The writing professor and self-described 鈥榥erd about pedagogy鈥� teaches students from across the globe about the value of all languages.
鈥�14 (PhD) likes to generate a playful atmosphere in her writing classes at the 人妻少妇专区.
鈥淪illy games create engagement,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd students learn best when they鈥檙e engaged.鈥�
In one exercise for her undergraduates, she asks each student to contribute an impromptu sentence that builds on the previous one. 鈥淚n the end, we have a story that is often delightfully weird but also pretty cohesive, because each sentence picks up where the other left off,鈥� says Gegg-Harrison, an associate professor with the (WSAP).
A discussion follows on what features make paragraphs feel cohesive鈥攁nd then the second part of the exercise begins. 鈥淲e play with the paragraph, rephrasing sentences so that even though the same story is told, the cohesiveness falls apart,鈥� she says.
In another exercise for an upper-level course titled Cognition and Writing, Gegg-Harrison asks students to write haikus and then describe their process鈥攁 鈥渢hink-aloud protocol鈥濃�攚hile using invisible ink pens. 鈥淚t gets them to notice how much they rely on the text they鈥檝e already written when trying to complete a sentence or paragraph,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he text on a page is kind of an 鈥榚xternal鈥� working memory space, and that becomes obvious to them when we make it invisible.鈥�
Gegg-Harrison鈥檚 methods reflect a passion for examining not only how we write, but also why we write.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in the cognitive underpinnings of our ability to communicate via language, especially our understanding of others鈥� knowledge states,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t connects the work I did as a graduate student to the work I do now. Once students start playing with sentences, they鈥檒l often notice particular grammatical patterns. And they delight in finding out that these patterns have a name鈥攚hich is a key takeaway from the WRTG 105 exercise where students build a story with impromptu sentences.鈥�
Coming by teaching honestly
It鈥檚 no surprise Gegg-Harrison knew early on she wanted to be a teacher. Both her parents were educators, and her brother is a math education professor at the University of Wisconsin鈥揈au Claire.
鈥淚t鈥檚 in the blood,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 started tutoring kids when I was in middle school. And in high school, I was the violin teacher for fourth graders at the Montessori school where my mother worked.鈥�
She earned an undergraduate degree in linguistics at Ohio State University, but it was a minor in cognitive science that struck a chord. She came to Rochester for graduate school, where she earned a doctorate in brain and cognitive sciences. 鈥淢y dissertation was about how we keep track of what our conversation partner knows, so that we can refer to things in a way they will understand,鈥� she says.
Gegg-Harrison is a self-proclaimed 鈥渘erd about pedagogy,鈥� one who is always seeking to better herself as a teacher. Each semester, she asks students to fill out surveys assessing which aspects of her teaching are working鈥攁nd which could be done differently.
鈥淚n this way,鈥� she says, 鈥淚鈥檓 able to model for students an openness to receiving sometimes uncomfortable feedback. A large part of my role is to give students the constructive feedback they need to become better, more effective writers. But I also need to listen to the feedback my students give me, so that I can make class work better for them.鈥�
She has an insatiable appetite for learning鈥攁nd for sharing what she鈥檚 learned. 鈥淥nce I鈥檓 fascinated with something, I鈥檓 driven to want to teach others about it,鈥� she says.
Deborah Rossen-Knill, executive director of WSAP, says Gegg-Harrison is an exceptional teacher due to her passion and creativity. 鈥淲ithout a doubt, Whitney is one of our most energetic, innovative, and effective instructors. She is wonderfully inventive in her approach to teaching grammar, punctuation, and language diversity,鈥� she says.
Cultivating curiosity about languages
Gegg-Harrison teaches multiple sections of WRTG 105, the only course all undergraduates in Arts, Sciences & Engineering must take as part of the Rochester Curriculum. Her sections are titled Language as a Window into the Mind.
鈥淚 love that I get to teach students from a wide variety of backgrounds and from all over the world,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e discuss what language reveals about the mind, and have debates about whether the language you speak shapes the way you think. And we learn about how English works by comparing it to other languages. I want students to leave with a curiosity about language, while also knowing that all languages are equally good and valid.鈥�
Undergraduates at Rochester get to choose their 105 class. Some are targeted to students who want a higher-level of writing support; others sections are better suited to students who prefer a slower pace. Gegg-Harrison鈥檚 students come from a variety of majors. 鈥淚 really like that mix,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t means we can really dig into things like genre differences in writing from different majors in a way that allows students to share the expertise they have from their particular experiences with writing so far.鈥�
Some of her undergraduates speak multiple languages, while others only speak English.
鈥淚 really love creating opportunities for all of the students to learn from each others鈥� linguistic backgrounds and expertise,鈥� she says.
Because Gegg-Harrison loves learning as much as teaching, she constantly seeks out ways to improve her methods, including through national pedagogy workshops and conferences. 鈥淚鈥檝e been teaching this course since 2010, but it鈥檚 the same class in name only, right? It鈥檚 always evolving,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow we鈥檝e got artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, and all these other tools. So, I鈥檓 always updating the class to accommodate what we know now.鈥�
As a child, Gegg-Harrison was once brought to tears after realizing she could never experience the way another person views the world. But through language and teaching, she gets as close as she can. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 experience the world through anyone else鈥檚 mind or eyes, but I can have them tell me about their experience through language,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I just think it鈥檚 miraculous that we鈥檙e able to do that.鈥�
What Whitney Gegg-Harrison鈥檚 students say
鈥淭he structure of the class that Professor Gegg-Harrison created was wonderful and something that I have continuously come back to when approaching writing. Her methods in pedagogy were very influential and kept the class focused and organized to maximize learning for everyone. In the end, though, the most lasting impact she had on me was confidence. Coming into college, I was not confident in my writing. While I liked my ideas, I was never sure if I could share them in a way that people would understand. After taking her class, I have gained that necessary confidence and, if I like the topic, I look forward to writing essays and sharing my thoughts.鈥�
鈥擟arina Giordano 鈥�25鈥淚t鈥檚 sometimes thought among students that an instructor can either be kind or strict, but never in the middle. With Whitney Gegg-Harrison, you feel cared for and respected as a student, but you also receive thorough constructive feedback and clear grading criteria that motivate you to constantly improve your work and propel your academic skills forward. The amount of attention she paid to my assignments was imperative for me to recognize where I was achieving my goals and where I had fallen short.鈥�
鈥擬unise Kosebalaban 鈥�26鈥淗er entire grading system is based on personal growth and improvement, and she offers plenty of opportunities for revision as well as always providing detailed and helpful feedback to encourage students to achieve their full potential on each assignment. She enthusiastically let students鈥� own interests guide their experience in the course and designed many important assignments to be flexible to her students鈥� preferences, both in modality and style of presentation, and in topic choice.鈥�
鈥擭eedle de Carvalho Wang 鈥�24 (T5)
