Faculty Services & Resources

At the Jacobson Center, we offer faculty support through workshops on the teaching of writing, a mid-semester assessment program, individual consultation on classroom issues, and an array of additional resources on teaching and learning. In addition, we provide helpful links to several online teaching resources.

Steve Heydemann teaching

Available Resources

Teaching WI Courses: Recommendations from the Writing and Public Discourse Committee

Smith has a long tradition of valuing writing as an essential capacity in the liberal arts, so much so that we created a Writing Intensive (WI) Requirement in our otherwise open curriculum. We recognize that writing is thinking, that writing is a tool and a process as much as it is an outcome, and that becoming a stronger writer is an ever-evolving, lifelong pursuit. Recently we have also broadened our understanding of college writing to include public-facing writing presented in print and in digital platforms, in addition to traditional scholarly work.

ACCESS TEACHING WI COURSES

 

Peer Review Guide 

We offer advice and guidance on peer review along with actual examples of and procedures for several approaches to peer review.

PEER REVIEW GUIDE

 

Effective Feedback Strategies for Busy People

The following documents were presented during a Teaching Arts Luncheon (October 25, 2019). 

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON GIVING FEEDBACK

HANDOUT ON GIVING FEEDBACK

EXAMPLES OF LEARNING GOALS

 

Teaching Writing

Use the button below to access the materials for this course on Moodle.

ACCESS MOODLE COURSE

 

Marking Papers

Please access the materials using the button below.

MARKING PAPERS

 

Teaching Writing Online: Tips for Faculty 

The following document offers helpful advice when transitioning in-person courses to an online environment.

TEACHING WRITING ONLINE: TIPS FOR FACULTY

 

The Public Discourse Modules: Sample Assignments

Use the button below to access a series of public discourse teaching modules for faculty.

PUBLIC DISCOURSE MODULES

Public Speaking Resources for Faculty

Faculty can incorporate public speaking instruction into their classes by showing and discussing our selection of speeches in conjunction with Guidelines for Public Speaking and our Speech Evaluation Form. Additional speeches on a range of topics can be found at TED Talks. Here is a video on public speaking feedback by staff member Peter Sapira.

Individual Consultations

Magdalena Zapędowska, Writing Instructor and Writing Studies Specialist at the Jacobson Center, offers individual consultations on teaching with writing for faculty and instructional staff. You’re warmly invited to talk to her about such topics as developing, sequencing, and scaffolding assignments, writing effective assignment prompts, providing feedback on student work, low-stakes and high-stakes writing, in-class writing, experimental assignments, and anything else you might want to discuss. Please email mzapedowska@smith.edu to schedule a consultation.

Writing Enriched Curriculum (WEC)

Learn more about how departments are rethinking their writing curricula and making them more public-facing. The Writing Enriched Curriculum is an innovative approach to rethinking how writing is taught on academic campuses that was first launched in 2007 at the University of Minnesota. WEC provides academic departments with a way to ensure that discipline-relevant writing and writing instruction are intentionally infused into their undergraduate curricula. This program is supported by a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation.

Access the Writing Enriched Curriculum

“When I entered Smith, every student was required to take English 11, a course designed to lead us to read with care and understanding and to write English correctly and clearly. I learned then that a precise word would convey my meaning better than a vague or flowery phrase and to appreciate the beauty of disciplined writing. My entire life has been informed and enabled by what I was taught at that time.”
Joan Leiman Jacobson ’47