A Writing Centre Directors’ & Managers’ Roundtable
Stephanie Bell, York University, Co-editor
Brian Hotson, Saint Mary’s University, Co-editor
With all the changes to writing centres due to the COVID-19 disruption, many directors and managers are asking questions, wanting to know, “What is everybody doing to manage this change?” To help with this, we organized the blog’s first Video Chat (hopefully the first of many). These Video Chats are moderated text-based and video-based discussions. The blog editors invite proposals for Video Chat topics and guest editors to moderate them.
Below are the elements from the Video Chat, including:
- Topics, discussion questions, and agenda
- Recording of the video-based discussion
- Transcript of the text-based discussion
- A google spreadsheet of topics, questions, and ideas from the Video Chat
We hope that you find this useful for your writing centre.
Video Chat Topics
The Agenda for the Chat was assembled from topics suggest by registrants. The Video Chat moves through the following topics and discussion questions in order:
- Technology
- What technology are you using, and which one is working best?
- What are your expectations for the ethics of support asynchronously?
- Planning and programming
- What programming are you offering other other than tutoring?
- How are you continuing your partnerships with faculty online?
- What are your plans for spring and summer sessions? Are you planning to be an online-only writing centre for the fall?
- Pedagogy and practice
- What are you finding are the best strategies for mirroring the experiential learning opportunities of face-to-face workshop activities within asynchronous online delivery platforms?
- How are you supporting and creating group online writing sessions and writing groups?
- What have you put in place to support students’ transition to virtual-only support?
- Training and staffing
- How have you changed or adjusted your staff?
- What tutor training have implemented in this switch to online tutoring?
Video Chat video-based discussion recording
The video discussion was moderated by Clare and Brian.
Video Chat text-based discussion transcript
The text discussion was moderated by Stephanie.
Access the text-based discussion transcript here.
Many participants offered links to valuable materials and resources, which we have included in the information sharing spreadsheet below.
Video Chat information sharing spreadsheet
This spreadsheet provides a space for you and the participants of the Video Chat to ask and answer questions, as well as to provide comments, support, tips-and-tricks, and lessons learned.
