Appendix C: Faculty WRITD Course Survey

(Note:  This can either be sent as a .doc file to faculty participants or put in online survey format.

The following course survey for the WRITD course taught during Fall 2010 is completed by participating faculty members in Phase I of the WAC assessment.

Description
Questions were created by the Writing Program Advisory Committee and Director of WAC based on Writing Program Goals and Learner Outcomes.  Survey questions were then tested with a small number of faculty members who teach WRITD courses. Finally, questions were once again revised.  We chose to use open-ended questions because we strongly believe you will be better able to share your comments and perceptions without limitations created by checklists or scales.  We realize there is always a certain degree of interpretation involved with open-ended questions but will value comments you can share for each question.

We know your time is precious so thank you for completing the survey!

Your Name_______________________________________

Department______________________________________

WRITD Course Taught (Departmental designation and course number):
___________________________________________________
(If you are teaching more than one WRITD course this semester please respond to the following questions for just ONE of those courses and submit the materials described above for this same course.)

Criterion One:  A WRITD course provides students with opportunities to read and analyze examples of discipline-specific writing.

  1. How well prepared were the students within your class to do the work associated with WRITD?  Please share an example or two to illustrate your perceptions.
  2. What kinds of discipline-specific writing did you ask students to review and how did you introduce these examples?

Criterion Two:  A WRITD course requires students to complete writing assignments that exemplify the structures, genres, and conventions of the disciplines.

  1. Please describe two forms of writing within your discipline, and then explain how these reflect common disciplinary conventions.
  2. How well did the writing assignment(s) within this course enable students to practice disciplinary conventions?   As part of your response, please briefly describe one major writing assignment and which conventions were emphasized within that assignment.  (You will be submitting a first and final draft of an assignment for three students within your course so if you could describe this assignment, that would be very helpful.)
  3. What types of resources (handbooks, web sources, etc.) were used to support the teaching of writing conventions within this course?

Criterion Three:  A WRITD course offers students opportunities to revise their work with the help of an instructor's feedback.

  1. Please describe the cycle of feedback and revision used within this course.
  2. What types of improvement in student writing did you see from first draft to final draft papers?  How valuable overall do you believe the process of revision is to improving student writing in this course?
  3. Please describe any patterns of concerns/ writing problems that were still evident in final drafts of papers written by students within your course.

A Few Final Questions…

  1. How well prepared did you feel to teach this WRITD course? 
  2. What types of faculty development opportunities would be of value in helping you work with students to improve their writing?
  3. Did you choose to include any language regarding services associated with the Writing Center within your syllabus or otherwise refer students to the WC?  If so, please briefly explain types of services provided by the WC that were used by your students.

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS PHASE OF THE WAC ASSESSMENT PROCESS!

Please upload the following documents to the WAC Moodle Site by the end of Fall Term 2010:

  • Course survey responses
  • First and final draft papers for one assignment from three students who are completing your WRITD course;
  • Your WRITD course syllabus.

*If you are unfamiliar with Moodle, send the above items as .doc files to Jeanne Herman and she will upload for you.  jherman@gustavus.edu