What We're Up To

We're always thinking, tinkering, learning, and innovating. Dive in.

Writing Place on Santa Rosa Island

Writing Place on Santa Rosa Island

As the new chair of English, I led a four-day, place-based writing retreat for fourteen students at the Santa Rosa Island Research Station (SRIRS) during the first weekend of October. While many may be daunted by a three-night trip with no cell service, no showers, and bunking with strangers, students leapt at the opportunity to […]

Assessment, Alignment and Feedback Spotlight #3

Assessment, Alignment and Feedback Spotlight #3

Faculty Info Name: Stacey AndersonAcademic Program: EnglishAverage Number of students per section: 20Featured Course: ENGL 102:  Strategies of Successful College Writers* (two sections)*This course focuses on helping incoming first-year students develop habits of mind and strategies for success in writing at the college-level. Students learn to make use of campus resources and academic technologies throughout […]

Teacher to Teacher: Conversations on Student Writing

Teacher to Teacher: Conversations on Student Writing

Shortly after publishing part one and part two of our series on first year composition students and their transition into college, we presented our initial findings at the annual convention of the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE). Dozens of secondary and post-secondary educators attended our session, eager to preview our Open Educational Resource […]

In Their Own Voices: First Year Student Reflections on Transitioning to College, Part Two

In Their Own Voices: First Year Student Reflections on Transitioning to College, Part Two

We received such positive feedback on part one of this series and understand that folks are eager for the sequel. Below, we continue to share what we learned from first-year composition students at CSUCI as they interviewed one another about their experiences. What fears did you have about college that turned out not to be […]

In Their Own Voices: First-Year Student Reflections on Transitioning to College, Part One

In Their Own Voices: First-Year Student Reflections on Transitioning to College, Part One

As 2019 Teaching and Learning Innovations Fellows, we set out to look more closely at how we could better support students’ transitions from high school to college writing and propel students to success at the university and beyond. As part of this work, we asked students in our first-year composition courses to interview one another, […]

Fighting Fire with Empathy

Fighting Fire with Empathy

“12 DEAD IN MASS SHOOTING AT THOUSAND OAKS BAR AND GRILL.” This  unfathomable notification jolted me awake just after midnight on Thursday November 8, 2018. As I read of the shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill, my thoughts immediately turned to our CSUCI students who would frequent Borderline’s College Nights every Wednesday. I began crafting […]

Composing Community: the Evolution and Adaptation of CSUCI’s Composition Program

Composing Community: the Evolution and Adaptation of CSUCI’s Composition Program

I joined CSUCI’s innovative first year composition program in the fall of 2005, just two years after the campus began welcoming first year students. Our students were taught by six full-time faculty committed to doing things differently. That included never offering remedial writing courses and working as a team to develop curriculum and assess the […]

Managing the Paper Load: Holistic Assessment of Student Writing

Managing the Paper Load: Holistic Assessment of Student Writing

My recent Teaching and Learning Innovations workshop, “Managing the Paper Load,” centered on helping faculty engage in holistic assessment of student writing. We discussed the difference between responding to student writing during the drafting and revision process, when students can use feedback to improve their work, versus assessing final drafts. Instructors often feel compelled to […]

Course Redesign: A Call to Service

Course Redesign: A Call to Service

This post was co-authored by Stacey Anderson and Kim Vose If you’re wary of the CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025, we get it. We’re CSU faculty, which means we care a lot about our students. We see potential where others might see deficits. Give us your tired and poor, and we’ll help them graduate into creative […]

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