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First-Year Writing Program Annual Report

Academic Year 2013-2014

Jessica Restaino, Director

08 Fall

Annual Report 2013-2014: First-Year Writing Program, Montclair State University 2

Contents Introduction Students: Instruction, Services, and Support Program Enrollment Advising Live Lit! Reading Series Exemplary Essay Awards Student Workshops: Creative Writing for FYW MLA Documentation Faculty: Hiring, Retention, and Development Numbers: full-time lecturers; three-quarter faculty; adjunct faculty Faculty Retention and Development Activities Faculty Workshops FYW Website (www.montclair.edu/chss/english/first-year-writing/) Mentoring and Collaboration Curricular and Programmatic Development Writing at Montclair (revised edition) Montclair Book Hybrid Instruction

Instructor’s Sourcebook Textbook Review The Writing Studio Pilot Assessment Curriculum-Based Expert Reader Placement (CEP) Assessment of Faculty Grading Criteria (ENWR 100, 105, 106) Faculty Observations and Course Evaluations FYW Programmatic Review and Development Lecturer Administrative Week Faculty Administrative and Service Contributions Individual Faculty Accomplishments

Annual Report 2013-2014: First-Year Writing Program, Montclair State University 3 Introduction On behalf of the larger English department, FYW faculty teach more general education courses than any other faculty body or program at the University. Academic Year ’13-14 has proven to be the busiest yet, with a range of new programmatic initiatives, increased enrollment projections, and the establishment of a growing full-time faculty body. Under the guidance of the FYW Director (Jessica Restaino), and with the support of the FYW Committee and English Department Chair (Emily Isaacs), the FYW program includes over 80 faculty (full-time and contingent) who taught 382 sections of first-year writing, a total of 7, 178 instructional seats in AY ’13-14 (see below for more details). Enrollment projections for AY ’14-15 indicate these offerings will increase to approximately 400 sections. The FYW Director is currently supported by an Assistant Directors (Bonnie Dowd) and by two department administrators (Phyllis Brooks and Kim Harrison), who split their time between FYW and the larger English department. The FYW program at Montclair State enjoys a national reputation built on rigorous assessment practices, alignment with best practice and current research in the field, and consistent, responsive faculty professional development. While these program components are overseen by the faculty director, first-year writing faculty themselves are leaders across the program: innovating, experimenting, and collaborating both inside and outside of the classroom. The following report offers summary snapshots of the major initiatives and features of the program, which are integral in advancing a central goal: the development of effective academic writers with the necessary skills for college success.

Students: Instruction, Services, and Support Program Enrollment The First-Year Writing (FYW) Program provides instruction in academic, argument-driven college-level writing to all of the University’s incoming students, including those transfer students who have not completed the two-course requirement. This two-course sequence includes ENWR 105/College Writing I, “Intellectual Prose,” and ENWR 106/College Writing II, “Writing and Literary Study.” Instruction is provided by a faculty that includes up to 15 full-time lecturers, 12 three-quarter faculty, and 36 adjunct faculty. All are trained, supported, and evaluated by the Director of First-Year Writing (12 TCH) with support from the English department and two part-time assistant directors (6 TCH each). In 2013-2014, the FYW Program ran 382 total sections of FYW courses, providing a total of 7,178 instructional seats. This is approximately a 19% increase in total sections and a 20% increase in total seats since the previous year.

Annual Report 2013-2014: First-Year Writing Program, Montclair State University 4 The following chart details the offerings of AY 2013-2014:

Cumulative Scheduling Seat and Capacity Data

100 sections 100 seats 105

sections 105 seats 106 sections 106 seats Total

Sections Total Seats

Sum 13 8 120 2 38 5 135 15 293 fall 13 21 315 142 2698 23 437 186 3450 Sp 14 1 15 45 855 135 2565 181 3435

13-14 Total 30 450 189 3591 163 3137 382 7178 Program Administration Dr. Jessica Restaino continues to serve as program director; AY 14 marks the close of her second year of a three-year elected term as director (12 TCH). Jessica began as Interim Director in January 2012, moving formally to Director in July ’12. The Director is supported by an assistant director, Bonnie Dowd, who works in a part-time, non-tenure track capacity (6 TCH). Additional support comes from the English department Chair, as well as English department administrative office staff, Phyllis Brooks and Kim Harrison. The program has hired an Associate Director, Jennifer Holly Wells, who begins a 12-month professional staff position on July 1, 2014; this position will provide much-needed support to our large program. First Year Writing faculty offices are located on the first floor of Dickson Hall. There is an adjunct office located in DI 115, which includes some space for student conferencing, as well printing and computer support for faculty. Full-time faculty share offices (two per office) on the first floor as well and maintain regular office hours. DI 118 serves as a much needed break room with lockers, coffee maker, and supplies, designed to primarily support our adjunct population that does not otherwise have a dedicated space for securing valuables or food. Advising First-year students seek advisement for several concerns, including: evaluation of courses taken at other universities, ongoing classes, grade grievances, and placement in writing courses. The director and assistant director keep 18 office hours a week and correspond with students via email with great frequency to meet the extensive advising needs of first-year writing students. In the area of transfer evaluation, the directors have reviewed over 140 requests in AY 14, many of which require additional document collection and evaluation (syllabi and sample papers) and a few of which require an in-house essay

