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Pittsburg State University
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg KS 66762

Don Judd
WAC Coordinator
English
Phone: (620) 235-4697

Kathleen De Grave
Assistant WAC Coordinator
English
Phone: (620) 235-4705

Cynthia Woodburn
Assistant WAC Coordinator
Mathematics
Phone: (620) 235-4490

Bruce Shields
WAC Graduate Assistant
English
Phone: (620) 235-4686

What is a WL Course Like?

Many faculty do not know what makes a Writing to Learn course different from other General Education courses in their discipline. The main differences are that the course is limited in the number of students, allowing diversity in teaching techniques, and that the course asks students to write on some regular basis meaning that the teacher reads and responds to writing often during the semester. See How do I Write a Syllabus for a WL Course for more detail on what a course looks like from the teacher's point of view. See What is a WL Course Like for the student version. Follow the links below for specific differences and for some examples of WL courses:

Class size

A Writing to Learn course is like any other course you teach, except that it is limited to 25 students (sometimes that number inches upward, but the official cap is 25) and uses writing as a way to help students learn course content.

Types of assignments

Having only 25 students changes a lot of what you can do in the classroom. Most General Education courses have 60 students or more, which often means the way to manage the course is through lecture and scantron (multiple choice) tests. With 60 students, most teachers are unlikely to ask for essays or journals. The small number of students in a WL classroom allows the teacher to use collaborative learning (small-group work), many informal writing assignments (such as responses to the reading or questions students have about the material) -- often in class -- journals, and a couple of formal essays. Most teachers do not give a research paper as an assignment, because these are freshmen and sophomore level courses. If you do assign a research paper, you will have to teach your students how to do the research. They will not be taking the Introduction to Research Writing course until after the WL courses are done. For more examples of typical WL assignments, see What kinds of writing assignments might I give .

Teacher/student dialogue

The teacher can get to know the students by name, and after reading several short writes and hearing the student speak in class, the teacher also gets to know how particular students think. A dialogue between teacher and student can occur because the teacher is able to ask students to express their ideas and confusions.

Writing to learn, not learning to write

A WL course is not a composition course. The focus is not on the writing per se but on the students' ability to communicate on the page. There are no rules regarding the number of pages a teacher should assign (just the general rule that students need to write frequently -- at least once every two weeks, but usually more often), and each teacher decides what kinds of writing assignments would work best for that class.

General Literature example

For instance, in a General Literature class, the teacher might assign a journal, or response notebook, in which students respond to the poetry and stories they read. The teacher might also have the students write a response to a prompt given in class, like "what do you think this poem means" or "why did the character quit his job." The exams probably would include some essay questions. And the students would write two or three full-fledged essays (of about three or four pages) on the pieces they read. The class is usually a discussion class, with students breaking into groups to figure out metaphors and come up with interpretations of scenes in plays.

Math example

In a math class, the teacher again might assign a journal, this time a "process journal" in which students explain how they come up with solutions to problems. Perhaps the teacher has the students send the journal entries by e-mail, to ensure that they keep up with their daily homework. Another possibility is to have students summarize the major concepts covered during a class period. Students can also be assigned reaction papers to outside readings which cover the history or application of concepts from class.

For specific assignments see the Assignments WL Faculty Give page, where assignments given by WL teachers on this campus are divided by discipline.

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