You can find a pdf version of this prompt here: Teaching Artifacts Prompt PDF
Teaching Artifact 1: Assignment Prompt Due Week 9 — Wednesday, May 27
Design a complete writing assignment prompt for a course you teach, have taught, or can realistically imagine teaching. Your prompt should reflect the theoretical frameworks we’ve explored in this course and demonstrate thoughtful attention to how students in your discipline learn to write.
Your prompt should include the following, though the degree to which you do so is dependent on your purpose and approach:
- A brief description of the course context
- A clear explanation of what students will produce and why
- Specific learning objectives
- Instructions or process guidance that walk students through the assignment
- Assessment criteria
- Any relevant deadlines, draft stages, or scaffolding
Following your prompt, you should include a short reflection (one page is fine) that addresses two questions: Which theoretical frameworks shaped your design choices, and how does this assignment connect to your emerging teaching philosophy? This reflection doesn’t need to be formal — think of it as making your thinking visible.
Teaching Artifact 2: Activity and Discussion Facilitation Weeks 6–9 — sign-up required
Working individually or with a peer, you will design and lead a 45-60 minute long class session built around one of that week’s assigned readings. Your session should include a writing activity (20–30 minutes) that engages students with the reading and sets up a discussion (30–40 minutes) that invites meaningful, varied participation.
Submit the following by the Monday before your facilitation date:
- A lesson plan (2–3 pages) that includes a timeline, instructions for the activity, your facilitation approach, and a brief rationale connecting your choices to course theories
- Any handouts or materials you’ll use
Within one week of your facilitation, submit a reflection (1–2 pages) that moves beyond recounting what happened to analyze what you learned. Consider: What worked, and what would you revise? How did the experience connect to specific theories from our readings? What does it change about how you think about facilitating writing?
This assignment asks you to move between theory and practice in two ways: 1) by designing a writing assignment for a course in your discipline, and 2) by facilitating a class session for your peers. Though these are independent projects, together these components form the foundation of your Teaching Dossier and give you hands-on experience with two of the most essential skills in writing pedagogy — creating assignments that do meaningful work, and leading a classroom through that work.
Assessment
Both parts of this assignment are considered complete when they demonstrate meaningful application of pedagogical theory, present clear and usable materials, and connect to your developing teaching philosophy. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s evidence of thoughtful, theoretically grounded practice.