Sample Workshop Descriptions

Working with Writers Online
Ideal for WAC or English professionals, this workshop uses the principles of investigation, individualization, immersion, association, and reflection to help educators respond to student writing in online settings. Beth introduces some of the characteristics of writing instruction through asynchronous and synchronous online platforms, and she provides examples and suggestions for responding to student writing in a variety of settings. Using models and providing online practice with the host institution’s software, she enables participants to work both individually and collaboratively to develop outcomes and to practice useful instructional responses.

• Variations of this workshop can be developed for both secondary and post-secondary audiences:
  • Teaching through Text
  • Conferencing in Tutorial Settings
  • Subject-Specific Strategies for Online Writing Instruction (for example, architecture, biology, or psychology)
  • Aligning the Goals of an Online and Traditional Writing Program

Maximal Feedback in Minimal Time
Research has shown that giving students formative feedback helps them to become better writers. However, particularly in secondary school settings, teachers have limited time to comment on student writing drafts. Using contemporary research, Beth will review some of the most useful ways to provide and maximize formative feedback using minimal time: strategic marking; focusing on “HOCs” and “LOCs”; commenting from the “inside out”; and addressing fluency, form, and correctness. Teachers can employ these strategies through comments on student papers, in individual conferences, within writing groups, and among peer response groups in both traditional oral and online settings. Participants will have opportunities to practice these strategies, with time for discussion of their experiences. Beth will individualize this workshop for either secondary or post-secondary settings.