Writing Instruction Specialist Certificate

The School of Humanities at Penn State Harrisburg offers a 15-credit postbaccalaureate certificate in the theory, pedagogy, and practice of writing. This Writing Instruction Specialist Certificate is designed to serve thecontinuing educational and professional development needs of educators and other professionals in writing and writing instruction. Completion of the program will prepare professionals to provide specialized assistance in composition and to serve as a resource on writing pedagogy.

The Writing Instruction Specialist Certificate program is grounded in ongoing changes in theory and instructional practices in writing, and changes in the requirements for continued education and professional development of teachers. In the last two decades, research has dramatically altered the understanding of the processes involved in writing. A shift in the conceptual model of writing theory, away from a product-centered paradigm toward a theory that concerns itself with the composing process, has expanded knowledge of writing and its role in learning. New pedagogical approaches address the behaviors and cognitive processes of student writers as well as the notion of composing as a method of creating meaning, and the ways in which writing is shaped by the social contexts in which it occurs. More info.