View Session 2
1:45 - 3:00 pm

View Session 3
3:15 - 4:30 pm

SESSION ONE

11:00-12:15 PM

"Shedding Light on English Idioms"

Melanie Wilcox, Writing Center Tutor, Worcester State College Worcester, MA

For English as a Second Language (ESL) learners, English idioms can be difficult to get the hang of. How can writing centers tutors help them work through all the confusing expressions that English has to offer? Come find out about an experiment I did in our Writing Center to raise awareness about how difficult english idioms can be for ESL students.

Extending the Role of Tutor as Cultural Informant for ESL Conferencing

Michelle Adelman, Tutor/Undergraduate Writing Instructor, Columbia University New York, NY

By considering body language, the type of questions we ask, the way we ask them, and the way in which we integrate the outside world into our sessions with ESL students, we can help them not only by building on their language skills necessary for a particular class, but also by building on our role as cultural informants. Here is where the presence of an ally and a team mentality becomes so important.

Designing Backwards: Learning Center(ed) Tutor Training

Nichole Bennett-Bealer, Ph.D. Assistant Director/Writing Specialist, SUNY College at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY

Backwards Design emphasizes an instructor's need to think of the big picture, the ultimate goals and objectives in designing course work. By applying the strategies outlined by Wiggins and McTighe in Understanding by Design (2005) to tutor training, program administrators can gain new insight in how to design, develop, and deliver tutor training sessions. During this session, participants will learn about Backward Design and apply the process to tutor training. Our goal will be to think about training through an alternative lens in order to restart the training process through focusing on our shared goal; the creation of writing tutors for our respective programs.

Session Reports as a Tutor Training Tool

Catherine Savini, Director of Columbia University's Writing Center, Columbia University

My aim is to move the discussion of session reports beyond the debate over whether or not to share them with faculty toward how we may best use them to improve our practice. This interactive presentation will model an approach to using session reports as a training tool. To do so we will use David Perkins' "What is Understanding?" as a lens to read session reports produced by Columbia University writing center consultants.

A Tale of a Writing Center

Judy Eyerer, Director, Unity College Unity, Maine
Peer Tutors: Katy Brackett, Amanda DiBiase, Clark Simpson, Zoe Turcotte, Unity College Unity, Maine

"A Tale of a Writing Center" will consist of a series of three skits that focus on the theme of empowerment of writers through Writing Center activities. This presentation will complement the "Alt" and "Ctrl/Alt/Del" part of the conference's theme.

Humor, Horror and Grammer: Combating Spell-check, Grammar-check, and the Distraction of Modern Media in Writing Center Sessions

Terrell Isselhard, Tutor, Columbia College

Using a memory strategy from 700 years ago, the Memory Mansion, this presentation will cover how spell-check and grammar-check have weakened students' ability to use grammar. Using the example of Memory Mansion-a memory technique that utilizes humor and horror in order to aid memorization-this presentation will discuss how the Memory Mansion fits into writing sessions, and how there are opportunities in writing sessions to use humor and horror in order to strengthen grammar skills.

Zen and the Art of Writing Tutoring

Matthew Tyo, Tutor, University of Vermont W. Suffield, CT

This presentation explores parallels between the tutoring process and aspects of the Zen Buddhist tradition, including the doctrine of Upaya, the slow and fast schools of Zen, and the master/apprentice relationship. The presentation ends with an activity exploring how several Zen parables and Koans can help in achieving a more mindful and focused tutoring philosophy and style.

Re-evaluate, Revise, Restart: The Impact of Cross-Cultural Dialogue on a US Writing Center and a Northern Irish Writing Center

Kathleen Shine Cain, Professor of English, Alternating Writing Center Director
Declan Crozier, Peer Tutor, St. Mary's University College Belfast, Northern Ireland

What happens when a collaboratively based (American) writing center theory is adapted to a product-oriented (Northern Irish) academic culture? Focusing on the collaboration between Merrimack College in Massachusetts and St. Mary's University College in Belfast, this session will explore how dialogue between institutions reflecting different national cultures and institutional values has caused all involved to re-evaluate our theoretical bases, revise our pedagogy, and restart the missions of our writing center/centres.

The Collarboration Station Experiment

Jeremiah Dyehouse, Director of the Writing Center, University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
Bryna Siegel, Assistant Director
Jaime White-Farnham, Graduate Tutor
Matthew Ortoleva, Graduate Tutor
Matthew MacKnight, Graduate Tutor
Tasha O'Hara, Undergraduate Peer Tutor

Panelists will discuss progress in developing research methodologies, practitioner reflections, and practical experiments to expand the field's knowledge about the following questions: How do writing centers focus on producing better writers, not better texts? What do writer-versus text-based sessions look like in practice? To investigate these questions, we have begun to develop research-based and practical initiatives, launched the test phase of a study on mapping writing center sessions, and developed a prototype "collaboration station."

(Mis)Perceptions in the Writing Center: Exposing Bias and Enhancing Communication between the WC and the University Community

Samantha Cohen, Graduate Writing Consultant, St. John's University Queens, NY
Matthew Fazzino, Graduate Writing Consultant
Lindsay Sabatino, Graduate Writing Consultant

Presenting the workings of the writing center as playing an active role in all areas of study is a long-term objective of the writing center staff that relates to our broader goal of university-wide writing proficiency. Surveys we are conducting among a wide berth of professors, from the First-Year Writing Program to the School of Pharmacy , as well as among tutors, will be used to identify previously formed perceptions about the writing center and replace them with a more positive viewpoint through consistent student attendance and partnership among all academics. Beginning to institute achievable practices will, in time, lead to reaching the greater objective of universal writing competence.

The Elephant in the Room:
Transgressive Behaviors in the WC

Patricia Morelli, Director, Center for Reading and Writing, University of Hartford

An avowed misogynist announces he has a weapons-based webpage and reveals he can't wait until he reaches legal majority so he can purchase and stockpile his own arsenal. A fragile first-year student confesses to a peer tutor that he often thinks about hurting himself, but would probably not slash his wrists since he can't stand the sight of blood. He instead resorts to hitting himself where the injuries are not visible. A non-traditional student (a man of color) working on titillating dramatic scripts for a creative writing course repeatedly expresses his preference for tutoring with peer tutors who are female, caucasion, and blond...In Locus Parentis: To what extent would WC administers and senior staffers protect their young tutors and tutees from themselves and each other?

Building an ALTernate Writing and Resource Center

Al DeCicco, Academic Dean of the College. Rivier College Nashua, NH
Leslie Van Wagner, Director, Writing and Resource Center
Marie Salamone, Professional Writing Consultant
Erin Fagan, Peer Tutor

Writing Center practice is informed by the principles of collaborative learning, which reflect the notion of collegiality that colleges and universities value. With the support of academic administration, the practices of a successful Writing Center can be employed to develop an alternative approach to retention. This Writing Center formula not only serves students' needs but also ensures sustainability because it builds broader alliances across the disciplines. In this panel presentation, a dean, a director, a professional tutor, and a peer tutor will narrate the tale of Rivier College, where peer tutors have been successfully integrated into an established Writing Center community with professional writing consultants to serve students' needs across the disciplines.

View Session 2
1:45 - 3:00 pm

View Session 3
3:15 - 4:30 pm