Riki Thompson, Ph.D.

My scholarship and teaching reflect an interest in the problems generated by the dynamic nature of language, technology and ideology, specifically how people negotiate identity and communities through language and technology.

In the classroom, I engage students through active learning, reflection on learning and integration of new technologies that provide tools to evaluate and employ language effectively. I use a "just in time" approach in all my classes so I can make adjustments based on student needs.

I teach undergraduate and graduate level courses on research and argument, as well as special topics in Writing Studies. My classes take an active-learning approach, using learning to learn pedagogy to engage students through multimodal learning styles. If you observe my class, you will see a frenzy of activity; groups collaborating, papers shuffling, tables moving, students talking and writing. A typical day in my classroom includes seminars, small group work, class discussion, writing workshops, and online collaborative writing. 

Below is a list of courses I have taught and independent study projects I have supervised.

• GRADUATE COURSES
  • TIAS 514 : Teaching Writing: Theory & Practicum
  • TIAS 513 : Graduate Research & Writing
  • TIAS 505 : MAIS Capstone
  • TIAS 501: Models and Critical Inquiry
     
• UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
  • TWRT 464 : Teaching Writing
  • TWRT 330 : Visual & Written Rhetoric
  • TWRT 333: Writing through Comics
  • TWRT 211: Argument & Research in Writing
    • Technology & Transformation
    • Literacy & the Digital World
    • Connecting Digitally
  • TCORE 101: Introduction to Composition
    • Blog me! All about m/e-stories
    • What is America(n)?
    • (Trans)Forming Identity & History
    • Writing in the Rain: Debating Climate Change
       
• INDEPENDENT STUDY MENTORING
  • Critical Discourse Studies
  • The Visual Rhetoric of the Border Wall
  • Special Education Legislation And Teaching Writing
  • Teaching Writing K-12
  • Porn, Power, & Discourse
  • Hip Hop Poetry & Teaching Writing
  • The Discourse of Mental Health And The Productive Member Of Society
  • A Critical Analysis of Homeless Discourse In America

Work Featured

• "Seminar students led discussions via Zoom conference calling. UW Trends and Issues in Higher Education: Ideas for teaching when operations are suspended. (December 2019)
• "The Constructed Self of Online Dating. UWT News and Information (December 2018)
• " Comic Books in the Classroom. UWT News and Information (August 2018)
• "Whole class feedback on written assignments" - Introducing Canvas: Collaboration during class (June 2013)
• "Providing feedback to support learning" - Putting Learning First: How Students Learn and How Technology Can Help (April 2013)
• "Ditching the red pen for personalized video 'veedback' on student writing" - Innovators Among Us: How UW Faculty are Enhancing Teaching with Technology (March 2013)

Grants & Awards

• Interdisciplinary Teaching and Scholarship Collaboration Grants (Co-PI): Black women and sexualized media (2019)
• Scholarship and Teaching Fund: Finding Connection in the Digital Age (2019)
• Scholarship and Teaching Fund: Communication & Online Dating (2019)
• Washington Student Achievement Council Educators for the 21st Century Professional Development Grant (2013-2015)
• Founders Endowment Grant, UW Tacoma: Web-based Assessment Toolkit" (2009-2011)
• Founders Endowment Grant, UW Tacoma: Writing in the Web 2.0 World" (2008)
• Simpson Center for the Humanities, UW Seattle: Practical Pedagogy Lecture Series
• Liberating Pedagogies: Locating Freedom in the Classroom (2004-2005)
• Engaging the Culture of Power In and Out of the Classroom (2003-2004)