Dr. Stephanie Dunson Returns to St. John’s Campus for a “Writing to Learn” Workshop

Dr. Stephanie Dunson, award-winning scholar and writing specialist, returned to the St. John’s University Campus on Wednesday, November 9th, for a second workshop entitled “Writing to Learn: Helping Students to Explore Complex Ideas in Diverse Contexts.”

Faculty from across the St. John’s campus were introduced to writing-based teaching practices as Dr. Dunson modeled strategies that can help students explore a variety of texts, such as historical primary sources, literary texts, essays from the social sciences, and STEM texts. These practices can support close reading, encourage students to learn from one another, and help students make personal connections to the people, places, and concepts they study.

Faculty discussed how writing-to-learn practices could reshape teaching methods and how the academic lecture, collaborative learning practices, and the act of listening reinforce one another within the classroom.

Attendees called the all-day session “thought-provoking,” with one participant noting that it was “as much an exercise in discerning [their] own disposition to writing as it was about exploring teaching strategies in the classroom.”