On April 6th, Instruction Matter s: Purdue’s Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) program hosted the 2017 IMPACT Symposium, featuring Purdue alumna and Kellogg W. Hunt Professor of English and Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University, Dr. Kathleen Blake Yancey. 
The Symposium included two workshops on writing for learning. Dr. Yancey spoke about importance of incorporating writing into all academic disciplines, in order to support knowledge transfer to future academic and professional contexts. She also offered concrete examples and suggestions for Purdue faculty and instructors interested in adding writing assignments tailored to their courses and disciplines.
Before the morning session’s workshop on informal writing assignments, Dr. Yancey and the attendees asked questions of a panel five Purdue undergraduate students (Josey Cline and Lexi Eiler from Wildlife, Danny Zuercher from Landscape Architecture, Kenny Nguyen from Neurophysiology, and Sahej Bains from Biology). The students described their experiences with academic writing, including what motivates them to complete writing tasks, and what they believe is critical to help other students recognize the value of writing in their academic areas. In the afternoon session, participants designed writing assignments that feature the writing genres specific to their academic disciplines. Following the day’s workshops, attendees joined Dr. Yancey at the Gerald D. and Edna E. Mann Hall for a reception.
The Symposium was hosted by Purdue’s IMPACT program, a Big Moves initiative that helps instructors redesign their courses to be more student-centered. The planning committee was comprised of Dan Guberman (Chair) and Laura Fritz from the Center for Instructional Excellence, Clarence Maybee and Rachel Fundator from the Purdue Libraries, and Sheree Buikema from Instructional Technology at Purdue.
