Writing Centers as Practicum Sites (fwd)

[Eric Crump <wleric@showme.missouri.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 19:04:33 -0500 (CDT)
To: Moderated WCENTER <wcentr-l@lists.missouri.edu>
From: "Steve Slemenda" <SLES@chemek.cc.or.us>

Hi.  I'm wondering if anyone out there has been involved in forming an alliance between a four-year institution that has a graduate program in composition studies and a two-year institution such as a community college that has a writing center.  The object would be to place comp studies graduate students in the two-year school's writing center as a practicum site for gaining experience in working with community college student populations and programs.  I've yet to connect with anyone who's actually doing this.                                                                              
I'm thinking this could be a good thing in a number of ways: Some graduate English students (I was one of them) can't or don't care to advance beyond a master's degree into that more rarified realm of doctoral studies.  Many of these students would like to find full-time or adjunct jobs at community colleges, where a master's degree, some aptitude, some teaching experience and good references will give them a chance in a very competitive market.  To be in the running for such jobs, grad students are wise to take some coursework in composition theory and to gain whatever practical experience they can.  But not all grad students--even among the most promising--can be placed into teaching assistantships.  And even if they all could, experience in the classroom or in a writing center at a university is different in significant ways from the same experience at a community college.  Theory remains fundamentally the same; praxis requires an understanding of distinct differences between a four-year institution and a two-year, especially in working with professional-technical programs and students.  My idea is that English grad students from local universities combine theory courses in teaching writing with practicums or internships at community college writing centers.  

At a writing center such as ours at Chemeketa in Salem, Oregon, where all the consultants are writing instructors, a grad student could be assigned a faculty mentor who would oversee that student's experience working in the writing center.  The mentor would help the student bridge the gap between textbook theory and practical application, as well as assist the grad student in understanding key elements of working with community college students and programs.  Depending on the arrangement with the university, the faculty mentor might work with the student and her/his professor to assess the progress of the student and assign grades/credit for the practicum.  The mentor would certainly be a likely reference for the student in the future.  Theoretically, everybody gains from this setup: the student in practical experience and knowledge, the community college in a kind of graduate assistantship position for the writing center, the university in strengthening its English master's program for a segment of its student population.                                         
If anyone is doing something similar to what I envision, I'd love to talk with you about the nuts and bolts of such an arrangement.  One obvious issue is remuneration to the grad student for work in the writing center--how much and through what funding: some possibilities might be grants (FIPSE?), tuition credits, community college writing center budget (!), individual program budgets, or perhaps a number of other prospects I'm not brilliant enough to see.  I welcome any insights, concerns, tips, etc.  Thanks.                                                                                                  
Steve Slemenda
Chemeketa Community College
sles@chemek.cc.or.us