Writing in the Disciplines (WID)
What is the WID Workshop?
The Writing in the Disciplines (WID) Workshop is an immersive 4-day faculty development experience that helps instructors integrate meaningful writing into courses across the curriculum. Through hands-on activities, collaborative discussions, and guided project development, participants create course-ready instructional materials while learning research-based strategies for teaching with writing.
Throughout the workshop, participants:
- Design or revise writing assignments for their courses
- Explore evidence-based approaches to teaching with writing
- Learn strategies for responding to and assessing student writing
- Collaborate with faculty from across the university
- Receive feedback and coaching from experienced facilitators
- Complete a course-ready instructional project
Faculty leave the workshop with practical teaching resources, increased confidence, and a network of colleagues committed to improving student learning through writing.
Design stronger writing assignments.
Support deeper student learning.
Leave with practical teaching materials you can use immediately.
Why Writing in the Disciplines?
Writing in the Disciplines (WID) is part of the broader Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) movement, which recognizes that writing is one of the most effective ways students learn disciplinary concepts. Rather than treating writing as a skill developed only in composition courses, WID encourages faculty to use writing as a tool for learning within their own disciplines.
Students become stronger thinkers and communicators by practicing the types of writing used by professionals in their fields. Engineers, sociologists, chemists, historians, and educators each communicate differently, and students learn those disciplinary conventions best by actively using them.
Benefits for Students
Writing in disciplinary courses helps students:
- Deepen understanding of course concepts
- Analyze and synthesize disciplinary knowledge
- Practice discipline-specific thinking and communication
- Learn professional genres and writing conventions
- Prepare for careers in their chosen fields
What To Expect
The workshop combines research-informed teaching practices with practical design work. Sessions include:
- Foundations of Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines
- Designing meaningful writing assignments
- Writing as a tool for learning
- Providing effective feedback
- Developing assessment strategies and rubrics
- Active learning and peer review
- Supporting student writers across disciplines
- Individual and collaborative project development
Participants engage through discussions, workshops, reflection, peer feedback, and hands-on design activities that emphasize immediate classroom application.
A $500 stipend will be awarded to eligible participants upon successful completion of the workshop. Refer to Sam Houston State University's stipend policy for eligibility requirements.
Particpants in WID 2026.
Learn More About WID
The workshop is grounded in several core principles of the Writing Across the Curriculum movement:
- Writing is a shared responsibility across the university.
- Students learn disciplinary thinking by practicing disciplinary writing.
- Writing should be integrated throughout the curriculum.
- Writing promotes deeper learning and critical thinking.
- Faculty play an essential role in helping students develop professional communication skills within their disciplines.
Writing in the Disciplines at SHSU builds on decades of scholarship in the international Writing Across the Curriculum movement. Faculty interested in exploring the research, pedagogy, and teaching resources behind WAC can visit the WAC Clearinghouse Repository, one of the leading collections of WAC scholarship and instructional materials.
WID Annual Workshop Information
The WID Workshop is offered each summer and brings together faculty from across the university to improve the teaching of writing through collaborative learning, practical application, and peer support.
Facilitator applications are currently closed.
Interested in attending?
Registration for WID 2027 is currently closed.
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Mailing: The Teaching & Learning Center, Box 2390, Huntsville, TX 77341-2390