Teaching Writers
I teach writers. My goal is not to foster the production of the perfect argument paper or to teach writing skills. My goal is to effect the transformation to writer. We can learn a number of skills on that journey but my primary focus is on the journey not the destination. I strive to equip my students so they can continue the journey long after they leave my classroom — hopefully for the entire lives.
Read my Metawriting blog to explore my ideas about writing and teaching writers.
My pedagogy and practice have been shaped by my work with the National Writing Project and strongly influenced by theorists and practitioners such as Peter Elbow as well as my own research and classroom inquiry.
My work with the Morehead Writing Project has led me to work with writers of all ages and ranging from reluctant, struggling writers to avid, experienced writers and included creative and professional writing as well as academic writing and research. This work has included:
- Morehead Writing Project Summer Institute
- Morehead Writing Project Writing Studio Program
- Morehead State University Writing Center
- Super Saturday Writing Camp
- Global Graffiti Summer Writing Camp
- Teen Writers Day Out
- Weekend Writing Retreat
- Writing Eastern Kentucky
- National Day On Writing
Whether I am teaching first year seminar or a graduate class for educators, I believe strongly in the power of reflection to support the growth and development of writers. In my classes this takes the form of class blogs and reflection journals as well as assignments such as the literacy narrative.
Writing pedagogy, and especially that transition to writer, is a primary area of research interest for me. Examples of this work include:
- My most recent publication “Writing Self-Efficacy and Written Communication Skills” published June 2013 in Business Communication Quarterly
- Dissertation: Fostering Agency and Writing Self-Efficacy: The Making of a Writer
- Transfer: The Gateway to Writing in Multiple Contexts with Heather Hill, Misty Winzenried, and Elizabeth Fogle. 2012 CCCC, St. Louis, MO
- What is the Impact of (re)Working & (re)Negotiating Language on Writing Self-Efficacy? 2010 Thomas R. Watson Conference
- A Study of Writing Self-Efficacy in Adults, Academic Exchange Quarterly, Fall 2010