What is CID?

The Communication in the Disciplines (CID) initiative at Rice University supports the teaching and learning of communication in courses across Rice's campus. We work with faculty and staff to help students become thoughtful, strategic communicators in their majors. From the introduction of an in-class workshop to TA training to wholesale curricular change, CID can help students master course content and develop discipline-specific communication expertise.

Our goal is to support instructors as they:

Incorporate Communication as a Tool for Learning

Writing to Learn (WtL) activities promote understanding of course content. These low-stakes, informal assignments help students think through difficult concepts from the course. Examples of WtL activities include minute-papers, annotations, note-taking, and other tasks that encourage students to articulate their understanding.

Design Assignments that Scaffold Student Learning

Students benefit from sequenced assignments that build on skills and existing knowledge, whether in one class or over the course of their major. Breaking down larger assignments into small pieces can help students build new communication skills as well as strengthen existing ones.

Develop Strategies for Feedback and Assessment

Feedback offers important guidance to students as they grow into successful communicators; however, providing useful feedback can be a time-consuming task for instructors. The PWC can offer strategies for providing efficient, quality feedback on student work. We also train TAs and peer coaches that can offer additional feedback to your students.

Promote Equitable and Inclusive Writing and Communication Practices

Our staff can help to develop instructional materials and assignments that invite all students to discuss expectations and engage in their own assessment through community rubrics, contract grading, and other reflection-based assessment models.