Members of the Writing Center community are invited to nominate articles about writing center theory, practice, research, and history for the IWCA Outstanding Article Award. The IWCA Outstanding Article Award is presented at the IWCA Annual Conference. Please note the policies, criteria, and nominating process below.

Policies

• Nominated publications must be dated within the calendar year for which awards are being considered. 

• Publications may appear in print or digital venues.

• The IWCA welcomes submissions from scholars and researchers at all stages of their academic careers, including undergraduate students, graduate students, and adjuncts, but notes that all submissions will be evaluated in the same way and with the same criteria.

• Self-nominations are not accepted, and each nominator can submit one nomination only.

• Nominees should be IWCA members in good standing. For work with multiple authors, at least one author should be a current IWCA member.

• If the nominated individual is not a current member, the Awards Committee will reach out to see if they want to be considered.

Criteria

• The article being nominated must have been published during the year preceding the nomination year. For example, articles nominated for the 2024 award must have been published in 2023. 

• The publication addresses one or more issues of long-term interest to writing center administrators, theorists, and/or practitioners.

• The publication discusses theories, practices, or policies that contribute to a richer understanding of writing center theory and practice.

• The publication shows sensitivity toward the situated contexts in which writing centers exist and operate.

• The publication makes a significant contribution to the scholarship of and research on writing centers.

• The publication will serve as a strong representative of the scholarship of and research on writing centers.

• The publication embodies the qualities of compelling and meaningful writing.

Nomination Process

All nominations must be submitted through this Google form. Nominations include a letter or statement of no more than 400 words outlining how the work being nominated meets the award criteria below. All articles and chapters will be evaluated using the same criteria. We encourage writing center scholars and practitioners at all levels to nominate works that they have found impactful. Nominations are due by June 1st, 2024. The winner will be announced at the 2024 IWCA Online Conference. Questions about the award or nominating process should be sent to the IWCA Awards Chairs, Chessie Alberti (chessie.alberti@oregonstate.edu) and Kat Bell (kbell6@antioch.edu).

Recipients

2023: Wonderful Faison and Frankie Condon, editors. Counterstories From the Writing Center. Utah State UP, 2022.

2022: Travis Webster, Queerly Centered: LGBTQA Writing Center Directors Navigate the Workplace. Utah State University Press, 2021.

2021: Shannon Madden, Michele Eodice, Kirsten T. Edwards, and Alexandria Lockett, editors. Learning from the Lived Experiences of Graduate Student Writers. Utah State University Press, 2020.

2020: Laura Greenfield,Radical Writing Center Praxis: A Paradigm for Ethical Political Engagement. Utah State University Press, 2019.

2019:Jo Mackiewicz,Writing Center Talk Over Time: A Mixed-Methods Study. Routledge, 2018. Print.

Harry C. Denny, Robert Mundy, Liliana M. Naydan, Richard Sévère, and Anna Sicari (Editors),Out in the Center: Public Controversies and Private Struggles. Logan: Utah State UP, 2018. Print.

2018: R. Mark Hall,Around the Texts of Writing Center Work Logan: Utah State UP, 2017. Print.

2017: Nikki Caswell, Rebecca Jackson, and Jackie Grutsch McKinney.The Working Lives of Writing Center Directors. Logan: Utah State UP, 2016. Print.

Jackie Grutsch McKinney.Strategies for Writing Center Research. Parlor Press, 2016.

2016: Tiffany Rousculp.Rhetoric of Respect. NCTE Press, SWR Series. 2015.

2014: Jackie Grutsch McKinney.Peripheral Visions for Writing Centers. Logan: Utah State UP, 2013. Print.

2012:Laura Greenfield and Karen Rowan (Editors).Writing Centers and the New Racism: A Call for Sustainable Dialogue and Change. Logan: Utah State UP, 2011. Print.

2010: Neal Lerner.The Idea of a Writing Laboratory. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2009. Print.

2009: Kevin Dvorak and Shanti Bruce (Editors).Creative Approaches to Writing Center Work.Cresskill: Hampton, 2008. Print.

2008: William J. Macauley, Jr., and Nicholas Mauriello (Editors).Marginal Words, Marginal Work?: Tutoring the Academy in the Work of Writing Centers. Cresskill: Hampton, 2007. Print.

2007: Richard Kent.A Guide to Creating a Student-Staffed Writing Center: Grades 6-12. New York: Peter Lang, 2006. Print.

