From the First-Year Writing Program at UW-Madison
Welcome to CompPost, the blog for the English 100 Program at UW–Madison. The purpose of CompPost is to create an ongoing, online learning community around first-year writing at UW–Madison and beyond. We are part of a dynamic teaching community focused on the teaching of writing. This blog will capture and contribute to our ongoing conversations, …
Hello CompPost Readers! My name is Virginia “Gin” Schwarz, and I am a 6th year PhD student serving as co-assistant director of English 100 this spring. In the past, I worked as the assistant director for English 201 (our intermediate composition course) and as the director of the Greater University Tutoring Services, GUTS …
We are thrilled to announce the winners of English 100’s Student Writing Awards for 2017-2018. These compositions are student submitted and evaluated by a team of experienced English 100 instructors and administrators. We award compositions in four categories: Narrative, Informative, Critical, and Multimodal. The winning essays in the Narrative, Informative, and Critical categories are published …
Image: Jon Kim, “TAA Strike, 1970”, 1970, Black and white photograph, UW–Madison Archive Images This post is the third in a series looking at the history of writing and writing instruction at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Here, Brian Milthorpe examines the historical role of TAs in shifting English 100 writing instruction to a more decentered …
This post is the second in a series looking at the history of writing and writing instruction at the University of Wisconsin. Here, Nattaporn Luangpipat discusses the use of portfolios for assessment and how this fits into the history of UW. By Nattaporn Luangpipat Evaluating portfolios is not easy. I remember when I told my …
November 28, 1949. Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, speaking in front of a crowd on the Memorial Union Terrace. Source: University of Wisconsin Digital Collections This post is the first in a series looking at the history of writing and writing instruction at the University of Wisconsin. Here, Samitha Senanayake asks instructors to consider …
While we’ve been in session for a few weeks by the time you read this post, we have just entered the fall season. Soon leaves will be changing colors, and then falling, and we’ll be building the right mix of compost to provide nutrients and energy. We hope our blog, CompPost, serves a similar …
By Scott Harman After two decades of working in professional and educational theatre, I have learned how to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. I have performed Shakespeare without rehearsing with my scene partners. I have finished building scenery for Act II while Act I was underway. I have told an angry audience that “the performance …
By Angela Zito Odds are, either you or your colleagues have felt dismissive or even suspicious of the new “Communication Learning Outcomes” you’re being asked to list on your course syllabi: In courses satisfying the Communication requirement, students will: Make effective use of information retrieved, organized, and synthesized from appropriate sources. Present ideas and information …
Community is central to the philosophy of English 100. Small class sizes, peer review, and student conferences are all pieces of the curriculum that aim to create spaces for students and instructors where everyone feels included. As a program, we talk a lot about this goal and how to achieve it. When we have the …
By Meg Marquardt Every instructor has had that moment: midway through the semester, and the class still doesn’t seem to be gelling. It is a frustrating moment, but it is also a moment to pause and reflect along with your students. They probably also realize that something isn’t quite working. In this post, …