The WAC Teaching Network for UW-Madison Instructors   If you're a UW-Madison faculty or staff member or a teaching assistant, you don't have to go it alone! As you design assignments, talk with students about their writing, and grade papers, you'll inevitably have some questions. And you'll discover that the suggestions and examples on this Web site may not work in your course. So to encourage more discussion among instructors and to share knowledge, we've created a new WAC (Writing-Across-the-Curriculum) teaching network for the UW-Madison campus. Faculty, academic staff, and teaching assistants across the UW-Madison campus who have extensive experience teaching with writing are eager to share their experience and advice with UW-Madison colleagues. The following faculty and TAs have volunteered to consult about anything to do with teaching writing in your course. They've agreed to respond to your email or phone call within 48 hours. If they're swamped when you happen to contact them, they may have to tell you that they simply don't have time now to help. If that's the case, please contact the WAC director or assistant director (see the "Contact Us" section of this site). We'd love to expand this teaching network. If you're a UW-Madison faculty or staff member or a TA and you'd be willing to share your knowledge and help colleagues, please let us know. Just write to the WAC director (click on "Contact Us"), and we'll take it from there. We hope you'll find this new teaching network helpful! Jump to Arts and Humanities Jump to Science and Engineering Jump to Social Sciences Arts and Humanities Akua Sarr, Lecturer and Assistant Dean email: asarr@wisc.edu African Languages and Literature office: 420 South Hall phone: (608) 262-2941 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: African 201: An Introduction to African Languages and Literature web site(s): http://african.lss.wisc.edu/african201/ interests: Incorporating writing by any means necessary! Linda Hunter, Professor email: lhunter@wisc.edu African Languages and Literature office: 1404 Van Hise Hall phone: (608) 262-8983 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: African 306: Hausa Verbal Art in Translation web site(s): http://african.lss.wisc.edu/hunter/306/306.htm interests: Ways of encouraging students to think independently and creatively, and to forge cohesive connections among the various components of the undergraduate curriculum and experience. Laura McClure, Professor email: lmcclure@wisc.edu Classics and ILS office: 203 Meiklejohn House phone: (608) 262-9067 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: ILS 203: Western Literature and the Arts I (honors version; not officially designated a writing intensive course, but involves frequent writing assignments) Classics 351: Gender and Sexuality in the Classical World (Comm B) web site(s): http://classics.lss.wisc.edu/mcclure.html interests: teaching to a large audience, gender dynamics in the classroom, making material relevant to the experiences of students, interdisciplinary teaching Mary Layoun, Professor email: mnlayoun@wisc.edu Comparative Literature office: 938 Van Hise Hall phone: (608) 262-9767 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Except for large lecture classes, all of my classes have a substantial writing (and re-writing) component. web site(s): interests: active learning, service learning, critical thinking and writing, effective and interactive large lectures, use of computer presentations in large lectures, diversity in learning. David Fleming, Professor email: jdfleming@wisc.edu English office: 6187D Helen C. White phone: (608) 263-3367 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: English 201, Intermediate Composition; 236, The Jury Project; and 550, Rhetorical Analysis of Nonfiction Prose; director, English 100 (first-year composition) web site(s): http://www.wisc.edu/english/jdfleming/ interests: All! Deborah Brandt, Professor email: dlbrandt@wisc.edu English office: 6187E Helen C. White Hall phone: (608) 263-2886 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: English 309, Writing for English Teachers; English 236, Writing in a Changing World (Comm-B course); all of my courses are writing intensive web site(s): interests: Preparing students for their responsibilities in a writing-intensive, linguistically diverse society Sherry Reames, Professor email: slreames@wisc.edu English office: 7195C H. C. White phone: (608) 262-7836 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: English 215 (English literature before 1800), English/WS 249 (Women in early English lit), English 281 [now 181] (Freshman Honors lit [Comm-B course]), English 367 (Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) web site(s): interests: making effective use of peer review, teaching writing as an integral part of a literature course, using informal writing assignments to promote learning Susan Bernstein, Professor email: sdbernst@wisc.edu English office: 6115 Helen C. White phone: (608) 263-3804 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: English 460, "Nineteenth-Century English Novel"; English 468, "Victorian Literature"; English 570, "Women's Tradition in the Novel"; English 574, "Women's Writing and Feminist Theory" web site(s): http://utility.courses.wisc.edu/public/eng468_sam/index.html interests: using interactive technology in the classroom to promote discussion Michael Bernard-Donals, Professor email: mfbernarddon@wisc.edu English and Jewish Studies office: 6187A Helen C. White Hall phone: (608) 263-2948 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: English/Jewish Studies 236, "Writing the Holocaust" web site(s): interests: As previous director of the English 100 program, I've taught writing courses my entire career, and I'm trained in composition and rhetoric. Alice Robison, TA email: ajrobison@wisc.edu English, Curriculum & Instruction, Rhetoric, Writing Across the Curriculum office: 6159 Helen C. White phone: (608) 239-1355 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: English 100, English 201, and several Writing Center classes for TAs and graduate students. web