Students and faculty from the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences presented at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing, held at Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay campus, Nov. 4–6.
Four students—Mohamed Abdi-Hakim (biology major), Amionne Jean (computer information systems major), Liz Massy (environmental science/studies major), and Denise Pichardo (M.A. in Writing student)—presented a poster titled “The Early Development of a COMP Fellows Program.”
The students are writing consultants in the college’s new COMP Fellows program, which provides course-based writing assistance to students enrolled in specific COMP courses. The fellows assist students throughout all stages of the writing process and with general writing skills. The program is led by Kevin Dvorak, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of writing center in the college.
“Being able to talk to others about our [COMP Fellows] program made me feel very proud of it and the college, and the progress that we’ve made thus far,” Jean said after her conference presentation.
Also during the conference, Ashley Torres and Isis Darios, students in the college’s M. A. in Writing program, presented a panel session titled “Understanding Common Usage Errors: Proofreading Strategies for Native and Non-Native Writers.” The presentation examined various ways for students to identify and correct proofreading errors.
Additionally, M.A. in Writing student Cristine Busser, along with Pichardo and Star Medzerian, Ph.D., assistant professor in the college, presented “Scaffolding the High-School-to-College Transition: Three Perspectives.” Each panel member offered methods for adapting writing skills acquired in high school to college-level composition assignments.