Annual Report 2013-2014: First-Year Writing Program, Montclair State University 5 assessment. This data is maintained in an online database that we have designed to enable tracking, record-keeping, and report-generation. Grade grievances are also on the increase. This may be a result of a change in demographics or perhaps a result of an increase in transfer students who have experience in less rigorous programs. The FYW program additionally enforces an aggressive, program-wide plagiarism policy, and faculty and the program director consult with students who have questions about this policy and their standing. Live Lit! Reading Series Live Lit, co-chaired by Shelagh Patterson and Robin Caine in the fall and in the spring chaired by Shelagh Patterson with committee members Claudia Cortese, Carrie O’Dell, and Liz Martin, is a popular reading series featuring the creative work of First‐Year Writing faculty, English faculty, MSU students, and regional writers who publish locally, nationally, and even internationally. Through the Live Lit! program and requirement, virtually all first-year students, as well as interested upper-level students, have the opportunity to hear professional and student writers read from their work and talk about the craft of writing. This is a hallmark experience of a college educated person, and one for which the FYW program takes entire responsibility. Among its many purposes, Live Lit! serves as a helpful curricular complement, especially for faculty teaching College Writing II, Writing and Literary Study. Live Lit! also serves as a listing of other creative readings on and off campus and has increased the visibility of the FYW program to the wider university community. In AY ’13-’14, Live Lit! was redesigned to create a more intimate experience for students and faculty. Instead of holding eight large readings as had been done in years past, the reading series expanded to 33 smaller readings, each of which accommodated four to five classes on average. Due to the increased number of readings (a growth of 413%), the Live Lit! committee reached out to the larger community and brought guest writers from the Northern NJ/NYC metro area and the Northeast at large. In total, guest readers from four different states participated in Live Lit! Informal surveys reveal that few first-year students have ever had such an experience before attending a Live Lit! event; furthermore, students report the experience to be eye-opening and pleasurable. Reading Details: · Tuesday, October 1: Nancy Mendez-Booth, Non-Fiction; Nancy Toomey, Non-Fiction · Wednesday, October 9: Todd Craig, Fiction; Leslie Dolye, Fiction · Friday, October 11: Carrie Lee O’Dell, Drama; Ethan Hon, Poetry · Tuesday, October 15: John Hodges, Fiction · Tuesday, October 22: Liz Martin, Poetry; Claudia Cortese, Poetry · Friday, October 25: Elizabeth Levine, Poetry/Memoir; Sarah Ghoshal, Poetry · Wednesday, October 30: Ann Evans, Memoir; Shelagh Patterson, Poetry · Monday, February 3:Michael Bross, Poetry; Henry Margenau, Fiction

Annual Report 2013-2014: First-Year Writing Program, Montclair State University 6 · Tuesday, February 4: Nancy Mendez-Booth, Fiction; Guest Reader Craig Chanin, Fiction · Wednesday, February 5:Nancy Burke Toomey, Fiction; Guest Reader Lewis Seagull, Fiction and Drama (canceled due to inclement weather) · Friday, February 7, 11:30am: Carrie O’Dell, Drama; Guest Readers Ayesha Gallion, Creative Non-Fiction; Megan Cummins, Fiction · Wednesday, February 12:Julia Wagner, Poetry; Nancy Burke Toomey, Fiction · Thursday, February 20: Ross Williams, Executive Director, New York Shakespeare Exchange/The Sonnet Project, Drama and Poetry · Friday, February 21: Shelagh Patterson, Poetry; Guest Reader Bryanna Tidmarsh, Poetry · Monday, February 24: Student Writing Group Speaking Through Silence · Wednesday, February 26: John Hodges, Fiction · Friday, February 28: Guest Readers Bobby Fischer, Fiction; Timothy O’Donnell, Fiction · Tuesday, March 4: Tara Moyle, Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry; Elizabeth Levine, Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry · Thursday, March 6:Carrie O’Dell, Drama; Guest Reader Mark Labowskie, Fiction · Friday, March 7: Claudia Cortese, Poetry; Guest Reader Max Gray, Creative Non-Fiction · Friday, March 7: Guest Readers Chris Salerno, Poetry; West Moss, Creative Non-Fiction and Fiction · Tuesday, March 18:Guest Readers Paula Neves, Poetry; Nico Destino, Poetry · Wednesday, March 19: Liz Martin, Poetry; Guest Reader Drew Ciccolo, Creative Non-Fiction · Wednesday, March 19: Leslie Doyle, Fiction; Ethan Hon, Poetry · Tuesday, March 25: Guest Readers Joy Ladin, Poetry; Trace Peterson, Poetry · Thursday, March 27: Kathy Curto, Creative Non-Fiction; Richard Fulco, Fiction · Friday, April 4: Ann Evans, Fiction; Guest Reader Maria Giura, Creative Non-Fiction · Monday, April 7:Guest Readers Boris Tsessarsky, Fiction; Kem Joy Ukwu, Fiction · Tuesday, April 8: Jill Rosenberg, Fiction; Guest Reader Roberto F. Santiago, Poetry · Thursday, April 10: Guest Reader Nicole Cooley, Poetry; Claudia Cortese, Poetry · Tuesday, April 15: David Galef, Poetry; Guest Reader Timothy Charles Browne, Drama · Thursday, April 17:Student ReadersShakeema Edwards, Poetry; Jacqui Reid, Poetry; Maggie Miele, Poetry · Thursday, May 1: Creative Writing Award Winners-- LiSun Francisco, Tom Benediktsson Award for Poetry; John Allia, Carter Ross Fiction Award; Rasha Johnson, Libera Calabrese Award for Creative Non-Fiction (See next page for bar graph indicating increases in event offerings.)


Exemplary Essay Awards The Exemplary Essay Awards competition for students enrolled in FYW courses is judged by a committee of program faculty. Full-time lecturer Donna Phillips served as Chair for AY '13-14. The committee received a record total of 133 submissions during the Fall submission period (ending December 31) and a total of 115 submissions during the Spring submission period (ending May 16). The total submissions combined for both Fall and Spring were 248. Submissions are received in each of the three courses in the FYW Program and a winner is determined in each course category. Students’ essays are judged on the following critieria: Originality/Creativity; Focus; Development; Organization; Critical Thinking/Analysis; Clarity of Prose. Student award recipients receive a $100 MSU award and all winning essays are published on the FYW Program website. AY 2013-2014 Winners: ENWR 100 winner: Talia Nuesi ENWR 105 winner: Kevin Kohlhauf ENWR 106 winner: Cassandra Sardo

