Writing Across the Curriculum
About WAC at Red Rocks
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is a faculty-driven Red Rocks initiative that supports faculty in the teaching of writing across their disciplines and subjects. Writing is a High-Impact Practice with the power to improve critical thinking, learning, and communication skills.
WAC Services
Writing Across the Curriculum offers individual faculty consultations, department presentations, and workshops. We can help develop and give feedback on writing assignments, offer support and resources for the teaching of writing, and address specific teaching goals or concerns. To get in contact with us, email either Kevin Kelley (Kevin.Kelley@rrcc.edu) or Rebecca Smith (Rebecca.Smith@rrcc.edu).
Workshops Fall 2022
Check the Teaching and Learning Center for updates, or email Kevin.Kelley@rrcc.edu or RebeccaSmith@rrcc.edu for more information!
WAC Resources
- 7 Prompts to Engage Any Student
- Designing an Effective Writing Assignment
- Designing an Effective Grading Rubric
- Reading Journal Assignment (Word Template)
- Responding to Student Writing
- Scaffolding Research Writing (PowerPoint)
- Template for Designing an Effective Writing Assignment
- WAC Example Writing Assignment (Hum 210)
- WAC Process Journal Assignment
WAC Goals
1. Sustain the writing of students across their academic careers.
2. Increase student engagement with learning.
3. Increase student writing proficiency.
4. Create a campus culture that supports writing.
5. Create a community of faculty around teaching and student writing.
Why Teach Writing?
- Writing is a HIP (High Impact Practice).
- Writing skills lead to success in the classroom.
- Writing plays a key role in many disciplines.
- Writing skills are valued and desired by employers.
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Teaching writing directly supports the following RRCC Learning Competencies:
-An RRCC graduate is an Effective Communicator-An RRCC graduate is a Critical Thinker (including information literacy).
What Can Faculty Learn from WAC?
- How to teach the genres of writing in their own disciplines and to meet their own goals.
- How to develop effective and inclusive assignment instructions, rubrics, and other curriculum materials.
- How to use and teach the writing process to scaffold the teaching of writing.
- How to efficiently assess and evaluate writing.
Past Workshops
Five-Minute Writing Exercises to Increase Student Learning
This workshop will demonstrate quick and informal writing exercises that you can build into your classroom to increase students’ comprehension and retention of course concepts and readings, and to help students generate ideas for class discussions, formal writing assignments, or other projects.
Date: Friday, September 17
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Creative Writing in the Disciplines
Make lessons engaging and memorable with the creative writing activities presented in this WAC workshop! Participants will learn how to guide students to use facts and concepts to create imaginative stories and poetry.
Date: Friday, October 1
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Scaffolding Research Writing
Many students struggle with research writing and managing a research project. Learn how to create assignments that scaffold the research writing process and help students break down a research project into manageable steps.
Date: Monday, November 1
Time: 3:00-4:00 pm
WAC CHAT
Did you teach writing this semester? Do you have plans to teach it this Spring? Do you have ideas you want to share or questions about teaching with writing? We'd love to hear about it!
Rebecca and I would like to invite everyone to an informal WAC Chat on December 8th, Wednesday, from 3:00 - 4:00 PM.
Date: Wednesday, December 8
Time: 3:00-4:00 pm
How to Help Students Use and Cite Sources Effectively
Do your students struggle when using and citing sources in research papers? This workshop will give strategies and activities for helping students understand how to use sources effectively and ethically in writing—focusing on source integration and citation to avoid plagiarism.
Date: Tuesday February 8, 2022
Time: 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom @ https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87195602578?pwd=SHA3M3E1Nkh0TDZCYWM3Q1JYT3V3dz09
Contact
- Kevin Kelley (Kevin.Kelley@rrcc.edu)
- Rebecca Smith (Rebecca.Smith@rrcc.edu)
