Cristine Busser and Sara Stanley, students in the M.A. in Writing program at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, presented at the 2012 International Writing Centers Association Conference in San Diego, Oct. 25–27. More than 700 writing center professionals from national and international institutions convened at the conference.
The presentation, “Shifting Tutor Identities: Vocalizing the Impact of Curricular Distractions in Writing Center Sessions,” discussed Busser’s and Stanley’s experiences working in writing centers and highlighted certain challenges of the job.
Curricular distractions, such as a writing student’s confusion about the subject matter or assignment, can hinder the tutoring session if more time is spent discussing these issues than the student’s writing. The presentation ultimately encouraged collaboration between university writing centers and faculty members to help avoid such distractions.
Over the past two semesters at NSU, Busser and Stanley have worked as fellows in the college’s COMP Fellows program, which provides course-based writing assistance to students enrolled in first-year composition courses. Their experiences in this role inspired the primary message of their presentation.
“We’ve learned so much about different writing center models,” Stanley said. “The opportunity to work as writing fellows opened our eyes to the possibilities of research and scholarship that we can achieve at this level.”
Busser and Stanley will also present work at the 2013 Southeastern Writing Center Association Conference, hosted by NSU in February.