Banner

Conference Workshops

The pre-conference Workshops will be held Thursday, July 17th. All conference attendees can choose a workshop. Workshops are offered without an additional charge.

W.1 Visibility Strategies for WAC Programs

Room: Lory Student Center, Longs Peak Room (302)

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: WAC Program Design and Leadership

Workshop Leaders: Christopher R Basgier and Whitney A. Davis, Auburn University

Abstract: In this interactive workshop, facilitators will lead participants through a structured sequence of activities that will help them build, or refine, a visibility strategy for their local WAC programs. The workshop will begin with findings from a qualitative study of WAC directors’ rhetorical strategies for WAC program visibility, after which participants will reflect on the rhetorical situations in their own WAC programs. Next, facilitators will showcase a range of WAC visibility artifacts, and participants will identify visibility genres that may align with the audiences and exigences they identified in part 1. Finally, participants will create a concrete plan for enhancing WAC program visibility via a specific type of artifact that they have not utilized before.

W.2 (Re)Considering Writing Pedagogies in Writing Courses Across Disciplines: A Workshop on Integrating Critical Multimodal Pedagogies in WAC Fellowship Programs

Room: Lory Student Center, Room 386

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: The Role of WAC in Advancing Social Justice

Workshop Leaders: Rebecca Taylor and Megan Callow, University of Washington

Abstract: This interactive workshop provides participants with an opportunity to engage with the curriculum used during the Writing@UW Fellowship, a faculty development program at the University of Washington that completed its pilot year in 2024. In the Writing@UW Fellowship, we sought to support faculty members as they considered a critical multimodal framework to meet their goals for equity, inclusion, racial justice, and linguistic justice. Through hands-on engagement with fellowship materials, participants in this pre-conference workshop will discuss strategies for encouraging faculty to broaden writing practices, especially within disciplines that can prioritize traditional or rigid genres. This session aims to equip participants with adaptable frameworks and practical tools for fostering a more inclusive, multimodal approach to writing instruction that resonates across diverse academic fields.

W.3 WAC in Quantum Science?

Room: Lory Student Center, Room 322

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: The Role of WAC in Advancing Social Justice

Workshop Leaders: Sarah Young, University of Arizona, and Sean Moxley-Kelly, Arizona State University

Workshop Respondents: Priya Mohan, TU Delft (NL); Catherine Brooks, University of Arizona; and Brian Smith, University of Oregon

Abstract: This work delivers the results of a series of nineteen interviews with students and senior scholars in the US and the Netherlands involved in the development of quantum technologies who note the desire to explore topics of social and human interest but are met with resistance to non-technical explorations in their hierarchies. Addressing issues of social justice and social impact in quantum science is an important issue to explore early on in the development process so that these potential revolutionary technologies are built with social justice by design. As writing and communication scholars in regular contact with quantum scholars, the workshop leaders have an eager audience looking for suggestions on how to do “quantum for good." The workshop will ask attendees, as experts and parties interested in WAC activities, to co-construct a work-in-progress deliverable that addresses best practices for getting WAC explorations of the social impact of technologies into more technical quantum programs. If participants wish, they will be invited to keep in contact to work on a more polished, public deliverable for quantum science scholars.

W.4 Archives and Shaping History: WID From Both Sides of the Table

Room: Lory Student Center, Room 304-306

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: Histories of WAC

Workshop Leader: Kristen Welch, Spartanburg Methodist College

Abstract: In the first part of this workshop, I will share from this research and discuss the way that archivists or those who are using archives for research can work to recover the histories of marginalized groups. I will share the basics of archival work and discuss how WID helps us understand the dynamics of shaping histories using artifacts provided by institutions and those created or collected by scholars who wish to work towards social justice and recovery. In the second part of the workshop, I will broaden the discussion and ask for attendees to generate ideas for archival materials that help to shape our own histories as scholars of rhetoric and composition, particularly those which prioritize recovering the voices and contributions of members of marginalized communities. We will use this list as a proposal for organizing archival collections that could be housed on the WAC Clearinghouse Repository.

W.5 Forwarding Action for Backwards Thinking: Activating DEI-Related Activity in WAC

Room: Lory Student Center, Room 308-310

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: The Role of WAC in Advancing Social Justice

Workshop Leaders: Sherri E. Craig, Virginia Tech; Al Harahap, CUNY - Queens College; Aimee C. Mapes, University of Arizona; and Stacey Sheriff, Colby College

Abstract: This 2025 IWAC Conference workshop presents an opportunity for WAC specialists from a variety of contexts to articulate the most pressing challenges facing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) programs. The workshop will also create a collaborative space for participants to explore strategies for maintaining and advancing DEI efforts in the face of growing opposition and legislative restrictions.