Annual Report 2013-2014: First-Year Writing Program, Montclair State University 8 Creative Writing for FYW During the AY ‘13-‘14, the FYW Creative Writing Committee, chaired by full-time Instructional Specialist, Robin Caine, offered three creative writing workshops for students during the spring semester. The workshops encouraged students to write in a relaxed environment outside the classroom, and gave them the opportunity to share work, try new genres, and connect with other students and instructors. The following outlines this year’s workshop offerings and attendance: FYW Creative Writing Student Workshops 2014 (Spring only): Robin Caine, fiction workshop (5 attended) John Hodges, flash workshop (6 attended) Kathy Curto, memoir workshop (4 attended) Total participants: 15 MLA Documentation Workshops

The MLA Documentation Committee, chaired by full-time lecturer Jennifer Guercio, assists faculty with the challenging task of teaching MLA Documentation by providing workshops that instruct students on in-text citations and Works Cited pages. In AY ’13-’14, the committee provided three workshops, one in the fall and two in the spring, which were open to all undergraduate and graduate students. The workshop format encouraged active student participation throughout the presentations. The workshops continued to pack the room and students were highly receptively. MLA Documentation Workshop 2013 (fall): 88 students attended. Approximately 35-50 students were turned away, because of difficulty in reserving a large enough space. MLA Documentation Workshops 2014 (spring): 1st Workshop – 91 students attended; 4 faculty members attended. 2nd Workshop – 117 students attended; 5 faculty members attended. Faculty: Hiring, Retention, and Development The First-Year Writing Program at Montclair State enjoys high national and regional regard among scholars and teachers of college composition. Teaching positions in the program attract a high volume of applications from talented and well-qualified candidates. We are thus well-positioned to hire strong faculty members. A range of evaluations for teaching effectiveness, from student grade and survey data, to classroom observations of faculty, indicate that Montclair State University’s students are receiving

Annual Report 2013-2014: First-Year Writing Program, Montclair State University 9 high quality writing instruction. The following table outlines the staffing structure for AY 14: Current Staffing AY 13-14

Fall -- Number/Percentage of Sections Taught By

IS Faculty

One Year Faculty

Tenure-Line Faculty

3/4 Line Faculty

Adjunct Faculty Total

Sections 16 49 4 24 92 185 Individuals 4 13 4 8 55 84 Sections/Percentage 9% 26% 2% 13% 50% 100% Hiring AY 15 will bring a total of 12 Instructional Specialist and 12 One-Year faculty members into the program, the highest number of full-time faculty to date. The program has convened a hiring committee (Jessica Restaino, Chair; Emily Isaacs; Jonathan Greenberg; Sharon Lewis) to evaluate applications, conduct interviews, and make recommendations for hiring. Part-time and adjunct faculty will continue to be a major presence in the program and are projected to teach just over 50% of classes in AY 15. Faculty Retention and Development Activities New faculty members—however extensive their previous training—are introduced to the FYW Program through a mandatory two-day orientation that takes place in August. The workshop requires that faculty engage with foundational scholarship in composition theory and best practice, both as a means to orient them to the philosophical stance of our program and to ensure that they have a solid grounding in the pedagogical area. The workshop also reviews grading criteria, benchmark papers, program policies, and gives new faculty the opportunity to apply a variety of assessment techniques. Finally, the workshop introduces faculty to a variety of materials for their use and experimentation. New faculty are compensated for this time commitment. All faculty are required to attend an “opening day” meeting at the start of each semester. This meeting typically includes a short professional development exercise, providing faculty with a new assignment or technique they can try in the classroom, and also apprises them of any new policies or initiatives in the program. FYW Website (www.montclair.edu/chss/english/first-year-writing/) The Program’s website is a foundational key to its uniform success because it is a resource-rich center for materials, assessment, policy, and support. To date, the website has been maintained by Rick Reid, a full-time instructor in the FYW program, and will be additionally supported by the new Associate Director beginning in July 2014. The site is updated regularly as new materials are added, and each summer undergoes substantial updating and revision. The website is an important and effective tool for orienting new


faculty to the expectations of the Program and also the resources available to them at Montclair. The FYW program is additionally preparing for a move from Blackboard to Canvas, along with the rest of the University, and currently maintains a range of instructor resources on a Blackboard site. Working with OIT, the program will transition these materials into Canvas and will revise, update, and edit to reflect faculty needs for AY 15. Additionally, the program will use Canvas to conduct faculty syllabi review in August 2014. Faculty Development and Collaboration The Faculty Development and Collaboration committee supports a number of initiatives around professional development across the program. In consultation with the director, committee members select, plan, and deliver professional development workshops and support a number of additional programs designed to engage faculty sharing of pedagogical approaches, strategies and materials. All FYW faculty are required to attend a minimum of one workshop per semester. Workshops Fall 2013 Tatum Petrich, Laura Field, and Tavya Jackson "Making the Most Out of Student Conferences." Wed., Oct. 23 at 2:30 Stacie McCormick, Shil Sen, and Laura Field. "The Rigors of Responding to Student Writing." Thurs., Oct. 24 at 4:00 Jessica Restaino, “Grade Norming,” Oct. 8 and 9 @ 3:00 and 5:30 pm Spring 2014 Shil Sen "Teaching Drama in ENWR106" Wed., Feb 12th @ 2:30 Rick Reid "The Role of Difficulty in a First Year Writing Course" Tues., Feb 25th @ 4:00 Nikki Wittenburg and Janet Dengel: "Reimagining Composition: Using Chat, Tweets, and Assistive Technology to Enhance Student Writing" Wed., March 5th @ 4:00 Jessica Restaino "Preventing Plagiarism" Tues, March 25th @ 5:30 Kate Ronald (University of Miami, Ohio), “Students’ Rhetorical Desires and Our Writing Assignments." Thurs, April 24 @ 3:00


