NCWCA Newsletter Technique-Sharing Workshop:

Writing Circles at Saint Mary’s College Center for Writing Across the Curriculum

Annie Keig, Suzanne Schmidt, Joe Zeccardi

Introduction

and Goals

Introduction and Goals

● Newsletter overview ● Circle pedagogy● Try out Writing Circles● Report out and discuss

● Initially published out of Cal State Sacramento ● Published out of Saint Mary’s College of

California in Fall and Spring○ Three issues published

● See the latest issue at: https://norcalwca.org/newsletter/

● Hosting this session as extension of our work with the newsletter

NCWCA Newsletter

● 150 words or less

● News and events of interest to the writing center community

○ Workshops○ Conferences○ Research

News and Events

Brief Articles

● 750-1,500 words

● Writing center work regarding theory, practice, assessment, outreach, innovation, technology, etc.

● Personal narratives, program descriptions, qualitative or quantitative research, etc.

● 250-500 words

● Answer the following questions:

a. What are some innovative techniques you have used to get students into your center?

b. How do you engage the larger (campus or off-campus) community?

c. Are you currently conducting any research within your center?

● Include a picture or video tour of your staff/center as well as any links to social media and upcoming events of interest to the NCWCA.

Writing Center Spotlights

Writing Center Spotlight:Writing Circles

● Facilitated peer-review groups

● 3 to 5 students + facilitator

● Course-based

● Meet weekly

● Quarter-Credit

● Facilitator role:

○ Manages time and (with students) sets agenda

○ Moderates peer review and discussion of drafts

■ Instills principles of effective peer review: ● Description and detail over evaluation and judgement ● Idea-level issues over sentence-level issues● Organization and structure over grammar and punctuation

■ Post-outlining: primary method of textual analysis

Circle Pedagogy

1. Read each paragraph aloud, and then:a. underline all main ideas (phrases, not whole sentences).b. [bracket]/highlight the thesis/topic sentence.c. describe function(s) of the paragraph and note in margins (i.e., introduces text; supporting idea...)

2. If questions or ideas for restructuring arise, note--but do not dwell on them.

3. Spread out pages, consider entire structure, and ask questions:a. Compare with the prompt; Compare each underlined idea to the thesis; Consider the flow from one

underlined idea to the next; Compare intro to conclusion

4. Note: Reading aloud is essential. Your ear will catch mistakes your eyes miss.

Post-Outlining (Basic Technique)

An Example of a Post-outlined Draft

Try out a Writing Circle

1. Facilitator runs post-outline module (5 minutes)2. Group post-outlines sample paper or newsletter article (15

- 20 minutes)3. Reflect within Circles (5 minutes):

○ What questions do you have to the larger group?○ What would you like to report about your sample Writing Circle?

In Your Circles...

Report out

Ideas for Newsletter?

Additional details about Circles

● What is a ¼ credit class?● How do you pay writing circle

facilitators?● How are students matched in

circles?● How many students do you

serve in your writing circles this year?

● How do you assess success of the circles?

● Data from Kines study