State Your Case! Summer 2009 Workshop:

Practical Strategies for Helping Students Learn to Develop and Support a Point of View


Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 9.00 am - 4.00 pm
Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 9.00 am - 2.00 pm (with optional post-workshop consultations until 4.00 pm)
Macalester College
DEWITT WALLACE LIBRARY - HARMON ROOM (note change of building)
List of current workshop participants
Email alias for all workshop facilitators and participants: syc-workshop09@stolaf.edu


Whether they are critiquing artistic works, constructing historical accounts, conveying statistical research findings, preparing lab reports, or recommending policy proposals, students frequently complete assignments in which they are expected to state and substantiate a point of view. How can we help them do so more effectively? The Summer 2009 State Your Case! workshop focuses on improving students' ability to articulate a claim and support it with credible evidence and sound reasoning. All Macalester, Carleton, and St. Olaf faculty are cordially invited to participate.

Workshop topics include:
  • Common strengths and weaknesses in the ways students typically advance a claim or construct an argument
  • Learning goals and evaluation criteria for student work
  • Effective assignments and instructional "scaffolding" to support student success
  • Simple approaches to assessing student learning outcomes
Participants will be able to work on and share draft materials for their courses. The second day includes an optional post-workshop session for individualized consultations and/or the development of additional materials.

Workshop participants will receive a stipend of $200 and transportation expenses between Northfield and St. Paul.

If you have any questions about the workshop or the State Your Case!project as a whole, please contact one of the steering committee members at your institution.