Writing Centers and Disability: Enabling Writers Through an Inclusive Philosophy

In its Position Statement on Disability and Writing Centers, the International Writing Centers Association (IWCA) recognizes and emphasizes the relationship between writing centers and disability and “encourages scholarship that explores the ways disability intersects with writing center work.” The IWCA further encourages writing centers to be inclusive to all writers by adopting “communication that takes into account various learning styles or ways of processing language.” We too, argue that writing centers should be welcoming environments for all writers and that they should engage with their writers as unique beings, making accessible to them the individuation of instruction and support. Writing centers should be spaces where the multiple barriers that students experience in their writing are addressed and a variety of options are provided.University Writing Cente

Equitable multilingualism? The case of Stellenbosch University Writing Laboratory

This article reflects on Stellenbosch University Writing Lab’s pedagogical approach to multilingualism and inclusivity within the complex and political nature of multilingual language policies at a South African university. The Writing Lab has always been promoted as a facility for all students, not just those in need of ‘remedial’ support. This was a departure from earlier academic literacies models that tended to view students from nondominant language groups in terms of deficits. Academic literacies research has pointed to the shortcomings of these earlier approaches and to the value conflicts that arise from them. We, in contrast, argue that Carter’s (2009) writing centre paradox provides a dynamic rhetorical space in which to explore issues around South African multilingualism and inclusivity in higher education, and for this reason we do not wish to resolve the paradox. Instead, we use it to critically appraise our type of equitable multilingualism and maintain and honour multivocality. We also argue that South African writing centres enjoy a somewhat different trajectory from that of many other academic literacies spaces by virtue of the one-to-one pedagogy and mutualistic approach we follow at these writing centres. This has allowed us simultaneously more agency and less agency and we need to use this paradoxical position strategically in our institutions. Using the Writing Lab as a case study, we reflect on the ways in which the Writing Lab gives life to its ethos of being a multilingual and inclusive space for academic transformation within the institution’s language policy. To support our reflections, we draw on descriptions of the organisational structure of the Lab, feedback received from strategic role players and observations of interactions performed in the various Lab spaces. We also consider the Writing Lab in terms of South African writing centre scholarship to see how the Lab’s philosophy and ethos compare with the ideals.Keywords: academic literacy, multilingualism, transformation, writing centre paradox, writing centre

Editorial

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Equitable multilingualism? The case of Stellenbosch University Writing Laboratory

CITATION: Daniels, S. 2017. Equitable multilingualism? the case of Stellenbosch University Writing Laboratory. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 53:59-77, doi:10.5842/53-0-734.The original publication is available at http://spilplus.journals.ac.za/This article reflects on Stellenbosch University Writing Lab’s pedagogical approach to multilingualism and inclusivity within the complex and political nature of multilingual language policies at a South African university. The Writing Lab has always been promoted as a facility for all students, not just those in need of ‘remedial’ support. This was a departure from earlier academic literacies models that tended to view students from nondominant language groups in terms of deficits. Academic literacies research has pointed to the shortcomings of these earlier approaches and to the value conflicts that arise from them. We, in contrast, argue that Carter’s (2009) writing centre paradox provides a dynamic rhetorical space in which to explore issues around South African multilingualism and inclusivity in higher education, and for this reason we do not wish to resolve the paradox. Instead, we use it to critically appraise our type of equitable multilingualism and maintain and honour multivocality. We also argue that South African writing centres enjoy a somewhat different trajectory from that of many other academic literacies spaces by virtue of the one-to-one pedagogy and mutualistic approach we follow at these writing centres. This has allowed us simultaneously more agency and less agency and we need to use this paradoxical position strategically in our institutions. Using the Writing Lab as a case study, we reflect on the ways in which the Writing Lab gives life to its ethos of being a multilingual and inclusive space for academic transformation within the institution’s language policy. To support our reflections, we draw on descriptions of the organisational structure of the Lab, feedback received from strategic role players and observations of interactions performed in the various Lab spaces. We also consider the Writing Lab in terms of South African writing centre scholarship to see how the Lab’s philosophy and ethos compare with the ideals.http://spilplus.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/734Publisher's versio

From autopsy to autonomy in writing centres : postgraduate students' response to two forms of feedback in a health professions education module

CITATION: autonomy in writing centres : postgraduate students' response to two forms of feedback in a health professions education module. Per Linguam : a Journal of Language Learning, 32(3):48-59, doi:10.5785/32-3-644.The original publication is available at http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/In post-apartheid South Africa, writing centres exist in almost every university to address the academic writing needs of students. At Stellenbosch University Writing Lab, writing consultants use collaborative learning and peer feedback in their work with writers in one-to-one consultations. As part of a larger research project about how students in a Health Professions Education Master’s degree responded to different types of feedback, our study focuses on whether the feedback received in a writing consultation compares to, or differs from, the feedback from the class group members. Our findings suggest that in general the students were open to interventions such as writing consultations. Furthermore, peer feedback from both a class group member as well as a writing consultant was experienced as useful. The study further shows that the consultants’ approach to giving feedback was in line with the pedagogy practised in writing centres. The article concludes with measures that were implemented to address uncertainties identified in the study. We recommend that the purpose of consultations be clarified to lecturers, that consultations be integrated in the writing process before the assignment is marked and, to minimise role confusion, that consultants describe to students the way consultations work at the beginning of the consultation.http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/644Publisher's versio

Praxis, Volume 13, No. 01: Dis/Ability in the Writing Center

Contents: From the Editors -- Equity and Ability: Metaphors of Inclusion in Writing Center Promotion -- The Online Writing Center: Reaching Out to Students with Disabilities -- English for All: The Importance of Pedagogical Strategies for Students with Learning -- Disabilities in the Writing Center -- Disability in the Writing Center: A New Approach (That’s Not So New) -- Psychological Disability and the Director’s Chair: Interrogating the Relationship Between -- Positionality and Pedagogy -- Writing Centers and Disability: Enabling Writers Through an Inclusive Philosophy -- Opening Closed Doors: A Rationale for Creating a Safe Space for Tutors Struggling with Mental Illness Concerns or Illnesses -- Disabilities in the Writing CenterUniversity Writing Cente