2003 National Conference on Student Writing and Critical Thinking in Agriculture

LinkThis three-day conference—held April 3-5, 2003 at Snow King Resort in Jackson, Wyoming—brought together college and university faculty and others interested in teaching writing and critical thinking skills in agriculture and related disciplines. The conference was made possible by and funded in part by a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant. These proceedings include selected materials for conference presenters.

Thursday April 3

Pre-Conference Workshops

Kelly Belanger, University of Wyoming
Professional and Workplace Writing

Pat O'Rourke, Illinois State University
Case Studies and other Simulations

Mike Palmquist, Colorado State University
Using Technology to Support Writing in the Disciplines

Friday April 4

James C. Wangberg, University of Wyoming
Welcome and Opening Remarks

John Charles Bean, Seattle University
Opening Presentation: Writing Assignments as Ill-Defined Problems

Workshops

Stephen Adkison and Keith Comer, Idaho State University
Engaging Critical Thinking through Goal-Oriented Writing: Discipline-Specific Assignment Design

Kirby Barrick, University of Illinois
Using Problem Solving to Teach Critical Thinking

Carol J. Bryant and Carl L. Reynolds, University of Wyoming
Questioning is Your Friend

Tom Polito and Dave Roberts, Iowa State University 
Your English Department Agreed to do What? The Integration of Agronomy 356 & English 309

Allison Denman Holland, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Sowing the Seeds of Understanding: Improving Student Composition Skills with Exploratory Writing

Mark Ryan and Josh Millspaugh, University of Missouri
Using Problem-Based Learning to Promote Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Courses

Jane Nelson, University of Wyoming
Commenting on Writing: Feedback that Connects to Learning

Gail Shuck, Boise State University
'On a Chain of Hopes, that's where I belong': Poetry in a Second Language

Panels

Bill Condon, Lori Carris and Vicki McCracken, Washington State University
Fostering Student Critical Thinking and Writing in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics

Ross Evans, Teresa Nelson, and Laci Witowski, University of Wyoming
Undergraduate Students on learning critical thinking skills

Tom Peele, Boise State University
Beyond the Basics: ESL, Basic Writing, and Critical Thinking

Paper Presentations

Karen C. Williams, University of Wyoming
On the Same Page: Faculty and Student Perceptions of Writing

Scott Seville, University of Wyoming/Casper College Center
Portfolio and Group Projects to Enhance Student Writing and Critical Thinking Skills

Chris Calkins, University of Nebraska
Interactive Student Journals to Promote Critical Thinking

Lynn Hamilton, California Polytechnic State University
Off To A Good Start—Developing Writing and Critical Thinking Skills in AGB 101

Bob Ehrhart, Oregon State University 
Developing Critical Thinking in Distance Courses

Steven Hastings, University of Delaware
Using Problem-Based Learning Techniques to Develop Thinking and Writing Skills in A Natural Resources Management Curriculum

Penelope Diebel, Oregon State University
Learning To Be A Writer, Again: Lessons From The Oregon Writing Project Summer Workshop

Neal MacDougall, California Polytechnic State University 
Using University Resources to Assist in the Improvement of Writing in the Classroom: A Look at Agriculture Colleges in the Western U.S.

Saturday April 5

Workshops

Robert Martin and Rebecca Burnett, Iowa State University 
Agcomm: Establishing a Successful College-Wide Communication Across the Curriculum Program

William M. Park, University of Tennessee, and Kurt Stephenson, Virginia Tech
Use of Games & Simulations for Teaching Economic Concepts & Principles in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Policy Analysis

Panels

Writing in Agriculture Group, University of Wyoming 
Curricular Changes: Two Departments Efforts at Improving Student Writing

Paper Presentations

Bok Sowell and Jan Bowman, Montana State University
Written Assignments to Improve Critical Thinking

Ed Sherline, University of Wyoming
Including the Virtues of A Reasonable Person in a Critical Thinking Class

Don McLeod, Carl Olson, and Ed Bradley, University of Wyoming
Structure and Effectiveness of a Capstone Course

Tom Wilson, University of Arizona
Introduction to Environmental Science—A Case Study of Critical Thinking Strategies and the Development of Technical Writing Skills

Other Sessions

P. Gregory Smith, National Program Leader, Higher Education Programs, USDA
Federal Grant Writing: Tips for Improving your Proposal and your Classroom