Previous participants’ commentary on the Dartmouth Summer Seminar
"I feel more confident as a researcher and more prepared to advocate for institutional change on our campus."
“In addition to several ‘ah ha’ moments, I left the conference with a new approach to and understanding of research and research tools that can help me answer questions I've been trying to ask for quite a while.”
“Certainly one of the most incredible professional experiences I’ve had.”
“I was pushed to think in new ways about my particular project and about writing studies research in general. It was incredibly stimulating intellectually to go through that process with other researchers.”
“This was such a valuable opportunity to get to know [writing] researchers who were at various points in their career, from a variety of places and institutions, and with unique perspectives on writing studies. It simultaneously helped me to hone in on my own research and to see new possibilities for research.”
“The seminar filled big holes in my graduate education—holes that I didn’t know were there. I feel better equipped to design and carry out research projects, as well as better equipped to read and review scholarship in the field. I’ve always felt a step behind due to the lack of focus on research methods in my graduate program. Now I feel confident that I'll be able to make valuable contributions.”
“It was SO wonderful to be a student again. It helped solidify some things I knew about methodologies and methods; I learned practical coding practices that I could immediately implement; and I finally understand what all those statistics mean when I read research across disciplines!”
“An excellent professional development opportunity and learning experience for teacher-scholars at any career stage. You get to work side-by-side on developing research with specialists in the field--when do you get that kind of sustained experience at your own institution? The seminar changed the way I think about research; I value that tremendously for my own work, and I will take this new mindset back to my own institution and to my work with undergraduate and graduate students.”
“Everything seemed designed to provide us with two weeks to learn, explore, design, circle back, think, and share with like-minded (and, frankly, wonderful) colleagues. I also appreciated that we were pushed out of our comfort zones on our projects and on ways of doing research. I cannot imagine a richer environment for this stage in my career.”
“The content was very well-chosen, and the mentoring and modeling so generously offered by the program leaders was a gift, both for younger colleagues and mid-career professionals. The uncompromising dedication to this emerging field—writing studies—demonstrated by the organizers and contributing faculty was energizing and at times bracing but always welcome. I certainly benefited from the experience, and it will probably mark a turning point in my career.”
“The energy that comes from bringing together a group of committed, intellectually curious professionals is really inspiring!”
"My self-confidence grew from all the positive responses from participants and leaders to my work and ideas! Immediately upon returning home, I wrote and submitted an abstract to a journal!!"
“Not since grad school have most of us had anything quite like this, and few of us will likely enjoy such a sense of professional community again—at least not to such a concentrated degree.”
“I felt engaged intellectually and socially on common projects, even though our individual projects were different.”
“This is among the very best intellectual experiences I have had in my career. I feel like my career has received an electrifying jolt (in a very good way)!”
"I really needed the continual reinforcement to focus on a small, manageable component of a project as part of a larger, more long-term research agenda rather than trying to take on a thousand questions at once."
“I hoped to learn new methods and to think through ways those methods would apply to future projects, but really the experience was far richer than I could have anticipated.”