Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking Hosts Conference on Metacognitive Reflection Practices on April 29

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking’s (IWT) upcoming April Conference, “Wide-Awake Thinking: Metacognition and the Power of Process Writing,” will focus on metacognitive reflection practices. This conference, IWT’s first on-campus event in over two years, will welcome educators of all disciplines to Bard College’s Annandale campus on Friday, April 29, 2022, from 9 am to 4 pm. Renowned speaker Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire, author of the bestselling Teach Students How to Learn (2015), will deliver the keynote address. Reading and writing together in small workshop groups, participants will explore ways to use reflective writing practices to support our students’ identities and sense of place and to foster equity in our classrooms. The conference offers an online attendance option for those who are unable to join us in person at Annandale. Standard Tuition is $575, Early-Bird Tuition is $500, and Early-Bird Group Tuition is $450. Register by March 29 to qualify for discounted rates. A group is three or more teachers from the same institution. Scholarship applications are available. To learn more and register, go to: iwt.bard.edu. 

The 2022 April conference, Wide-Awake Thinking: Metacognition and the Power of Process Writing, focuses on the foundational IWT practice of process writing—writing that invites reflection on one’s own writing, learning, or thinking—and metacognition. Metacognition not only helps learners build awareness of their own learning, but also empowers them to take action by planning and directing their learning. “Upon its intellectual side,” wrote John Dewey, “education consists in the formation of wide-awake, careful, thorough habits of thinking.” Metacognition can be a powerful tool for cultivating critical consciousness, illuminating how race, gender, and socioeconomic status shape our classroom dynamics and our world and helping students to recognize their place within these dynamics. 


In small workshop groups, participants will use writing-to-read practices to probe the rich philosophy and pedagogy of process writing and experiment with new ways to implement reflective writing practices. Our work will seek to address the many dimensions of metacognition: What do we know? How do we learn best? And how can we recognize and respond to dynamics of inclusion, exclusion, and agency in our midst? Working together, we will explore ways to include a reflective practice in order to support our students’ identities and sense of place and to foster equity in our classrooms.

About Keynote Speaker Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire
Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success and retired Assistant Vice Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry at Louisiana State University, Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire has delivered keynote addresses or presented workshops on effective learning strategies at over 500 institutions in 47 states and thirteen countries.  Prior to joining LSU, she spent eleven years at Cornell University, where she received the coveted Clark Distinguished Teaching Award.  Her best-selling book, Teach Students How to Learn, was published by Stylus in 2015.  The student version, Teach Yourself How to Learn, was released in January 2018.

McGuire’s most recent accolades include being named a 2022 Louisiana Legend by Louisiana Public Broadcasting, being listed in the 2020 edition of Marquis Who’s Who in America, receiving the 2019 Commitment to Excellence in Academic Support Award from the Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education, and induction in 2017 into the LSU College of Science Hall of Distinction.  She is an elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations.  She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in a White House Oval Office Ceremony.  

Dr. McGuire received her B.S. degree, magna cum laude, from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, her Master’s degree from Cornell University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where she received the Chancellors Citation for Exceptional Professional Promise. 

She is married to Dr. Stephen C. McGuire, the James and Ruth Smith Professor of Physics Emeritus at Southern University. They are the parents of Dr. Carla McGuire Davis and Dr. Stephanie McGuire, and the doting grandparents of Joshua, Ruth, Daniel, and Joseph Davis.

PHOTO CAPTION: Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire.
About IWT
IWT was founded in 1982 by Bard College president Leon Botstein. Since its inception, it has helped teachers develop writing practices that enliven classroom learning through writing. IWT's philosophy and practice center on the principle that writing is not merely a record of completed thought, but also an exploratory process that deepens learning across disciplines. iwt.bard.edu

About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year, residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in more than 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; nine early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.

This event was last updated on 03-10-2022

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