Video Archive

This page is an archive of all PWR videos. You can browse the videos by scrolling through the page, or use the menu below to jump to a specific category of videos. 

Introductory Videos
1. Overview of the Writing Program
2. Overview of English 1100
3. Overview of English 1500
4. Is High School Preparing Students for College Writing? 

Teaching with Technology Videos
1. Virtual Tour of Blackboard
2. How to Create a Video Recording in Blackboard
3. Teaching with Technology Workshop

Pedagogy Videos
1. Workshop on Creating a Syllabus
2. Beyond the Red Ink
3. Using Peer Review in the Classroom 
4. Teaching Revision
5. Workshop: Creating Assignments that Encourage Revision
6. OER Workshop Recording
7. Introduction to Using Student Portfolios
8. Portfolio Workshop
9. What Aristotle and Joshua Bell Can Teach Us About Persuasion
10. Introduction to Labor-Based Grading
11. Labor-Based Grading Workshop 


Introductory Videos


Overview of the WPU Writing Program



English 1100 (College Writing) Overview 



English 1500 (Experiences in Literature) Overview 


Is High School Preparing Students for College Writing? 


Carly Perrotta graduated WPU cum laude in May 2020. Her major was biology/pre med and she plans to apply to medical school next summer. As a first year student in ENG1100, Carly designed and ran an independent research study which examined the ways in which 11 of her New Jersey "Bulldog High School" classmates felt their high school writing instruction focused on grammar, five-paragraph essays, and preparing for writing tests-- all of failed to prepare them for the deeper and more complex writing expectations at six different colleges. 

Since 2016, professors have assigned Carly's YouTube report of her study in ENG1100, 1500, 2070, 3000 and 5990. 




Teaching with Technology Videos

Virtual Tour of Blackboard 

We work mostly with freshmen who aren’t used to the kind of expectations of college writing classes, and most of them are not used to using Blackboard. It’s really important that at the beginning of the semester, we’re clear about how the course works and what our expectations are. The more we build a visually stable and repeatable structure into the course, the more that benefits our students. One way of doing that is creating a brief video tour of your Blackboard web site and showing it to students at the beginning of the semester. This is extremely useful for an online course, but it’s also helpful if you’re doing a face-to-face course that makes extensive uses of Blackboard. This is an example of the “Video Tour” that I posted for my College Writing students at the beginning of the fall 2020 semester. Of course your course will look different depending on what areas/features of Blackboard that you use and how you use them, but this video will give you an example of what I’m talking about.


Tutorial: How to Create a Video Recording in Blackboard

Creating videos and posting them to your Blackboard web site can be useful for a number of reasons, one of which is giving students a video tour of your web site at the beginning of the semester. Here’s a quick tutorial showing how to create a video using the “Collaborate Ultra” feature in Blackboard.


Teaching with Techology Workshop

This video is a recording of the Teaching with Technology workshop that took place on 8/7/2020. In the video, several 1100 and 1500 professors discuss different ways to utilize Blackboard and Google in the classroom. 



Pedagogy Videos

Workshop on Creating a Syllabus

Click here for more resources on creating an ENG 1100 syllabus. 
Click here for more resources on creating an ENG 1500 syllabus. 


Beyond the Red Ink: Teacher's Comments Through Students' Eyes

In this video, Bunker Hill Community College students discuss how they perceive their professors’ writing feedback. They examine which comments are unhelpful and why, as well as offer advice as to what kind of feedback they would like to receive. This video provides great insight into the impact feedback has on students and how teachers can tailor their comments to encourage revision.

Using Peer Review in the Classroom

Teaching Revision

This video discusses why teaching revision is so difficult, and suggests strategies to help you encourage your students to engage in deep-level revision.



Workshop: Creating Assignments that Encourage Revision

This is a recording of the workshops that took place on 11/3/2020 and 11/4/2020 about how to draft assignments that encourage students to actively revise their writing.

Timestamps:
0:00 – 17:05 What obstacles get in the way of revision?
17:05 – 23:20 How can we change this?
23:20 – 3838:40 Example of an assignment and structure for revision.
38:40 – 43:00 Discussion and Questions – How do you handle group work while social distancing?


OER Workshop Recording
In Spring, 2020, we conducted an online workshop about why we're asking faculty to use these readings and how to tie them into writing assignments.  Chris Weaver and Robert Greco presented on two sample assignments that can be used in conjunction with two of the sections above:  "The Writing Process" and "Rhetoric, Genre and Discourse."  This is an audio/video recording of that workshop.

Here's a rough guide to help you find specific places in the workshop:
0:00 Overview of PWR website
2:10 Textbook Policy for English 1100
5:00 Overview of Readings for English 1100
6:00 Section on "The Writing Process"
10:20 Explanation of Assignment:  "Un-Persuasive Writing"
27:00 Q&A: *Does this assignment allow for fiction? *Shouldn't we teach persuasive writing? *How do you get students to write enough? *What happens if students don't go through "the steps"? *Do we have to give assignments based on these readings? *How do you get students to do the reading?
44:45 Section on "Rhetoric, Genre, and Discourse" - Why you should consider devoting a portion of your 1100 course to rhetoric
48:50 Readings - Section on Rhetoric
51:30 Explanation of Assignment:  "Rhetorical Comparison of Videos"
1:09:20 Q&A: *How do you help students who struggle with writing based on rhetorical concepts? *Should the whole course be about persuasion?  *What kinds of writing should students do in 1100? *What should be your goals when you create a writing assignment?


Introduction to Using Student Portfolios
Portfolios are now required in ENG 1100 classes and strongly encouraged in ENG 1500 classes. This video provides a quick how-to guide about using portfolios in your ENG 1100 or ENG 1500 course.



Portfolio Workshop
As of fall 2021, a portfolio will be required of all students taking ENG 1100. ENG 1500 instructors are also encouraged to utilize portfolios. This video is a recording of the workshop on utilizing portfolios and is a good place to start if you would like more information on how to incorporate portfolios into your class. 


Timestamps: 

0:40 Workshop Introduction
1:19 What is a student portfolio?
2:53 Reasons to use a portfolio in your class
6:07 Options for grading portfolios
12:59 How much work do portfolios create for instructors?
16:02 What should you say in your syllabus?
18:38 Two kinds of digital portfolios
27:55 Scaffolding digital portfolios
40:55 Portfolios as digital composing
45:51 Question and answer session



What Aristotle and Joshua Bell Can Teach Us About Persuasion 

This TED-Ed video breaks down the concepts of ethos, logos, and pathos by dissecting why renowned violinist Joshua Bell is able to play for appreciative, sold-out crowds in symphony halls yet was was met with disinterest when he tried to share his musical talent from a subway platform. 


Introduction to Labor-Based Grading


Labor-Based Grading Workshop

Labor-based grading is any system which evaluates students not on the quality of their work but instead on meeting certain benchmarks. Their are two major goals of labor-based grading: - Encouraging the kind of behavior that leads to long-term success in college. - Minimizing some of the obstacles faced by students from non-standard language communities. This is a recording of the LLCW Department labor-based grading workshop that took place on 4/27/2023.