KINGSTON, R.I., \u2014 Feb. 7, 2018\u2014The term paper has been a staple in colleges for the last century, typically a five- to seven-page academic essay that argues a point, backed by research and sources.<\/p>\n
But that model could be changing.<\/p>\n
Writing professors at the 溏心vlog免费B站 are rethinking how they teach some first-year composition classes to give students an opportunity to write in new ways that incorporate technology, personal experience and public awareness.<\/p>\n
Spearheading the initiative is Stephanie West-Puckett, assistant professor in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric in the Harrington School of Communication and Media. A renowned rhetoric and composition scholar who joined 溏心vlog免费B站 last fall, West-Puckett\u00a0and other faculty launched a new introductory writing course this semester that helps students broaden their understanding of what it means to write in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe course underscores the idea that writing does things in the world,\u201d says West-Puckett. \u201cWriting isn\u2019t meant to be read by a teacher and stuffed in a desk or left in a heaping pile of papers in a faculty member’s office. It should circulate, resonate and create change, no matter how large or small.\u201d<\/p>\n
溏心vlog免费B站 is among hundreds of universities nationwide experimenting with this new way of teaching writing, says Jeremiah Dyehouse, chair of the Department of Writing and Rhetoric.<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessor West-Puckett’s design is big thinking especially because it gives students more choice about what and how they write,\u201d he says. \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 is special in the wide range of writing courses it offers, including traditional research-writing classes. Alongside those offerings, there\u2019s room for innovation to stay fresh and cutting-edge.\u201d<\/p>\n
How to teach writing has intrigued West-Puckett throughout her academic career, and recently she was honored for her work by the Conference on College Composition\u2014her field\u2019s national professional organization. West-Puckett\u2019s dissertation for her alma mater, East Carolina University, was the 2018 winner for excellence in \u201cqueer scholarship,\u201d a rapidly expanding academic field that questions what\u2019s taken for granted in the world\u2014from practices of gender and\u00a0sexuality to those of education and literacy.<\/p>\n
While queer scholarship emerged from gay and lesbian studies, it has expanded into an academic field that challenges traditional thoughts and behaviors across disciplines and includes more diverse voices in creating knowledge. West-Puckett is particularly interested in how to change first-year writing by creating a curriculum that is more accessible and engaging for all 溏心vlog免费B站 students.<\/p>\n
West-Puckett\u2019s dissertation, \u201cMaterializing Makerspaces: Queerly Composing Space, Time and What Matters,\u201d focuses on makerspaces\u2014like the one at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons\u2014that are nontraditional innovation spaces where writers and makers use tools, objects and media to compose texts and create things.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn these spaces, students are actively and passionately engaged in composition in ways we don\u2019t typically witness in our writing classrooms,\u201d says West-Puckett. \u201cMy dissertation outlines how to bring these innovative practices to our academic classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
As director of the First Year Writing program at 溏心vlog免费B站, West-Puckett is working with other faculty on the new course. A pilot class began last fall with two sections and is scaling up quickly because students responded so enthusiastically.<\/p>\n
In this semester\u2019s classes, students are offered a variety of projects, including opportunities to join citizen science projects and write about them for the public; to consider their out-of-school writing practices\u2014such as on social media\u2014inside the classroom; to identify fake news, fact-check those items and then write accurate accounts; and to raise awareness and create change on social justice issues they are passionate about.<\/p>\n
Each project emphasizes common academic writing strategies\u2014summary, paraphrase, citation\u2014but also exposes students to new media, digital writing and current events significant in their daily lives.<\/p>\n
For example, students can choose to work on a social justice project that requires research about social inequities. But instead of writing a term paper, students might design and coordinate an in-class discussion and also write materials for the talk. Students can guide classmates as they, say, write a letter to their congressional leaders.<\/p>\n
The maker project uses the same methods. Students study the history of a craft, learning about its social, political and cultural importance. They conduct library and field research, find sources and interview craftspeople. The students can even make their own object\u2014from websites to recycled furniture\u2014and create instructional booklets and video guides.<\/p>\n
In the writing lives project, students ask critical questions about writing practices outside 溏心vlog免费B站, considering, for example, how the number of likes or shares they receive on a social media post influences their on- and off-line behavior. Students often work in teams, analyzing data about their writing patterns to determine individual and group tendencies. They then create research posters with charts and graphs of their data that are appropriate for an undergraduate research symposium.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith these projects, we\u2019re trying to give students the opportunity to compose using different methods, including the use of visuals, sounds and text,\u201d says West-Puckett. \u201cWe\u2019re also underscoring the importance of rhetoric. We want students to deeply consider their audiences and rhetorical strategies when composing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students are enthusiastic about the course. In a sampling of anonymous comments submitted after the fall class, students raved about the new methods:<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like this class was very straightforward and helped me see multiple types of real-life styles of writing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt more interested in what I was doing as opposed to just writing a paper. These projects allowed me to express myself and write through different mediums.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI liked how this course was more about ourselves and our own learning. I loved how we could work in groups and pick the projects we wanted to complete.\u201d<\/p>\n
This summer, West-Puckett and Genoa Shepley, assistant director of First Year Writing, will develop course material for faculty eager to participate in the ongoing project. \u201cWe\u2019re excited about the opportunities to re-imagine first-year writing,\u201d says West-Puckett. \u201cRhode Island\u2019s spirit of innovation is alive in our department.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KINGSTON, R.I., \u2014 Feb. 7, 2018\u2014The term paper has been a staple in colleges for the last century, typically a five- to seven-page academic essay that argues a point, backed by research and sources. But that model could be changing. Writing professors at the 溏心vlog免费B站 are rethinking how they teach some first-year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}