Spring 2005 #4: Symposium on the Uses of the Visual in Learning, Graduate Student Workshops, CAC Alumni Event, Client Based Project Showcase,Writing Across the Curriculum Conference Planned for 2006
Spring 2005 #3: Advanced Writing Program Wins Award, Critical Thinking Workshop, Visual Symposium, Second Annual Digital Portfolio Awards, New Classes Being Taught in Studio, Graduate Student Workshops, Dr. Pat Zungoli Wins Campbell Award for Excellence
Fall 2004 #2: Studio Events A Success: Advertising Night & Poetry Jam; CAC Alumni Event; Poetry Across the Curriculum; Creative Response for Learning; Teach in the Studio: Apply Here!; Biology Department Hires English Class
Fall 2004 #1: Digital Portfolio Award Winners; CAC and Studio Programs Make News;Studio WalkAbouts; Using the Studio; Pearce-sponsored Workshops; Fall Calendar
Spring 2004 #4: CAC Event for Faculty in April; CAC Workshop: Involving Students in Writing Assessment; Digital Portfolio Prizes; Interviews with Studio Associates: Mike Crawford and Samotria Holmes; PowerPoint Project Update; Working with Graduate Students; New Projects for Fall 2004
Spring 2004 #3: A Semester of Studio; New Faculty Achievement Award--Call for Nominations; Looking Toward Summer; New Studio Administrator: Barbara Ramirez; Studio Associates; Spring Workshops
Fall 2003 #2: Studio Walk Abouts; AAHE partnership; Poetry Across the Curriculum; Graduate Student Writing Group; Digital Portfolio Projects; Creative Response Across the Curriculum
Fall 2003 #1: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Initiative; PowerPoint Project; Digital Portfolio Institutes; Studio Update; Interview with the Provost; New Pearce Team Faculty Member: Andy Billings; Institute for Service-learning and Ethics; Fall Semester Workshops
Spring 2003 #4: New Studio Course; Digital Portfolio Workshops; PowerPoint Project; Plagiarism Series; Survey on Pearce Workshop Effectiveness; Institute for Service-learning and Ethics; CAC Alumni Event
Spring 2003 #3: John Bean's Critical Thinking and Communication Workshop; Graduate Student Workshops; Digital Portfolio Initiatives and Workshops; Studio Update; Plagiarism Series
Fall 2002 #1: CAC Writing Retreat; CAC Workshops with Toby Fulwiler; Institute on Service Learning, Ethics, and Reflection; Digital Portfolio Institute (re-cap); New Team Member: Teddi Fishman; Class of '41 Studio for Student Communication
Spring 2002 #6: Feminist Pedagogy Workshop (Pam Takayoshi) and Digital Symposium (Pam Takayoshi and Todd Taylor); Online Journal Update; Institute on Service Learning, Ethics, and Reflection; Digital Portfolio Institute; CAC Alumni Event; Studio Update
Spring 2002 #5: Pearce Spring Workshops; Upstate Writing Project Update; Clemson Electronic Portfolio: A Student's View
Fall 2001 #3: Class of '41 Studio; Team Members and Projects '01-'02; Speech Workshops; PowerPoint Project; New Team Member: Nancy Jackson
Spring 2001 #4: New Team Member: Michael Neal; Speech Studio; PowerPoint Porject Update; Poetry Across the Curriculum; Online Undergraduate Journal Project
Spring 2001 #2:Pearce Advisory Boards; New Faculty Workshop; CAC Alumni Symposium; New Writing Contest: Campbell/Pearce Communication Prize; PowerPoint Project; Speech Workshop (Dr. Dannels); Focus on Communication: Dr. Heifferon's Health Plan
Spring 2005 Pearce Team Activities
Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC) Program
Clemson University's CAC program is dedicated to improving the written, oral, digital, and visual communication skills of Clemson University students, as writing anchors an interactive social process with other forms of communication to promote critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving within and across disciplines.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
The Scholarship of teaching and learning committee consisting of, Rob Green from the department of Teacher Education, Jerry Waldvogel from the department of Genetics & Biochemistry, Deborah Switzer from the department of Teacher Education, Jeff Appling from the department of Chemistry, Molly Espey from the department of Applied Economics & Statistics , James Cross from the University Libraries, has been exploring the uses of teamwork and self assessment to increase motivation and exchange.
Poetry Across the Curriculum
Coordinated by Art Young, Patti Connor-Greene, Catherine Paul, and Jerry Waldvogel, the Spring 2004 PAC project was a success with about thirty faculty representing numerous disciplines asking their students to write poetry as part of course requirements. PAC is an ongoing project with the idea not to train students to be poets but rather to provide them with a creative learning and critical thinking opportunity to engage course content and for teachers to use the poems to enhance the classroom as a learning community.
