No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Retheorizing writing center work to transform a system of advantage based on race
Abstract
Fifteen years ago, the writing center I direct was staffed by knowledgeable, articulate, respectful, helpful, and friendly white people. Every February, we participated in NCTE's African American Read-In. That was the only day of the year when people of color were a significant presence in the writing center. We decided to sponsor new varieties of read-ins, namely a Native American Read-In, which attracted maybe five Native Americans and a lot more white Americans who had embraced new spiritual ideas loosely connected to native traditions, and a Latino Read-In, which attracted students in Spanish language classes who were required to attend. Why, we wondered, were there so few days in the year when even a few people of color entered the writing center? What could we do to make our space more welcoming so that we could extend our helpful services to a broader clientele? What did we need to know about them in order to communicate the value of our services?.
... 69). What for North seems like a "natural" desire of writers to engage in a dialogue about their assignment and discuss their ideas is not always effective for those whose experiences do not conform with the experiences that college students are expected to have (Grimm, 2011). ...
... One tutor mentioned that it should be "voluntary" for students that do not "feel like they need it" (Arturo). Even though there could be other reasons for tutees not to appear proactive (Grimm, 2011), there are situations in which working with uncooperative students creates a dilemma for tutors who struggle to assert dominance in a student-to-student setting (Back, 2016;Hemmeter, 1994). Even though the idea of a "peer" bestows a certain aura of equal footing, the fact that tutors are recruited, hired, and trained by the institution to assist students complicates their 38 2024 | The Writing Center Journal 42:2 supposed nonhierarchical relationship (Hemmeter, 1994;Thonus, 2001). ...
... While all students vary in terms of the knowledge and experience they bring to the classroom, particularly in the HL (Montrul, 2016;Zyzik, 2016), we borrow the distinction between "true" and "false" beginners to emphasize how speakers' linguistic backgrounds intersect with their degree of exposure to other cultural spaces that might or might not be prized in the academic context (Gee, 1996, in Grimm, 2011. The term "false beginners" refers to students who are instinctively able to understand the expectations of a particular task because they have been immersed in advantageous networks of interaction-at home or school-that value, replicate, and promote the experiences of the academic community. ...
... Kenneth Bruffee's 1984 "Collaborative Learning and the Conversation of Mankind" has been and remains a highly influential and often cited model of peer tutoring, but not without criticism (Trimbur 1987, Hobson 1992, Welch 2002, Grimm 2011). I agree with these scholars and others who argue that Bruffee's model presents a limited view of peer tutoring, focusing more on the assimilation of students into a particular academic "conversation" and less on the potential contribution of diverse and creative new meanings and practices to the academy. ...
... In a similar way, North's (1984) often-quoted axiom that "our job is to produce better writers, not better writing" also places emphasis on an individualistic model of instruction where writers are "changed" through the "process by which [texts] are produced" ("The Idea of a Writing Center," p. 69). As Nancy Grimm (2011) notes, North's motto, "also promotes a peculiar form of individualized instruction, one that proposes to change the identity of the writer, making him or her "better" (p. 87). ...
... Engagement refers to active involvement in the practices of a community; imagination is a matter of seeing a role or trajectory for oneself in a community; and alignment is fitting in-believing in the work of a community. Drawing on these concepts, Nancy Grimm (2011) has argued that supporting the work of belonging means a "particular community must concern itself not only with creating access but also with transforming itself so that learners can develop meaningful identities of participation" (p. 97). ...
Within academic institutions, writing centers are uniquely situated, socially rich sites for exploring learning and literacy. I examine the work of the Michigan Tech Writing Center's UN 1002 World Cultures study teams primarily because student participants and Writing Center coaches are actively engaged in structuring their own learning and meaning-making processes. My research reveals that learning is closely linked to identity formation and leading the teams is an important component of the coaches' educational experiences. I argue that supporting this type of learning requires an expanded understanding of literacy and significant changes to how learning environments are conceptualized and developed.
This ethnographic study draws on data collected from recordings and observations of one semester of team sessions, my own experiences as a team coach and UN 1002 teaching assistant, and interviews with Center coaches prior to their graduation. I argue that traditional forms of assessment and analysis emerging from individualized instruction models of learning cannot fully account for the dense configurations of social interactions identified in the Center's program. Instead, I view the Center as an open system and employ social theories of learning and literacy to uncover how the negotiation of meaning in one context influences and is influenced by structures and interactions within as well as beyond its boundaries. I focus on the program design, its enaction in practice, and how engagement in this type of writing center work influences coaches' learning trajectories. I conclude that, viewed as participation in a community of practice, the learning theory informing the program design supports identity formation —a key aspect of learning as argued by Etienne Wenger (1998).
The findings of this study challenge misconceptions of peer learning both in writing centers and higher education that relegate peer tutoring to the role of support for individualized models of learning. Instead, this dissertation calls for consideration of new designs that incorporate peer learning as an integral component. Designing learning contexts that cultivate and support the formation of new identities is complex, involves a flexible and opportunistic design structure, and requires the availability of multiple forms of participation and connections across contexts.
