Call for Proposals

Overview of Writing in the Disciplines
The new Writing in the Disciplines (WID) program at The George Washington University is the second phase of the recent undergraduate writing initiative that seeks to promote scholarship and critical thinking in all schools and undergraduate degree programs. Designed by a faculty and administration Task Force, WID is predicated on the idea that writing and learning are inseparable and that the university should produce effective writers with communication skills transferable to a number of different areas of knowledge and professional activities. Departments throughout the university are encouraged to offer WID classes.

Summer Curriculum Development Grants for WID courses
Funding for the summer of 2004 will be available to faculty who propose to design a new course that meets the criteria established for writing in the disciplines courses. To encourage faculty to teach WID courses the university will be offering:

10 grants @ $2,000 each to design a new WID course

Cover page providing the following information:

• Name
• Rank
• Department
• Number of years teaching at GW
• Signature of your department chair indicating his or her endorsement of the proposal

Proposals of no more than 1,000 words should include the following information:

• Course description
• How you plan to incorporate the following WID guidelines into the course:
  • Require students to write throughout the course rather than only at the end of the course and provide opportunities to revise writing assignments in collaboration with peers and faculty
  • Require students to complete multiple writing projects designed to communicate for different purposes and with a variety of audiences
  • Teach the conventions of writing and thinking in a particular discipline, or in a particular interdisciplinary context
• To which departmental major or general curriculum requirement, if any, would your course contribute?
• What additional support would you need to develop your course?
• Any experience you have incorporating writing into a course in your discipline
• If you have taught a writing-intensive course before, explanation about how this course would be different

All regular, active status faculty are encouraged to apply for a grant. Faculty must agree to teach the WID course during the 2004-2005 academic year. Courses must be appropriate for sophomores and may include gateway courses into the major and courses that satisfy general curriculum requirements.

Criteria for Selection

• Innovative and creative approaches to teaching a WID course are encouraged
• Successful incorporation of WID guidelines into the course
• Preference will be given to faculty teaching WID courses in CCAS or ESIA.

A condition of funding will be participation in periodic workshops and discussions on WID courses that will be scheduled during the Spring 2004 and Fall 2004 semesters.

Application Deadline: November 21, 2003

Faculty will be notified about the outcome of their proposal by February 1, 2004.

Proposals should be submitted to: Cheryl Beil, Executive Director of Academic Planning and Assessment, Rice Hall 602G, or at cbeil@gwu.edu. Proposals will be reviewed by an Advisory Board consisting of the members of the Writing in the Disciplines Subcommittee of the University Writing Program Task Force. Questions about the grant or compensation should be addressed to Cheryl Beil. Other questions can be addressed to the WID Subcommittee members: Hugh Agnew, agnew@gwu.edu; Lee Burke, lburke@gwu.edu; Paul Duff, duff@gwu.edu; Richard Grinker, rgrink@gwu.edu; Jennifer Korjus (chair), jkorjus@gwu.edu; Robbie Robinson, robinson@gwu.edu, Chris Sten, csten@gwu.edu; Budd Whitebrook, whitebrook@aol.com; Yianna Vovides, yvovides@gwu.edu.