Just as you have responsibilities to the program, the E100 program and administration team are responsible to you. Given that we value and support you as instructors and professionals, here are some ways we will support you while you are part of the E100 program. If you find you need additional support, please reach out to the director or associate director of the program, and we will help you find that support.

Ongoing Professional Development Opportunities

Each semester, the E100 team will provide opportunities for instructors to come together to share ideas, learn about new pedagogical resources, or troubleshoot issues. In the fall, new instructors participate in 790, which the admin team works to make a supportive and productive environment. Beyond 790, the E100 program has 2-3 professional development sessions per semester, and all instructors are welcome and encouraged to attend. These sessions are a chance to learn together, and also get to know each other both personally and professionally. These sessions will be announced at the beginning of each semester, and they will be on the Canvas calendar. Additionally, there may be more informal opportunities for brown bag lunches, happy hours on the Terrace, or other low-stakes environments in which instructors can get to know each other.

Student Support and Troubleshooting

The E100 admin team works to be available to instructors. We want to support you — and get to know you. The assistant directors have weekly office hours in which they are available to support you. Instructors are always welcome to stop by and talk, brainstorm, vent, etc. Given that the ADs are not teaching undergraduates during the academic year, those office hours are purely for supporting E100 instructors. The ADs’ availability can be found on the 790 syllabus and on the Canvas training site.

The director and associate director are also available to you, both during office hours and via email for any concerns regarding students, curriculum, or other challenges you are encountering as you teach E100. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the admin team at any point.

Teaching Observations and Feedback

Observations are not meant to be a cause for stress or alarm; rather, they are an opportunity to get supportive feedback on your teaching from an outside observer. These observations are more about your development as instructors than evaluation or assessment. The team uses these observations to prompt conversations with you about your class, the curriculum, and the work of teaching. The E100 policy and schedule for observation can be found in the Classroom Visits and Observation chapter, and we invite you to think of these observations as opportunities for growth and support, particularly as you develop your teaching strategies at UW-Madison.

Relevant Curriculum and Pedagogical Materials

The E100 team strives to make sure the E100 curriculum and professional development is built on antiracist and antiableist principles and reflects current theory/best practices in the field of composition and rhetoric. We work to make our suggested readings and assignments accessible and diverse, engaging with multilingualism and multiple ways of learning and knowing. We hope to make E100 a collaborative environment, but also an opportunity to engage with the robust field of composition studies as we all work toward becoming more effective teachers of writing.

Feedback Opportunities

We will frequently ask for feedback from our instructors about what questions and issues they are encountering so that we can best support you. We also want to build on the knowledge of our instructors, frequently asking for feedback of the program and samples of particularly effective assignments and practices. We acknowledge and are grateful for the abilities of our instructors, and we hope to provide opportunities to enhance those skills, giving you opportunities to learn from each other. As such, we are open to hearing your experiences, ideas, and concerns as you teach E100.

Departmental and Institutional Advocacy

We will also work to advocate for our instructors with the department and institution, in regard to workload and compensation. We are committed to keeping class sizes low and the work manageable. We value our instructors, and so we will strive to represent them well in spaces of the university where their voices may not be well-attended to.