Community Engagement application: English 101
English 101.01: Writing Adviser Training Workshop: Beginner
Name of professor: Tereza Joy Kramer
Email address: tereza.kramer2@stmarys-ca.edu
Department: English
Chair: Sandra Grayson
Course: English 101.01: Writing Adviser Training Workshop: Beginner
When: Semesterly
Prerequisites: None
Unit: .25
English 101.02: Writing Adviser Training Workshop: Advanced
Name of professor: Tereza Joy Kramer
Email address: tereza.kramer2@stmarys-ca.edu
Department: English
Chair: Sandra Grayson
Course: English 101.02: Writing Adviser Training Workshop: Advanced
When: Semesterly
Prerequisites: English 101.01
Unit: .25
(1)
Teaching: A brief narrative (300 words) that explains how the course will guide students toward
achieving the Learning Goal. The CCC believes it would be simplest both for the proposer and for the Working
Groups if the narrative addressed the Learning Outcomes one by one.
1. Apply academic methods and theories in a way that promotes collaboration and mutual benefit in a
community setting:
What the students learn and do through English 101—both during the training workshop (101.01) and the
subsequent staff workshops (101.02), which they take every semester while serving as Writing Advisers—is
inherently service-learning. Nevertheless, these .25 courses must be designed to help the students intentionally
integrate their service and learning, so that they may perceive connections among their projects, the services
they provide, the student writers they work with, the campus community at large, and themselves. The students
research theories of writing pedagogy, sociological studies of service, and practical methods of collaboration,
team building, and communication. They analyze these elements in terms of both scholarly research and the
practical, daily applications that arise while serving the community of student writers at Saint Mary’s College.
Each Adviser works at least six hours a week, doing one-on-one sessions with peer student writers, completing
projects (such as creating grammar handouts), presenting workshops, and studying elements of the writing
process to prepare for their sessions.
2. Demonstrate critical reflection throughout our experience:
Without continual research and reflection, as studies have shown, the student Advisers are likely to distance
themselves further and further from their community, misperceiving themselves as only servers and forgetting
that they are actually learners alongside everyone else, constructing and redefining knowledge as a community.
Therefore, Advisers engage in dialogues during the weekly workshops.
3. Express our understanding of the interconnections between our experience and our responsibilities as
members of social and professional communities:
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English 101 incorporates critical reflection and academic study that is applicable to the Advisers’ work in the
Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (CWAC). Each session with each student writer is unique and
therefore offers unique opportunities for learning, contributing to, and participating in the community of writers
at Saint Mary’s. Issues that arise during work with writers are researched, discussed, and reflected upon.
In all of these ways, there is a continual, intentional interweaving of learning and service, helping the students
become informed, engaged citizens of the world, now and after graduation, stepping into their social
responsibilities and always eschewing simplistic viewpoints.
(2)
Syllabus: Course syllabus containing a course description and a list of learning outcomes. The course’s
learning outcomes should include coverage of the Learning Outcomes associated with the Core Curriculum
Learning Goal for which the course is being proposed.
The academic material of the .01 section is determined before the semester begins (see syllabus below).
For the .02 section, however, the academic material to be read, discussed, and applied is determined by the
particular issues that arise as each semester progresses. For instance, a couple of Advisers last semester
expressed frustration with particular students who seemed resistant to revision, so we focused that week’s staff
workshop on discussing and sharing strategies for getting to the bottom of the apparent resistance, rather than
letting it frustrate us, as well as considering strategies and research available within the fields of basic writers
and writers with disabilities. This semester, two teams of Advisers are presenting at the Northern California
Writing Centers Association Conference in April. Three Advisers are researching best practices for
collaborative environments and are sharing their findings with the rest of the Advisers, leading all of us through
provocative and sometimes uncomfortable discoveries about our own relational styles and how we could be
relying on each other and working more effectively with peer student writers who process information
differently than we do; again, this reflective awareness is a critical tool for opening toward community
engagement, as opposed to reifying difference and authority. The second team is researching Writing In the
Disciplines (WID), in preparation for Saint Mary’s move toward WID designated courses this coming fall.