For more information about the PAC project, please contact the Campbell Chair, Art Young (apyoung@clemson.edu). Examples of student poetry from several disciplines are available at http://people.clemson.edu/~apyoung/
The Portfolio Awards are here again. Last spring, the Alumni Association and the Pearce Center teamed up to offer the first annual Digital Portfolio Awards in the categories of Most Creative, Most Original, Most Reflective, and Clemson's Best. To be considered in this university-wide competition, students had to submit their digital portfolios on CD as well as a one-page rationale for their submission to the Pearce Center. The competition was advertised in The Tiger and online. Winners were: Ashley Schuermann for Most Creative, Ashley Schuermann for Most Original, Josh Reynolds for Most Reflective, and Riley Croft for Clemson's Best. Please have students submit their portfolios to the Studio by April 25, 2005.
2006 Writing Across the Curriculum Conference
Clemson University has been selected to host the 8th National Writing Across the Curriculum Conference! The Pearce Team is in the process of planning this conference, which will be held May 18-20, 2006. Partnered with the Pearce Center on this project are: the Communication Across the Curriculum Program, the Campbell Chair in Technical Communication, and the Class of 1941 Studio for Student Communication. Please see the conference web site for more information, or contact Dr. Art Young (apyoung@clemson.edu) or Dr. Kathleen Blake Yancey (kyancey@clemson.edu).
Workshops on Mind maps
Dr. Summer Smith Taylor and Dr. Kathy Kegley have both led very successful workshops on mind mapping and how to incorporate the benefits of mind mapping into the classroom in multiple diciplines.Mind maps are a visual representation of the knowledge that is based on the associative, "multiple encoding" methods used by the brain. Encoding information as a mid maps offers an effective way to introduce information to short term memory and speed the transition to long-term memory.
Portraits of Composition
coming soon!
Client-Based Program for Business and Technical Writing Classes
This program recently received an award of excellence at the 2004 College Composition and Communication's Conference. Read more about the Client-Based Program on the Advanced Writing Program's web site, and contact Summer Taylor for more information.
The following English classes and clients have been matched for the spring 2005 semester:
PROJECT ONE
Faculty: Wes Rochester
Classes: Two technical writing (TTh 9:30-10:45, 11-12:30)
Client: South Carolina Botanical Garden
Project: Interpretive materials
PROJECT TWO
Faculty: Natalia Muska
Classes: Three technical writing (MWF 8-8:55, 9:05-9:55, 11:15-12:05) and possibly one business writing (TTh 11-12:15)
Client: Blue Ridge Field--Michael Neal and Wilene Cohen
Project: Grant proposals, promotional materials, and other materials to support the project
PROJECT THREE
Faculty: Morgan Gresham
Class: One technical writing (TTh 12:30-1:45)
Client: Clemson University Cooper Library Government Documents--Jan Comfort
Project: Tutorials and promotional materials
PROJECT FOUR
Faculty: Summer Taylor
Classes: One honors technical writing (TTh 12:30-1:45)
Client: Clemson University Environmental Health and Safety Office--Robin Newberry
Project: Environmental Management System plans for campus departments (continues Fall 2004 project)
Guest Speaker Program for Technical Writing
The Guest Speaker Program for business and technical writing classes, coordinated by Dr. Summer Smith Taylor, continues to expand. In the 2002-2003 academic year, speakers visited more than 36 classes to help motivate students to learn writing skills; even more speakers visited classes in the 2004-2005 academic year. The speakers discussed their first-hand experiences with writing in the workplace and explained the importance of effective writing on the job. The speakers included representatives from Fluor Daniel, Duke Energy, Dunlop/Slazinger, Leslie Advertising, and several consulting firms. If you know a local technical or business professional who might be willing to speak to a writing class, please contact Dr. Summer Smith Taylor at slsmith@clemson.edu or 864-656-6689.
Past Activities
The Clemson Digital Portfolio Institutes
During the summer of 2004, the Pearce Center again hosted several Digital Portfolio Institutes, including one for beginners (July 22-23), one on scoring guides and how to review portfolios (July 26-27), and one for those interested in researching digital portfolios (July 28-29). Each Institute was a two-day learning experience for faculty from around the country. Thirty faculty from 20 institutions participated in the three 2004 Institutes. Please see our brochure for more information about the Institutes, and contact by phone (864-656-1520) if you'd like to be placed on the mailing list for the 2005 Institutes.
