The Writing ProgramWSU WORD Fellows

WSU WORD Fellows

The Writing ProgramWSU WORD Fellows
Aerial view of the WSU Pullman campus.

WORD: Writing Occurring Rhetorically in the Disciplines

The WORD program is designed to support faculty in designing, developing, and implementing more effective writing assignments, writing instruction, and writing assessment. By exploring practical and simple approaches to teaching with writing, WORD faculty fellows will learn to spend less time for more impact on assigning and evaluating writing.

Lightly modeled after the L.I.F.T. program, this program compensates faculty for participating in the series and for building (throughout the series of workshops) an engaging, scaffolded writing assignment for subsequent implementation into classroom instruction. Cohorts usually consist of 8 to 10 career- and tenure-track faculty from different disciplines who participate in a 12-part series of 75-minute experiential workshops.

WORD Learning Outcomes

Through participation in WORD, faculty will:

  • Develop an informed writing pedagogy
  • Explore low-stakes writing activities as opportunities for practice and wonder
  • Practice formative assessment of writing that aligns with assignment purpose
  • Consider assessment approaches based on genre, discipline, and assignment outcomes
  • Collaborate with faculty from across the university
  • Invite other perspectives and experiences into our ongoing practice of teaching / teaching with writing
  • Create a scaffolded writing assignment that draws on and applies concepts and strategies learned through WORD

Check out this WSU Insider piece on the first WORD cohort and for more information about the experience.

2024 WORD Program Details

The 2024 WORD Fellows program will begin in mid-January. We are inviting all clinical- and tenure-track faculty on all campuses to apply.

  • Weekly gatherings (in-person and/or on Zoom) spanning weeks 3 – 15 of the semester, meeting day and time TBD
  • No “homework” between meetings, but rather an expectation of ongoing reflection
  • Open to anyone who uses writing in their curricula or who wants to integrate writing into their courses
  • $750 stipend earned through attendance at all sessions and completion of the program deliverable (the scaffolded writing assignment)

The 2024 WORD cohort is now full. We hope you check back with us next year and join the 2025 cohort.