Ways to Increase Meaningful Writing Experiences

The talk began with insights from the book The Meaningful Writing Project: Learning, Teaching, and Writing in Higher Education, followed by the results of an on-campus study conducted by Torpey in 2021. Key points discussed in the workshop are shared below.

Four qualities of writing assignments that allow college students to have meaningful writing experiences.

1. Personal connection
2. Collaborative immersion
3. Real-world relevance
4. Impact on future self

Recommendations for faculty to promote meaningful writing experiences.

1. Use surveys, interviews, and other methods to understand students’ relationships to writing at the beginning of a course.
2. Allow students to provide candid, constructive feedback on their writing assignments.
3. Maintain an emphasis on developing students’ written form through courses and in-course sessions on style, structure, and rhetoric.

The Meaningful Writing Project: Learning, Teaching, and Writing in Higher Education by Michelle Eodice, Anne Ellen Geller, and Neal Lerner

A recording of the presentation and other event resources are available at go.middlebury.edu/contemporaryteaching. For further details or questions contact Jack Torpey at jtorpey@middlebury.edu or Dr. Giaimo at ggiaimo@middlebury.edu.