Introducing: Joseph Navarro and Fiona Weigant
Here’s an introduction to the two newest members of the Writing Program, who have been with us since the start of the 2022-03 academic year.
Joseph Navarro – Lecturer
I am excited to return to UCSC and continue my service to this community. I view teaching writing and literacy as an opportunity to change the world. This approach provides me with a strong sense of purpose in my labor. I am working on my dissertation for a PhD in Composition and Applied Linguistics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. My research and pedagogy are rooted in anti-racism and critical pedagogy. I wish that I had more time to spend with my partner (Ryah), two cats (Ezekiel, Comrade) and two dogs (Haruki, Miercoles). I also wish I had more time to read and write for myself.
Fiona Weigant – Writing Program Manager
I grew up in Dublin, Ireland and spent a decade living in Paris, France. I have now lived longer in Santa Cruz than anywhere else. I was a junior transfer student from Cabrillo College where I took the required writing courses. I graduated from UCSC with a BA in History and a minor in Legal Studies. I have 21 years of experience across multiple units and roles at UCSC. I am excited to bring my expertise and institutional knowledge to the Writing Program. I am a fierce advocate for our campus communities and currently serve on the Undergraduate Academic Advising Council. I am looking forward to getting to know the writing program community and learning how best to serve the program and our students.
Fun Fact: I don’t speak Irish but I do speak French 🙂
Save the Date!
The Second-Annual Writing Program Mini-Conference: April 20 and 21, 2023
Last spring, the PDC organized our first annual Writing Program mini-conference, in which some of our WP faculty shared “recycled” or upcoming writing-related talks or presentations. This was a wonderful opportunity for our colleagues to share and learn from each other!
We are looking forward to our second-annual Writing Program mini-conference this spring quarter. More information below:
WHAT:
- If you are presenting at an upcoming conference (CCC, Young Rhetoricians, NTCE, etc), have given a paper/presentation on campus or at a conference in the last few years, or if you have been or are working on a publication, we invite you to present at the conference!
- This year, we look forward to expanding the mini-conference to multiple genre-based panels:
- Writing Pedagogy/General Pedagogy
- Creative Writing
- Independent Research
- Journalism
- Other
- As previously, there will be time for discussion at the end of each panel. For non-pedagogy presentations, we will be asking you to reflect on how your writing/work/research helps inform or impacts your teaching of writing.
WHEN:
- Thursday, April 20 and Friday, April 21, 2023
- Times TBD
WHERE:
WHO:
- All Writing Program faculty, staff, and GSIs!
- We encourage all of you to consider presenting a piece of your past (or upcoming) writing/talk in a low-pressure environment. Presenters do not need to edit their presentations; presenters can begin by providing context for the presentation’s original/intended audience if needed.
WHY:
- We all do a lot of great work, but sometimes, we don’t get to share it with each other. This is a chance to share what we’re doing in a very low effort (but Biobib-able) free event.
Teaching Circles: Staying Connected
One recurring theme in our discussions in the Pedagogical Development Committee has been how we often feel isolated from other faculty members in the program. Our offices are scattered throughout the campus, and many faculty members are now working from home. We have so few chances to “talk shop” and find out what is happening in the classrooms of other faculty.
A few years ago, a group of faculty came together to form an unofficial group called the Faculty Learning Community. We visited each other’s classrooms, chatted afterwards, and met occasionally as a full group for discussion and informal presentations from members on innovative pedagogical strategies they were developing.
The PDC has taken on the initiative this quarter to re-establish a similar program. We began by taking a survey among faculty to gauge interest in the process. Those who responded positively were paired up with other instructors at convenient times and locations. Online instructors were paired with others working in the same modality. Classroom visits, whether online or in-person, were intended to be non-evaluative and not involve critique or unsolicited suggestions. Faculty would have the opportunity to sit in the back of the class, check out what was going on, and then afterwards have a brief chat to ask questions and talk about any new ideas for teaching.
We have matched up four in-person pairs and six online pairs. We have not yet collected any data on who had a chance to meet or how it went. Some of the in-person class visits have undoubtedly been derailed by the strike, but we are excited to continue the process over next quarter. We will send out another survey to see who was able to meet and to match up new pairs based on our Winter teaching schedules.
We also plan to schedule an optional online meeting at the beginning of Winter quarter to informally discuss what was learned from classroom visits, questions we have about our own pedagogy, or any other issues we are facing in the Writing Program. We are hoping you will see this as a low-stress opportunity to “talk shop,” get to know each other a little better, and see what’s happening in the classroom down the hall (or online).
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