Conversation on Writing Instruction Research Forum coming May 13

Western Libraries and the Learning Commons invite the Western Washington University community to a "Conversations in Common" presentation focused on Writing Instruction Research from 3 to 4 p.m. Friday, May 13, in the TLA area (Wilson Library 270).

This event will present two different opportunities to learn more about Writing Instruction. The first segment, "Assessment of Engineering Writing At Western Washington University," features Engineering faculty member Sura Alqudah and WWU senior and mathematics major Nathan Romond, who have been collaborating to conduct an outcomes-based assessment study to evaluate the writing skills of Engineering & Design students in a senior-level writing proficiency class. Using a rubric designed to evaluate writing proficiency in engineering, the study draws on selected samples of student course work, as well as on responses to the students’ writing.

The second session, "Exploring Threshold Concepts to Teach Writing in Kinesiology," will be presented by Kinesiology faculty member Harsh Buddhadev, who conducted an assessment study in his Kinesiology 306 Measurement and Evaluation class to explore the effect of using a particular threshold concept to structure the culminating writing project. He will share his findings and implications for teaching and learning to write.

This special Conversations in Common event is sponsored by Writing Instruction Support, which is a program of Western Libraries and a Learning Commons Partner, focused on building a community around writing instruction at WWU. The WIS program provides direct assistance to faculty who are teaching writing courses or who incorporate writing into their courses.

For more information about this event, or about the WIS program, please email WritingInstructionSupport@wwu.edu.