UCONN’s 11th Annual Conf on the Teaching of Writing

Two USMA Writing Fellows visited the University of Connecticut’s Writing Center and presented papers at UCONN’s 11th Annual Conference on the Teaching of Writing. Their panel, “Adapting and Modeling: Making Room for New Approaches and New Publics in the Writing Center,” drew on their experiences teaching in the Mounger Writing Center. In “Adaptive Tutoring: Cultivating Sincerity and Community in Writing Center Consultations,” CDT Tim McLaughlin ’17 articulated a pragmatic approach to peer consulting that balances the canonical approaches in the field (“minimalist tutoring” and “holistic tutoring”) with the development of a communal ethos. In “The ‘Native-Speaker’ Myth: Language Acquisition and Writing Pedagogy,” Nathan Hernandez ’17 referenced his experiences teaching English in Taiwan to argue that we should view language acquisition as a fluid process for both non-native and native writers, expanding the use of certain ESL pedagogies to also help other students enhance their command of the language. The Cadets’ panel was chaired by Dr. Jason Hoppe and assisted by CPT Kristen Johnson.