Instructional Development & Distance Education |
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