Core modules
3 required
Writing Pedagogy · Feedback & Assessment · Discipline-Specific Writing
Electives
Choose 2 of 4
Multimodal Writing · WAC Strategies · AI in Writing · Multilingual Writers
Time commitment
10–12 hours
Completable in 4 weeks with focused effort
Capstone
Writing-intensive syllabus or curriculum plan
Submitted with a pedagogical rationale
What this certificate addresses
Writing pedagogy is not a single method — it is a set of ongoing decisions about what writing is for, who it is for, and how instructors intervene in a student's development as a writer. This certificate builds the theoretical grounding and practical vocabulary instructors need to make those decisions deliberately. It draws on expressivist, cognitivist, and social-constructivist frameworks; on genre theory and the rhetorical situation; on research in response and assessment; and on writing-across-the-curriculum scholarship that connects discipline-specific genre knowledge to pedagogical design.
The three core modules build progressively. Module 1 establishes the foundational frameworks and asks instructors to audit their own pedagogical assumptions before designing for students. Module 2 takes up feedback and assessment as the site where writing pedagogy becomes visible to students — the moment when the instructor's values about writing get transmitted, or don't. Module 3 applies the genre-analytical DAPOE framework to discipline-specific writing instruction, and its capstone activity feeds directly into the Certificate Completion portfolio. Two electives allow instructors to go deeper in areas most relevant to their teaching contexts.
Core modules
The required sequence
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1
Foundations of Writing Pedagogy
The three major theoretical frameworks in writing pedagogy — expressivist, cognitivist, and social-constructivist — and how each shapes assignment design, classroom practice, and instructor response. Includes an audit of your own pedagogical assumptions and a rhetorical situation assignment review.
Weeks 1–2 · ~4–5 hours
Open Module 1 workbook → -
2
Feedback and Assessment in Writing
The four CWSP response styles — expressive, impressionistic, criterion-based, and descriptive — and how each positions the student as a writer. Includes a rubric critique and redesign, and a peer review protocol design exercise grounded in what response practices actually help students revise.
Weeks 3–4 · ~4–5 hours
Open Module 2 workbook → -
3
Discipline-Specific Writing Instruction
The DAPOE framework (Delivery, Audience, Purpose, Organization, Evidence) as an analytical tool for understanding the genre conventions of disciplinary writing and designing assignments that teach those conventions explicitly. The capstone activity — a full DAPOE assignment design — feeds directly into the Certificate Completion portfolio.
Weeks 5–6 · ~4–5 hours
Open Module 3 workbook →
Electives
Choose two of four
Each elective workbook includes content sections, activities, a branded artifact builder, and auto-save. Electives 1 and 3 are focused introductions that point toward the Digital Communication Certificate for deeper treatment; Electives 2 and 4 are full workbooks.
Elective 1
Multimodal and Digital Writing
A focused introduction to multimodal assignment design — analyzing texts across modes, designing low-stakes multimodal tasks, and understanding why rhetorical questions become more pressing when students can generate images or audio with AI. Points to the Digital Communication Certificate for comprehensive treatment.
Open Elective 1 workbook →Elective 2
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Strategies
Writing-to-Learn, Writing-to-Engage, and Writing-in-the-Disciplines as a three-part framework for integrating low-stakes and formal writing into any course. Includes a menu of seven WAC activity types, a design exercise, and an implementation planning tool.
Open Elective 2 workbook →Elective 3
AI in Writing Instruction
The Writing WITH AI, Not FOR AI framework (Cole) — applied to assignment design and course policy. Includes a side-by-side task exploration and a policy-plus-redesign exercise. Points to the Digital Communication Certificate for the full AI literacy treatment.
Open Elective 3 workbook →Elective 4
Inclusive Practices for Multilingual Writers
Asset-based vs. deficit-based orientations, code-switching and code-meshing, and the minimal marking principle applied to three L2 student writing excerpts across graduate engineering, undergraduate sociology, and upper-division public health. Includes a discipline-specific support plan and student-facing syllabus statement.
Open Elective 4 workbook →Capstone
Develop a writing-intensive syllabus or curriculum plan
Your capstone is a writing-intensive syllabus or course-level curriculum plan that incorporates CWSP best practices — including intentional assignment sequencing, a formative feedback strategy, and disciplinary genre awareness. It is submitted with a pedagogical rationale connecting your design choices to the frameworks from the three core modules. The DAPOE assignment you designed in Module 3 feeds directly into this document. Upon submission, your certificate is generated and emailed automatically.
Also in the C²TC Program
Electives 1 and 3 connect directly to the Digital Communication Certificate, which offers the full treatment of multimodal rhetoric and AI literacy. Instructors completing both certificates gain the most coherent view of communication pedagogy across modes.
Questions? Contact Kirsti Cole at CWSP.