Posts – Bianca Falbo

Interested in offering a new FYS for fall 2025?

November 8, 2024 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

First-Year Seminars are the centerpiece of the first-year experience and introduce beginning students to college-level reading and writing through exploration of “big” questions in the liberal arts and sciences. The College Writing Program (CWP) and First Year Seminar Program (FYS) invite all interested tenure-track faculty and full-time lecturers to join us for one of two information sessions taking place on Monday, December 2 and Thursday, December 5 in Pardee 319 from 12pm – 1pm (lunch will be provided beginning at noon and the session will formally begin at 12:15pm). CWP and FYS admin will provide in formation about the course development process, including recommendations for how to pitch ideas for new courses that also meet FYS goals. Also hear from instructors about why they continue teaching in this exciting and innovative program.

Visit this link to RSVP at the following google form. Contact FYS Director and Interim CWP Director Bianca Falbo with questions.

Faculty Nominations for Fall 2024 WA Positions

February 18, 2024 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

The College Writing Program (CWP) is currently accepting faculty nominations for Writing Associates for fall 2024. Last day to submit your nomination is Feb 25.

Nominate a Writing Associate

Faculty WA Requests for Spring ’22

November 15, 2021 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

The College Writing Program is currently accepting requests for writing associates (WAs) for spring courses. If you would like to have a WA affiliated with your course next semester, please fill out our online request form at cwp.lafayette.edu/for-faculty/request-a-writing-associate/ or scan the QR code.

Due to current budget constraints, we may not be able to meet every request. Deadline for requests is 12/3/21.

If you’re not sure whether a WA is right for you course, Tim Laquintano and I will be happy to talk further with you. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at ext. 5243 or by email (falbob@lafayette.edu).

FYS Course Proposals

December 31, 2020 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

The FYS Program seeks proposals for new courses to be taught in fall 2021. Interested faculty, please contact me asap and no later than Feb 1, 2021 for more information and to discuss course ideas and proposal drafts.

Upcoming Meetings for FYS Faculty

August 11, 2018 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

14 August, 12-3pm, Pardee 102 B

Informal, introductory meeting for all FYS instructors. The first half of the meeting (12-1:30) will be devoted specifically to FYS matters: I’ll provide you with some updates about the current state of the program, remind you about the various kinds of support around the College available to FYS faculty, and speak about a couple new initiatives for this year. I will also be happy to answer any questions you have about getting started with your course. The second half of the meeting (1:45-3) will be devoted to discussion of the summer reading. If you are planning to meet your FYS section during orientation to discuss Hidden Figures, I invite you to stay and swap approaches and ideas with your FYS colleagues.

If you cannot attend, but have questions or want feedback on FYS course materials, send me an email and we will find a time to meet. If you are interested specifically in the summer reading discussion, the Office of the Dean of Advising is holding another discussion on 23 August. Look for an invitation (and RSVP request) in your email inbox.

21 August, Pardee 102 B. 9:30-4pm for those teaching a new FYS, 1-4 for everyone else.

The morning session will be focused on the needs of new instructors, but anyone who wants a refresher on writing pedagogy is welcome to join us for part of all of the afternoon session (1-4 in Pardee 102 B).

Light refreshments will be served at both meetings. Email me if you would like to attend. (New faculty need not reply for Aug 21—you are all set.)

Designing Better Writing Assignments

March 15, 2018 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

Could your writing assignments use some updating? There are two events happening next week that can help you!

My Favorite Writing Assignment is back! On Wednesday, March 21, 12-1, join Han Luo (Foreign Languages and Literatures), Khadijah Mitchell (Biology), and Jorge Torres (Music) for a discussion of their favorite assignments for teaching writing and critical thinking. Gendebien Rm. Light lunch provided. Open to all faculty.