site(s): http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~ajrobison interests: Writing pedagogy, including new literacies, media, and technologies; rhetoric and deliberation; writing-to-learn; disciplinary genres and conventions; oral communication. Pamela Potter, Professor email: pmpotter@wisc.edu German and Music office: 5524 Humanities phone: (608) 263-1906 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: German 236: Bascom Seminar - Culture and Politics in Nazi Germany; German 236: Bascom Seminar - Culture in 20th-Century Berlin; German 278: Culture and Politics in Nazi Germany (lecture course with 2 Comm-B sections); Music 416: Survey of Music in the Twentieth Century (Writing Intensive) web site(s): http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/german/facdes/potter.htm http://www.wisc.edu/music/html/bios/potter.htm interests: learning to read secondary works critically, encouraging thinking "outside the box," providing students with numerous examples of good writing on which to model their own papers, finding ways to improve reading skills Charles L. Cohen, Professor email: clcohen@wisc.edu History office: 4115 Humanities phone: (608) 238-9074 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: I have not taught any Comm-B courses. I have taught the following as writing-intensive: 101 - U.S. to the Civil War Era; 200 - Bascom Seminar/283 - honors seminar (research in colonial America); 343 - Colonial British North America; 451 - American Religious History to the Mid-Nineteenth Century; 500 topics seminar/600 - majors seminar - Amerindians and Euramericans in the Eastern Woodlands, 1500-1800; 600 - majors seminar - Anne Hutchinson and the Antinomian Controver web site(s): http://history.wisc.edu/cohen interests: How to teach writing; the transition from high school to college Florencia Mallon, Professor email: femallon@wisc.edu History office: 5125 Humanities phone: (608) 263-1822 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: History 135- Oral History and Testimonial Literature in Modern Latin America; History 441- Revolution and Conflict in Modern Latin America; History 557- The Mexican Revolution: Background, Process, and Consequences; History 600- Indigenous Movements in the Americas web site(s): interests: Use of literature, film and music in the teaching of history; use of primary materials in non-U.S and non-European history courses; encouraging students to risk analysis and understanding beyond cultural borders; helping students to use writing as a tool for broader understanding and debate; helping students to use writing for the purposes of storytelling and the exploration of personal commitment. Charles Dill, Professor email: cwdill@wisc.edu Music History office: 5523 Humanities phone: (608) 263-1897 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Music History 660-414, Music History 660-513, Music History 660-911 web site(s): interests: Currently, note taking and test taking are at the top of my list. Dan Hausman, Professor email: dhausman@wisc.edu Philosophy office: 5197 Helen C. White Hall phone: (608) 263-3700 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Philosophy 341 web site(s): http://philosophy.wisc.edu/hausman interests: How to help students to be active learners and how to encourage critical thinking, including self-criticism. Barbara Clayton, Faculty Associate email: bclayton@wisc.edu Theatre & Drama office: 6160 Vilas phone: (608) 263-3995 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Theatre & Drama 120; Theatre & Drama 200; Theatre & Drama 521 web site(s): interests: techniques for successfully teaching large lecture classes; writing about performance and the arts Caitilyn Allen, Professor email: cza@plantpath.wisc.edu Women's Studies office: 885 Russell Labs (corner of Linden & Babcock) phone: (608) 262-9578 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Women's Studies 530, Biology & Gender (WI) Plant Pathology 505, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (substantial writing component) web site(s): http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/fac/cza.htm interests: Getting students to understand, articulate, analyze, and evaluate scientific issues and scientific data. Science and Engineering Steve Ackerman, Professor email: stevea@ssec.wisc.edu Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences office: 1225 West Dayton St. Room 251 phone: (608) 263-3647 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 100; Satellite Meteorology web site(s): http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/ack.html interests: How to maintain sanity and still do a good job. Getting students to articulate, analyze, and evaluate scientific data and effectively incorporate their analyses in their writing. Cathy Middlecamp, Distinguished Faculty Associate email: chmiddle@wisc.edu Chemistry office: 4343 Chemistry phone: (608) 263-5647 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Chemistry 108: "Chemistry in Context" web site(s): http://www.chemincontext.com/108-spring02/ interests: teaching "real world" issues; strategically using the web in courses; bridging chemical and cultural issues; developing student-friendly pedagogies Laura Grossenbacher, Lecturer email: grossenb@engr.wisc.edu Engineering Professional Development office: 420 Henry Mall, room 110E phone: (608) 262-8073 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Basic Communication, Technical Communication web site(s): interests: Currently I'm very interested in teaching argumentation through the use of oral debates in my freshman class. During the debate assignment, I provide the students with some backgroun theory in ethics so that they will make arguments explicitly analyzing the ethical foundations of their positions. I think this can be a challenging assignment, and I'd be delighted to share some of my experiences and assignments with others. In both of my communication courses, I devote a lot of time to teaching the students strategies for building their credibility in written and oral work. I've done a lot of thinking about the elements that make an effective oral presentation, particularly. I think my handouts