Education in Writing Pedagogy

Pedagogical training is central to who we are. We offer courses to graduate students interested in the teaching of writing. Our pedagogy courses are geared toward those who have been hired to teach for the Writing Program, but they are also available to students training to teach writing within their own department.

Principles of Teaching Writing (WRIT 50300)

Principles of Teaching Writing (ENGL 50300) offers pedagogical training to Teaching Assistants who have been hired to work in our Academic and Professional Writing course and to Writing Tutors who have been hired to provide one-on-one support to College students writing in the Core. Both of these teaching positions rely on learning and utilizing a bevy of analysis and revision techniques that can be applied to work with a wide variety of writers, across fields of scholarship, across disciplines, and in a range of pedagogical scenarios. As a result, this course provides a substantial foundation in supporting writers at this university and beyond. Instructors: Tracy Weiner and Ashley Lyons.

This pedagogy-focused training course is offered in Autumn, Spring, and Summer quarters. Seats in the course are by invitation only, and thus require successful application to one or more of our part-time teaching positions that are open to graduate students. Our application season begins each Winter quarter. Please visit our Teaching Opportunities page for further details on how to apply.

Certificate in College Teaching: Writing Pedagogy Focus

To help graduate students and postdocs develop their approach to teaching and their approach to student writing, the Writing Program has partnered with the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning to offer a Certificate in College Teaching: Writing Pedagogy Focus. Visit the link for a detailed description of certificate requirements, which include components such as workshops, implementing pedagogical tools and strategies, written reflections, and submitting a teaching portfolio that includes a syllabus with a substantial writing component.

All graduate students and postdocs at the University of Chicago are welcome to participate in the workshops even if they are not officially enrolled in the Certificate program.

Below are dates and descriptions for Winter Quarter’s workshops, along with their respective RSVP links.

Rhetoric of Writing-Focused Feedback

Wednesday, January 14th: 10:00am-12:00pm over Zoom

Teaching courses in your department? Preparing for the job market? This collaborative workshop asks you to think critically about feedback in the courses you design and teach in your own field: what, out of many potential functions, do you want your feedback on student writing to do? We’ll share different modes of and approaches to feedback and discuss how to align the different functions and formats of feedback with the learning objectives you have for your students. With these insights, participants will be equipped to decide what kind of writing-focused feedback to include in their course designs, when, and how. Participants will also be equipped to reflect on and better articulate those decisions when preparing future job materials. RSVP Here

Using Writing Assignments to Meet Learning Objectives

Wednesday, February 25th: 10:00am-12:00pm over Zoom

This workshop will help participants plan or update their course with a writing end-goal in mind. Participants will think critically about the specific writing skills that assignments can cultivate and how assignments (both formal and informal assignments) build upon each other. Participants will also discuss how they can shape both their course readings and sequence of assignments to build writing skills. RSVP here