W.6 Updating the Statement on AI Writing Tools in WAC Settings

Room: Lory Student Center, Room 390

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: WAC and Technology

Workshop Leaders: Christopher R. Basgier, Auburn University; Kirsti Cole, North Carolina State University; Crystal Fodrey, University of Louisville; Kristi Girdharry, Babson College; Sylvia Hayes, Midlands Technical College; Magdelyn Helwig, Furman University; Swan Kim, Brooklyn College; Mary Laughlin, Fairfield University; Nicole Markert, Eastern University; and Paula Rosinski, Elon University

Abstract: In January 2023, the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum (AWAC) published its “Statement on Artificial Intelligence Writing Tools in Writing Across the Curriculum Settings,” which situated AI within a broader technological evolution and affirmed the irreplaceable role of writing in learning and enculturation. Two years later, AWAC is revising this statement to reflect evolving theoretical and pedagogical insights that focus on four subsections: academic integrity, critical AI literacy, learning change, and uses and misuses of AI. In this interactive workshop, participants will be among the first to examine how the updated AI Statement can be refined for usability across diverse contexts. Participants will engage directly with draft subsections and offer feedback on their applicability for different stakeholders as well as generate practical, actionable ideas for integrating these concepts into activities and assignments. By prioritizing collaboration and inclusive practices, this session advances AWAC’s mission to provide innovative resources and foster global connections in WAC. Participants will leave with refined tools and strategies for navigating the challenges and opportunities of AI in WAC pedagogy, which will ultimately be shared with members of the larger WAC community.

W.7 Writing, Research, and Resilience: Integrating Information Literacy Across Disciplines for Institutional Change

Room:  Lory Student Center, Room 312

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: WAC Pedagogies and Practices

Workshop Leaders: Kirsti Cole, North Carolina State University; Sarah Henderson Lee, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Kelly Moreland, Minnesota State University, Mankato; and Jennifer Turner, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Abstract: In a rapidly evolving academic landscape, integrating Writing and Information Literacy (WIL) is essential for fostering student success and building a resilient institutional framework. This workshop equips educators with practical strategies to embed writing and research skills across curricula, drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives such as Writing-Enriched Curriculum (WEC), First-Year Writing (FYW), TESOL, and Library Science. Grounded in the latest research on Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) and information literacy, the session emphasizes the importance of collaborative, faculty-driven approaches that enhance both student learning and institutional cohesion. Participants will explore evidence-based practices, such as critical friendship and reflective inquiry, to support diverse student populations, promote critical thinking, and bridge disciplinary silos. Through interactive work sessions, participants will create action plans tailored to their institutional needs, focusing on strategies for implementing WIL, fostering faculty-librarian partnerships, and integrating multimodal and multivocal literacy practices. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a clear roadmap for fostering transformative change through interdisciplinary writing and literacy initiatives.

W.8 Sustaining ePortfolio Programming through Open Educational Resources

Room: Lory Student Center, Room 372-374

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: WAC Program Design and Leadership

Workshop Leader: Pathmanathan Sivashankar and Katharine H. Brown, Auburn University

Abstract: This workshop will explore how to sustain ePortfolios as a key element of Writing Across Curriculum (WAC), emphasizing the role of Open Education Resources (OER) in enhancing the sustainability of ePortfolio programming. The workshop will entail three sections. First, we will trace the history of ePortfolio adoption at our university, discussing key programming initiatives. We will also address the challenges of sustaining these programs and introduce our publication of an OER as a sustainable approach. Secondly, we will dive into the content of our OER material, exploring how it supports student learning, digital literacy, and reflective skills across disciplines. In the final section, we will offer practical recommendations for program administrators on how to sustain ePortfolio programming through the integration of our OER material or by publishing their own. Participants will have the opportunity to develop an action plan for supporting ePortfolios within their own WAC programs.

W.9 Integration Station: Writing, Learning, and the Happy Brain

Room: Lory Student Center, Room 376-378

Type of Session: Preconference Workshop

Area: WAC Pedagogies and Practices

Workshop Leader: Bonnie Vidrine Isbell, Biola University

Abstract: This pre-conference workshop offers hopeful classroom practices based in the learning sciences and developed in response to multidisciplinary research across fields of cognition, education, and writing. The workshop will demonstrate two WAC activities. First, founded in emotional intelligence and regulation work, is a 10-minute writing exercise used to better understand one’s internal emotional world and build self-regulation practices that prepare the mind for a state of learning. Second, grounded in social neuroscience work, is a scaffolding exercise for building relationships through multi-sensory exposure in learning. This workshop begins as a demo with attendees participating as “students." After experiencing the activities, an overview of the brain-based support for the activities will be presented. Question and answer discussion and time for workshopping adaptations of activities (i.e., scaffolding up and use in various contexts) is to follow. This workshop was inspired by Jonathan Haidt's recent book The Anxious Generation and seeks to prioritize wellbeing practices within classroom teaching.