Peer Observation Program Coordinated by Tavya Jackson, this program invites faculty to visit each other’s classrooms to observe in a non-evaluative context. Faculty have the option of volunteering their classrooms as “open” to observation, and those interested in seeing a colleague teach are able to coordinate an observation. This program is particularly useful for new faculty who may benefit from observing a specific classroom practice or activity (peer review, for example) that is a common challenge. Mentoring Chaired by Tatum Petrich, the mentoring program pairs incoming faculty with more experienced instructors who serve as a resources on teaching strategies, program policy, grading criteria, and University systems and resources. The program concludes with a dinner each spring. Blog The “Deep Down in the Classroom” blog, coordinated by Shil Sen, averages two posts from faculty each month on topics relevant to the first-year writing classroom. These posts are public and thus open to a wide reading community, and engage faculty at Montclair and beyond on a range of topics, from successful peer review to the dynamics of gender in the first-year classroom. Suggestions for continuing to strengthen the blog into AY 15 include:

• Ask faculty to post after leading a workshop in order to continue the conversation and bring in those who could not attend.

• Post shorter “conversation starters “ that connect to articles in the field • Work to publicize the blog more and to encourage faculty to share on personal

social media sites. • Develop a blog roll so we can connect to other people in our field • Develop a menu of the different kinds of blogs one might post, which will

hopefully encourage more people to post.

Informal Workshop Series - Colloquia The Faculty Development committee has periodically convened short, informal faculty discussion groups on pressing topics such as grading and revision. A recent suggestion (Stacie McCormick) includes adding opportunities for faculty to discuss their own writing, as well as the challenges of balancing work and home, particularly in light of the time demands involved in student writing assessment. Future Directions The committee intends to implement a standard survey form following all workshops so faculty have the opportunity to provide feedback to presenters. The committee is additionally interested in being more active in the new faculty orientation process, as well as in the challenges of grade norming across the program. Curricular and Programmatic Development


Writing at Montclair In ’13-14 we continued our use of Hacker and Sommers, A Writer’s Reference, the required handbook for all sections of our course offerings. The Textbook Review Committee also revised the Writing at Montclair prefatory chapter for Fall 2013 to reflect the updates regarding the Placement program and Plagiarism Policy. This handbook continues to serve as an essential resource in orienting students to the expectations of the FYW Program, its courses and its goals, at Montclair. Montclair Book For AY 14, Montclair book committee, headed by Kirk McDermid in the Philosophy & Religion Department, selected The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea to be the Montclair book. The first-year writing program continued its support of the Montclair book program in using the book as the basis of the placement assignment for incoming students and ultimately the first unit in ENWR 100 and 105. Luis Urrea visited campus and spent a generous amount of time talking with students and reading from his work. With the selection process of next year’s (AY 15) Montclair book, Mullainathan and Shafir’s Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much, first-year writing faculty have had the opportunity to take a fuller role: a small group of faculty volunteered to read the three finalists and offer their insights. The program also conducted a survey of first-year writing faculty regarding the reception of the Urrea book and reported on the selection to the committee. The Montclair book project continues to demonstrate myriad opportunities for collaborations across disciplines and colleges on campus, and will once again serve as the focus of the program’s placement assessment and first unit in ENWR 100 and 105 in Fall ‘14. Hybrid Committee Overview During the AY ’13- ’14, the Hybrid Committee, chaired by full-time lecturer Sarah Ghoshal, continued the exploration of hybrid study and practice of First Year Writing at Montclair State University. In the fall of 2013, nine professors taught 10 ENWR 105 sections and 5 sections of ENWR 106, while simultaneously teaching 13 sections of FYW traditional face-to-face courses. During the spring of 2014, twelve professors taught 2 ENWR 105 sections and 15 sections of ENWR 106 while simultaneously teaching 17 sections of FYW traditional face-to-face courses. A total of 497 students received grades in a hybrid course in ’13-’14, 228 students in the fall and 269 in the spring. In the Fall, the committee pursued the development of FYW hybrid pedagogy by contributing to two areas of investigation: 1) committee tasks and 2) individual class projects. In the Spring, the work was focused more on committee tasks. While the development of new hybrid pedagogical tools and methods remains essential to the FYW


Hybrid Committee, the AY ’13-’14 committee emphasized best practices for hybrid instructors across the board, the collection of detailed data regarding both individual course and paper outcomes across hybrid and face-to-face sections, the continued building of resource materials for diverse hybrid instruction on the hybrid Canvas “Community” classroom, as well as an open discussion and evaluation of hybrid student populations and community. In addition, committee members worked to create materials that contribute to the overall training of new hybrid instructors, as well as to evaluate methods for student vetting and training. Finally, two members of the committee piloted Canvas in the fall and ten members piloted Canvas in the spring, leading to a discussion of ways to prepare instructors in the First Year Writing Program for the upcoming transition from Blackboard to Canvas in Fall ’14. One of the most effective aspects of the committee’s work this year was to discuss the efficacy and value of hybrid instruction for 105 students. The detailed discussions led to valuable ideas for the recognition of tendencies and possible trouble areas for students in the hybrid-writing classroom. Of particular note was the creation of an official proposal for 105 hybrid student preparedness and vetting, after a lengthy committee-wide discussion involving the “profile” of ideal hybrid students and presentation of such class by advisement and the university at large. This discussion not only served as a reflective and informative tool for current hybrid instructors, but also resulted in the proposal and a larger awareness on the part of faculty regarding the various obstacles that hybrid students face. Committee Tasks Committee members were responsible for the collection of hybrid teaching materials for inclusion in a proposed hybrid source book as well as the larger First Year Writing Program Source Book, revision of assigned sections of the Best Practices document, presentation of ideas for student vetting and training and ongoing discussion of classroom practices and concerns. Individual Class Projects Committee members worked extensively to use specific projects in their classrooms that they felt would enhance their hybrid teaching. Such individual class projects include a “Annotated Bibliography” (Bonnie Dowd), “Comparison of Multimedia Feedback and Written Feedback” (Sarah Ghoshal), “Preparing for the Final Portfolio: Global Revisions Vs. Proofreading” (Robin Caine), “Continuity of Discussing Readings In-Class and Online” (Jennifer Guercio) and “Online Peer Workshops” (Donna Phillips).These varied activities were piloted in courses and outcomes and revisions were noted and considered for further development and implementation in spring. Detailed descriptions of these varied activities are available in the Hybrid Committee Canvas Community. Instructor’s Sourcebook Committee During the Fall ’13 semester, the Instructor’s Sourcebook Committee decided to move from the original First-Year Writing Program faculty resource website to an e-book format available via the First-Year Writing Program’s website. This new format dictated


