FOR ACADEMIC ORGANIZATIONS
Achieve Academic Excellence
Writing is central to academic work. We collaborate with academic institutions at all levels to strengthen writing instruction. Through our programming, institutions can better prepare students for higher levels of academic achievement.
“I think Millie is a genius.”
– Lynne Tylke, PhD, ICSW faculty
Our Services & Cases
01
Faculty Workshops
Faculty are experts in their field, but they know less about writing as a discipline. They need support to help improve their students' academic performance.
Case Snapshot:
The Institute for Clinical Social Work
- Context & challenge: Student papers were disappointing: insufficiently academic or unresponsive to prompts.
- What we did: We assessed student writing during orientation. The students did well. We concluded that a faculty workshop on writing prompts would help.
- Results: Faculty learned about the art of writing prompts and how to explicitly state their expectations. Student writing improved. Faculty continue to discuss prompts and how to design them.
02
Student Workshops
Students seem to struggle with specific aspects of writing. Workshops are tailored to address those concerns directly.
Case Snapshot:
The University of Chicago,
Social Science Core
- Context & challenge: Faculty believed that students "didn't know how to make arguments."
- What we did: We reviewed student papers and discovered a different problem. We then created a workshop on sequencing information.
- Results: Students learned the principles of information flow which enabled them to make their arguments more obvious. Students learned what faculty needed to see and faculty concluded that student papers improved.
03
curriculum
Writing instruction should be planned and sequenced to allow students to continually build on their skills to attain higher levels of academic achievement.
Case Snapshot:
Mark Twain Elementary School,
Chicago Public Schools
- Context & challenge: The writing curriculum for this K-8 school was outdated. Teachers had to follow the Common Core standards and they were not used to coordinating their efforts schoolwide.
- What we did: I interviewed all of the teachers to determine their challenges and insecurities. We implemented vertical planning to establish milestones, miscue analysis, writing prompts, exercises, and essential questions schoolwide.
- Results: Faculty worked together to create a schoolwide curriulum that sequenced writing skills for their students. The entire faculty bought in since all had a voice in creating a coherent sequence and guide for writing instruction.
04
Coaching
Faculty and students face specific challenges. One-on-one Coaching can provide support and dispel misconceptions about writing.
Case Snapshot:
Teacher Candidates for
National Board Certification (NBC)
- Context & challenge: Teachers were struggling to write about themselves and their accomplished teaching for the NBC portfolio. Many were stuck because of pre-conceived notions about writing.
- What we did: We highlighted the common pitfalls of their writing and taught them how to think about the writing and their teaching in workshops. Then we coached teachers in small groups and 1:1 to address their unique concerns.
- Results: Teachers learned how to focus and reflect on what they did, how they did it, why it mattered, and the results they attained. They were more confident, the writing demonstrated the standards, and they achieved NBC in higher numbers.
Success in the Classroom
Across the board, reviews from students who have been to [one of Millie's] workshops have been absolutely glowing. Students in both classes told their peers that the workshop is phenomenal, fun, “the best writing workshop I’ve ever been to,” and crucial to their process of writing this first essay. I’m sure the work you’re doing will stick with them for a long time.
Dr. Mara Caden
Collegiate Assistant Professor, Social Science Core
The University of Chicago
The instructor gave us tools to help us write more clearly, tools that actually help! I cannot rate this class highly enough. This has been the most practical and helpful class that I have ever taken at any university. I am not being hyperbolic.
Student Evaluation
Effective Writing I
Graham School of Continuing Liberal & Professional Studies, The University of Chicago
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