and experience in that area could be valuable to a new teacher. Tom McGlamery, Lecturer email: mcglamer@engr.wisc.edu Engineering Professional Development (EPD) office: M1036H Engineering Centers Building phone: (608) 265-4735 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: EPD 155 here at UW, which is a comm A class for engineering majors; EPD 397, Technical Communication; EPD 497, Technical Editing web site(s): http://courses.engr.wisc.edu/ecow/get/epd/275/mcglamery/ interests: Technical/engineering communication; Assignment design; peer review; designing efficient and effective feedback mechanisms; teaching presentation skills; designing PowerPoint slides and writing with PPT; writing compelling problem statements and proposals; categorizing common problems in technical explanations and teaching students how to avoid them Caitilyn Allen, Professor email: cza@plantpath.wisc.edu Plant Pathology office: 885 Russell Labs (corner of Linden & Babcock) phone: (608) 262-9578 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Women's Studies 530, Biology & Gender (WI) Plant Pathology 505, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (substantial writing component) web site(s): http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/fac/cza.htm interests: Getting students to understand, articulate, analyze, and evaluate scientific issues and scientific data. Jo Handelsman, Professor email: joh@plantpath.wisc.edu Plant Pathology office: 589A Russell Labs phone: (608) 263-8783 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: "Plants, Parasites, and People" Botany/Plant Pathology 123; "Plant Bacteriology" Plant Pathology 622; "Teaching Biology" Plant Pathology 875 web site(s): http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/fac/joh.htm interests: active learning; using transitions in writing to teach scientific thinking Bob Wardrop, Professor email: wardrop@stat.wisc.edu Statistics office: 4373 Comp Sci and Stat phone: (608) 263-3304 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Statistics 301 (I teach this with a SWC) web site(s): http://www.stat.wisc.edu/~wardrop/ interests: active learning; incorporating quantitative arguments into writing Jean Heitz, Faculty Associate email: jgheitz@wisc.edu Zoology office: Rm 230 Noland Hall phone: (608) 263-2186 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Biology 151 and 152 web site(s): interests: Particular interests include developing methods to more effectively encourage student learning (rather than memorization) in college biology. Methods used include group and individual writing assignments focusing on getting students to understand and communicate "what they are doing and why they are doing it". In Biology 151 we work to build basic logic and communication skills in a variety of formats (proposal, letter, poster, formal paper). In addition to 4 smaller projects, in Biology 152 all students do a semester long research paper which progresses from proposal through several drafts to the final paper and final poster presentation. Other methods used in both 151 and 152 include active learning, group learning, and problem based learning techniques. Again, the focus in all of these is to help students learn and/or to help them develop methods that will help them learn. Social Sciences Michael Thornton, Professor email: mcthornt@wisc.edu Afro-American Studies and Asian American Studies office: 4111 H. C. White Hall phone: (608) 263-1148 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: All my courses require a biweekly journal, a final paper, and 1-3 take-home essay exams. Most recent courses include: Afro-American Studies 151: Intro to Contemporary Afro-American Society; Afro-American Studies 443: Mutual Perceptions Among People of Color; Courses I haven't offered within the last two years but which are writing intensive: Afro-Am 673: Special Topics: Racial/Ethnic Identity; Afro-Am 673: Special Topics: Multiethnic people and families web site(s): interests: Service-learning (how to apply course concepts to the real world), race, social class Leigh Payne, Professor email: lpayne@polisci.wisc.edu Political Science office: 210 North Hall phone: (608) 263-9429 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Political Science 505, Challenge of Democratization; Political Science 401, Transitional Justice web site(s): interests: how to incorporate creative writing elements into social science courses, or, in other words, making social science writing more interesting to read; also, I'm interested in using writing as a method to get students to think more analytically about the class material Virginia Sapiro, Professor email: vsapiro@wisc.edu Political Science, Women's Studies, Office of the Provost office: 117C Bascom Hall phone: (608) 262-5246 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Courses with lots of/different kinds of writing web site(s): http://www.provost.wisc.edu/teach.html http://www.polisci.wisc.edu/users/sapiro/ interests: Writing in large intro courses; integrating research into undergrad courses; interdisciplinarity; gender issues in communication; social-science writing; developing comfort with writing Colleen Moore, Professor email: cfmoore@wisc.edu Psychology office: 422 Psychology phone: (608) 263-4868 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Psychology of Environmental Issues (Psych 411) web site(s): http://psych.wisc.edu/moore/ interests: How to get students to actually think!! Rosemarie Carbino, Clinical Professor email: rcarbino@wisc.edu Social Work office: 1350 University Avenue, Room 307 phone: (608) 263-3675 best way to contact: Email writing-intensive courses taught: Social Work 896-440, Theory and Practice of Social Work, seniors/1st year grad; Social Work 896-656, Family Practice in Foster and Kindship Care, advanced practice 2nd year Master's students in professional program web site(s): http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/socwork/faculty.html interests: supporting critical and independent thinking; building on students' abilities to evaluate their own work objectively; encouraging student participation in class discussion/debate