1. 4.1--Tutors as Teachers/Teachers as Tutors
Room: Morris 752
Chair: Rachel Atherton, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
The Tutors Become the Teachers: How Working in the Writing Center Has Influenced Our
Teaching
Speakers: Kate Worzala and Melissa Kinsella, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Our presentation will focus on how tutoring has informed our teaching. Both of us were tutors before we
were teachers, and we have noticed parallels between our time in the writing center and our teaching. We
will discuss how the articles we read during training have affected the way we respond to our students’
papers. One article in particular that we will draw from is Laurel Johnson Black’s “Power and Talk.” The
bulk of our presentation will focus on the types of comments we give on student papers, but we also hope
to discuss the verbal feedback we give our students during conferences.
Confessions of a Teacher/Tutor: Similarities and Differences of Conferencing and Tutoring
Speaker: Kylee Thacker, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
My presentation will focus on the similarities and differences of one-on-one conferencing between teacher
and student and tutoring between peers. This will appeal to novice as well as experienced instructors,
graduate teaching assistants, and tutors. I will use several sources for both points, including Thomas
Newkirk’s “The Writing Conference as Performance,” Laurel Johnson Black’s “Conversation, Teaching,
and Points in Between,” Susan R. Blau, John Hall, and Tracy Strauss’s “Exploring the Tutor/Client
Conversation: A Linguistic Analysis,” and Evelyn Biler Menz’s “Sins of a Writing Goddess.” Of course,
differences arise between the two, such as who “dominates” the speaking role or the level of
understanding of both the student and the assignment. Nonetheless, this presentation will highlight not
only the similarities between writing conferencing and tutoring, but also showcase how and why
experience in tutoring assists teaching.

2. 4.2--Disrupting the Status Quo
Room: Morris 754
Chair: Ronda L. Dively, Director, Writing Studies, and Associate Professor, Rhetoric & Composition,
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Accommodating Writers with Autism in the Writing Center
Speaker: Rebekah Barton, Eastern Illinois University
Something really lacking in writing center pedagogy is the knowledge of how to accommodate clients who
have disabilities—particularly those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this presentation, there
will be a reflection on current best practices in occupational therapy for students with ASD, and how that
could impact our work in the writing center. The questions that would guide this part of the presentation
are as follows: (1) What does inclusivity mean for students with autism, (2) how can we train tutors to best
tutor students with an ASD, and (3) how can the writing center be made more accessible (both the
physical environment and website) for tutees that have autism? My current research and
recommendations will be provided and then I would like to facilitate a group discussion to examine the
issue from multiple perspectives.
Saying No to the Status Quo: How Writing Centers Can Effect Change, Grimm-Style
Speaker: Anne Marquette, Northern Illinois University
Stephen North’s declaration that writing centers “produce better writers, not better writing” has served as
a common touchstone for a field that is marked by individual centers with individual needs and goals.
While effective as a rallying cry, this statement is lacking in two respects. First, it defines writing centers
by what they are not rather than by what they are. Second, it glosses over important philosophical,
pedagogical, and political concerns inherent in the teaching of writing. This presentation will focus on how
to address these concerns on the levels of administration interaction, faculty interaction, training new
writing consultants, and during individual sessions.