committee organizational changes and significant re-formatting of existing and recently collected resources. Thus far, two sections of the e-book – 106 and cross-course – were carefully reviewed and re-formatted into an e-book form. Based on the work of these sections, further materials are being collected and re-formatted for 105, 100 and a Policies & Procedures section from Spring ’14 through Summer 2014. The committee’s plans going forward are to expand and diversify the resources available in the e-book. Faculty essential to the work conducted on the ISB include: Christa Verem (chair), Maria Montaperto (co-chair), Jennifer Guercio, Geraldine Logan, and Shiladitya Sen. Textbook Review Committee

In AY ’13-’14 the Textbook Review Committee, chaired by Instructional Specialist faculty Julia Wagner, and supported by faculty members Tony Williams, Bonnie Dowd, and Sasha Troyan, continued the work of assessing and selecting quality and diverse course materials, which provide consistency for the program while allowing instructors some freedom in their selection and providing an affordable range of materials for students. The committee conducted their semi-annual textbook review and made the survey results available online, so faculty could review the detailed strengths and weaknesses of individual texts. The committee is also in the process of revising, and posting to the First Year Writing website, sample syllabi to coordinate with the new editions of all ENWR 105 and 106 textbooks; these syllabi are designed to be usable for new and more experienced faculty members alike, and demonstrate alignment with program policies and learning goals. Finally, the committee routinely communicates, in consultation with the program director, with our publishing representatives The Writing Studio Pilot AY ’14 marked the beginning of the “studio” pilot ENWR 105 course redesign (12 sections of ENWR 105 each semester), which combines flexible scheduling, student self-pacing, increased one-on-one instruction, and the incorporation of technological tools to support delivery. Three full-time faculty—Jordine Logan, Laura Field, Rick Reid—team-taught in the studio, sharing students across the 12 sections. The director oversaw the design and preliminary implementation of the studio project, but the three teaching faculty co-designed the syllabus content, all assignments, the Canvas course page, and continued to rework the model throughout its introductory year. The studio has received expert consultant support in the planning stages (June ’13) from Scott Warnock (Drexel University) and, as part of an end-year assessment, Anne Herrington (University of Massachusetts). Additionally, the studio project is undergoing a longitudinal assessment implemented and supervised by Chair (and, effective Fa ’14, Interim Associate Dean) Emily Isaacs, which includes student surveys, grade data analysis, and comparative writing trait analysis. A full report and recommendation is expected by Spring ’15.


Montclair’s studio model reflects an innovative approach to a national trend, particularly given its emphasis on flexibility and one-on-one instruction. In July ’14, Jessica Restaino and Laura Field will present a paper on Montclair’s studio pilot project at the Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference in Normal, Illinois. Additionally, Emily Isaacs has a chapter, “Course Redesign in First-Year Composition” in a forthcoming book on the topic of course redesign in which she references Montclair’s studio pilot. Original Description (Fall ’13) The Writing Studio is a creative course redesign for ENWR 105 that combines collaborative teaching, student-directed learning, on and off-site class-based activities, and a range of technological tools to support delivery. The course is built around a faculty team that “shares” a certain number of sections between them while maintaining our standard 19:1 instructional ratio. Course content involves three major, required parts: discussion sessions; writing studio tasks; and submission of a writing portfolio. Students accumulate points for attendance at discussion sessions and completion of process-based studio tasks, which culminate in a “studio grade,” and they receive a letter grade for their final writing portfolios. Studio and portfolio grades are each worth 50% of the final grade in the class. Portfolios will be assessed via collaborative review by the faculty team, though individual faculty will be responsible for final grade calculations for assigned sections. Students receive feedback on their writing weekly through instructor and peer conferences, and sophisticated online peer review software. The Writing Studio maximizes the emphasis on feedback, drafting, and faculty interaction with students while they compose and generates a busy intellectual community, both physically and virtually, designed to give students all the resources necessary to develop as writers. Scheduling is flexible: students will attend discussion sessions on a weekly basis, and will additionally have “drop in” times available for studio use, conferencing, and peer meetings. All students are required to attend an orientation session during the first week of classes. Assessment Curriculum-Based Expert Reader Placement (CEP) In 2013-14 the FYWP deployed a modified version of its in-house Placement and Teaching Together (PTT) process, administered by Catherine Keohane and Jessica Restaino. PTT is a curriculum-based, expert-reader approach aimed at ensuring that students receive the appropriate learning support to enable them to best succeed in their college careers. In PTT, students enrolled in College Writing I: Intellectual Prose (ENWR105) and Introduction to Writing (ENWR100) have a common first assignment sent to them before the semester begins. The fall assignment, in support of the Montclair Book program, centered on Luis Alberto Urrea’s The Devil’s Highway, and asked students to consider how that book’s presentation of multiple perspectives on immigration supported or complicated the debate about illegal immigration. In the spring, students read and wrote about how digital histories may lead to judgments about individuals. Under PTT, students write an initial draft of their first essay before classes start; they then discuss the issues with their teacher and classmates at the first meeting


