Our approach: Teaching (with) Writing
- Teaching writing refers to the idea that learning to write always means learning how to write as a member of a discipline, field, or community of practice. What counts as “good writing” differs from field to field, and the University Writing Programs aim to help faculty across the disciplines articulate their values for writing and integrate them into assignment and course design.
- Teaching with writing, on the other hand, refers to the idea that writing is a tool for learning. The very act of writing helps students connect ideas, clarify thinking, explore topics, and demonstrate understanding. The University Writing Programs help faculty develop new ways of using writing as a learning tool.
The University Writing Program offers a variety of opportunities to assist faculty in developing strategies for managing writing in their classes. For more information concerning any of the below, please contact the Director of the University Writing Programs.
One-on-one consultation
University Writing Program representatives are available for individual consultation with faculty to discuss writing in their courses. Consultations are guided by the questions and concerns of the individual faculty member and can cover a range of topics: WI course design, writing assignment design, drafting and revision, incorporating meaningful feedback, using informal writing, time and workload management, among others.
Community of Practice
The University Writing Program facilitates the WAC Faculty Network, a grass-roots multidisciplinary faculty support community invested in student writing. Feel free to seek out a colleague.
Topical workshops
The University Writing Program partners with the Teaching and Learning Resource Hub (formerly CEITL) to offer January 1/2 day workshops for faculty in all disciplines. Workshops serve as a forum for faculty to learn new strategies, exchange ideas, and hone teaching practices. Recent workshops have dealt with a range of topics from assignment and syllabus design to managing collaborative writing assignments. Workshops are announced via email lists, the university calendar, newsletters, and on the UNH calendar. All faculty are encouraged to attend and to suggest topics. As opportunities present themselves, the UWP also offers less structured events, like brown-bags or "coffee & conversation hours," during the semester.
WI Faculty Retreat
Faculty may apply to participate in an immersive multi-day faculty development experience offsite, followed by several follow-on meetings in the ensuing academic year. Upon completion of the program, members receive an official completion certificate of the program that can be used in the member's professional portfolio, and public recognition as core members of the WAC Faculty Network. For more details, see our WI Faculty Retreat page.
"The Writing Intensive Retreat was an incredibly valuable and worthwhile experience. Writing is challenging, and it can be even more difficult to teach. I left this retreat experience with new strategies and approaches to teaching writing and providing feedback. I feel more confident and better prepared to support students as writers. I enjoyed thinking about writing through an interdisciplinary lens, and would recommend this retreat to faculty, regardless of discipline or level of experience teaching writing."
~ Senior Online Professional Faculty member, CPS
Applications are due March 31 of each year.
This experience is made possible through the generosity of the Dey Family Fund.
Department and program workshops and consultation
In addition to topical workshops, the Writing Program will work directly with departments or programs to tailor faculty workshops for them, these have ranged from an overview of the Writing Intensive Guidelines to ways to use writing to build critical thinking. Additionally, the Writing Program is available to facilitate discussions about writing goals and outcomes in the major and to help map writing in a Department's curriculum. The UNH Writing Programs have developed a comprehensive Resource Guide for Department Writing Goals, Outcomes, and Assessment, and we are happy to work with departments using this strategic step-by-step tool. Contact unh.writing.programs@unh.edu for more details or to request a workshop.
eNewsletter
The UWP newsletter, Write Free or Die, is a pdf publication geared towards faculty that is delivered via email in the Fall and Spring semesters. Previous newsletters can be found here.
Guest Speaker
The UWP hosts an annual guest speaker, typically during spring term, to facilitate workshops, present current research, or to provide other information relevant to faculty who are engaged with writing across the curriculum. In recent years, the UNH Writing Program has hosted notable speakers such as Dr. Barbara Walvoord, Professor Emerita, University of Notre Dame, on “How to make grading efficient and useful for learning,” and Dr. Les Perelman, former Director of Writing Across the Curriculum in Comparative Media Studies / Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who presented on issues involved with automated essay scoring.
"In my talk I serendipitously made a connection between a recent FYW student’s citizen science project with mushroomobserver.com and Bob Connor’s 1992 “Dreams and Play”... I spent some time in the Robert Connors Writing Center and laid my hands on the legendary table that Bob and his grad students designed. I didn’t think about it as such until I got here, but this trip is a pilgrimage of sorts. UNH is a locus for RhetComp as an academic discipline. UNH stewards much of the National Archives of Rhetoric and Composition... The history of our field is alive and embodied here, and I feel privileged to have been invited to participate in the abiding work of making and remaking it with such good people.”
~ From our 2024 WAC speaker, Stephanie West-Puckett
Previous Guest Speakers in this series were possible in part through the generosity of the Dane Family Fund. Current and future guests are now supported by the kindness of the Dey Family Fund.
For news about upcoming speakers, please see our Events page.
Classroom Visits
The Connors Writing Center (CWC) offers an in-class peer-response presentation (also available online via video) to assist faculty who wish to include peer work in their classes. It also provides 10-minute classroom presentations on the CWC and other resources.
Writing Fellows
Faculty may coordinate with the UWP to have a graduate student writing fellow provide class-linked writing assistance. Please see the Writing Fellow Page for more information.
Alternatively, if faculty already have a TA in their course, the WAC program can provide specific training for providing writing feedback as a TA. For pre-scheduled training sessions, please view our EVENTS page. For more about training your TA, please contact unh.writing.programs@unh.edu.
Teaching and Learning Support (formerly CEITL)
The Educational Excellence & Effectiveness (E3) Teaching and Learning Resource Hub offers a rich collection of resources, information, and expertise to support the university's mission of enhancing student learning through the continual improvement of teaching.