3. 4.3--Reconceiving Writing Centers in Alternative Environments through Collaboration
Room: Morris 261
Chair: David Kelly, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
The 21st
Century Writing Center and SLACs: Moving towards Collaborative Environments in
Small Liberal Arts Colleges
Speaker: Bruce Kovanen, Knox College
As our campuses transition into decidedly 21st century models of teaching, learning, and technology, how
can writing centers, and writing centers at small liberal arts colleges in particular, position themselves in
ongoing institutional dialogues, and how can these shifting educational landscapes give way to new
partnerships in and outside the academy? In this presentation, the speaker will discuss the ways in which
their writing center has begun making large shifts in how the center operates through revising the name of
the writing center, changing the hours of operation, and articulating a writing center philosophy embedded
in the importance of the liberal arts. In addition, the speaker will discuss how the writing center expanded
its campus presence through new campus partnerships in the common first-year course and in the library.
Furthermore, the presentation is also geared toward collecting and discussing suggestions from other
institutions to see how peers have negotiated at points of contact and to come to some understanding
about the ways in which one may approach and foster collaborative environments.
The Writing Center across the Curriculum (WAC) Approach: Underlying Conflicts for the
Writing Center
Speaker: Elizabeth Busekrus, Missouri Baptist University
With a foothold in many writing centers, Writing across the Curriculum (WAC), which emphasizes the
interdisciplinary nature of writing and its incorporation into the curriculum of universities, works to provide
students with a foundation of how to write in their particular discipline. However, conflicts about what
WAC is and should do arise. This movement can often force a unified understanding of writing’s “basic”
principles or lead to a focus on the structural components of writing rather than its content. The presenter
will discuss how WAC affects the overall framework and approach of daily tutoring interactions. Then, the
presenter will explain the potential problems WAC brings to university-level writing and the effects on
writing centers, as well as strategies to most effectively use this movement in the writing center.

4. 4.4--Multiple Literacies
Room: Morris 331 (American Heritage Room)
Chair: Reggie Vargas, Writing Studies Assistant, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Literacy Challenges in Learning Science
Speaker: Maitha Binjaweer, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
In recent years literacy skills in science have become more important in the academia world. Although it is
essential for such skills to be developed early, not all students in science are able to communicate
efficiently in reading and writing. The implementation of challenging programs such as STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education has highlighted the existing challenges students
face in organizing and applying their scientific knowledge in interdisciplinary perspectives.
In general, performing literacy tasks becomes more challenging as learning activities and conceptual
information in science develops in its level of complexity. This is particularly noticeable as students
advance into postsecondary learning. Most learners in science find engagement in reading and writing a
highly challenging task because students have difficulty using appropriate organization, evidence, style,
voice, and conventional standards expected in content writing at the professional level.
To solve this problem, students who find learning challenging, can be required to engage in supportive
training and diverse practices. Helping students in science with writing reflection or evaluation papers can
help them develop essential literacy skills. Additionally, writing centers in colleges can help develop these
skills by providing interactive training outside the classroom.
Writing, Math, and Anxiety
Speakers: Noah Leverett and Caleb Ingram, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
We are going to start the round table with a couple of questions. First of all, we are going to ask
everybody, "What are some reasons Math makes you anxious?" Everyone will discuss and probably
complain about their relationship with math. Next, we will ask, "What excites you about writing?" This
discussion will most likely include enthusiasm and personal stories about writing positivity. These
questions will stir the pot of our roundtable, and bring some fundamental issues to the foreground.
By generating positive and negative examples of passion and anxiety, we will lead participants in
discussing ways to go about overcoming anxiety about writing.
After initially asking the aforementioned thought provoking questions, we will contribute statistics (such as
the fact that SIU students are most anxious about writing) to the roundtable.
"Hey look, what you guys just said about math? Guess what? Your students feel that about writing."
People who might not have writing anxiety may have strong math anxiety. By immersing ourselves in
discussion about our own math anxiety, we will be further led to understand those with writing anxiety. As
a collective we will be actively entering into each other's struggles and anxieties in order to find out how to
productively help our students rise above their own anxiety.
Encouraging Writing Students to Read More
Speakers: Robert Parrot and Seanse Ducken, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
We've noticed that students who write well are also avid readers who find pleasure in reading on their
own. Tutors find in the Writing Center, during the tutoring session, that students who choose books to
read on their own, outside class assignment, are the ones who also use language skills more effortlessly
in their writing.
What can we as Writing Center staff do to encourage students to want to engage with books?
All attendees/participants will be encouraged to share experiences and ideas toward strategies to help
students develop a desire to read for pleasure, and by transference to read for class, both of which
provide a foundation for developing stronger writing skills.