What Is STAF?

STAF (Strategies for Teaching Across Fields)  is a four-day learning community focused on the practice and theory of teaching with writing across the disciplines. Open to all MSU educators (faculty, staff, and graduate students), participants willl learn theories and practices for implementing meaningful writing pedagogy and will recieve mentorship on a teaching with writing project. The community provides faculty with strategies and resources to improve their assignments, and provides direct mentorship and support in the process.

This interactive faculty-led set of workshops will address the following issues that emerge when teaching with writing across university disciplines:

• Designing effective writing assignments
• Scaffolding writing assignments
• Connecting writing and critical thinking
• Providing actionable feedback 
• Using peer response effectively
• Responding to and (re)developing student writing
• Developing assessment rubrics
• Teaching discipline-specific genre
• Equity approaches to the teaching of writing 

When Is It?

STAF will next be held in 2025. Specific dates to be announced.

What Can I Expect? 

As a learning community, STAF will provide tangible, effective support for instructors who teach with writing and will provide you with the theories and practices for implementing meaningful writing pedagogy in your classes. In particular, STAF cohort members will work on a mentored  teaching with writing project– a specific course or assignment that will be workshoped and revised for a future semester. 

Facilitators from various MSU colleges will share research and practice for engaging in effective writing pedagogy across the disciplines. Topics will include designing effective assignments, providing actionable feedback, backward design of larger projects, and accessible and equitable approaches to teaching with writing.