Learn@Lunch From 100 to 400: Senior Year Research and its Instruction

Oct 22, 2021 12:45 p.m. Learn@Lunch

At the start of the writing process movement back in the 1960s, one theorist quipped, “We don’t teach students to write, we expect them to” (Christensen). I don’t think that we just expect students in 400-level courses to engage in research, but in this continuation of last year’s workshops, I want to shift the focus from first- to senior-year research assignments and their instruction. Let’s consider how do we teach seniors to engage in research in 400-level courses? Using actual assignment samples, this workshop will examine such questions as: How do we define the task of research and writing for seniors? What are the greater expectations beyond the 100-level research? How do (and can) we help seniors fulfill those higher demands?

Don Jones is the 2020-22 Distinguished Teaching Humanist in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is an Associate Professor in English, and since 1996, Jones also has served as the Director of Honors, the A&S HON Coordinator, and the Writing Program Director.