What do faculty do during the winter WAC certification seminar?
They revise a course that they have taught at KCC at least once, and preferably twice,
to make it more reading and writing-intensive for students.
What is expected from the course revision?
Of course it varies by discipline. However, we are looking for a writing assignment-driven
syllabus that gives students the opportunity to revise their work on the basis of
your feedback. Students write in both informal and formal modes; reading is supported
by writing; writing (all sorts) counts for at least 30% of the final course grade.
How is the certification seminar organized?
It's a reading/writing course that models the ways in which you might use writing
to support learning in your course. You will have the opportunity to think more deeply
about your course goals and how to reach them in a 12-week semester. Our textbook
is John Bean's book, Engaging Ideas; additional articles and chapters from books are also assigned as readings.
How do we structure and support faculty learning in this course?
We ask faculty to write regularly in three or four modalities: to reflect on their
previous experience and existing knowledge; to respond to the thoughts of others in
assigned readings; to solve problems when revising an assignment or syllabus; and
to take stock of their learning experience using metacognition about learning processes.
The ongoing focus of concern will be your own course. In light of your reading in
the seminar, what aspect of your course might you tweak? During this course construction
process, the seminar provides opportunities to share thoughts with other faculty and
to respond to their interests and concerns, either on campus or online (or both).
What determines if I receive WAC certification?
Both process and product count. You need to complete all the writing assignments of
the certification seminar. If you are working online, they will all be posted on your
course blog. If you work on campus, you will be asked to post your homework on a blog.
In both cases, your goal is to also create a course portfolio that documents the ways
you will be teaching your course on a reading/writing intensive basis. Of course attendance
at the on campus workshop series, and posting to the motherblog discussion forum are
also important elements of the seminar.
By when do I have to complete this course portfolio?
In accordance with good WAC practice, we collect the portfolio twice, first in mid
February, and then by June 30th. We call the first submission a provisional course portfolio and the second the final
course portfolio . Both are required. Between February and June, you have the opportunity
to revise your approach based on your experience piloting the course as well as feedback
you receive from the Coordinators.
