Teaching for Summer LEAP 2009

ENGL 108 & GEN ST 105
Summer Learn + Experience + Achieve Program (LEAP) 2009
http://staff.washington.edu/changed/leap/

Welcome to Summer LEAP, a month-long academic and life skills course and residential learning community created to transition new and incoming student athletes to the University of Washington, to prepare students for the reading, writing, and learning rigors of college, and to introduce them to the diversity and interests of the city of Seattle.

Summer LEAP consists of four interlocked parts, offering a dynamic and holistic approach to school and university life, treating the student as more than just a sum of “student” + “athlete” + “freshman”:

“Living-Learning Community” — all of the program participants not only take classes together, study together, work together, but also are housed in the same dorm for the duration of Summer LEAP; students often come from different parts of the country, represent different sports, and pursue different academic interests, which provides ample opportunity to share, support, and collaborate socially and intellectually; the program also introduces students to online collaboration and interaction.

English 108: Writing Ready, a five-credit intensive preparatory and immersion course on college-level writing, reading and research; builds writing confidence through frequent formal and informal writing and introduces key learning strategies; includes user-friendly orientation to library and research documents, revision skills, and peer review work central to 100- and 200-level college writing courses. (Formerly called GIS 140.)

General Studies 105, a one-credit course designed to increase the academic proficiencies, study skills, and understanding of campus culture of new freshmen entering the university; this course complements and supplements ENGL 108.

“Fridays on Foot,” a part of the course requirements of both ENGL 108 and GEN ST 105 where students are introduced to three different Seattle neighborhoods including Downtown/Pike’s Place Market, the International District, and Capitol Hill; these “field trips” require students to navigate the Seattle bus system, to explore the neighborhood, and to record their experiences through activities and reflective writing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.