Exercises & Handouts
AI-Intensive Mind Mapping
This activity introduces mind mapping, a practice in which students explore and develop their research topic and determine its core concepts. As students explore, the instructor provides instruction to help students identify questions by type and to search thoughtfully and strategically for sources from contextual background information to academic scholarship. This activity may be used […]
AI Decision Infographic
Consider sharing the following infographic with students near the beginning of the semester, and perhaps returning to it for some focused reflection, when discussing the uses of Gen AI. Download a .pdf version of the infographic (text-accessible version below) for use with your students. Before you use an AI tool, press “pause” and consider: Personal […]
Forming Research Questions (AI-Assisted)
Developing a research question for a semester-long project–such as those required in WR 151, WR 152, or WR 153–is a challenging process. The strategies outlined below help students use AI tools to focus in on a question that is meaningful for them and appropriate for their project. Where necessary, feel free to replace the examples […]
Five Things Every College Student Should Know About AI-assisted Writing
Five Things Every College Student Should Know About AI-assisted Writing How is AI-generated text produced? Natural language generators like ChatGPT analyze patterns, language structures, and contextual information using complex algorithms and extensive datasets. Based on this information, they make predictions to generate human-like text based on the user’s input or prompts. What are the strengths […]
Reflective Writing Activities
All WR courses should offer students regular and varied opportunities for reflection, including personal, metacognitive, and social/systemic reflections that instructors assign as in-class activities and/or for homework throughout the term. Each semester, WR students will choose three of these reflections for inclusion in their cumulative portfolios. Below you will find ideas and examples that can […]
WR 111 Language Presentations
In this activity, WR 111 students work in teams to review a language topic at the intersection of language and power, share it with the class, and practice their oral presentation skills at the same time. Instructors should make sure they have read the Faculty Guide to WR 111. Objective To work together to review […]
WR 111 Rotating Team Presentations
In this activity, WR 111 students work in teams to explore an assigned course reading in greater depth and practice their oral presentation skills at the same time. Instructors should make sure they have read the Faculty Guide to WR 111 and understand the positioning of this assignment in the semester. Objective To work together […]
Composing a Multimodal Reflection
Prior to this activity, students need to have some form of written reflections, perhaps looking back at prior writing instruction, looking ahead and setting personal goals for themselves for this course, or otherwise considering their strengths and needs as writers. For this activity, they practice the act of remediation by translating their reflections into the […]
Critical Conversations
In this activity, students work in pairs to create and stage critical interview-style conversations about their research and perform them in front of their classmates. This assignment works especially well near the end of a WR 151 class. Objectives To engage in a vital conversation about our course topic and your research interests; to converse […]
WR 112: Intercultural Literacy, Race, Racism, and Antiracism
Students, thank you for attending the WR 112 Spring 2021 discussion about race, racism, and antiracism! This page contains a series of follow-up activities for you to continue learning more about and reflecting on these important topics. Objective To be more aware of and take more steps toward intercultural literacy (our WR 112 Hub unit), […]