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DESCRIPTION
The Graduate Instructor Seminar on the Teaching of Writing provides graduate students from across schools and disciplines at UVA with advanced skills in writing instruction. Specifically, graduate instructors will learn how to introduce undergraduates and others to the varieties of writing that are central to their professional fields and disciplines; to design writing-related in-class activities specific to their fields and disciplines; and to respond efficiently and productively to student writing and other writing in-process.
During this four-day seminar, offered online from Tuesday-Friday, August 11-14, 2026, instructors will share research on the teaching of writing and models of assignments and other practical resources, respond to participant-generated teaching materials, provide practical pedagogical suggestions, and facilitate discussion among participants. The seminar’s format will include a combination of brief presentations, interactive workshops (using breakout rooms), and group discussion. The seminar is projected to require a total of 24 engagement hours over 4 days; participation is synchronous and interactive. A required 1-hour follow-up session during the Fall 2026 term will anticipate and reflect upon the participants’ initial application of the seminar’s work in their own subsequent work.
Up to twenty graduate students will be chosen to participate, and each will receive approximately $625 in wages. (Rate is $25/hour and includes hours expected for synchronous meeting times, preparation, the follow-up session, and completing simple surveys for the program's self-assessment. Please note that as wages, appropriate taxes will be withheld.) Participants will also receive a stipend of $50 for books and materials, which participants should order independently.
Participants will come away with greater knowledge about evidence-based practices in teaching writing as well as teaching materials they themselves prepare for their own courses and other writing-related activities.
Major Topics Covered
Addressing discipline-specific writing conventions
Incorporating writing in a content-course: using writing-to-learn (W2L) & writing-to-communicate (W2C) activities (informal, impromptu writing vs. formal writing)
Sequencing writing assignments (scaffolding and incorporating a multi-step process)
Responding to student writers (engaging with W2L tasks & providing feedback on W2C papers)
Incorporating writing instruction, including pre-writing assignments
Planning and coordinating peer review
Teaching writing at the level of the sentence (grammar and style)
Instruction now also includes updated, practical applications for teaching writing in a time of generative AI platforms such as Microsoft Copilot Chat, ChatGPT, Claude, etc.
ELIGIBILITY
- Students must be enrolled full-time in a graduate degree program at UVA, in good standing and eligible to work the designated number of hours.
- Students from all fields are welcome to apply.
- Foreign nationals and permanent residents are also eligible to participate.
- Students must be located within the U.S. at the time of the training.
- Students selected for the experience who have not yet earned wages at the University will need to complete required I-9 and other documentation prior to the start of the seminar.
APPLICATION
Applicants will be selected according to the following criteria:
A: likelihood of being able to apply their learning from the seminar by the Spring 2027 term,
B: likelihood of being able to contribute well—through collaboration and through reflection on what is understood to constitute good writing in their own disciplines—to the seminar, and
C: representation by the group of a wide range of disciplines.
DEADLINE EXTENDED: To apply, submit by 5:00 pm on Friday, May 29, 2026:
- A current Curriculum Vitae.
- An additional page in twelve-point font, giving your name, department, sub-field (if applicable), school, degree sought, year in program, and evidence of a) and b) above.
- A completed acknowledgement of support form filled out by a faculty advisor or DGS that confirms eligibility and participation.
Please compile the three pages as a single PDF (the support form should be the final item) and upload using the form here:
CONTACTS:
Please feel free to direct questions to:
Tamika Carey, [email protected]
Claire Chantell, [email protected]