The Gen Ed Task Force Report offered general guidelines for Writing Across the Curriculum at third year and capstone levels (sometimes referred to as WID, or Writing in the Disciplines):

• Maximum enrollment of 22 students
• Guidelines and standards to be developed by departments for their majors
• Courses to address goals and outcomes of General Education (see http://generaleducation.appstate.edu); departments to choose from those goals and outcomes which reflect their concerns for writing in their majors

Role of WAC Program

The WAC Program will offer assistance to faculty designing and teaching writing courses in the major with a series of workshops and conversations beginning in fall 08.  Topics will include course design, managing the paper load, low and high stakes assignments, revision, reflective writing, portfolio assessment, collaborative writing, and connecting third year and capstone writing to the vertical writing model.  In addition, the program will offer individual consultations with faculty beginning in fall 08 and will support courses in the majors with continuing consultations beginning in fall 09.

"W” Courses and the New Gen Ed Model

The old Core Curriculum model required “W” courses in the major:  these courses were described as containing “substantial writing that is evaluated not only on the basis of content, but also on clarity, effectiveness, and mechanical correctness.”  The intent of the new Gen Ed requirements for writing in the major locates these courses in a vertical model of writing, beginning with first year composition and rhetoric and a second-year course introducing students to writing across the curriculum:

• First year composition and rhetoric in the Composition Program, with a link to an Information Literacy program/module and possible links to First Year Seminar.
• Second year composition and rhetoric with Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) focus in the Composition Program, with a link to an Information Literacy program/module and possible links to Perspectives.
• Third year Writing In the Discipline (WID) course in the major with faculty support through WAC consultants; guidelines and standards for writing in the major to come from the major field. This writing course in the major will build on earlier experience with Information Literacy and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy.

Capstone Writing

For the capstone requirement, the new Gen Ed guidelines suggest a writing component:  

In many cases, the Senior Capstone Experience in the major will provide a writing component (with WAC program support) and may also provide instruction specific to the major in Information Literacy and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy.

If the focus of the capstone experience isn’t writing, we recommend that departments require a reflective writing component on the experience and will offer support for the development of reflective writing assignments.

At the capstone level, faculty will require students to enter writing from projects involving the class experience and/or reflective writing about the capstone experience.  WAC will offer workshops and discussions to faculty in the disciplines regarding ePortfolio teaching and reflective writing about capstone experiences in 2009.  For more information, contact Georgia Rhoades.
 

Assessment of Writing at Appalachian

Departments will assess writing in their programs under the new Gen Ed curriculum.  For assessment of writing in Gen Ed, the WAC Program will ask that students submit a writing sample for each writing course as well as a writing sample from the capstone experience:  beginning in 2010 we will ask for these samples through the writing courses at all levels using an ePortfolio system.  

Guideline Suggestions for Third Year and Capstone Writing Courses

Georgia Rhoades (rhoadesgd), WAC Program and WAC Committee

WAC Committee Recommendations for Writing Course Development in the Majors

Based on the recommendations of the Gen Ed Task Force, the WAC Program and the WAC Coordinating Committee suggest these guidelines for departments creating third-year and capstone courses or adapting current “W” courses for the new Gen Ed Curriculum:

• Course materials should represent an introduction to writing in the field:
  • Landmark texts which students analyze as a step toward their own writing
  • Texts and formats representing the scope of writing in the field
  • A variety of writing assignments representing the writing formats of the field
  • Introduction to research methods and documentation in the field

• Teaching strategies should include an awareness of process writing:
  • Low and high stakes writing
  • Revision opportunities for high stakes writing (portfolio assessment is recommended)
  • Reflective writing
  • Collaborative writing and peer revision and editing opportunities

• Connections to Vertical Writing Model through WAC and department conversations with faculty teaching sophomore and capstone writing

• Writing assessment plan within major

• Class size:  the Gen Ed Task Force Report suggested a 22-student maximum for writing courses at the junior level.  This requirement might be met through teaching modules and writing sections for large classes where necessary.

• Options:  some departments and programs may offer multiple courses to satisfy the requirements for writing courses

• ePortfolios
  Beginning in Fall 2010, the WAC Program will institute an ePortfolio program, which will be piloted in 2009 and developed through faculty workshops and consultations throughout 2009 and spring 2010.  Faculty teaching first- and second-year composition, junior-level writing courses, and capstones will require students to enter writing products in ePortfolios, which will be maintained for student use and for writing assessment at Appalachian.  Working with goals and outcomes of Gen Ed which can be assessed through student writing as well as program and department writing goals, WAC will use ePortfolios to assess student writing and writing instruction.

• While the Gen Ed Task Report did not require that capstones include a writing component, faculty in capstone courses will require students to offer a writing product of the experience or writing that reflects on the capstone experience for the ePortfolio.  The WAC Program will offer faculty support for ePortfolio writing at the capstone level and for development of reflective writing projects.  For those programs and departments developing writing components for the capstone, we recommend that capstone writing, where possible, connect to junior-level writing experiences.