2006: Candace Spigelman and Laurie Grobman (Editors).On Location: Theory and Practice in Classroom-Based Writing Tutoring. Logan: Utah State UP, 2005. Print.

2005: Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth (Editors).ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman/Boynton-Cook, 2004. Print.

2004: Michael A. Pemberton and Joyce Kinkead (Editors).The Center Will Hold: Critical Perspectives on Writing Center Scholarship. Logan: Utah State UP, 2003. Print.

2003: Paula Gillespie, Alice Gillam, Lady Falls Brown, and Byron Stay (Editors).Writing Center Research: Extending the Conversation. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2002. Print.

2002: Jane Nelson and Kathy Evertz (Editors).The Politics of Writing Centers. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman/BoyntonCook, 2001. Print.

2001: Cindy Johanek.Composing Research: A Contextualist Paradigm for Rhetoric and Composition.Logan: Utah State UP, 2000. Print.

2000: Nancy Maloney Grimm.Good Intentions: Writing Center Work for Postmodern Times. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman/Boynton-Cook, 1999. Print.

1999: Eric Hobson (Editor).Wiring the Writing Center. Logan: Utah State UP, 1998. Print.

1997: Christina Murphy, Joe Law, and Steve Sherwood (Editors).Writing Centers: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. Print.

1996: Joe Law & Christina Murphy, eds.,Landmark Essays on Writing Centers. Davis, CA: Hermagoras, 1995. Print.

1995: Joan A. Mullin and Ray Wallace (Editors).Intersections: Theory-Practice in the Writing Center. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1994. Print.

1991: Jeanne Simpson and Ray Wallace (Editors). The Writing Center: New Directions. New York: Garland, 1991. Print.

1990: Pamela B. Farrell.The High School Writing Center: Establishing and Maintaining One. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1989. Print.

1989: Jeanette Harris and Joyce Kinkead (Editors). Computers, Computers, Computers. Special issue of Writing Center Journal 10.1 (1987). Print.

1988: Muriel Harris.Teaching One-to-One: The Writing Conference. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1986. Print.

1987: Irene Lurkis Clark.Writing in the Center: Teaching in a Writing Center Setting. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 1985. Print.

1985: Donald A. McAndrew and Thomas J. Reigstad.Training Tutors for Writing Conferences. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1984. Print.

2023–2024 Webinar Series

Instructors as Designers: Considering UX Design in OWI

“Fundamentals of Learning Experience Design (LXD): Creating Accessible and Engaging Classroom Spaces”

Friday, June 7, 2024, 4:00–5:30pm ET

Presented by:

Jessie Borgman (She/Her)

Casey McArdle (He/Him)

Webinar overview

In 2015, Potts, et. al. wrote about the creation of the Experience Architecture program at Michigan State University, where their

goal was to teach how we can become “architects of digital experiences” and “positively influence the ways in which we have

traditionally built products and services by focusing on human experience first instead of technology.” In 2009, Jesse James

Garrett noted that “Experience Design is the design of anything independent or across media with human experience as the

explicit outcome and human engagement as the explicit goal” (qtd. in Cummings, 2009). Garrett constructs a bridge between

experience and engagement for learning experience designers to begin to think beyond just student experience with course

content, but also student engagement. Our workshop will focus on these concepts of being an architect of digital experiences

and constructing bridges that keep content and human experience and engagement as the goal. We will begin with a discussion

of definitions and terminology to orient attendees to the language and systems that exist within Learning Experience Design

(LXD), Experience Architecture (XA), and accessibility. We will explore the breakdown of LXD and User Experience (UX) under the

umbrella of Experience Architecture and how these roles can exist and thrive within academic spaces. The workshop will also

connect LXD to engagement in terms of getting students to engage with course content and learning outcomes.