In the summer of 2003, the Pearce Center hosted three Clemson Digital Portfolio Institutes, one for beginners, another for more advanced learners, and a third for those interested in researching digital portfolios. In addition, the Pearce Center led the effort to make Clemson part of the national digital portfolio effort led by the American Association of Higher Education. The collaboration with AAHE will continue through the next several years.
On July 1-2, 2002 the Pearce Center for Professional Communication hosted the first Clemson Digital Portfolio Institute, a 2-day experience for 25 faculty. Half of the faculty came from Clemson and represented all five colleges. The other half attended from around the country, representing every institutional type, from community colleges and liberal arts schools to historically black colleges and R1 institutions. Together, we focused on the unique characteristics of digital portfolios, on ways to make them "work" for students, and on planning processes for campus-wide initiatives and individual course applications in fields ranging from English Ed to honors biology.
Led by Kathleen Yancey, Donna Winchell, and Shane Peagler, the Institute allowed participants to develop a common language for and understanding of portfolios and to see several models of digital portfolios from across the country. In addition, two of the participants--from New York City Technical College and St. Olaf's College--brought their considerable experience to the group as well.
Graduate Student Writing Workshops and Support
Pearce Team member Michael Neal, with the help of the Graduate School, offered Graduate Student Workshops on Writing Thesis & Dissertation Proposals. The workshops were offered twice per semester during the 2003-2004 academic year.
In addition, Pearce Team members Summer Smith Tayor, Art Young, and Michael Neal and Studio Director Barbara Ramirez offered a special Drop-In Service for Graduate Students during the Spring 2004 semester. This service provided individualized feedback to graduate students writing theses, dissertations, proposals, articles, presentations, or other documents. Writing faculty were available four hours per week to work with students who come to the Studio. In the first six weeks of the service, 30 graduate students dropped in for feedback. They represented disciplines ranging from chemistry to civil engineering to professional communication to agriculture to computer science to math to PRTM. Graduate students who would like to see this service continued should email Melissa Powell with their request.
Digital Portfolio Workshops & Follow-Ups
With the help of the Provost's office, the Clemson Digital Portfolio Project grew rapidly in the 2002-2003 academic year. In the summer of 2003, the Pearce Center held two Digital Portfolio Workshops and three Digital Portfolio Institutes. As a follow-up to those offerings, on-campus participants were invited to join digital portfolio meetings throughout the Fall 2003 semester. These meetings covered three topics:
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Ways to introduce portfolios and reflection to students,
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Possible exhibits for the portfolios and the use of student models of portfolios to help students understand what's possible, and
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Scoring criteria and guides as well as the final reflection piece.
If you would like to be added to a mailing list and receive information about future digital portfolio offerings, please contact by phone (864-656-1520).
Plagiarism Workshops
In Fall 2002 and Spring 2003, the Pearce Center offered a three workshop series on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity as part of the Rutland Center for Ethics-sponsored Presidential Colloquium on Academic Integrity and The Integrity of the Academy. The workshops, which were open to all faculty and staff, allowed participants:
§ to define plagiarism within their fields,
§ to outline "best practices" to help students create their own work (and avoid plagiarism),
§ to focus on helping students complete original assignments,
§ to identify the possible responses to plagiarism, and
§ to consider how to communicate information about plagiarism and its consequences to students.
For more information about plagiarism, visit the Writing Program Administrators' site to see their statement on plagiarism. Also, look for more information to come from the Pearce Center as we continue to investigate this most interesting topic.
PowerPoint Project
In the 2001-2002 academic year, the Pearce Center sponsored the "Powerpoint Project," a set of meetings to bring interested faculty together to see how we use Powerpoint in our teaching and in student assignments and how we might begin to think about it as a communication tool. The meetings began in Fall 2001, and participants received a small stipend for participation. The participants were:
Patti Connor-Greene, Jean Dickey, Bill Havice, Robert Jamison, Richard Klein, Priscilla Kanet, Dale Layfield, Meg Morgan, Michael Morris, Tom Overcamp, Linda Rearden, Pat Zungoli
During the 2003-2004 academic year, the Pearce Center sponsored another "Powerpoint Project." Led by Pearce Team member Michael Neal, the meetings began early in the Fall 2003 semester, and the 11 participants received a small stipend for participation. The participants were: Rudy Abramovitch (Chemistry), Jeff Adelberg (Horticulture), Kristi Apostel (English), Heather Batt (Packaging Science), ; Sherrill Biggers (Mechanical Engineering), Gregg Corley (Construction Science & Management), Xiuping Jiang (Food Science & Human Nutrition), Barbara Ramirez (English), Gene Rochester (Agricultural & Biological Engineering).
If you'd like more information about future PowerPoint Project meetings, please contact by phone (864-656-1520).