IWT CLASP Workshop: Perfecting Imperfection: Using Collaborative Writing Practices to Develop Students’ Critical Thinking

In an era when students can generate near-perfect assignments at the click of a button, how can we help them trust their own “imperfect” academic voices to develop confidence and independent critical thinking? This workshop will guide participants through collaborative writing practices drawn from the leader’s own Theatre Arts classroom to teach students how to construct evidence-based arguments, engage critically with scholarly literature, analyze case studies, and improve their own writing—without relying on generative AI. Rather than treating academic writing as a polished product, these practices position it as a messy process of discovery that undergoes constant evolution. They inject a sense of playfulness into the production of knowledge, helping students find their individual scholarly identities in an increasingly AI-mediated academic landscape.

Participants should bring an anonymized example of student writing, already submitted for an assignment, to serve as shared working material.

This workshop counts towards the Certificate in Online Liberal Arts and Global Learning. Learn more about IWT CLASP Certificates. It will be facilitated by Néka Da Costa, University of the Witwatersrand.

This workshop is part of a series presented by The Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy (CLASP), a project of the Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking (IWT), which works with GHEA21 faculty and institutions to promote student-centered teaching methods, writing-based teaching, and experiential learning. 

Register to join

---