We discussed the following - see minutes for details.
- food in the writing center except bottled water
- protocol for logging in students
- College Comp presentatiions (to begin 9/19) => video almost complete
- New staff - Ryan will be covering as Academic Specialist
- Discussion of de-briefing practices
- Issues with staff
We spent the rest of the class reviewing case studies describing a range of different writing centers. These essays described the usual "struggles" writing centers face - and they resonated with the story of our center in many important ways. We will use these readings to document (as citations) the administrative, staffing, and programatic needs of writing centers in the introduction of our strategic plan. By referring to issues in light of how they occur and resolve in writing centers in general - we can validate and contextualize the plans and requests that we develop in our report.
Sally reported on Remedial / Developmental Centers (Paoli, 165)
We used Paoli's discussion (and an analysis of our Writing Program as described in the course outline for College Composition - and the requirements for the porfolio) to establish that Kean's Writing Program has an emphasis on process (course outline) and academic genres (portfolio) and that while there may be variation in the way the course is taught, the overall program has more of a student-centered, developmental approach - as opposed to a remediation approach.
Because of the focus on process and genre, writing issues that may come to the writing center (because students need more "time" & practice than is provided in class to catch up) include:
Tim's discussion of Abels drew our attention to the status of the director, staffing considerations = as well as questions listed on 394.
This discussion led us to reflect on the importance of connecting the strategic plan to the University's Mission + the Administration's priorities for achieving that mission. Fortunately, our student-centered support for retention and graduation of our diverse students is a good match. We may need to develop more meaningful connections to community out-reach and programs/events that publicize the University. An analysis of the University's vision (as set forth in the opening day talk, University Planning Documents, the Middle States self assessment, the Mission Statement, and Academic Programming) will be essential for development of an effective strategic plan.
Simone discussed the two different experiences Childers had with secondary writing centers - and pointed out connections to issues in the Kean University Writing Center. She pointed out the multiple possibilities for staffing (and ongoing issues with funding - or lack of it - and staffing). We discussed the importance of grant-seeking => something current staff is not in a position to do but which should be planned for in the strategic plan.
We (briefly) considered the chart at the end of the article as a "brainstorming list" of areas for development.
Joe discusseed Community College writing centers - and re-capped the Gardner & Rousculp's points (advantages & disadvantages) about two-year students & staffing - and extended the discussion to Kean.
Discussion at the end became a little rushed - as we were running out of time - but overall I believe we covered the important points - and now have these articles "under our belts" as references for how writing centers are run.
North. At the end of class we (briefly) re-capped North's declaration of integrity in "The idea of a writing center" - and his re-capitulation on 4 of the points from that essay. Joe pointed out that he doesn't want to give up on point 4 - the wish to remain as a place where real knowledge is made - a place that can somehow reach through the focus on grades and meeting academic demands to the pleasure of learning and the power (and satisfaction) in learning through writing = and I think that is awesome. Me too. Though I respect North's point that the Center needs to respond to what students want - it is about their work and their agenda - and sometimes that agenda is getting the grade. Period. But that doesn't mean we can't point out the dynamics that make that the goal.
So GOOD class.
For next week:
And I will be posting another essay or two recommended by Simone on data collection
We will discuss these readings in light of practical issues associated with your work for this fall.
See you next week.
We used Paoli's discussion (and an analysis of our Writing Program as described in the course outline for College Composition - and the requirements for the porfolio) to establish that Kean's Writing Program has an emphasis on process (course outline) and academic genres (portfolio) and that while there may be variation in the way the course is taught, the overall program has more of a student-centered, developmental approach - as opposed to a remediation approach.
Because of the focus on process and genre, writing issues that may come to the writing center (because students need more "time" & practice than is provided in class to catch up) include:
- voice -how to step into academic discourse -style
- low order concerns
- ownership - motivation - how to get into the student role
- multilingual issues
- decision making skills
- critical analysis
We may refer to this analysis in the introduction to the strategic plan - to outline connections between our GE writing program & the role of the writing center.
Tim's discussion of Abels drew our attention to the status of the director, staffing considerations = as well as questions listed on 394.
This discussion led us to reflect on the importance of connecting the strategic plan to the University's Mission + the Administration's priorities for achieving that mission. Fortunately, our student-centered support for retention and graduation of our diverse students is a good match. We may need to develop more meaningful connections to community out-reach and programs/events that publicize the University. An analysis of the University's vision (as set forth in the opening day talk, University Planning Documents, the Middle States self assessment, the Mission Statement, and Academic Programming) will be essential for development of an effective strategic plan.
Simone discussed the two different experiences Childers had with secondary writing centers - and pointed out connections to issues in the Kean University Writing Center. She pointed out the multiple possibilities for staffing (and ongoing issues with funding - or lack of it - and staffing). We discussed the importance of grant-seeking => something current staff is not in a position to do but which should be planned for in the strategic plan.
We (briefly) considered the chart at the end of the article as a "brainstorming list" of areas for development.
Joe discusseed Community College writing centers - and re-capped the Gardner & Rousculp's points (advantages & disadvantages) about two-year students & staffing - and extended the discussion to Kean.
Discussion at the end became a little rushed - as we were running out of time - but overall I believe we covered the important points - and now have these articles "under our belts" as references for how writing centers are run.
North. At the end of class we (briefly) re-capped North's declaration of integrity in "The idea of a writing center" - and his re-capitulation on 4 of the points from that essay. Joe pointed out that he doesn't want to give up on point 4 - the wish to remain as a place where real knowledge is made - a place that can somehow reach through the focus on grades and meeting academic demands to the pleasure of learning and the power (and satisfaction) in learning through writing = and I think that is awesome. Me too. Though I respect North's point that the Center needs to respond to what students want - it is about their work and their agenda - and sometimes that agenda is getting the grade. Period. But that doesn't mean we can't point out the dynamics that make that the goal.
So GOOD class.
For next week:
Read:. data collection, record-keeping, and strategic planning:
· “Approaching Assessment as if It Matters” by Joan Hawthorne (p. 237-247)
· “Research Podcast: New Directions in Writing Center Assessment; A Conversation with Lori Salem and Harry Denny” (located at http://writing.wisc.edu/podcasts/index.html)
· “Two Experts Talk Writing Center Assessment: A Conversation with Neal Lerner and Jason Mayland” (located at http://writing.wisc.edu/podcasts/index.html) http://writing.wisc.edu/podcasts/index.html
tutortrac,And I will be posting another essay or two recommended by Simone on data collection
We will discuss these readings in light of practical issues associated with your work for this fall.
- To support Simone in brainstorming and designing her data collection plan (and report).
- To determine the kind of data we need to collect to lay the groundwork for the strategic plan (and begin to design the collection instruments)
- To plan how we will use data in the strategic plan
See you next week.
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