Faculty Fellow in Gateway Course Student Success

Phil Shaw is a Senior Lecturer in the University Writing Program and the Writing Center Coordinator. He joined RIT as a part-time writing consultant in 2010 when he and his wife Amanda moved to Rochester from Denver, CO. While an adjunct instructor, Phil taught first-year writing at RIT and MCC, and also worked as a writing consultant at UR. Teaching in diverse contexts and communities was formative for his student-centered approach to pedagogy and the belief that “first-year” is just as important as “writing” when designing thoughtful and responsive curriculum. After being hired as a lecturer in 2014, he focused his research interests in metacognition and partnered with College of Science on linked first-year writing and science courses.

Phil accepted the new position of Writing Center Coordinator in spring 2018 and took on the professional development, scheduling, and mentoring of undergraduate, graduate, and faculty writing consultants. This work has included outreach and workshops in a number of colleges and the Graduate School. He is currently in his fifth year of the Learning and Teaching in Social Contexts Ed.D. through University at Buffalo. The focus of his dissertation is the identification and integration of threshold concepts in curriculum, assignment design, and professional development.

Key areas of expertise:
threshold concepts, writing center support, assignment design, inquiry-based learning, writing across the curriculum, professional development, accessibility, instructional alignment, cognition, critical thinking, student-centered teaching, gateway course student success, design-based research

Contact Phil Shaw to discuss your teaching.