Teagle Initiative

Teagle Seminar for the Teaching of Writing:

Each semester between Fall 2011 and Spring 2013 faculty from all three divisions meet as part of an eight-week seminar to develop and share knowledge about effective strategies for the teaching of expository writing. Led by Sean McCann, Professor of English and Director of the Center for Faculty Career Development, and by Anne Greene, Adjunct Professor of English and Director of Writing Programs, the seminar consults the best recent literature on writing pedagogy and the role of ongoing assessment in improving learning outcomes. It serves as a forum for faculty to discuss strategies for improving student writing and to share their experiences and insights concerning effective classroom approaches. The seminar also provides a faculty setting for the review and consideration of survey data on Wesleyan students’ experience of writing instruction.

This seminar is part of a project funded by the Teagle Foundation. The grant supports a collaborative initiative between Wesleyan University and Amherst College designed to enhance the teaching of writing and to develop a means of assessing the effectiveness of strategies for teaching writing.

If you would like to be involved in a future seminar or have any questions, please email Sean McCann at smccann@wesleyan.edu or Anne Greene at agreene@wesleyan.edu.

 

Teagle Fellow:

Teagle Writing Fellow Kate Thorpe ’06 has recently returned to Wesleyan as part of the Teagle initiative. She assists faculty by working with students directly, either on an individual basis or through workshops tailored to particular courses. She is also available to aid faculty in the design of syllabi and assignments.  In addition, she holds periodic workshops for students on common issues in expository writing, and taught a group tutorial in Spring 2012, Creative Criticism & Inquiry. Please feel free to contact her regarding the possibility of developing a workshop for your class or for assistance in other ways with the teaching of writing.

Kate Thorpe majored in English at Wesleyan, and received an M.F.A. in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has recently returned from a Fulbright scholarship in Germany, where she researched the transformation of post-industrial architecture through art. This research serves as material for a poetic manuscript. Her poems have appeared in Court Green, American Letters & Commentary, Volt, WSQ and Free Verse, among other journals.

 

Contact Information:

Kate Thorpe

106 Downey House

Middletown, CT 06459

(860) 685-3224

kthorpe@wesleyan.edu