before producing a second draft that is submitted for feedback and placement review. After reading these drafts, instructors, who have participated in a mandatory “Opening Day” meeting devoted to placement and judging students’ preparedness, submit questionable cases for review by expert readers (a group of veteran teachers of ENWR100 and ENWR105 who receive additional guidance and training) and by administrators. Compared to prior years, the fall semester saw an increased number of submissions (488 compared to 357 in fall 2012), thanks in part to the larger incoming class. During the fall the FYWP reviewed the provisional placement of 488 students, 56% of whom were judged to need a different level of support. Of this population, 39 students conditionally placed in ENWR100 were moved to ENWR105. In addition, 232 students placed in ENWR105 were determined to need additional writing support and were assigned to the new “105+” program. Under the 105+ program, students were asked to meet and collaborate with a consultant at the Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) on an individualized plan for improving their writing and to write a progress report at semester’s end. During the spring placement period, 86 students were submitted for review, 52% of whom were judged to need a different level of support. Of this group, two students conditionally placed in ENWR100 were moved to ENWR105, while another elected to stay in ENWR100. Although 41 ENWR105 students were judged to require additional writing support, the CWE+ program was canceled for Spring 14. Our most recent survey and grade evaluation research continues to find value in PTT for students and teachers. Survey data of five different populations and ongoing analysis of grade data form the basis of this conclusion. In past years, teachers have generally seen this procedure as resulting in improved placement, and this remained the case with ENWR100 faculty in fall 2013, 77% of whom reported this to be the case. Given that the FYWP was no longer able to move students from ENWR105 to ENWR100, it was not surprising that fewer ENWR faculty reported feeling that the process improved student placement (46% compared to 69% in fall 2012). Students continue believe they were placed correctly through our procedure, as did 83% of ENWR100 students moved to ENWR105 and 68% of ENWR105+ students, according to December 2013 surveys.

While all FYW faculty teaching ENWR100 and ENWR105 participated in the program by identifying students whose placement warranted review, the program was further assisted by the following faculty in these other ways during the fall and spring placement periods:

• · Kristen Anderson, Bridget Brown, Bonnie Dowd, Leslie Doyle, Emily Hoeflinger, Tavya Jackson, Gerrie Logan, Peggy McGlone, Donna Phillips, Rick Reid, Jill Rosenberg, and Shil Sen who served as expert readers;

• · Jennifer Guercio, Emily Isaacs, Catherine Keohane, Tatum Petrich, and Jessica Restaino who helped design the fall assignment;

• · Emily Isaacs and Catherine Keohane who crafted the spring assignment; and · Laura Field and Leslie Rapparlie who piloted the fall assignment during the


summer Assessment of Faculty Grading Criteria (ENWR 100, 105, 106) Maintaining consistency in assessment across a large program, particularly one which relies on a significant number of part-time faculty who teach at multiple institutions, is a consistent challenge. Accordingly, the FYW program conducts a number of initiatives designed to monitor grading practices, and train and support faculty in rigorous and effective assessment. Faculty grading practices are evaluated at the end of each semester via a grade data report conducted by Institutional Research, which indicates grading averages and frequencies across individual faculty and sections, as well as program trends overall. This year, Assistant Director Bonnie Dowd conducted a complex comparative data analysis that examined faculty grading at the mid-point in the spring semester to predict inflation potential and also to examine the ratio of “A” and “B” grades to lower grades. In AY 13, the program director also implemented a qualitative, end-year self-assessment that required faculty to reflect on their grading practices, to make observations about student strengths and weaknesses, and to compare student performance between fall and spring semesters. Additionally, these “grade reflection” surveys have also provided faculty with an opportunity to share new teaching innovations that have yielded positive results and to request professional development need areas. This assessment was conducted once again in AY 14 and, each year, Maria Giura prepared a summary report for the program director’s use. Faculty Observations and Course Evaluations All faculty teaching in the program receive consistent course evaluations and are observed with regularity. Course evaluations are completed in two of the lecturers’ four classes per semester, and in all of the courses taught by 3/4-time and adjunct faculty. These course evaluations are reviewed by the Director and Assistant Director, and are distributed to faculty. Summaries of each faculty member’s evaluations each semester are also entered into a master database that is regularly reviewed by the Director. Notably weak course evaluations are flagged in this database and the instructor in this case is usually invited to discuss the class with the Director for some assistance in improving the situation. In rare cases, consistently weak course evaluations across more than one course can result in termination of employment. All FYW faculty are observed on a rotating basis, with new faculty the “top priority.” Full-time lecturers are observed by either the Director or English department tenure or tenure-track faculty; all other FYW faculty (part-time/adjuncts) are observed by either the Director or full-time FYW faculty. Observation reports are submitted to the Director for


review and of course shared with individual instructors. These observation reports are an essential component of the Program’s evaluation of faculty. FYW Programmatic Review and Development Full-Time Faculty Administrative Week For two days in May immediately following the submission of grades, the Director and full-time lecturer faculty completed a focused professional development workshop to address faculty learning needs, including instructional approaches and teaching materials, as well as issues of programmatic policy and procedures. The workshop was built around the needs articulated by the instructors during the Spring semester; the schedule for “Admin Week ’13-14” is below: Tues, 5/20 9:00 coffee and opening comments 9:30-10:30 Bedford/St.Martin’s representatives, “Online Tools and Ebooks” 11:00-12:00 Caroline Dadas, “Designing Multimodal Writing Assignments” 12:00-12:45 lunch 1:00-2:00 Group discussion of morning sessions: possibilities and problems 2:00-3:00 Brian Edwards, LGBTQ Center Director, “Supporting LGBTQ First-Year Students in the Classroom” 3:00-3:30 Closing Wed, 5/21 9:00 coffee and opening comments 9:30-12:00 Committee reviews, activity summaries, AY 15 goal setting 12:00-12:45 lunch 1:00-2:00 Discussion of program needs for AY 15 2:00-3:00 Return to goal setting review; proposal of new projects or committees 3:00-3:30 Closing Faculty Administrative and Service Contributions During AY ’13-‘14, several committees—populated and chaired by lecturer and part-time faculty—contributed immensely to the development and efficient functioning of the FYW Program. In fact, as a result of the energetic brainstorming and discussion at the Lecturer Administrative Week in May 2012, most of the committees greatly expanded their goals and outcomes, and a brand new committee, Instructor’s Sourcebook, was added. These expansions show the level of commitment and skill among the faculty. All


committees are overseen by the Director and provide a report of their activities accordingly. The committees include:

