Group items tagged

discussing whether student writing skills have deteriorated over time, and how to discuss student skills with faculty

An overview of plagiarism, published in The Internet TESL Journal, 2009, written primarily for people who teach English Language Learners

"College readiness has several dimensions, but of particular import is readiness to produce scholarly work that meets the expectations of college instructors. Differences from high school and college are well documented in the literature, and this study adds to that body of work by delineating the characteristics of first-year college assignments through a qualitative analysis of college faculty assignment instructions. Three themes emerge from the analysis: information literacy, especially initiating inquiry; academic writing, especially citing evidence in support of a thesis; learner dispositions, especially curiosity, open-mindedness, self-reliance, and perseverance. Findings have implications for high school library programs and high school teachers as well as librarians working with first-year college students."

report on SIG on serving ESL students; "Dealing with Criticism" (on helping students--includes "A Model for Reader Response" based on Bruffee's "The Brooklyn Plan"); "The Case for Faculty Workshops"; mailing list

crowdsourcing a list of resources related to writing for scholarly publication

"More and more ESL students are seeking writing help at U.S. college and university writing centers. This trend emphasizes the complementary role of the writing center and ESL writing instruction in improving ESL writing skills. Writing center and ESL writing pedagogy share the process and collaborative approaches, which emphasize the writing process using revision and reader feedback. Often difficult to implement in a classroom setting, these approaches can be used successfully with ESL students in the writing center. However, many writing center instructors, unfamiliar with the needs of ESL students, are often ill-equipped to work successfully with this special population. This has caused writing center faculties to turn to the ESL profession for help in establishing suitable strategies. The growing need for ESL expertise in the writing center has created a variety of capacities to which ESL instructors can contribute."

discussing whether to contact faculty when plagiarism is discovered during a tutoring session

a discussion of grammar software usage

"Writing Across Borders" is a video resulting from a 3-year research project, the purpose of which is "to help faculty writing assistants, and other professionals work more productively with international students in writing environments." The video can be used for tutor training and costs $14.95, plua $6 shipping, and can be ordered from the Oregon State University bookstore. 

see also: http://lyris.ttu.edu/read/messages?id=24251331

privacy issues related to sending session reports to students

a lengthy discussion of the language directors use when discussing writing center offerings and needs with various populations (administration, students, faculty)

University of Michigan-Flint's Marian E. Wright Writing Center blog, posts written for students