“We meet the students where they are, to help them get to where they need to be. We are passionate about supporting our students and want to provide opportunities for them to grow and succeed.”
Ryan Shepard
Ryan Shepherd is director of first-year composition at NIU, a course taken by most students as ENGL 103 during fall semester of their first year and ENGL 203 during the spring semester. The student-centered approach to this course is reflected in many ways, including teaching students the importance of self-reflection.
“In ENGL 103, the students write narratives and do research. Then, we ask them to step back and reflect carefully on why they did the things that they did,” said Shepherd. “Reflection is about 50% of their grade. We want them to become their own best teachers, so when they leave the class, they can recognize new writing situations and make the same kind of thoughtful decisions as they respond to them.”
Lizzy Goberville is an English major at NIU – a decision that was influenced by taking this course.
“My ENGL 103 class was a very positive experience. I had originally come to NIU for biology, but I really loved writing papers,” said Goberville. “The narrative paper where you get to write about yourself and learn about creative writing made me realize, ‘I should be doing English as my major.’ So, that class actually led me switch my major.”
The first semester course also is offered as ENGL 103P, which incorporates curriculum geared toward students in the CHANCE Program and students who come in with a GPA lower than 3.0.
“We often see the biggest progress in ENGL 103P. Students who come into those classes may have been previously told they’re bad writers – and unfairly so,” said Shepherd. “Many of the students may just be inexperienced writers, and we have the opportunity in our 103P classes to really build up that confidence, which goes a long way.”
Caitlin Gamble and Ashley Palmer are co-coordinators of Writers’ Workshop at NIU, which supports ENGL 103P students. Writers’ Workshop offers individualized sessions where students can focus on the writing skills they want to learn. In addition, this student resource fosters collaboration and sharing of ideas.
“We have diverse opinions and diverse writers, and we provide students the opportunity to share their ideas together. It is fun to see them grow more confident in sharing their writing and seeing that all these different kinds of writing are valuable,” said Gamble. “We want to give them a place on campus where they can feel comfortable practicing and sharing their writing.”
ENGL 103P students often have their writing published in Contemporary Voices, a text utilized for instruction in the course. Furthermore, these students often pay it forward by helping other students, after they complete this course.
“A lot of our previous students come back to work as student writers in the Writers’ Workshop, and we enjoy seeing them grow into a part of the NIU community,” said Gamble.
Goberville has worked in the Writers’ Workshop since fall 2022, after completing ENGL 103.
“It is great to work with students who really care about their grades and want to improve themselves,” said Goberville. “I’ve been able to help students with how to start an essay or brainstorm a topic, and it has been nice to help them learn these skills.”
Check out the full story in NIU Today.
