Like the CC100, the CC120 is distinct in the way it approaches teaching writing.

2.2.A: CC120 as an introduction to the role of writing in creating and communicating academic knowledge

It is neither a traditional rhetoric & composition course that focuses on generalized “writing skills” across all disciplines, nor is it a “writing in the disciplines” course that teaches students the academic conventions of one specific field. Instead, its aim is to teach students the overarching idea that writing is central to knowledge creation in the liberal arts through an explicit focus on how the writing process supports disciplinary and interdisciplinary meaning-making.

2.2.B: CC120 as focused on the writing process

Like the CC100, a CC120 will naturally be rooted in the writing process of a specific faculty member and their disciplinary or interdisciplinary community, but this process should function like a “case study” that allows students to reflect more generally on the role of writing in academic knowledge production and on their own developing writerly identity.

2.2.C: CC120 as inquiry- and problem-based

CC120s are best taught as process-driven courses, meaning that they are organized around specific disciplinary or interdisciplinary questions or problems. CC120s leverage the questions or problems at the center of the class as case studies that allow students to (a) experience and (b) reflect on the writing processes of the discipline or interdiscipline at the center of the course. The goal is not for students to understand writing “conventions” but the processes of writing that support the creation and dissemination of academic knowledge.

2.2.D: CC120 as intentionally reflective on the nature of writing

Teaching a CC120 should leverage both writing process and reflective pedagogies that allow students to see and experience the kinds of processes deployed by experts and then critically reflect on the operations and assumptions of those processes.

For further reading, see the page on Readings on Disciplinary-Driven Writing Pedagogies.

2.2.E: CC120 as collaborative pedagogy

Although the majority of CC100 & CC120 courses are taught by a single instructor, to effectively meet the core outcomes of the FYP instructors will need to design and teach courses in conversation and partnership with other instructors and academic staff across the College.

CC100/120 Linked Pairs

All CC100 and CC120 courses are formally connected through a “linked pairing” in which a single cohort of students start in a specific CC100 and then move into a “linked” specific CC120 course. As much as possible, these linkages are cross-departmental (i.e., two linked instructors should not come from the same department) and thematic (i.e., the two courses should share some natural thematic affinity) in order to reinforce the cross-disciplinary goals of the FYP.

Unlike the CC100, the CC120 has no requirement that “linked” CC100 and CC120 pairs jointly create formal activities. However, developing an informal connection with your linked CC100 faculty member can be invaluable to support student learning in your course.

The First-Year Program recommends that the CC100 & CC120 faculty members consider meeting at least once prior to the start of the semester to get a sense of one another’s courses, and to identify possible points of connection that can be used to scaffold student learning. For example, a CC100 might emphasize a particular writing skill that can become the basis for a larger project in the CC120. In past iterations of the FYP, it has also been extremely helpful for CC100 faculty to have a conversation with the CC120 faculty member about the writing habits and skill sets of students in the course close to the end of block 1, so that the CC120 faculty member can calibrate expectations appropriately. It is also extremely effective if each of the linked faculty members can come sit in one another’s courses for a brief period of time to illustrate to students the continuity of the courses.

Partnering with Academic Staff experts

In addition to partnering with other faculty around course content, it is highly recommended that faculty partner with faculty and academic staff who have pedagogical expertise in areas related to the goals of the CC100 & CC120.

Drew Cavin, Ph.D.
- Field study, experiential learning
Steve Getty, Ph.D.
- Student motivation, data analysis, quantitative lab design, teaching & learning environment analysis, field work support
Jennifer Golightly, Ph.D.
- Digital teaching & learning, digital humanities
Jordan Travis Radke, Ph.D.
- Community engaged pedagogies, action research projects
Roy Jo Sartin, M.A.
- Grant writing, proposal and application writing, writing for publications (scholarly and popular), writing in History, writing for MATs (rsartin@coloradocollege.edu)
Chris Schacht, M.F.A.
- In-class activity/workshop development (peer review, drafting, idea generation, rhetorical analysis), creative writing (prose), scientific writing, student academic mentoring
Aaron Stoller, M.F.A., Ph.D.
- Inquiry-guided, experiential, and problem-based pedagogies; teaching disciplinary and interdisciplinary thinking; writing process pedagogies.
Chelsea Walter, Ph.D.
- Culturally and linguistically diverse students, culturally responsive pedagogies