GSIs serving in the ULWR undertake a variety of responsibilities. Some GSIs respond to student writing and have no other contact with students. Some GSIs hold office hours and meet individually with students. Some GSIs 0ccasionally lead class instruction time. Other GSIs run their own discussion sections. Whatever the scope of your appointment may entail, all GSIs have one thing in common: you respond to student writing. Whether or not you meet with students, your approach to students and their writing affects their learning. To consider the role of the teacher and a compassionate approach to students, teaching, and learning, please read Engaged Pedagogy by bell hooks from her book Teaching to Transgress.
Our course blog gives you the opportunity to connect with and gather strategies from other GSIs.
Let’s get started by introducing ourselves.
Write 200 words or more in response to the following prompt:
What are your duties as a GSI? What class do you serve in? How many students will you be working with? Is this your first teaching experience? Do you have any previous pedagogical experience that has prepared you for this job? After reading hooks, what from her chapter informs how you (might) think about teaching? Finally, do you have any concerns as you begin your semester as a GSI?
Since this is your virtual introduction to GSIs in the other section who you will not meet face-to-face, we encourage you to include any other details that are relevant to your work as a GSI, create an avatar, or provide anything else you think would help you connect with your fellow GSIs.
The ULWR was instituted in 1978 by the English Composition Board as part of a large-scale revision of writing instruction at the University of Michigan, which also included:
- Entrance assessment
- One-to-one writing tutorial center
- Transitional writing course
- First-year composition course
You will recognize the fruition of this revision in U-M’s UWrite self-placement tool, Sweetland Center for Writing, Peer Writing Centers, and First-Year Writing programs. The ULWR is the culminating writing experience for students in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
The ULWR, which is generally completed within the student’s major, aims to help LSA students recognize and master the writing conventions of their chosen discipline, so that, upon graduation, they are able to understand and communicate effectively the central concepts, approaches, and materials of their discipline. The program is based upon the assumption that the best way to master disciplinary knowledge is to express that knowledge in the form of clear and incisive writing.
In ULWR courses, students learn to:
- build on skills and strategies developed in first-year writing courses;
- produce complex, analytical evidence-based arguments that address specific audiences;
- refine their ability to write effectively both within and beyond specific disciplines;
- use feedback to improve their writing through revision;
- demonstrate familiarity with the genres and conventions characteristic of effective writing.
- require a substantial amount of polished writing, usually between 25 and 40 pages (7500-12,000 words) over the course of the semester (or the equivalent in digital media projects, though this may vary among disciplines;
- take a variety of forms typical of academic and professional writing in particular fields, including projects that incorporate collaboration, digital media, or other relevant genres;
- integrate writing with course content;
- are sequenced throughout the semester to facilitate the development of ideas and concepts;
- provide clear and explicit guidelines to help prepare students for challenging rhetorical tasks;
- include a clear indication of when and how writing-related instruction will take place during lecture and/or discussion;
- provide at least three structured opportunities for students to receive feedback on their writing-in-progress, and requiring substantial revision of at least 50% of their writing.
60% of students complete the ULWR in their senior year. Most have not had a writing course since they completed their First-Year Writing requirement.
The [writing in the disciplines] movement…had its beginnings in a conviction: writing belongs in all courses in every discipline…There is little doubt, of course, that students best learn the specialized conventions, standards, and processes of writing in their chosen fields when they do so in the context of their own majors, in their discipline-based courses…But other advantages to such a model soon appear…Many faculty who have newly incorporated writing into their courses find that students become more active learners, more thoughtful readers, and more engaged participants in class as a result of putting their knowledge, uncertainties, speculations, and intellectual connections into words on a page. (ix-x)
- Courses emphasize generic goals of clarity and concision
- Students expect more writing directed toward professional goals
An important takeaway is that many students in ULWR courses want to know how professionals write in their chosen discipline. As GSIs, you serve an important role in showing students what learning and writing in a discipline is all about.
What specific features make the professional writing you chose a good example of writing in your discipline? How does the student essay you chose use some of the features of good disciplinary writing you identified in the professional writing example? How do these essays help you form a working definition of good student writing?
(If you are in the social sciences, I recommend reading Julia Reinach’s“’Cops in School’ – School Resource Officers and Perceptions of Fairness in the Criminal Justice System” written for GSI and former WRT993 student Fadilat Olasupo.)
Take a look at your peers’ responses and choose at least one to reply to. What similarities or differences do you see in the pieces you selected?