Candace
Schaefer comes to the University Writing Center from her post as
assistant director of Instructional Technology Services at Texas
A&M.
Schaefer, formerly assistant director for Instructional Technology
Services at Texas A&M, also worked for three years as the dean of
distance education at Blinn College.
Schaefer is no stranger to the world of writers. She earned an M.A. in
English from the University of Northern Colorado and has taught writing
in several college settings. Currently a Ph.D. student in higher
education administration, Schaefer is researching the faculty
perspective on academic dishonesty in the classroom.
“The UWC’s mission is critical to the university,” Schaefer says. “I’m
excited to come on board and share in the endeavor of improving writing
across the curriculum.” |
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An effective writing assignment encourages students to consider the
needs of their readers. Students see writing differently when they know
readers—actual people—will be sifting through their words to find
meaning, information, or guidance.
Josh Mueller, at right, an Undergraduate Writing Assistant trainee and
sophomore English major, offers suggestions on a classmate’s paper. UWC
Executive Director Dr. Valerie M. Balester uses peer response as a tool
to help students develop essays and written projects assigned for her
UWA training courses.
Of course, students aren’t grammar pundits or subject matter experts;
there are limits to what they can judge. But they do have experience as
readers, and they often hold different views from their classmates.
Those facts alone make them valuable commentators, especially when an
instructor helps them keep their comments focused and specific.
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Ritter rethinks revision when grading papers
When it comes to teaching writing, there’s one thing Professor Kurt
Ritter has long believed: The best assignments give students a stake in
what they’re writing about.
That insight has been brought home to Ritter, a professor in the
Department of Communication, many times during his research interviews
with presidential speechwriters—one of his areas of academic interest.
He finds that speechwriters’ greatest works are usually those to which
they feel personally connected. The same is true for student writers.
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A lot—we’ve been busy. With the W courses now in full swing in
departments across campus, the University Writing Center (UWC) has
found a variety of new ways to assist faculty members and bring more
writing help to more students. While our dedication to our first
mission—offering one-on-one advice to students on their writing—remains
unchanged, we’re also finding innovative ways to create an atmosphere
at Texas A&M where effective writing is a priority for faculty
members and students alike.
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Undergraduate students can help faculty members teach writing by helping each other.
Many will believe I’m deluded when I assert that.
To many faculty members, peer response (also known as peer review, peer
editing, or collaborative learning) is—as I’ve often heard
claimed—simply a case of “the blind leading the blind.” It’s my
experience, though, that Texas A&M students can offer highly useful
advice to one another about writing. Here’s why I advocate peer
responses:
Peer responses slow writers down, giving them time to re-see (revise).
In writing, time often translates into improvement. Time spent with
other students in conversation over a text—especially when guided by a
rubric or a set of leading questions—usually will produce better
writing. Peers reading a text aloud together, puzzling over its meaning
and form, will find more of its gaps and errors than will a lone writer
reading silently, filling in those lapses through familiarity with what
he meant.
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Fall 2005 