These three Advisers are researching how to facilitate the transfer of writing skills from composition through
the majors—and beyond college—and is sharing this with other Advisers, helping all of us understand and work
more effectively with writers across the college.
(3)
Learning: A brief explanation of how coursework (e.g., papers, exams, videotaped presentations) will be
used to measure student achievement of each of the Learning Outcomes. Please address the outcomes directly
and one by one.
Advisers actively working in CWAC are always enrolled in English 101.02. They write a reflection after every
session with a peer writer, and they read and respond to each other’s reflections, as well as discuss patterns and
issues during workshops. The student Advisers are encouraged to openly share what they do not know, in order
to grow in skills and understanding, of themselves and others. Also, all Advisers participate in a midyear
assessment of where we have been and where we are going—analyzing CWAC statistics, the mission of Saint
Mary’s College, and qualitative measures, such as student surveys and the perceived needs of student writers;
then, the Advisers collectively brainstorm the need for services and outreach, such as workshops or online
sessions. Additionally, each individual Adviser writes an annual self-reflection about his/her growth over the
year and his/her goals for further personal growth and service within the community of Saint Mary’s writers
and/or beyond college.
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Syllabus for English 101.01:
English 101.01 Writing Adviser Training Workshop: Beginner
Tereza Joy Kramer
Dante 202, (925) 631-8040
Office Hrs: MW 10-11:30, and by appt.
tereza.kramer2@stmarys-ca.edu
Required Texts
Leigh Ryan & Lisa Zimmerelli, The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, 5th ed.
Aaron, Jane E. The Little, Brown Compact Handbook, 8th ed.
Scholarly articles and handouts, as assigned.
Course Description
English 101 is a quarter-credit course focused on developing practical skills to help peer writers discover and
communicate ideas more effectively. We explore strategies for active listening and asking questions to help
draw out writers’ ideas, to respond to texts from a readerly standpoint, and to offer constructive feedback in a
respectful manner. Discussion topics include philosophical and educational issues, such as how people learn,
which mindsets and strategies encourage reflection, and which tools help writers read their own work critically
and revise for considerations of audience and purpose. We discuss the process of writing from the perspective
of many writers, including those with disabilities, those writing in various disciplines, and those who write in
several languages.
Civic Engagement
Through service-learning in a writing course, we apply our research and work to a real-life cultural/social
setting or organization, learn about related issues, and help ourselves and others communicate through writing.
As we engage with the community, everyone, including ourselves, benefits. In the case of this course, the
organization is the Center for Writing Across the Community, the issue is student success through
communication and the collaborative pursuit of knowledge, and the community is the student body of Saint
Mary’s.
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Learning Outcomes
Apply academic methods and theories in a way that promotes collaboration and mutual benefit in a
community setting
Demonstrate critical reflection throughout our experience
Express our understanding of the interconnections between our experience and our responsibilities as
members of social and professional communities
Learn and apply best practices for discussion, collaboration, and leadership
Learn skills for critiquing particular genres of writing and for guiding writers through discrete stages of
the process
Improve our own communication and collaboration skills simultaneously as we improve our ability to
analyze writing and shepherd effective dialogue and collaboration.
Course Requirements and Grading Policy
Students will read critically, engage in discussions, observe and practice working one-on-one with other writers,
and write reflections. This course uses a Pass / Fail grading policy. In order to pass, students must engage in
class discussions and collaborative work and must fully complete all writing assignments, observations in the
Center for Writing Across the Curriculum, and advising sessions, as detailed in the syllabus. Saint Mary’s
attendance policy stipulates that students are allowed to miss one place period in a course that meets once a
week. No distinction is made between “excused” and “unexcused” absences. Missing four class sessions will
result in a failing grade.
