LESSONS LEARNED IN DEVELOPING A CROSS-CURRICULAR/INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH COURSE IN WRITING AND RESEARCH

This paper explores how a course, Sophomore Seminar (ENG200), was created in such a way to bond major areas of study (psychology, literature, politics, education, etc.) with research writing, information literacy, public speaking skills, and multimodal literacy - thus representing how different university departments work together in a unique writing-across-the-curriculum opportunity. Because the course is part of the institution's General Education program, the learner outcomes of the course map directly to the university assessment program with an overall purpose of preparing students to write across the university while also addressing employers' concerns regarding students' preparation in writing and communications. As such, Lessons Learned in Developing a Cross-Curricular/Interdisciplinary Course in Writing and Research will share specific lessons learned as a result of being the writing program administrator responsible, not for the course's creation, but for the course's implementation. These lessons are designed to assist those interested in designing similar courses on their campuses by sharing unanticipated events, successful practices, and reflections upon the overall process.