In Move to Remote Teaching, Instructors in UArizona's Writing Program Put Students First

The award-winning University of Arizona Writing Program teaches foundational writing to almost every students who attends the university, which translates to around 6,000 students each semester. Clear and effective writing can help students excel in college and beyond, regardless of their major.

When UArizona classes went online a few weeks ago, the career-track lecturers and graduate teaching associates, or GTAs, in the Writing Program employed flexibility and creativity to maintain quality instruction while adapting to the variety of academic and personal challenges that have befallen students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Writing Program is housed in the Department of English in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Not all of the instructors took the same approach – some integrated sophisticated programs such as Adobe Suite and VoiceThread while others created simple YouTube videos. How did they decide how to move forward? The students led the way, several lecturers explained. Read More