Writing Instruction Support offers summer retreat

The Writing Instruction Support program at Western Washington University offers new and returning WWU faculty a chance to gain ideas and new practices on teaching and assessing writing at a working retreat held annually. This year’s retreat is scheduled for Aug. 29-31 at Western’s Shannon Point Marine facility in Anacortes.

This working retreat utilizes the “backwards by design” approach, which begins with participants identifying discipline-based threshold concepts before working back to instructional practices and activities for teaching. Participants will also have the opportunity to work on their own course materials in the company of colleagues from across the University community who share a commitment to supporting students’ learning with an emphasis on advancing writing proficiency.

Space is limited, so if you are interested, please pre-register by emailing writinginstructiosupport@wwu.edu.  All expenses (lodging for a shared room, meals, and materials) are covered, and transportation will be arranged.

Topics covered are listed by day below:

• Day 1 - Design: disciplinary concepts, course syllabus, evaluation schemes
• Day 2 - Enactment: responding to writing, creating assignments, engaging practices
• Day 3 - Results: Learning activities, show & tell demos

Questions? For more information about this working retreat or about the WIS Program, please contact WIS director Carmen Werder, Carmen.Werder@wwu.edu.

The WIS program provides direct assistance to faculty who are teaching writing courses or who incorporate writing into their courses, and is a program of Western Libraries and the Learning Commons.