CWCR/RCCR

Stevie Bell, Associate Professor, York University Despite how writing instructors like me might feel about writing, students don’t always feel as though it is the most fun aspect of their scholarly or professional lives. Several years ago, in pre-Pandemic times, I initiated a transition workshop for incoming, first-year students focused on sharing a love and enthusiasm for writing. My goal was to reframe writing for incoming undergraduate students as a rich site of interest and community at university. I wanted the Writing Centre’s most public-facing work, our workshops, to do as much as possible to promote prosocial, support-seeking behaviours among … Continue reading Celebrating writing: The annual Pizza Party Writing Workshop

Vol. 5, No. 1 (Winter 2024) Liv Marken, Contributing Editor, CWCR/RCCR This is Part Two of two in this series. You can read Part One, The Pandemic, GenAI, & the Return to Handwritten, In-Person, Timed, and Invigilated Exams: Causes, Context, and the Perpetuation of Ableism here. CWCR/RCCR Editor My previous post discussed the resurgence of traditional handwritten, in-person, timed, and invigilated exams as a response to pandemic-era cheating and GenAI. While some post-secondary instructors return to these assessments, they risk moving backwards: the nature of these exams is inconsistent with commitments to equity and inclusion practices. Accommodation gains, it seems, … Continue reading The Pandemic, GenAI, & the Return to Handwritten, In-Person, Timed Exams: A Critical Examination and Guidance for Writing Centre Support (Part 2 of 2)

Vol. 5, No. 6 (Fall 2023) Clare Goulet has published creative nonfiction, poetry, and reviews as well as essays on metaphor and polyphony. Adjunct prof and writing centre coordinator at Mount St. Vincent University, she co-edited with Mark Dickinson Lyric Ecology on the work of Jan Zwicky. Her book, Graphis scripta: writing lichen, will be published by Gaspereau Press in spring 2024. 1. 1975. Late summer in the woods behind the backyard, lost, first freedom, almost five, lying across a warm rough slab of granite, heat soaking into my belly where the cotton t-shirt has pushed up, scratched by brown … Continue reading Already Whole: rethinking your so-called ‘parts’

Vol. 5, No. 5 (Fall 2023) Clare Bermingham, Director, Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo This is part two of two in this series. The part one can be found here. CWCR/RCCR Editor How should writing centres advise students and instructors on the use of GenAI in their writing and communication processes? This question has been front of mind for many of us who manage and work in university and college writing centres and learning centres. And there isn’t a single answer. When making decisions about how to support students with GenAI, we, as writing centre leaders and practitioners, … Continue reading GenAI and the Writing Process: Guiding student writers in a GenAI world (Part 2 of 2)

Vol. 5, No. 4 (Fall 2023) Brian Hotson, Editor, CWCR/RCCR The responsibility in using GenAI for academic pursuits in higher education is shared between the user, the tool and, in instances where the tool is part of teaching and learning processes, the institution. As such, to say that students using ChatGPT as a research to bear sole responsibility for the accuracy of the information the tools provides is unethical and unjust. In this case, this is especially the case if the student is directed by an instructor to use the tool. It can be argued that the institution bears responsibility … Continue reading Is ChatGPT responsible for a student’s failing grade?: A hallucinogenic conversation