Writing Associate Fellows
The Writing Associates Fellowship Program selects and educates students to be peer mentors of writing. WAs collaborate with students during all stages of the writing process and in various disciplines. They work in conjunction with courses, and they staff the Writing Center during weekday afternoons and evenings. The purpose of the program lies in the desire to teach the Writing Associates how to talk about writing with students from a variety of backgrounds in order to develop skills and the ethical intelligence necessary to function as citizen teachers after leaving the College.
Goals:
By participating in the WA Program students will learn how to:
- Assess academic writing on different levels including argumentation, logic, grammar, and audience.
- Craft and disseminate both written and oral feedback that is constructive and supportive.
- Develop a reflective practice so they continue to learn and develop as peer mentors.
- Apply learned pedagogy in written commentary on papers and in conferences with students.
- Interact with a variety of students including English Language Learners, students with learning differences, and students with underdeveloped writing processes.
- Mentor each other as they raise questions, observe, and share best practices.
- Question their assumptions about writing and writers.
- Listen actively in order to respond effectively to the individual needs of students.
- Develop an ethical process by contemplating such issues as confidentiality, time management, and power dynamics within the peer mentoring situation.