Participants will

1. Engage in a design challenge either in small groups or as a whole group (depending on the number of attendees)

2. Focus on creating a learning experience that focuses on engagement, accessibility, and takes into consideration the

constraints of designing for a specific situation/course/content/field, and so on

3. Apply the fundamentals of LXD that will be explored at the beginning of the webinar. In doing so, attendees will be

nudged to build systems and spaces that create experiences for their students to engage in course content and learning

Register now! https://gsole.org/event-5440881

2024-2025 Webinars: Call for Presenters

The Global Society of Online Literacy Educators, an organization dedicated to supporting hybrid and online teacher-scholars and tutors, invites everyone (both GSOLE Members and non-members) to submit proposals for our upcoming series in: 

"AI in Online Literacy Instruction"

GSOLE's webinars are designed to spark conversation, provide professional development, share ideas, and build community. Webinar recordings are made available to GSOLE members in an online archive, and webinar leaders are encouraged to transform their webinar topics into ROLE or OLOR Effective Practices publications. Webinars are:

Led by a single presenter or a group of 2–3

• 60–90 minutes long
• Combinations of theory and practice with actionable plans for instructors, tutors, and others
• Interactive presentations, engaging attendees

Submit proposals here by Friday, June 28, 2024

In this series, we’re asking presenters to consider some of the following points as they design and propose their webinar:

• AI and writing feedback/revision
• AI and issues of language, race, or gender
• The future of AI in online writing instruction (OWI)
• Productive uses of AI in writing classes and writing centers
• Visual rhetoric & AI
• Development of AI policies
• Pedagogical approaches to AI
• Intersections of AI and genre
• AI ethics
• Supporting AI literacy
• The future of AI in online education
• And more!

By Friday, June 28, 2024, please submit the following information to this form: https://forms.gle/GkTCsGGc9MYMp7JGA 

• All presenter names and emails
• A tentative Webinar Title
• Your desired Webinar Months
• A 500-word proposal that includes details on what the webinar will cover, how this proposal relates to the theme, a description of the interactive components of the webinar, and 4-5 intended outcomes for participants.

Upon acceptance, you will work with the co-chairs to schedule your webinar. You will meet (virtually) with the committee/co-chairs one month in advance of your webinar, and then again a few days prior to the webinar, to coordinate logistics. The committee will provide technical support and are happy to help you prepare for the webinar. Presenters are also encouraged to to transform webinars into publications for GSOLE’s OLOR Effective Practices or ROLE.

!Access Full PDF CFP Here!

About the Program 

The Global Society for Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE) is an international organization that connects those who teach writing, reading, and composition as digital literacies in online settings. Dedicated to diversity, inclusivity, and access in literacy-based online education, GSOLE awards grants to members to support research in relevant areas of interest related to its mission. 

GSOLE will award one or more grants to support research related to online literacy education. We welcome proposals and research that address GSOLE’s mission in general and that focuses on equity and inclusion in online teaching and learning, including work from writing centers and studios. We are particularly inviting emerging scholars (e.g. graduate students) and scholars from underrepresented groups and institutions to apply. 

For those interested, we are offering a mentorship-based feedback model this year where applicants can submit a proposal for early feedback (by April 12, 2024) and resubmit for final consideration (by May 17, 2024).

Proposal Format and Fellowship Requirements 

One or more GSOLE research grants will be offered ranging from $500 to $2,000* to either an individual researcher or a group of researchers. The two-page project proposal should indicate:

● The research question and brief background that engages in relevant literature

● A research plan that provides details about the methodology and specific methods that considers impact of work 

● A budget for the amount requested with timeline 

● The scope of work to be done and plans for dissemination 

● Relevance to GSOLE’s mission & connections to GSOLE's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) efforts (See mission statement) 

● A brief overview of how the grant will further the applicant’s career, trajectory, etc. 

*Funds may be proposed to assist with work-time (child care, course load reduction buyouts, etc.), technology (i.e., data analysis software, research equipment) needs, participant participation or recruitment, or research-related travel (i.e., archival research, interviews, etc).

Awardees are also expected to: 

1. After 6-12 months: 

a. Present findings/emerging findings/methods/etc. at the GSOLE Annual Conference or through a GSOLE Webinar 

b. Attend an optional support meeting with Committee Members where grant recipients can receive advice around methods, analysis, etc, 

2. After 1 Year: Provide a 2-page write up about research progress to the GSOLE Executive Board 

3. Before 2 Years: Submit an article to ROLE for publication 

Application and Evaluation Process 

To apply for a research grant, submit the following materials with the subject line “GSOLE Research Grant Application 2024” to research@gsole.org: 

● Updated CVs for all applicants 

● Two-page proposal that includes the proposal requirements listed above

Proposals may be made by either individual researchers or a group of researchers. They will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

● Relevance to GSOLE’s mission and area of interest: https://gsole.org/about

● Rubric: GSOLE Research Grant Evaluation Rubric

Award Details: 

● GSOLE does not pay indirect costs (institutional overhead). 

