Writing Across the Curriculum in the Age of AI

Call for Participants: Writing Across the Curriculum in the Age of AI  

Michelle Stuckey, the Director of Composition, and Emily Simnitt, the Director of the Writing, Public Speaking, and Critical Reasoning Minor, invite participants in a year-long CAIT focused on writing across the curriculum in the age of generative AI. The CAIT will focus on evaluating and proposing revisions to the Written Communication Method of Inquiry. 

Written communication is a core learning focus for undergraduate education at the University of Oregon. Students write across the curriculum at the University of Oregon in both structured and semi-structured contexts. The majority of undergraduate students complete a two-class writing sequence, and Written Communication is one of four methods of inquiry that define core education learning goals. Written Communication is unique from other methods of inquiry in that writing has to be taught over time, across multiple contexts, and in a consistent mode so students can successfully transfer learning. 

Instructors of Written Communication-eligible courses need support to effectively teach writing because they are typically not trained in teaching writing or conversant in best practices. However, there is currently no formal support for regular alignment of writing practices between the Composition Program and the disciplinary courses that fulfill the Written Communication requirement. Furthermore, almost 400 core education classes are designated as meeting the requirements for the Written Communication method of inquiry, yet there is limited assessment and evaluation data on the impact on sustained writing knowledge for undergraduates. 

Participants in this CAIT will contribute to assessing the current state of the core education Written Communication Method of Inquiry at the University of Oregon and making recommendations for structural revisions to support writing instruction across the curriculum. As faculty struggle with increased use of generative AI tools by students as a replacement for writing, it is imperative that we reexamine the learning outcomes for written communication and that we respond to the changing needs of both faculty and students. 

This CAIT lays the groundwork for:

1. Developing a set of best practices for approaching writing instruction to re-engage students with writing learning across their academic career at UO
2. Sustaining a community of practice that supports writing instructors across the curriculum in the age of AI

Deliverables

To apply to participate, please submit a current CV and a statement of no more than 500 words that details your past experience with and approach to teaching writing at the University of Oregon, highlighting 1-2 areas you’ve identified where additional support for writing instruction would improve teaching and learning. Applications should be sent to uocompdirectors@uoregon.edu no later than November 6. 

Questions can be directed to Emily Simnitt (esimnitt@uoregon.edu) or Michelle Stuckey (stuckey@uoregon.edu).