The Institute for Learning and Teaching

Mike Palmquist

Department of English
312 Willard O. Eddy Hall
(970) 491-7253
Email: Mike. Palmquist@colostate.edu
Web: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~mp

A specialist in rhetoric and composition, Professor Palmquist teaches undergraduate writing courses and graduate seminars in rhetorical theory, computers and writing, research methodology, and nonfiction writing. He has been a member of the faculty at Colorado State University since 1990. His research interests include writing across the curriculum, the effects of computer and network technologies on writing instruction, and the use of hypertext/hypermedia in instructional settings. His work has appeared in journals including Computers and Compositions, Written Communication, IEEE Transaction on Professional Communication, Engineering Education, Kairos, and Social Forces, as well as in edited collections.

He has published four books, Transitions: Teaching Writing in Computer Supported and Traditional Classrooms, co-authored with Kate Kiefer, published in 1998 by Ablex; Writing With a Computer, which he co-authored with Don Zimmerman, published in 1999 by Allyn and Bacon; The Bedford Researcher, published in 2002 by Bedford/St. Martin’s and released in a second edition in 2006; and Designing Writing: A Practical Guide, published in 2005 by Bedford/St. Martin's. He has directed the University Composition Program for six years, coordinated the graduate programs in the Department of English for three years, served as chair the Faculty Council Committee on Teaching and Learning for three years, and co-directs the Center for Research on Communication and Technology. He also edits the WAC Clearinghouse (http://wac.colostate.edu) and directs the development of Writing@CSU and its Writing Studio, a Web-based writing and learning environment (http://writing.colostate.edu). He currently serves as director of the Institute for Learning and Teaching.

Teaching Awards and Recognitions

Outstanding Technology Innovator, 2006. Awarded by the Conference on College Composition and Communication's Committee on Computers in Composition and Communication for serving as "an exemplar for teachers working with computer technologies", representing "the highest ideals of scholarship, teaching, and service to the entire profession," and contributing "to the application and use of computer technology in the field of composition studies."

Distinction in Advancement Award, 2005. Awarded by the Colorado State University College of Liberal Arts for service in advancement.

Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field, 2004 Awarded by Computers and Composition for "exemplary scholarship and professional service to the field of computers and writing."

Computers and Writing Technology Design Competition: Best Overall Winner for Rhetoric, Literature and Writing; 2002 for Research Assistant/HyperFolio for English, by Mike Palmquist and Learn Technologies Interactive, published by Bedford/St. Martin's. This award recognizes the best overall software in the Technology Design Competition at the Computers and Writing national conference.

Kairos Best Webtext Award, Runner-Up, 2001 : Palmquist, M., and Barnes, L. (2000). The Online Writing Center Consortium.

N. Preston Davis Award for Instructional Innovation, Colorado State University, Spring 1999.
Oliver P. Pennock Distinguished Service Award, Colorado State University, Fall 1998.

Kairos Best Webtext Award, 1998 : Palmquist, M., Hochman, W., Kolko, B., Golson, E., Alexander, J., Barnes, L., and Kiefer, K. (1997). Hypertext reflections: Exploring the rhetoric, poetics, and pragmatics of hypertext. Kairos: A Journal for Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments. 2(2). http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/.

Geneva State Open Competition on the Use of Telecommunications in Education and Training, Commended, Institutional Projects Category (tied with three other entries for second): Palmquist, M.E., Rodrigues, D., Kiefer, K., and Zimmerman, D.E. (1993). Developing an Online Writing Center: A Technological Approach to Writing Across the Curriculum. Awarded through an international, juried competition sponsored by the Centre Informatique Pédagogique, Département de L'Instruction Publique Genève, Genève, Suisse.

Current Teaching Activities

Professor Palmquist is focusing his instructional efforts in four areas: Web-based instruction for the teaching and learning of writing, writing across the curriculum, and textbook writing. He has been working since 1991 on the development of network-based instruction for the teaching and learning of writing. In 1992, with Kate Kiefer, Don Zimmerman, and Dawn Rodrigues, he began work on the Online Writing Center project. Initially a project accessible through the University's campus-wide network, the Online Writing Center moved to the Web in 1996. Subsequently renamed Writing@CSU, it has since become the largest Web site supporting the teaching and learning of writing. In 2004, the site received more than 2.4 million visits.

The Writing Studio project, a new initiative, is a database-supported learning and writing environment available as part of the Writing@CSU Web site. It offers writing tools, interactive writing activities, video- and text-based instructional materials, and a course-management system that supports writing instruction at the University and elsewhere. The WAC Clearinghouse, an extension of the Writing@CSU Web site, has emerged as the leading Web site supporting Writing Across the Curriculum. Developed in collaboration with colleagues from a number of U.S. and European institutions, the Clearninghouse provides access to five journals, four books series, and resources for teachers who use writing in their courses. Professor Palmquist is also the author of three textbooks for writing instruction (and is currently writing a fourth).