Members Present: J. Carter, A. Harrison, N. Hinman, C. Jacobson, M. Medvetz, E. Reamer
Members Excused/Absent: V. Hedquist, A. McKeown, D. Micus A. Walker-Andrews,
Ex-Officio Present: N. Mattina, K. Ryan
Guest: B. Bach (
Communications:
·
· Members’ spring schedules were reviewed to determine a regular meeting time for the spring semester. Friday’s from 1-2 was available. The committee will need to meet next week to discuss concerns regarding the use of ENEX 200 as a second placement option.
Business Item:
·
The committee edited
the working draft of the writing criteria document. Chair Hinman provided the background of the
document. The first draft was created by
a workgroup consisting of Professors Medvetz, Ryan, and Mattina and student
member Cedric Jacobson. Revisions were made to this document by a second
workgroup consisting of Professors Carter, Hinman, and Reimer. Draft 4 and 4a were combined and revised by
the committee.
The audience for the document was defined as faculty. The document will serve as a comprehensive
resource that defines the writing program, its components and requirements. The first drafts had the criteria for upper
division writing courses higher than
lower division writing courses, but after dialogue it was decided that upper
division writing courses should be more flexible.
Areas on the working draft that will require additional attention are:
o
the preamble/purpose
o
defining writing
activities
o
description of
Composition (to be supplied by K. Ryan)
o
description of the
role of the UDWPA (to be supplied by
o
outcomes section of
the upper division writing course (to be supplied by
o
support section.
Unfortunately the edited document was lost due to a computer
error. The draft below was reconstructed
by Nancy Mattina.
Draft 4
Recommended Writing
Course Guidelines (
This document describes the new Writing Course Guidelines for The University of Montana-Missoula.
Purpose of Writing Courses
The ability to write
effectively is fundamental to a liberal arts education and is essential to
academic inquiry. In becoming more proficient at written English, students are
better prepared to succeed in their academic, professional, and life pursuits
(?). Writing courses at The University of Montana (UM) should help students
become adept at writing for a variety of audiences and purposes. An equally
important but auxiliary goal is to teach students to use expository writing as
a means of synthesizing and retaining course material. To ensure these goals are met, students must take
writing courses as part of their general education requirements. W-courses are designed to fit into a logical
progression of writing skill development as students move through the college
curriculum. Courses that are designated as w-courses are reviewed and approved
by the
Student Writing Requirements
To satisfy the writing
requirements at UM and to demonstrate writing proficiency, students must
complete:
·
College
Composition (ENEX 101), with a grade of C or better
·
One
lower-division writing course (numbered 100-200), with a grade of C or better
·
The Upper
Division Writing Proficiency Assessment, with a score of 3 or better
·
One
upper-division writing course (numbered 300-400), with a grade of C or better
College Composition (Kate to supply text)
All
students at The University of Montana are required to take ENEX 101, a course
that initiates them into academic literacy and helps them to see their
education in a cohesive way. Treating writing not merely as a set of skills but
as an occasion for a meaningful engagement with ideas, ENEX 101 aims to help
students join a scholarly conversation of voices, to understand the needs of
different audiences, to write in a variety of genres, and to become more
socially just citizens. Students learn that writing is a recursive,
collaborative process, and they benefit from the strong emphases on critical
reading, revision, and peer critique.
Lower-Division
Writing Courses
Courses numbered 100-200 and accompanied
by a “w” designation are lower-division writing courses. These courses should
use informal writing exercises to reinforce writing
skills and promote critical thinking in
content areas. Students should complete the College Composition course (ENEX
101) prior to taking a lower division w-course.
Upper
Division Writing Proficiency Assessment (Nancy M. to provide text)
Upper
Division Writing Courses (text?)
Definition
of Writing Task (text to be written)
Guidelines
(intro text?)
Lower-Division
Writing Courses
Upon completing the lower division
w-course, students should both understand writing as means to practice academic
inquiry, and be able to formulate and express opinions and ideas in writing.
Upon completing the lower division w-course, the student should be able to:
Learning
Outcomes
·
Use writing to learn and synthesize new
concepts.
·
Formulate and express opinions and ideas
in writing.
·
Compose written documents that are
appropriate for a given audience or purpose.
·
Revise written work on the basis of
feedback.
·
Give constructive feedback on written work
·
Use discipline-specific writing
conventions and rules
·
Apply appropriate English language usage.
Requirements
for Lower Division Writing Courses
·
Limit enrollment to 25 students per
instructor or grader.
·
Identify course outcomes in the syllabus.
·
Provide students with detailed written
instructions, including criteria for evaluation, for all formal writing
assignments
·
Require students to write regularly, using
formal and informal writing tasks for a range of audiences, purposes, and
genres.
-- Writing tasks may include formal and informal,
graded and ungraded, and in-class or out-of-class
exercises.
·
Provide feedback on students’ writing and
give students the opportunity to revise and resubmit at least one formal
writing assignment.
·
Require each student to produce at least
16 pages of formal or informal writing for assessment.
·
75% of the students’ effort in the class
involves writing.
·
50% of the course grade is based on
student performance on writing assignments.
Upper-Division
Writing Courses
[Courses numbered 300-400 and accompanied
by a “w” designation are upper-division writing courses. Unlike the
lower-division w-courses, these writing classes typically focus on the
student’s major area of study; as such, faculty members know the disciplinary
conventions for researching and writing in their fields and should be
encouraged to develop courses that will develop those same skills in their
students. Adding writing exercises that encourage critical thinking and reading
within the discipline are highly recommended. Although sharing the basic goals
lower-division writing courses, upper-division writing courses require a
greater amount of formal writing. Students are expected, in more sophisticated
ways, to be in conversation with source material and other voices, to manage
multiple perspectives, and learn the conventions of citation, documentation,
and formal presentation. ] (Eric to turn this para. into bulleted learning outcomes)
Requirements for Upper Division Writing Courses
·
Limit enrollment to 25 students per
instructor or grader.
·
Identify course outcomes in the syllabus.
·
Provide students with detailed written
instructions, including criteria for evaluation, for all formal writing
assignments
·
Provide feedback on students’ writing and
give students the opportunity to revise and resubmit at least one formal
writing assignment.
·
Offer the opportunity for each student to
produce a substantial amount of writing throughout the course.
·
Assess the students in a way that reflects
the writing emphasis of the course.
Recommended
Support for Writing Courses
The effectiveness of a writing course is
related to the amount of writing and the quality of the feedback. To ensure
sufficient support for faculty members who teach writing courses, academic departments
and the administration are encouraged to consider the following
recommendations:
·
When class enrollment exceeds 25, provide
teaching and grading support
·
Recognize the additional time and effort
required for w-courses in unit standards
·
Provide for a reduction in teaching load
for faculty who teach w-courses
·
Provide one-time grants for faculty
members interested in developing a writing course
·
Provide a venue (e.g., a listserv) for
faculty members with w-courses to share ideas
·
Provide development programs and support
for faculty members teaching w-courses
·
Develop a list of ideas or examples of
writing exercises designed to promote critical thinking