3rd Annual Writing Center Symposium, SWCA-AL

3rd Annual Writing Center Symposium, Samford University

Bridging Learning and Communication

January 23, 2015

Call for Proposals

Nikos Kazantzakis, author of Zorba the Greek, is known as a philosopher and scholar. He identified “ideal teachers” as “those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.” Perhaps tutors are ideal teachers.

 Let’s gather January 23, 2015, from 10:00am until 2:30pm to consider the role of writing tutors in facilitating learning and encouraging learners. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Kim Sydow Campbell, affectionately known as Dr. Kim to her followers on Twitter and ProsWrite.com. Dr. Campbell is the Associate Dean for Assessment and Continuous Improvement and a Derrell Thomas Faculty Fellow in the Culverhouse College of Commerce, University of Alabama. She has an international reputation as an author, teacher, and scholar in professional communication, writing, teaching, and assessment.

Let’s gather to share ideas about and methods for bridging learning for our peer clients. How do we help students develop writing skills? How do we help them develop confidence in their writing skills and in their ideas? How do our roles as students, tutors, graduate student assistants, and directors inform our practice? How are we informed by the activities and the relationships that develop in our centers? How do we strengthen our metaphorical bridges and learn when to “collapse” to allow the peer client to take over? How do we open our bridges to encourage all types of writers to enter and engage? We’ll engage these questions and others.