CWPA-ABQ/NM-July 2012

Council of Writing Program Administrators - Albuquerque, NM July 19-22, 2012.  

Albuquerque Art Museum Sculpture Garden

My reason for attending this conference was to continue my work with Michael Moghtader (WRTC) on information literacy in the first year composition course (locally known as GWRTC103).  Michael and I presented along with others under the broad heading:  WPA Outcomes – What’s Present and What’s Missing?  The title of our talk: Infusing Information Literacy into the WPA Outcomes Statement for First Year Composition can be summarized as how two sets of disciplinary standards (ACRL IL for higher education) and the WPA’s Outcome Statements for First Year Composition (promulgated by this organization) could be more closely aligned or at least acknowledge each other.  We found allies in one set of our presenting partners, Kathy Shields (Librarian) and Dr. Donna Scheidt (Writing Teacher) from High Point University.  Kathy and Donna’s presentation was about how librarians and FYC teachers can have effective collaborations but have to be reasonably “doable” for teachers, librarians, but also students.  Less closely aligned but also on our panel were Ron Brooks/Oklahoma State (WPA Outcomes Comparing Students and Teachers Perceptions) and Jim McDonald/University of Louisiana, Lafayette (Proliferation of Professional Statements on Academic Working Conditions). 

Other presentations I attended included:

WAC/WID (Writing across the Curriculum/Wring in the Disciplines):  Examining Decreased Writing and Reading Across Curricula.  I think the title was a little misleading, as this was largely about reading and how students don’t get much instruction (if at all) on reading in college.  One of the presenters was a Writing Center administrator who noted something I had seen in my year in our Writing Center – many consultations have just as many elements of reading as they do writing. 

Are First Year Composition Standards Dwindling?  Re-evaluating the Paradigms of the First Year Composition Classroom.  Here panelists gave several interpretations of what is appropriate to FYC.  One of the presenters had a heavy interest in first year students beginning to learn some research skills in her classroom.  She had done some surveys to see if the students’ self-efficacy had increased over the course of their semester.  Another presenter at this session was a coordinator of the graduate students who deliver the first year composition course.  At FSU, graduate students with a year of teaching experience are encouraged to develop a “version” of a composition course that is research-based/writing intensive, but can be developed around any theme.  These courses become; Girls Gone Wild, Harry Potter-themed, Zombie Writing and are by all estimates very popular.  (It should be noted here that all of these classes are monitored and vetted by the director of FYC and all have pretty strenuous research and writing components if the syllabi are a measure).

Red Bull, Santa Fe Style

Broad Perspectives – Do data dictate our programs?

Most interesting here was a presentation by Dr. Rolf Norgaard from UNC-Boulder about the NSSE survey.  NSSE includes some questions about/authored in conjunction with the WPA about students self-reporting on their writing abilities.  Dr. Norgaard’s program as adapted several of the NSSE questions for exit surveys of their Writing Program Courses (writing majors).  I have a copy of the survey they use if you are interested, but most interesting is that information literacy is featured prominently in their program and is in this survey in questions like:

“In your writing course, in how many of your assignments did you?”

               2B:  Summarize something your read, such as articles, books or online publications
               2C:  Analyze or evaluate something your read, researched or observed
               2D:  Describe your methods or findings related to data you collected in lab or field work, a survey project

               2E:  Argue a position using evidence and reasoning
               2F:  Explain in writing the meaning of numerical or statistical data
               2G:  Write in the style or format of a field or discipline
               2H:  Include drawings, tables, photos, screen shots or other visual content in your written assignments
               2I:  Create a project with multi-media contents

What was interesting from the collection of their data they noticed that the writing program was “propping up” the writing scores from other departments. 

Now the really cool thing was getting to meet Dr. Norgaard.  He has written several articles, both in Reference & User Services Quarterly encouraging librarians to work with Writing faculty to “write information literacy.”  (Winter 2003, 43.2 and Spring 2004, 43.3).  If you haven’t read these, they are worth your time.  He had some great suggestions for Michael and I to continue our work to imbed/begin information literacy work into the first year writing course. 

This was a great conference, the plenaries were really good; the opening was about how outside forces (work at the k-12 level, legislators, accrediting bodies, education non-profit organizations) are driving some of what is supposed to be happening in college writing programs.  One lunch speaker spoke on how Second Language Learners (L2) arrive in writing classrooms with a significant writing deficiencies, that they are ill-prepared know of/ask for help for.  Most interesting was the discussion about how to help them; he talked about positive correction – so not “you did this wrong” but “you did this right and we can make this better this way.”   I will use that.  This was a small conference (~450) full of both decision-makers (department chairs, curriculum committee heads, deans, and writing center directors), but also full of various stripes of writing graduate students.  The size  of the conference made it very easy to navigate within a large hotel, but if I ever plan a conference I will be sure to know what other events are happening while I’m trying to run my conference.  I think I walked through at least three weddings and a bachelor party.