*Registration is required and is free of charge. Participation will be limited to the first 75 registrants. Participants will receive professional development/continuing education credit for all-day attendance. Check website for eligibility limits. Online registration begins Monday, March 3.
Questions about the conference should be addressed to April Schmidt at schmidap@uwplatt.edu
Room: Platteville East/West
8:30 a.m. Check-In (beverages provided)
9:00 a.m. Welcome (Stephanie Branson, Chair, UWP Humanities Dept.)
9:15-11:30 Morning Keynote Presentations/Platteville East and West Rooms
(9:15) High School English Today: What Should We Teach and How Should We Teach It? Given by Susan Kies, English Teacher, Platteville High School
Most high-schoolers today are adept at surfing the Internet and finding just about anything, including Spark Notes, as well as reading and sending text messages, emails, etc. Most of these students also plan on attending a four-year college or one or two-year technical college, but many are not ready, willing or able to hone their reading and writing skills to reach that goal. Why is that and what should English teachers be doing about it? The presentation will answer this question and address student maturity, time constraints (both students’ and teachers’), ESL and learning disability hurdles, technology pros and cons, and lack of motivation with specific lesson plan examples and classroom management techniques.
Susan Kies, M.S.E. secondary education, has taught English at Platteville High School for 16 years. Her course repertoire includes English 9, 10, 11, and Advanced Placement Language and Composition. Susan has advised her high school’s literary magazine for 10 years and student council for 3 years. She is a certified forensic judge and has taught composition, high school methods, and business communication courses at UW-Platteville.
(10:15) Break
(10:30) Cognitive Growth and the “Duties” of the English Teacher
Given by Virginia Crank, English Professor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
The presentation will address the appropriate “place” of the English teacher at the high school and the college and how the two levels serve the cognitive, social and academic needs of their particular populations. The presentor witnesses too much talk about “them” at high schools and colleges; for example, “what are ‘they’ doing in the high school English class?” “This is what ‘they’ will expect when you get to college.” “Why aren’t ‘they’ doing _______?” etc. Her presentation will focus on what skills and thinking strategies are best taught in high school and college, and how we should see ourselves as building depth and breadth of reading, writing and thinking skills as students move from school to school. If we can recognize that each school has its own missions, strengths, goals, and approaches, we can help students see the complementary nature of high school and college English, and perhaps dispel the notion that they are redundant or contradictory.
Virginia Crank, Ph.D. rhetoric and composition, has taught various university-level courses at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse since 2001. Her course repertoire includes Foundations of College Writing, College Writing I, Writing for Teachers, Prose Style and Editing, and Language Studies for Secondary Teachers. Virginia has received several grants in the last six years, one of them entitled "From Conversation to Collaboration: A Workshop for English Teachers at UWL and Area High Schools" in 2007.
(11:30) Move to University North and South for lunch
(Noon) Lunch
1:00-3:45 Afternoon Breakout Sessions
(1-2:15) 1st Period Breakout Sessions
Session 1A. The Role of Writing Centers: Helping Students Develop Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing Skills (University South)
Evelyn Martens, Director, UWP Writing Center
This session presents writing center pedagogy at the college and high school levels. The focus will be on how to bridge the gap between what people expect of writing centers and what writing centers actually practice.
Session 1B. A Case for Dialogue: Writing Across the Curriculum and the Call for Faculty Development (University North)
Dennis Ciesielski, English, UWP Humanities Dept.
A cross-curricular writing-to-learn model fosters not only critical thinking and problem solving skills but a deeper understanding of the rhetorical nature of responsible communication and problem solving. This session will address ways to use writing-to-learn protocols to prepare high school students for the rigors of university-level writing and literature coursework.
Session 1C. Writing Research Papers: Toward an Integrated Curriculum, Grades 5-13 (Platteville East)
Laura Wendorff & Terri Burns, English, UWP Humanities Dept.
Within secondary education, the writing of research papers is generally assigned in social studies and science classes, and if assigned in English, they’re generally not assigned (or taught) until high school. The session will discuss reasons for teaching these skills earlier and ways these skills might sucessfully be taught at various levels.
Session 1D. ESL Writers and the Challenges They Pose in the Regular Classroom (Platteville West)
Yuanyuan Hu, English, UWP Humanities Dept.
(2:15) Break
(2:30-3:45) 2nd Period Breakout Sessions
Session 2A. The Place of Grammar in Writing Instruction (University North)
Virginia Crank, English, UW-La Crosse English Dept.
The session will address the questions: How often and in what ways should we teach and correct grammar? What does grammar skill contribute to writing ability? Does grammar instruction detract from the development of rhetorical competence?
Session 2B. Audience Rules! The Importance of Audience and Strategies to Address It (University South)
Kory Wein, English, UWP Humanities Dept.
This session will explore the role of audience in a rhetorical situation, how audience affects textual decisions, and strategies to address audience in student writing.
Session 2C. Effective Peer Editing (Platteville East)
J. Keith Hale, English, UWP Humanities Dept.
When students become effective editors, they also become more confident writers. This session looks at ways to make the most of the peer editing experience.
Session 2D. The Connection Between Reflective Thinking and Reflective Writing (Platteville West)
Bill McBeth, Education, UWP School of Education
The instructors in this session will discuss three years of efforts to help students think through the possibilities of their learning (reflection) and communicate these thoughts in writing. They will share some of the methods they use to help students develop reflective thinking and writing skills through the use of student samples.