Workshops available

These workshops are designed for liberal arts (English, history, and others) teachers at high school level and professors/prospective teachers at college level. All teachers who comment on student writing and want to take a fresh, strategic approach are welcome.

Dr. Wink is available for online or in-person workshops MWF during school year and summer months.

Workshop 1

Giving Feedback to Student Writers Using Digital Tools. Dr. Wink has been studying commentary practices since 1999 and recently published a book highlighting a very significant part of an instructor’s job: providing feedback on student writing. Drawing from her classroom-based research and experience, Dr. Wink provides a fresh approach to commenting on student papers using various digital tools: written comments online, audio, and/or video. Specifically, the focus is on how digital tools can reduce teachers’ time spent commenting on students’ writing and have greater impact so the return on their investment is more productive. Dr. Wink will discuss topics such as quantity of comments for effectiveness (“less is more”), quality of comments (major, meaningful, and clear), impact of comments, and addressing (or not) comments in subsequent drafts. Her research has uncovered reasons reflected in mismatches between instructors’ intentions and students’ perceptions of feedback, which she will explore further in workshop.

Providing feedback digitally (in Learning Management Systems) with the advantage of tone to praise and critique sets up a two-way learning process in which students can see that comments can be meaningful and understandable. Digital tools also encourage students to “transport” comments across drafts and writing assignments. To meet this objective, Dr. Wink will introduce strategies such as using (1) tables in which students transcribe their teachers’ major comments and express their understanding—or confusion—of the commentary, thus giving teachers opportunities to clarify; (2) checklists for subsequent papers that include questions about transfer, for example, Which comments did you address (or not) in paper? Why or Why Not? and (3) journals in which students track major comments and reflect on transfer in subsequent papers. These strategies contribute to dialogues (rather than monologues) with, typically, fewer misunderstandings since students view them as extensions of the classroom conversation. Dr. Wink will provide a link to resources for effective commentary practices.

Workshop 2

Teaching Students to Become Effective Public Speakers: Public speaking presents challenges for some students who would rather not be in a vulnerable position with their peers and instructors. However, many career tracks require them to speak publicly; therefore, classroom practice serves them well. Drawing from her own classroom research and practice, Dr. Wink offers an enjoyable and informative workshop on ways to engage students in practice exercises, videotaping speeches with self-assessments, and other activities in which students can become more comfortable with public speaking. Drawing from her rhetorical method of preparing a speech, Dr. Wink will discuss key elements such as audience, purpose, message, and context so that students think of speeches happening in “real” rather than artificial situations. She addresses other topics such as Emotional Intelligence, accommodating different audiences, telling stories, writing, and rehearsing different types of speeches. This workshop, which is tailored to needs of teachers and students, includes helpful practice exercises to increase students’ comfort and performance. Dr. Wink will provide a link to resources for effective teaching strategies for public speaking.

Workshop 3

Teaching Critical Reading Strategies for Distracted College Students: The prevalence of technology heavily influences the way students think, read, and write–often in bursts while checking their social media and internet sites. Students struggle to focus while reading extended articles, reports, and books, which poses unique challenges for their instructors who assign lengthier readings. To address this conundrum, Dr. Wink offers specific reading strategies such as “Interval Reading” by using an “on/off” approach, “Reading Inquiry” by forming questions in the readings that students answer, “Reading Aloud” by sub-vocalizing text, “Reading Art,” by using colored highlighters for different types of information (ex. facts and examples), and more. Drawing from her own classroom-based research, she presents best practices to engage students in texts so they are not mindlessly reading without recall. She also refers to the MARSI: Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory as a place to begin assessment of students’ current reading strategies, then plan instruction to reinforce them and introduce new approaches for greater comprehension. This workshop, which is tailored to needs of teachers and students, is designed for practical application in classes that require students to take an active, more focused role while reading to gain knowledge and understanding of assigned texts. Dr. Wink will provide a link to resources for teaching effective reading strategies.