Vol. 3 No. 6 (Summer 2022)

This post is from the 2022 CWCA/ACCR annual conference virtual poster session. – Stevie Bell and Brian Hotson, 2022 CWCA/ACCR conference co-chairs

By Clare Bermingham, University of Waterloo & Elisabeth van Stam, University of Waterloo

Abstract

To support the development of science communication knowledge and skills in undergraduate classrooms, students benefit from access to specific content and examples from science communication experts. Training students in science communication prepares them for the many careers that help bridge the gap between scientists and the public. Because undergraduate students typically do not receive this kind of training in their undergraduate classrooms, the University of Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre secured funding from eCampus Ontario and worked with partners from the University of Waterloo, from University of Toronto–Mississauga (UTM), Scarborough (UTSC), and St. George (Health Sciences Writing Centre) campuses, and from Toronto Metropolitan University to develop four asynchronous workshops that can be embedded into courses or used for independent learning. Continue reading “Creating an Online Space for Learning Science Communication” →

Rethinking our Narratives of “Development”

Tuesday, December 11th | York University

Featured talk
Dr. Karen-Elizabeth Moroski, Reconsidering Our Rhetorics: Recentering Writing Centre Work To Support Translingual Writing

Please register by Friday November 16th.
Registration

Symposium website

The notion of the “development” of the student writer runs through writing centre narratives. Here at York University’s Writing Centre, our department’s constitution, mission statement, and practiced introductions with new students all clarify that we’re interested in supporting the development of student writers rather than the perfection of student writing. This frees us from taking on the urgency of our students’ deadlines, and serves as a straightforward rationale for our refusals to proofread work on behalf of student writers. However, it raises significant questions about how we conceptualize “development.”

What are the assumptions about “good” or “acceptable” writing that inform our understandings of “development”?
How are we communicating these standards to our students?
What are we telling them they need to learn or do in order to “become better writers”?
What forces pressure us to act as gatekeepers, helping to strip away the aspects of student writers’ languages, cultures, or identities that don’t belong in the academy, and what opportunities do we have to resist these pressures?

Continue reading “Announcement || Rethinking Our Narratives of “Development” | SouthWestern Ontario Writing Centre Symposium, December 11, York University” →