And on Thursday March 22, don’t miss the second installment of CWP’s four-part workshop series on designing a writing-intensive class. Thursday’s topic is assignment design. You might consider attending if you are thinking about teaching a writing-intensive course in the future, or if you are interested in adapting a current course into a W course. In addition to “Assignment Design,” upcoming topics include “Feedback” and “Assessment.” Email Tim Laquintano (laquintt@lafayette.edu) if you are interested.

The Changing Face of Humanities Research

August 14, 2016 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

Thanks to my colleague Patricia Donahue for sharing a link to this article published last October in The Guardian about current Humanities research. Here’s an excerpt:

… humanities research teaches us about the world beyond the classroom, and beyond a job. Humanities scholars explore ethical issues, and discover how the past informs the present and the future. Researchers delve into the discourses that construct gender, race, and class. We learn to decode the images that surround us; to understand and use the language necessary to navigate a complex and rapidly shifting world.

CWP Summer Updates

July 8, 2016 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

CWP is holding a few WAs in reserve for faculty who missed the spring deadline to request WA help for a fall course. Anyone interested kindly email me asap.
I am available and happy to meet with faculty over the summer to discuss writing plans for fall courses.
FYS faculty, please remember to add the St. Martin’s HB to your required reading list. You need not order copies. The bookstore will have enough for all FYS sections.

Faculty WA Requests for Spring 2014 Classes

December 7, 2013 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

The College Writing Program is currently accepting requests from faculty for Spring 2014 Writing Associates. Please note: your course does not have to have the W designation for you to work with a Writing Associate. All that’s really required is (1) a willingness on your part to meet with your WA to explain assignments, criteria for evaluation, grading policies, and disciplinary conventions, and (2) a commitment to schedule, at regular intervals across the semester, four mandatory conferences between the Writing Associate and every student in the class.

If you would like to work with a WA for any course next semester, please visit the CWP website, or click on the link below to go directly to our online request form:

http://cwp.lafayette.edu/for-faculty/request-a-writing-associate/

If you have any questions, or would like to learn more, please contact Christian Tatu at tatuj@lafayette.edu. He will be happy to answer your questions via e-mail or set up an appointment to discuss how a Writing Associate can help you and your students achieve your course objectives.

Faculty Workshop: What a WA Can Do for You

November 16, 2013 / Bianca Falbo / 0 Comments

Faculty, did you know that

• all writers—both experienced and novice—benefit from having an informed, curious, engaged reader of their texts.

• any instructor can request a Writing Associate, even for courses that are not designated writing-intensive. Over the past year, WAs have assisted professors and their students in upper-level chemical engineering, economics, government & law, international affairs, and mathematics courses, just to name a few!

• students have lots of very thoughtful questions about academic writing—questions they may be more willing to ask fellow students than their professors.

• working with a Writing Associate does not lock you in to any set number of assignments for your course. WAs are expected to hold four conferences with your students, and conference should be spread out over the course of the semester. But you decide when and where those conference will be most helpful.

• WAs can meet with your students at any stage of their writing processes, even while the student is still formulating an idea. By meeting with students before there’s an actual draft, WAs can often steer students away from projects that are unlikely to be successful and toward projects that better meet your expectations.

• contrary to popular belief, WAs can and do work with students on grammar and proofreading—along with the higher order concerns that make up the bulk of their conferences.

• WAs can also work with students on projects other than papers, including web pages and blog posts, PowerPoint presentations, podcasts, posters, etc.

Want to learn more? The College Writing Program cordially invites faculty to join us for lunch on Friday, November 22 at 12:15 in the Watt College Writing Room (Pardee 319). Bianca Falbo (CWP Director) and Christian Tatu (CWP Coordinator) will be on hand, along with our current senior WAs to discuss “What a WA Can Do for You.”

If you’re interested in joining us, please send an email to Christian at tatuj@lafayette.edu. When responding, please feel free to include any questions you might like to have answered by the College Writing Program staff about working with a WA, or about teaching and learning with writing in general.