... Unable to operate outside of their contexts, writing centers to some extent got caught up in this broader political and economic shift toward neoliberal thought. Nancy Grimm (2011) and Randall Monty (2019) both detail how writing center work can serve neoliberal narratives, Grimm (2011) calling out "the ideology of individualism in writing center discourse" (p. 81), and Randall Monty (2019) explaining how neoliberal agendas pressure centers to "[make] choices based on return on investment rather than humanitarian or educational benefits" (p. ...
... Unable to operate outside of their contexts, writing centers to some extent got caught up in this broader political and economic shift toward neoliberal thought. Nancy Grimm (2011) and Randall Monty (2019) both detail how writing center work can serve neoliberal narratives, Grimm (2011) calling out "the ideology of individualism in writing center discourse" (p. 81), and Randall Monty (2019) explaining how neoliberal agendas pressure centers to "[make] choices based on return on investment rather than humanitarian or educational benefits" (p. ...
... The modern nature of writing centers to "[make] the writer do all the work," similar to the K-12 strategy of avoidance, explicitly disadvantages multilingual and multidialectial students when seeking feedback on their writing (Grimm, 2011). If students are expected to be proficient in their command of Standard English when first visiting the writing center, whether through direct or implicit instruction, there is an injustice being perpetuated surrounding who does or does not gain access to Standard English language instruction in higher academia. ...
... In other words, we are uniquely positioned to both teach and critique Standard English. Linguistically inclusive writing center work is grounded in acknowledging the power held in writing center interactions between tutor and writer: by challenging the structures that uphold the exclusive nature of Standard English (Grimm, 2011). In order to challenge these power structures, tutors are taught | 46 | Esterly -Swoyer to ask questions and listen to the writer, making space for their concerns first and foremost in the writing session (Kelly, 2020). ...
... In addition, this approach also pays special attention to groups that have been marginalized, such as women and children with special needs. Providing space for them in the education system will open up opportunities for equal rights and opportunities to obtain a decent education (Grimm, 2024). The implementation of an inclusive education model will enrich students' learning experiences while reducing social inequality and increasing mutual respect among various groups in society (Sorkos & Hajisoteriou, 2021). ...
Background/Purpose: This study explores the barriers and opportunities for enhancing educational access and quality in South Papua through equitable public management strategies. The region faces challenges due to geographical, social, and economic factors that impact the implementation of education policies. The study aims to identify these challenges and propose solutions to improve education equity. Methodology: A qualitative case study approach was used to examine public management dynamics in South Papua. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with stakeholders, including government officials, school leaders, teachers, students, and parents. Quantitative surveys were also conducted to complement qualitative data. The data was analyzed using thematic coding and triangulation for reliability and validity. Findings: Key barriers include limited infrastructure, insufficient teaching staff, and socio-economic issues such as poverty and gender inequality. However, opportunities exist, such as government initiatives for infrastructure improvement, inclusive education, and teacher development. Collaboration between government and civil society organizations is essential for addressing these challenges. Originality/Value: This study offers valuable insights into educational management challenges in South Papua, emphasizing the need for a participatory, collaborative approach to create equitable and sustainable education solutions
... As we listen to the response of the writers to their clients, we also hear within ourselves neural response systems that reverberate to clients' pain, joy, confusion, anger, bewilderment, sensuality, and self-expression. We come to read new definitions about the conditions existing in real people's reflections that "experience has its own worth and does not require interpretation to transform it into something worthwhile" [19,20]. ...
Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) is an integrative and expressive therapeutic approach that uses movement and dance to promote emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration in individuals. This paper examines the historical development, theoretical foundations, and practical applications of DMT in various rehabilitation settings, highlighting its potential to address the multifaceted rehabilitation needs of clients. Empirical evidence supports the efficacy of DMT in enhancing physical coordination, social cohesion, cognitive functions, and emotional well-being. The review discusses the challenges DMT faces in modern therapeutic contexts and emphasizes the need for further empirical studies to establish its long-term impact compared to traditional rehabilitation protocols. Keywords: Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), Rehabilitation, Holistic Therapy, Psychosocial Intervention, Physical Coordination.
... Engaging in advocacy and activism with campus and community partners, centers are increasingly working to counter damaging literacy practices-in their centers, in academic and professional literacy, and on their campuses and in communities. Especially important in the United States are powerful new published research and narratives that call for writing centers to look critically at their own programs and to engage in anti-racism work, to do transformative listening and work that will challenge the social structures that privilege whiteness in U.S. writing center practices, leadership, and scholarship (Bawarshi & Pelkowski, 1999;Denny, Mundy, et al., 2018;Diab et al., 2012;Faison & Condon, 2022;García, 2017García, , 2021Geller et al., 2007;Greenfield & Rowan, 2011;Grimm, 2011;Lockett, 2019). Although there is clearly a long way to go, this kind of critical examination is becoming a central commitment of writing centers in the United States. ...