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To Apply for a Position as a Writing Adviser
The training you receive here is a prerequisite for applying for a paid position as a Writing Adviser in the
Center for Writing Across the Curriculum. The application process is competitive. To apply, submit a reflective
Letter of Application to the Director. Also, request to schedule a practice advising session, during which you
will be the Writing Adviser, a current Writing Adviser will be the student writer, and the Director will observe
and give you feedback afterward.
Academic Honor Code
According to St. Mary’s academic honor code, students have made the following pledge: “As a student member
of an academic community based in mutual trust and responsibility, I pledge to do my own work at all times,
without giving or receiving inappropriate aid; to avoid behaviors that unfairly impede the academic progress of
other members of my community; and to take reasonable and responsible action in order to uphold my
community’s academic integrity.” Plagiarism is a serious offense that can result in an XF grade for the course
and/or expulsion from the college. Students are expected to understand the Academic Honor Code and may
consult either me or the student handbook with any questions.
Student Disability Services
Please feel free to let the professor know if you need or think you might need any accommodations. Reasonable
and appropriate accommodations, taking into account the context of the course and its essential elements, are
extended through the office of Student Disability Services. Students are encouraged to contact the Student
Disability Services Coordinator at (925) 631-4164 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss
accommodation guidelines and available services. Information also may be found on the Saint Mary’s website:
http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/academics/academic-advising-and-achievement/student-disability-services.html
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Week
Discussion topics and readings for this day
Week 1 Introductions & What is a Center for Writing?
Week 2 The Writing Process
Bedford Guide p. 6-15
Week 3 Running a One-on-One Session
Jeff Brooks, “Minimalist Tutoring: Making the
Student Do All the Work.”
Bedford Guide p. 17-31
Kramer handout, “CWAC Writing Advising:
Things to Keep in Mind”
Week 4 Reflection & the Revising Process
Sharon Pianko, “Reflection: A Critical Component
of the Composing Process.”
Bedford Guide p. 48-55
Week 5 Pre-Writing
Bedford Guide p. 41-47
Week 6 Grammar & Style
Bedford Guide p. 51-54
Week 8 Writers with Various Needs
Joan Mullin, “Serving Clients With Learning
Disabilities.”
Bedford Guide p. 58-65 & 70-72
Week 7 Civic Engagement
Kramer handout, “Avoiding the Server-Served
Dichotomy.”
Week 9 Service-Learning
Kramer handout, “Writing Centers and ServiceLearning: Threads in Community.”
Week 10 Non-Native Speakers
Bedford Guide p. 65-69
Kramer handout, “Advising Non-Native Speakers.”
Writing Across Borders documentary
Week 11 Non-Native Speakers
Muriel Harris, “Cultural Conflicts in the Writing
Center: Expectations and Assumptions of ESL
Students.”
Week 12 Critiquing & Responding
Sample essay
Week 13 Collaboration & Dialogue
Jonah Lehrer, “Groupthink: the brainstorming
myth”
Week 14 Collaboration Across the Disciplines
Andrea Lunsford. “Collaboration, Control, and the
Idea of a Writing Center.”
Role-play sessions in class, using your own papers
Finals Collaborative Discussion
Week
Due in class on this day
NA
Your writing process over the past week, notes
form OK.
Last week or this week, be advised by a peer
Writing Adviser, in the Center for Writing
Across the Curriculum, to brainstorm one of
your own papers.
Reflection of your CWAC advising session.
By end of this week, be advised by professor,
discussing one of your own paper drafts.
Draft of a grammar handout for others.
Bring to class the grammar resources you have
used in the past.
Reflection on your own or a friend’s
experience with a disability, or any experience
in which you seemed to struggle more than
others, mysteriously.
By or during this week, observe a CWAC
session.
Observation reflection.
Reflection on your own experience overseas or
with a non-native speaker.
3 discussion questions on readings and
documentary.
Bring in your notes of how you would respond
to the sample essay.
To be considered for a Writing Adviser
position next semester, submit an application
letter and schedule a CWAC practice session.
By now, observe another CWAC session.
Bring in one of your own paper drafts for roleplaying sessions in class.
Reflection on writing advising and your own
revision process.
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