SJU Faculty and Students from Across Disciplines Participate in International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference

Faculty and students from across St. John’s University presented multidisciplinary research at the 2016 International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference (IWAC). The conference took place at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, MI, from June 23-25.

Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) at SJU Anne Ellen Geller, along with Michele Eodice from the University of Oklahoma and Neal Learner from Northeastern University, led an interactive pre-conference workshop, “Meaningful Makeover for Inclusive Writing Assignments,” during which participants explored the values, beliefs, and practices that frame and support student writing in their courses, and then developed or revised an assignment.

Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and DisordersRebecca Wiseheart, Ph.D., former Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Institute for Core StudiesManuel Martinez, M.F.A., and Michael Benjamin ‘16C, ‘18G presented, “How One Becomes the Other: Teaching Writing in the (Second) Most Diverse College in America,” a panel discussion focused on how students can explore their personal identities through both discipline-specific and multimodal forms of writing.

Wiseheart and Benjamin, along with Associate Professor in the Institute for Core Studies Phyllis Conn, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and Homeland SecurityJames A. Croft, J.D.; and Associate Professor of ChemistryJoseph M. Serafin, Ph.D., presented the panel, “Understanding Identity through Writing: Foundational Knowledge, Critical Thinking, and Professional Identity in Four Disciplines,” offering their perspectives on how writing helps students develop their social and professional identities and learn to conduct evidence-based analyses, one of the core aspects of professional identity.

Geller, along with Michelle LaFrance and Alisa Russell from George Mason University, Jeff Galin from Florida Atlantic University, Brian Hendrickson from the University of New Mexico, and Al Harahap from the University of Arizona, led the roundtable discussion, “Mentoring and Professional Development Across Generations: A Round Table Discussion About WAC-GO.” In this discussion, both graduate students and established scholar-practitioners solicited reflective narratives from the audience in order to consider how a graduate student organization might identify and respond to the needs and interests of new members and further establish a sustainable field identity across generations.

Laura Lisabeth ‘17Ph.D., along with Geller, Lerner, and David Russell from Iowa State University, also presented, “Three Origin Stories about WAC/WID–Challenging Cherished Beliefs,” a panel focused on historical studies that both support and challenge institutional commitments to disciplinary specialization.

Said Wiseheart: “I was first introduced to the scholarship of teaching and learning as a WAC Faculty Fellow in 2012 and I’ve been collaborating with this wonderful interdisciplinary research group ever since. Writing is an area that keeps popping up in my field as a real issue, but it’s certainly not a new or unique problem. What is different, I think, is taking a systematic, evidence-based approach to the way we teach writing, both within and across the disciplines, and also listening to what students have to say about it. Students don't learn to write in a vacuum--it's a cross-disciplinary effort--so having all the stakeholders at the table is really important."

"Participating in conference sessions on how to broach the subject of interdisciplinary discourse on the teaching of reasoning and writing drove home for me how truly functional our little group is,” added Croft. “I've enjoyed discussing these issues with faculty from across the University for close to two years now, first as a Writing Across the Curriculum Faculty Fellow last year, and this year preparing our continuing research for IWAC."