Administrative Accomplishments
- 10-day Summer Workshop for Incoming Teachers; The University of Oklahoma
Writing instructors new to The University of Oklahoma (OU) (including renewable-term faculty, graduate teaching assistants, and adjuncts) must participate in a 10-day workshop prior to their first semester teaching. I worked with the teams that planned and ran the workshop in 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2015, as Senior Assistant Director of First-Year Composition (FYC) I spearheaded the planning by outlining daily lesson plans, writing the workshop packet, coordinating guest speakers, and handling the logistics of running the workshop. In 2016 I was asked to return for an additional workshop (usually Assistant Director is a 2-year appointment) in order to help redesign the workshop to introduce OU’s new FYC curriculum.
These workshops introduce new writing teachers to OU’s resources, FYC curriculum, and professional expectations as well as develop strong, supportive relationships between new writing teachers and the FYC office.
- Curricular Revision, FYC two-course sequence; The University of Oklahoma
From 2014 to 2016 I participated in writing, piloting, and revising a radical revision of OU’s FYC curriculum. I wrote the first drafts for Composition 1 and 2 essay prompts, spearheaded revisions of the Composition 2 prompts and course schedule, and wrote the introductory materials for our new custom-publication textbook. The textbook materials include course descriptions, learning outcomes, and guides to additional resources (both on and off campus).
In Fall 2016 the revised new curriculum went live across the entire campus. Early reports are encouraging and both students and instructors are engaged in and excited by the curriculum.
- Revising FYC policy; The University of Oklahoma
As OU’s FYC labor pool changed to include renewable-term faculty and we hired a new Director of FYC, we decided to update our FYC polices for instructors and students. Our goals were to increase transparency between the FYC office and instructors and to support students with clear, concise policy. I worked on revising the student grade appeal and teacher mediation policies in order to streamline the processes. Additionally, I crafted new policies for students on attendance, essay revisions, and late work. These policies were then vetted by FYC staff and sent to our teachers for feedback before being revised and adopted. I also wrote new policies for teachers concerning turnaround time on student drafts and final essays as well as responding to student email. Again, these policies were then reviewed by the FYC staff and teachers before being revised and adopted.
These new policies were implemented in Fall 2016. The increased transparency for both students and instructors will support student success and satisfaction.
- Early Interventions for Struggling Students; The University of Oklahoma
In 2015 I worked with OU’s University College and others engaged in retention efforts to coordinate between FYC teachers and a new university system designed to identify and support struggling Freshman. In order to train our teachers on this program, I helped to setup presentations by University College during both our returning and incoming instructor workshops. During the academic year, I also fielded technical questions from teachers about using the software and periodically reminded our teachers about this resource.
While the original software has since been updated and replaced, the FYC office continues to work closely with campus retention efforts. In 2016, first-year retention rates at OU reached 90%.
- New Instructor Orientation; Indiana University South Bend
In 2010 Indiana University South Bend’s (IUSB) First-Year Writing (FYW) program instituted a summer teacher orientation for the first time. I was invited to lead sessions on responding to student writing and on grading. In 2011 I assisted in planning and running the workshop, helping to design the schedule and gather teaching resources.
Though a small program, IUSB’s increasing number of new instructors meant that personalized, one-on-one training for new teachers was no longer appropriate to the department’s needs. This workshop helped to professionalize IUSB’s writing teachers, create curricular cohesion, and support writing instructors.
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