GEORGETOWN

The Writing Program has worked with faculty of the School of Nursing since 1981 through annual symposia focusing on teaching writing across the curriculum. This new initiative, led by a team of faculty from both the School of Nursing and the Writing Program, involves the entire Nursing faculty in incorporating writing assignments and integrating writing instruction at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. The program is both interdisciplinary and collaborative. It is based on the principle that communication and critical thinking, essential competencies of graduates of the School of Nursing, are developed by the rigor and discipline of writing. In the first three years of the project, the Writing Program will serve as a resource for the faculty as they develop new courses, increase the focus on writing in existing courses, afford students progressively more challenging writing assignments, and establish standards that guide the development of students' writing abilities at each level of the curriculum.

Since 1997, the Writing Program and the School of Foreign Service have collaborated in the development of first-year proseminars required of all SFS students. These proseminars, all taught by full-time faculty, are designed to introduce students to crucial ideas concerning how we know and understand the world, to interpret difficult books in a critical fashion so as to come to terms with their arguments, and to develop critical writing skills in relation to serious intellectual projects. Writing Program faculty have developed and led seminars for faculty and special workshops and programs for students.

Writing Program/Center for Urban Research and Teaching (CURT) Initiative

The Writing Program and the Center for Urban Research and Teaching jointly sponsor symposia focusing on Writing for and with the Community. These symposia address questions and possibilities that concern the faculty's intellectual work (both scholarly and pedagogical). Joined by community leaders active in developing university-community partnerships, the faculty participants explore ways of developing community-based research projects and ways of integrating community service within the academic work of their courses. There are follow-up meetings during the academic year to consider further scholarly and/or pedagogical projects developed during the symposia. Symposia topics include:

(1) Writing and Service Learning (considering the central role in service learning that is played by written reflection, which helps the students move to critical understanding integral to the academic work of the course);

(2) Writing and Community-based Research and Teaching (exploring ways of developing faculty and student research projects that evolve from partnerships with the community); and

(3) Community-based Research and Publication (focusing on the development of community-based research initiatives for scholars in all disciplines).

NOTE: Information about the upcoming Symposium will be posted when available. The following is the description and the agenda of the past Symposium.

Faculty Symposium on the Teaching of Writing
May 2002

Again this year, the Georgetown University Writing Program (GUWP) will be working with and through the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) to offer the annual Symposium on the Teaching of Writing. The Writing Symposium Track will meet for three sessions.

Monday, May 20: 1:30-4:15
Tuesday, May 21: 9:00-12:00
Friday, May 24: 9:00-12:00

Attending particularly to how new technology can assist writing instruction, participants will explore ways of improving their students= writing and enriching the place of student writing in their courses. The sessions will emphasize the process approach to writing and learning within the disciplines--sharing information on diverse learning styles, inviting effective reading, making appropriate assignments, and evaluating writing. In addition to these three core sessions, participants will choose to participate in at least two afternoon sessions sponsored by the TLTSI; these sessions will vary according to faculty interests and familiarity with new technologies. Possible selections include: strengthening student communication and writing using online tools in Blackboard, development of Web-based syllabi and course materials, and working with digital multimedia. Participants selected to do this writing intensive strand plus two elective workshops will receive a stipend of $200. These participants will also be eligible to apply for implementation funds for projects they design as a follow-up.