Off We Go, Into the Writing Yonder, Working Through Consultant Training

M2225

The goal of this workshop is to take a critical look at how we teach writing consultants, how that training aligns with the goals of our writing centers, and formulate a framework for more nuanced training. There is a wealth of resources to teach new writing consultants the fine art of working with writers; however, not all of the resources are needed or align with our needs and the needs of our institutions. This idea is based on a WLN article, “Heading East, Leaving North,” by Mike Mattison, in which he discusses his decision to not include Steven North’s foundational article, “The Idea of a Writing Center,” in the course for training Wittenberg Writing Advisors. As Mattison points out, “not that many faculty are calling for us to focus on grammar anymore. Some are, yes, but more and more faculty come to college teaching with a solid understanding of writing center work.” So how many other standards of writing center pedagogy are being used without critically examining how they fit into the changing needs and roles of writing centers? What articles fit better? What makes them fit? There are no easy answers, and the answers will vary based on local needs. During this workshop, participants will be asked to examine their writers’ needs, to examine their role in their institutions, to think about what training best matches those goals, and to speculate changes to how their writing consultant are trained to better reach their writers and institution.