The x-page paper at the end of the semester is a common staple in college courses, but there are other ways to use writing in your classroom. Through low-stakes writing (“LSW” or “writing-to-learn,” “WTL”) assignments, students become more confident thinkers, develop keen metacognitive skills, manage reading assignments more effectively, and learn more richly and fully…all without creating an unmanageable grading burden for you or your TAs. We will explore techniques across an array of disciplines and examine diversity, equity, and inclusion issues that low-stakes writing assignments can help to address.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the reasons why LSW/WTL strategies are effective and worth trying;
• Implement a set of concrete and practical steps designed to make LSW/WTL assignments enhance student learning in a readily manageable fashion; and
• Articulate some important diversity, equity, and inclusion goals that can be fulfilled by LSW/WTL strategies.