... Previous research has shown that students most likely to use campus resources are historically marginalized and first-generation college students (Brock, 2010;Strada-Gallup, 2017) who may speak WME as a second language. For communication centers, this mentality shapes the cultural assumptions that students of color need help in order to level the playing field (Grimm, 2011). With such assumptions in place, students of color are expected to learn the conventions of WME and, in the process, "rid themselves of all linguistic features that may identify them with communities of color" (Greenfield, 2011, p. 46). ...
Violence is a significant issue impacting the physical, mental, social, and economic health of our learning communities. For decades the discipline of peace education has explored the effects of nonphysical violence on students and educators, as well as ways to create more peaceful, less violent, and equitable educational practices. While communication frameworks have been used in peace education research, no research found has theorized the potential value of peace education for the communication discipline. Using the contextual background of communication centers, this piece seeks to disrupt steadfast norms and practices within communication centers from the perspective of peace education. We provide an overview of the field of peace education and explicate opportunities within the communication discipline to use peace education frameworks, theory, and practice to develop pedagogies of renewal and close with practical recommendations for communication centers going forward.
This chapter begins by questioning the existing practices of writing centre tutoring. Based on the first author's writing centre tutoring experience and some artifacts, such as consultation notes, consultation forms, and feedback on student essays, the authors question whether the writing centre is truly a safe and neutral space for post-secondary writers and whether writing tutoring feedback contains some Eurocentric racial discourses that are complicit and coded in a way that sounds so called objective. Drawing on Lemke's principle of intertextuality, the authors highlight how standardized academic writing expectations have been unconsciously normalized and naturalized in writing centre tutoring discussions, thereby reinforcing the tutor's authority. In the end, we are in the position to look for an alternative, transformative change in the writing centre tutoring practice and a structural shift that can go beyond “remedial writing service provider.”
Argues that much writing center lore is centered on deficit-thinking and asks writing center scholars and practitioners to move beyond these deficit frames.
Despite the prevalence of ADHD on college campuses, little scholarship investigates participation of students with ADHD in writing centers. While a medical definition of ADHD focuses on students’ inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity with resulting deficits in school performance, disability studies scholars ask us to consider not just individuals’ personal struggles but also campus culture around disabilities. An unexplored aspect of campus culture is stigmatization of ADHD and how stigma might impact a student’s willingness to disclose a diagnosis to a tutor. Scholars disagree whether disclosure is necessary to effective peer tutoring; however, given the prevalence of ADHD, tutors need to be prepared to handle disclosure when it does occur. This exploratory study uses interviews with writers and peer tutors in a small liberal arts college writing center to understand the relationship between ADHD stigma and disclosure in the context of writing center tutoring. Writers with ADHD express more positive connotations around ADHD than tutors do; both tutors and writers are aware of cultural and campus stigma around ADHD, express that disclosure is rare in the writing center, and are uncertain if disclosure is necessary for tutoring. Interviews indicate a need for greater tutor education about ADHD and associated stigma, while suggesting that writing centers could attract more students with ADHD if they become known as places that combat stigma and foster writer agency.
Peripheral Visions for Writing Centers aims to inspire a re-conception and re-envisioning of the boundaries of writing center work. Moving beyond the grand narrative of the writing center-that it is solely a comfortable, yet iconoclastic place where all students go to get one-to-one tutoring on their writing-McKinney shines light on other representations of writing center work. McKinney argues that this grand narrative neglects the extent to which writing center work is theoretically and pedagogically complex, with ever-changing work and conditions, and results in a straitjacket for writing center scholars, practitioners, students, and outsiders alike. Peripheral Visions for Writing Centers makes the case for a broader narrative of writing center work that recognizes and theorizes the various spaces of writing center labor, allows for professionalization of administrators, and sees tutoring as just one way to perform writing center work. McKinney explores possibilities that lie outside the grand narrative, allowing scholars and practitioners to open the field to a fuller, richer, and more realistic representation of their material labor and intellectual work. © 2013 by the University Press of Colorado. All rights reserved.
Through the Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project (PWTARP), the authors have set out to explore and document what peer tutors take with them from their training and experience. The Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project has made it possible for the authors to sample and analyze more systematically the reflections of 126 former tutors from three institutions, Marquette University, the University of Maine, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this article the authors theorize peer tutoring as a form of liberal education for peer tutors themselves. And they support this claim with empirical evidence that this is deep learning that endures years, even decades, after graduation. They open by defining liberal education, using Kenneth Bruffee's arguments about peer tutoring and liberal education and William Cronon's definition of the goals of a liberal education. They then describe their survey methods and research participants. In the heart of the article, the authors develop and illustrate each of their major findings, demonstrating the breadth and depth of what former tutors have taken with them. In their conclusion, the authors argue that this research has profound implications for writing centers themselves: systematic tutor alumni research allows writing centers to resituate themselves as central to the educational mission of their colleges and universities. (Contains 2 figures and 2 notes.)