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Endicott College Writing Center
Making the Writing Center the “Center for Writing” at
Endicott College
Presented by David R. DiSarro
Educational Background and Teaching Experience
BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maine at Farmington
MA in English from Southern Connecticut State University (Graduate Research Fellow)
Ph. D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Ball State University (expected July 2011)
First-Year Composition, Writing in the Workplace, The History of Women’s Writing and Rhetoric (Designed & Taught), and The Rhetorical Art of Writing Online (Designed)
Administrative, Tutoring, and Relevant Experience
• Assistant Director, Writing Center, Ball State University– August 2007 to June 2008 (Tutor: Spring 2010)– Supervised, assessed, and advised undergraduate tutors– Organized workshops, training, and events for faculty and
staff– Updated promotional material– Tutored undergraduate and graduate students in face-to-face
and virtual environments– Researched grants for potential Writing Fellows program
• Development Officer, The Hartford Conservatory– Established partnerships with community organizations,
foundations, and national corporations– Solicited donations from alumni– Researched potential grants– Prepared and wrote grant proposals for various programs
The Center for Writing
The Writing Center
Increase Social Media Presence
Place for Undergraduate and Graduate Research
Expansion of Professionalization
Short Term Goals
Long Term Goals
Writing Fellows Program
Writers Community Conversation Partners
Social Media and Networking
Clients
Other WCs
Promotion & Instruction
Virtual Q&A
A Place for Undergraduate and Graduate Research
Example: ECWCA ConferenceWhat perceptions do creative writing faculty have about writing centers? What experience do creative writing faculty have with writing centers? What institutional and pedagogical similarities / differences do creative writing faculty see between their field and writing centers?
Regulatory Model Counter-hegemonic Model“Helps students with their grammar, syntactical structure, their arguments, and how to organize a paper.”
“Helps students reach his or her goals for his or her writing.”
“Expository writing.” “Guides students in their goal for clearer and more effective writing.”
“Usually I assume a writing center is for students struggling with grammar concepts, integrating the language of others, and other sorts of writing skills that go along with critical essay writing, rather than writing fiction or poetry.”
"The Writing Center provides immediate assistance to students with specific pieces of writing that generally focuses on higher order concerns such as organization and strength of argument. The session should be conducted so as to improve the student's writing in the future, not just fix an individual paper.”
Activity Theory: A New Frontier for Research and Training in the Writing Center
Division of Labor
How the work in the activity is divided among participants in
the activity
Rules
Laws, codes, conventions, customs, etc. that people adhere to while engaging in the activity
Tool
Physical objects and systems of symbols that people use to
accomplish the activity
Community
Subject Object Outcome
Modified from Simon Tan, University of California Berkley
Division of Labor
Client reads paper aloud, tutor follows along silently, tutor poses
questions to client, etc.
Rules
Sign-in, dress code, length of session, requirements from instructor, conventions, etc.
Tool
Instructor assignment sheets, pens, pencils, computers, reading aloud,
dialogue, language, etc.
Community
SubjectPeer tutors, professional
tutors, clients
ObjectOrganization, conclusions,
citation, grammar, etc.
OutcomeEmpower
students over their writing
Activity Theory: Observation Tool for Peer Tutoring Sessions
Expansion of Professionalization
Student publications and preparation of handouts and
resources
Participation in WCENTER listerv
and “Peer Centered” blog
Participation in regional and
national conferences
The Writing Center as a Space
Establishing a Writers Community and “Conversation Partners”
Writers Community Conversation Partners
Utilizing the Writing Center as a place for students and community members to meet and read (either their own work or something by another author) or just listen to works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, dialogue, drama, etc.
In addition to utilizing the Writing Center as a place where non-native speakers can engage in tutoring sessions, the Writing Center can also be used as pressure-free forum for these students to socially interact with American students and practice the English language.
The Writing Fellows Program
What is it?
One undergraduate fellow is assigned to 15 – 20 students in a writing-intensive course. Students enrolled in the course are required to submit a draft of each paper (usually 2 – 3 a term) to the writing fellow two weeks before it is due to the instructor. The fellow responds in writing to each draft and returns the drafts to the students. The fellow prepares a summary of comments for the instructor. Students revise and (may) meet for one-to-one conferences with the fellow before handing in the final version. The students submit drafts and fellow comments with final version for the instructor. Some fellows are asked to run writing workshops for the instructor.
The Writing Fellows Program (cont.)
What are the benefits?
What wouldn’t Writing Fellows Do?
What would Writing Fellows Do?
How would Writing Fellows be selected?
How would Writing Fellows be trained?
What’s the cost?
The Writing Fellows Program and the Writing Center Mission Statement
We believe that all writers, no matter how strong their skills, need an interested and attentive audience and learn best when actively engaged with their own writing. Our mission is to help all students improve as writers across disciplines and genres. The Writing Center mirrors the College's larger mission to act as a "student-centered institution that supports undergraduate and graduate students in their pursuit of knowledge.“ To that end, the Writing Center seeks to empower student writers to take full authority over their own writing: students are responsible for knowing their instructors' specific expectations and for the quality of all submitted work.
Final Thoughts… Management style: I’m not a micro-manager. I believe in the co-existence of a horizontal and vertical structure to an organization and believe that each tutor, client, and administrator is a “knowledge worker.”
Questions, comments, concerns?
Thank you for your time and
consideration.