• Assessment: Focus on Placement: Catherine Keohane (chair) • Creative Writing for FYW: Robin Caine (chair), John Hodges, Claudia Cortese • Exemplary Essay Awards: Donna Phillips (chair), Bridget Brown, Stacie

McCormick, Tara Gellene, Emily Hoeflinger • Hybrid Best Practices: Sarah Ghoshal (chair),, Bonnie Dowd, Donna

Phillips, Gerrie Logan, Laura Field, Carrie O’Dell, Jill Rosenberg • Instructor’s Sourcebook, Christa Verem (co-chair), Maria Montaperto (co-chair),

Sarah Ghoshal, Claudia Cortese, Gerrie Logan • Live Lit!: Shelagh Patterson (chair, Sp ‘14), Robin Caine (chair, Fa ’13), Sarah

Ghoshal, Carrie O’Dell, Liz Martin, Claudia Cortese • Faculty Development & Collaboration: Laura Field (chair), Rick Reid, Tatum

Petrich, Tavya Jackson, Shiladitya Sen, • MLA Documentation Workshops: Jennifer C. Guercio (chair), Jennifer Russo,

Nikki Wittenberg • Textbook Review Committee: Julia Wagner (Chair), Bonnie Dowd, Sasha Troyan

Individual Faculty Accomplishments FYW faculty are accomplished writers and scholars, publishing their work in a variety of impressive venues and actively presenting at conferences and public readings. The following is a listing of faculty accomplishments for AY 2013-2014: Faculty Honors

Paul Caruso, 2014 Outstanding Service Award from Montclair State Federation of Adjunct Faculty, AFT Local 6025, recognizing adjuncts at Montclair State University for outstanding service to students and their support of union representation. Presented at General Membership Meeting and Awards Dinner on Friday, May 2nd, 2014 at Valley Regency.

Cortese, Claudia.

Cut a Hole and Pull You Through (full-length poetry manuscript). Semifinalist. 2013 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry FIRST BOOK Competition Book Award, Southern Illinois University Press.

Cut a Hole and Pull You Through (full-length poetry manuscript). Finalist. 2014. Crab Orchard Series in Poetry OPEN BOOK Competition Book Award, Southern Illinois University Press.

Cut a Hole and Pull You Through (full-length poetry manuscript). Finalist. St. Lawrence Award, Black Lawrence Press.

“Lucy tells the boy to suck” (poem). Editors Prize. Rhino Poetry Magazine.


“Lucy tells the boy to suck” (poem). Pushcart Prize Nomination. Rhino Poetry Magazine.

“The girls plants knives” (poem). Pushcart Prize Nomination. The Adroit Journal.

“[the never-garden of my never-hands]” (poem). Finalist. Mississippi Review Poetry Prize.

Ghoshal, Sarah. “A MOSQUITO.” Semi-Finalist. Kind of a Hurricane Press Annual Poetry Award. Hubschman, Janis. “Fearless.” Top 25 Finalist. Glimmer Train Open Fiction Contest. August

2013. Verem, Christa. “Professing Excellence: Lifelong Impact on Alumni Award” given by

the Center for Leadership Development and Campus Connections, MSU (“ The purpose of the Professing Excellence Awards is to highlight and acknowledge those educators who make meaningful contributions to our students’ lives both inside and outside the classroom”).

Faculty Achievement -- Journal Articles

Ghoshal, Sarah. “My Terminal Degree is Better than Yours: A Brief Examination of Creative Writer as Contingent Faculty.” CCCC Forum 17(1). Fall, 2013.

Isaacs, Emily and Melinda Knight. “A Bird’s Eye View of Writing Centers: Institutional Infrastructure, Scope and Programmatic Issues, Reported Practices.” WPA: Writing Program Administration 37.1 (2014): 36-67.

Faculty Achievements -- Grants Hubschman, Janis. Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholarship in Fiction. August 2013.

Faculty Achievements -- Reviews Cortese, Claudia. “Corey Zeller’s Man vs. Sky (YesYes Books, 2013).” Devil’s Lake

Review (July 2013). Web. _____. “Grief Dolls and God Dolls: Allison Benis White’s Small Porcelain Head.” The

Iowa Review (Fall 2013). Web.

Faculty Achievements -- Editorial Journal and Other Work Ghoshal, Sarah. Editing. “Unsettling.” Vincent Macraven. Xlibris, 2014. _____. Editing. “Testament of the Dead.” Vincent Macraven. Xlibris, 2014. Faculty Achievements -- Short Fiction and Memoir, Poems, Humor and Essays Essays


Cortese, Claudia. “The Red Essay.” Mid-American Review 34.1 (Fall 2013): 25-26. Memoir Curto, Kathy. “Red, Brown and Navy Blue. ” Junk: A Literary Fix. Spring 2014 Poetry Cortese, Claudia. “Lucy tells the boy to suck.” Rhino Poetry 2013 (Fall 2013): 27. _____. “[The never-garden of her never-hands].” Mississippi Review (Summer 2014): 79-

80. _____. “Girlhood I.” Weave Magazine (Spring 2014): 31. _____. “Girlhood II.” Weave Magazine (Spring 2014): 32. _____. “Girlhood III.” Weave Magazine (Spring 2014): 33. _____. “How to say this pretty.” Revolution House (Spring 2014): 5. _____,“Lucy knows words.” Revolution House (Spring 2014): 6. _____. “Lucy loves their dead edges. ”Revolution House (Spring 2014): 7. _____. “What robots mean to me--” Sixth Finch (Fall 2013). Web. _____. “The girl plants knives.” The Best of the Adroit Journal Anthology 2010-2013

(Spring 2014): 38. Ghoshal, Sarah. “Love at the Roller Rink.” Burningword Literary Journal. Issue 68. (Fall

2013). Web. _____. “Hashtag Justice.” Burinngword Literary Journal. Issue 68. (Fall 2013). Web. _____. “How to Make a Million Dollars.” Burningword Literary Journal. Issue 68. (Fall

2013). Web. _____. “The Lonely One in the Back.” Broad! Magazine. (Winter 2013): 5. _____. “He Told Me.” Shampoo. 41. (2014). Web. _____. “The Sharp Edges of Trees.” Tic Toc: A Kind of Hurricane Press Anthology.

