With students hailing from 79 countries and speaking 88 languages, UCI is one of the most linguistically diverse university campuses in the US. While multilingual students bring considerable cultural and linguistic resources into the classroom, they can also experience friction and frustration when encountering writing assignments in English. Recognizing that no one is a native reader and writer of academic English, this workshop provides participants with context and best practices (writing and decoding prompts, scaffolding exercises, giving feedback on writing) that can support multilingual students in using writing as a means of learning across university curricula.

Do you feel like the A, B, C’s of traditional grading are not living up to your pedagogical expectations for writing assignments? In this workshop, we will explore three alternative approaches to grading writing — Ungrading, Self-Grading, and Grading Contracts — and discuss how these approaches can improve pedagogical outcomes by promoting deeper student engagement with their own writing practices and encourage a more equitable classroom experience.

Many academic fields value the analysis, integration, and citation of sources. Yet many students struggle to engage with and integrate sources in ways that meet faculty and disciplinary demands. In this 1-hour workshop, we will begin by considering some of the ways that students from various backgrounds might use sources for their source-centered assignments. We will then consider productive ways to support students by developing and scaffolding assignments and in-class activities that promote deep engagement with sources, create a habit of source integration and citation, and encourage meaningful evaluation of their credibility. Participants are encouraged to bring current assignments requiring the use of sources and/or ideas for an upcoming assignment.

Commenting on in-progress writing is some of the most direct and influential teaching instructors can do. But how can we ensure that the comments we provide (in written, audio, or video formats) help student writers revise their work between drafts? In this workshop, participants will have an opportunity to diagnose comment-worthy aspects of student drafts, to practice writing comment strategies, and to share their approaches with colleagues.

Sponsored by the Office of the Campus Writing & Communication Coordinator, this workshop is ideal for those PREPARING to teach an upper-division writing course, for those THINKING about teaching an upper-division writing course, and for those considering PROPOSING an upper-division writing course. Topics will include low-stakes writing, writing that best supports your content, peer-review strategies, and writing portfolio design and assessment. The workshop will only be hosted on Zoom.