Emily Presents Research at 2014 National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing

2014 Dec 8

Collaboration is an essential aspect of Wittenberg's liberal arts education, especially for Emily Rayens of Lexington, Ky., who recently shared her experiences as a Writing Center advisor at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing in Orlando, Oct. 30-Nov.1

“I am a scientist and I have presented at multiple conferences regarding scientific findings, but this conference was so different from what I am used to,” said Rayens, a biology (pre-med) and music performance double major and health science minor. “Instead of presenting a finding, arguing for it, and then hoping that other people find the same thing as you, this conference was a presentation on how writing centers get different answers to the same question and they are all right. It was a collaboration to work towards a greater goal of helping students.”

Working in collaboration with Anna Moore, class of 2016 from Eaton, Ohio, Rayens examined gender roles in Wittenberg’s writing center by analyzing sessions. In their research presentation, “Sh(r)edding Gender Roles in the Center: From Snow White to Rapunzel,” they examined how advisors shift between using both a directive and non-directive approach in sessions.

“One thing I learned from the conference is that our writing center’s role as an integral part of the liberal arts setting really sets it apart from writing centers at other schools,” said Rayens. “Many writing centers do not have a preparation course as rigorous as ours, and most schools choose advisors from among the English Education majors while our program includes advisors from a wide range of disciplines including math, biology, music, and Japanese. This allows us to work with students from all backgrounds on writing assignments from all disciples. This is only my first year as an advisor in the Wittenberg Writing Center, but it has been a challenging and rewarding experience.”