2014. _____. “For Chris.” Tic Toc: A Kind of Hurricane Press Anthology. 2014. _____. “Garage Sale.” Tic Toc: A Kind of Hurricane Press Anthology. 2014. Hodges, John Oliver. “The Brush.” Skive Magazine. Nov. 2013. _____. “Tall Caucasian Males.” Gemini Magazine. Aug. 2013. Web. Martin, Liz. “Little Poetic Interludes.” Eunoia Review. April 29, 2014. Web. _____. “Neanderthalensis & Appendi.” Menacing Hedge. 3.04. Spring 2014. Web. _____. “The Scientist and the Neanderthal.” Menacing Hedge. 3.04. Spring 2014. Web.

Af Fiction Hodges, John Oliver. “Save Sophie!” Crossed Out Magazine. May. 2014. Web. _____. “Vegetables.” The Masters Review. April. 2014. Web. _____. “The Soft Part.” Foliate Oak. Apr. 2014.Web. _____. “How We Solved The Problem.” Treehouse. Mar. 2014. Web. _____. “Bold.” Monkeybicycle. Feb. 2014.Web.


_____. “Under the Ruins of the old World.” Outside In Literary & Travel Magazine 15. (Fall 2013). Web.

_____. “My Bitter Love.” Cleaver Magazine 3. (Fall 2013). Web. Hubschman, Janis. “Reclining Bacchante.” StoryQuarterly. Issue 46/47. Winter 2014. _____. “Fearless.” Colorado Review. (41.1) 2014. _____ . “Tabor Lake, 1993.” Michigan Quarterly Review. (53.2) Spring 2014. Rosenberg, Jill. “The Logic of Imaginary Friends.” Crazyhorse 84. (Fall 2013) 42-52.

Print.

Faculty Achievements -- Conferences Isaacs, Emily. “Writing Instruction, Support, and Administration at the State University: A Comparative Review and Report of 106 U.S. Representative Universities.” WRAB: Writing Research Across Borders. Paris, France: February 19-22, 2014. Prepared with the indispensable help of my research GA, Zachary Rosenblum (thanks Naomi!) _____. “Writing Transfer and the State Comprehensive University.” Critical Transitions:

Writing and the Question of Transfer Conference. Elon University. North Carolina: June 25-26, 2013.

_____. “Social Media and Research Ethics: Emerging Methodological Approaches.” Writing Research Across Borders. Paris, France. 2014.

Keohane, Catherine. “The Conflict between Friendship and Charity in Ann Yearsley’s ‘Address to Friendship.’” Northeast American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. New Haven, Connecticut. October 2013.

_____. “Contingent Faculty: Changing Labels but Continued Divisions?” MLA. Chicago. January 2014.

_____. “Redefining the Self in Scott’s Millenium Hall.” East Central- American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Philadelphia. November 2013.

O’Dell, Carrie. Panel chair. “Incarceration and First-Year Writing: Narratives and Reality.” Crossing Borders V Conference. Marymount Manhattan College at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Bedford Hills, NY. April 25, 2014.

Patterson, Shelagh. “Arts and Literature Collaboration: Building Open LGBTQ Communities.” Safe[r] Space Conference. Montclair State University. Montclair, NJ. March 20, 2014

_____. “What’s Commitment Got to Do with It? Decolonizing Time in the Artblog Pënz: It’s Pronounced Pants.” State of Black Writers: Activism. Africana Institute, Essex County College. Newark, NJ. October 24, 2013.

Petrich, Tatum. Panel chair. “Beat Writing and the American Counterculture.” American Literature Association Annual Conference. Washington, D.C. May 22-25, 2014.

_____. “‘The Usual Public Attraction’: Interracial Motherhood in Hettie Jones’s Short Fiction.” American Literature Association Annual Conference. Washington, D.C. May 22-25, 2014.


Restaino, Jessica. “ ‘No Evidence of Disease’: Research, Collaboration, Expectation, and Feminist Practice.” Feminisms and Rhetorics Biannual Conference. Stanford University, September 25, 2013

Sen, Shiladitya. “They Said, We Say: What is College-Ready Writing?” (Co-presenting with Maria Montaperto) New Jersey Writing Alliance Annual Conference, Lakewood, May 29, 2014

_____. “Metatheater and Spectatorship in The Spanish Tragedy.” Shakespeare Association of America Annual Conference, St. Louis, April 10-12, 2014.

_____. Panel chair. “English Theater III.” Renaissance Society of America Annual Conference, New York, March 27-30, 2014.

_____. “Constitutions of ‘Unity’ in the Conception and Practice of Shaolin.” (Co-authored with Shreya Bose) Physical Cultures: Bengal and Beyond Conference, Jadavpur University, India, February 21-22, 2014

Faculty Achievements -- Invited Lectures and Plenary Talks Ghoshal, Sarah. “Canvas: Be Inspired.” Office of Information Technology, University

Hall, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ. March 27, 2014. Restaino, Jessica. “First Semester: Graduate Class Visit.” University of Minnesota,

Duluth, October 29, 2013. (Skype). ---. “First Semester: Graduate Class Visit.” University of West Florida, September 17,

2013. (Skype). Sen, Shiladitya. “Renaissance Metatheater—Stage, Audience and Theatrical Space.” Jadavpur University, India, January 17, 2014 Special thanks to the many FYW faculty who contributed to this Annual Report 2013-2014.

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