As the Autumn Quarter comes to an end, so does the Teaching Apprenticeship Program (TAP). We caught up with some of the current TAP students to ask what TAP has meant to them and what they have learned about teaching.
Continue readingCategory: Graduate
Course Spotlight: WRD 540, Teaching Writing
WRD 540 Teaching Writing is a graduate course under the Teaching Writing & Language concentration. Taught by Dr. Erin Workman, this course introduces students to current pedagogy of teaching writing. Students are expected to walk away with both a theoretical and practical understanding, knowing what is involved in managing a writing course underlined by a personal teaching. philosophy.
Continue readingCourse Spotlight: WRD 582, Writing Center Theory & Pedagogy
Writing Center Theory & Pedagogy is an invitation-only course designed to prepare graduate students for their role as Peer Writing Tutors in DePaul’s Writing Center. The course is offered each Autumn quarter.
Continue readingCourse Spotlight: WRD 551, Teaching Apprenticeship Practicum
Overview of WRD 551 & TAP WRD 551 functions as the companion course to WRD’s Teaching Apprentice Program (TAP), a program that gives MA in WRD students the unique opportunity to teach a section of WRD 103, one of the two courses in DePaul’s First-Year Writing Program. As they teach, TAP instructors meet weekly in WRD 551: Teaching Apprenticeship Practicum to discuss composition pedagogy and share classroom experiences.
Continue readingChicago Tech Writers Visit WRD 521: Part 1
This quarter in WRD 521: Technical Writing, we were fortunate to have four technical writers visit the class to share some of their experiences in the field. The blog has two parts, so make sure to head over to the next post after reading this one. Our first two visitors, Adam Evans and Heidi Colonna—both of whom work as technical writers in Chicago—attended our class on February 6, 2018 to share some of their stories, tips, and knowledge.
Continue readingThe Essay: Course Profile
What is an essay? The term essay is today used to describe an array of written products; the word is used almost interchangeably with other terms like paper, article, or composition. But the essay is a particular form, which people have been writing since the late 16th century, when the genre was formally invented with the publishing of Michel de Montaigne’s book titled Essais. This title roughly translates to, “an effort or trial,” and describes a particular form of inductive, digressive writing. In WRD 515: The Essay, MA in WRD students explore the history of the essay, from its origins
Continue readingContemporary Rhetorics: Course Spotlight
Until the mid-20th century, our understanding of rhetoric was dominated by the foundational theory of Greek thinkers, and focused mainly on a speaker addressing an audience for persuasive purposes. Out of this tradition, we find descriptions of rhetoric as something discrete and narrowly defined: Cicero calls it “speech designed to persuade” and Quintilian says that rhetoric is “a good man speaking well.” However, during the cultural turn in the 1960s and 1970s rhetorical scholars took an interest in the work that rhetoric does in the everyday and in the world at large
Continue readingGraduate Editing Course Provides MA Students with Organizational Knowledge
Community service is at the core of DePaul’s mission toward Vincentian values and social justice. In the MA WRD program, our courses can contribute to this service through the use of community partnerships in the classroom. In the Winter 2016 quarter, Professor Sarah Read is teaching WRD 523: Editing, and students are working with community organizations, giving back to the greater Chicago community while developing skills in editing, copywriting, and technical communication. Learning the Skills This is the third time that Prof. Read has taught this class at the graduate level, which she says focuses on “the immediate professionalization of
Continue readingNew Graduate Course Preview | WRD 545: Teaching Writing Online
Why Learn to Teach Writing Online? In recent years, the convenience, accessibility, and pedagogical possibilities of online learning have drawn in students and teachers alike. As more students turn to online spaces for education, writing teachers must understand the pedagogical possibilities for these learning environments. To help students prepare to teach online, the MA in WRD will offer WRD 545: Teaching Writing Online in the upcoming Spring 2017 quarter. The course is an elective, of particular interest to students pursuing the concentration in teaching writing and language. On the course’s website, Prof. Michael Moore says that he aims to explore
Continue readingSpring & Summer ’17 Courses Are Here!
The Course Cart for Spring and Summer 2017 classes opened this week, and registration begins February 5! If you’d like a comprehensive list of WRD’s course offerings, visit the Student Resources page at WRD’s website. There, you can plan your class schedule with detailed course descriptions at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Any questions about what classes to take? Email your program director or contact the department at wrd[at]depaul.edu.
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