● The award amount will be made to the researcher or lead researcher if the proposal is submitted by a team. If the award is to a team, the lead researcher is responsible for payment of funds to other team members. 

● Researcher or lead researcher will be required to submit a W-9 IRS form to the GSOLE Treasurer prior to receiving funding. 

● Researcher or lead researcher is responsible for all tax liabilities on the amount received. 

Key Dates: 

● CFP Released: March 8, 2024 

● Optional Early Deadline for Proposals for Feedback/Revision: April 12, 2024 ● Deadline for Final Proposals due: May 17, 2024 

● Notification sent to applicants: June 3, 2024 

!Access Full PDF CFP Here!

GSOLE is currently accepting nominations for our upcoming election.

GSOLE leadership is enhanced by a variety of perspectives and welcomes nominations from any OLI professional, especially applicants with diverse backgrounds and life experiences holding any rank or status, including contingent faculty, graduate students, staff, and/or tutors. We aspire for our leadership to reflect the diverse professionals who labor to sustain online literacy education across higher education and K-12 contexts. Please send nominations, including self-nominations, to vice-president@gsole.org by May 1, 2024.

The GSOLE Nominating Committee is seeking candidates for Vice President, Secretary, and three Executive Board At-Large Members. More information about each position and the election process can be found on our site.

Full PDF Overview

2023–2024 Webinar Series

Instructors as Designers: Considering UX Design in OWI

“Students in the driver’s seat of course design: Branching scenarios in online writing instruction”

April 26, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30pm ET

Presented by: Tiffany Bourelle (She/Her)

Mitch Marty (He/Him): Adjunct Professor & Instructional Designer

Joseph Bartolotta (He/Him): Associate Professor

Webinar overview

This webinar will introduce participants to an active-learning strategy called “Branching Scenarios,” which challenge students by offering them various learning paths for composing a project. For instance, students are provided a writing assignment, given two rhetorical situations from which they can choose, and are prompted to choose the branch or path that best fits their learning styles and choice of audience, purpose, and medium for their chosen rhetorical situation. Whereas most instructional design or user-centered scholarship in online writing instruction focuses on instructors controlling the design of a course, Branching Scenarios insist that students become active participants in the design process. To model this approach, we’ll present a course module where students are provided an assignment that offers choices of rhetorical situation, various discussion boards based on their choices, and small-stakes activities based on their chosen medium for communication. We’ll then guide participants in brainstorming what assignment can work best for a scenario in their own courses and in thinking through what choices students can make along the process path of learning and creating the project. Participants will leave with an action plan and one scenario drafted to begin working in their courses.

Participants will

1. Understand the philosophy behind Branching Scenarios as they relate to Online Writing Instruction.

2. Consider how Branching Scenarios align with PARS (Personal, Accessible, Responsive, and Strategic) course design.

3. Discover how Branching Scenarios can be developed with Backwards Course Design to address the Student Learning Outcomes of an online-based writing course through a module designed by the attendees.

4. Learn how to deploy a Branching Scenarios activity in their own course by using basic tools in an LMS and through Storyline, a common software program used to develop Branching Scenarios.

Register now! https://gsole.org/event-5439481

GSOLE Affiliate Announcements

From International Writing Centers Association (IWCA)

The IWCA Awards Committee is seeking chairs willing to lead the sub-committees that will select this year's Outstanding Article, Outstanding Book, Future Leaders Awards, and Travel Grants, as well as those interested in serving as members of those committees. Committee chairs are tasked with selecting committee members, reviewing nominated texts or Future Leader applications, convening committee discussion to select winners, and presenting those awards at the annual conference this October. Committee members will review nominated texts and participate in the deliberation and selection process. The IWCA Awards Chairs will solicit nominations, provide each committee with copies of nominated texts, and guide each chair through the review and selection process.  If you've ever wanted to have a say about which scholars and scholarship are recognized in our field, this is a good opportunity to make your voice heard! If you are interested in volunteering or have questions about the role(s), please complete this Committee Members & Chairs volunteer form by Sunday, 31 March.  Please reach out to the co-chairs of the awards committee, Chessie Alberti and Kat Bell, if you have any questions.  IWCA at the Conference on College Composition and Communication

We are getting so excited about the 2024 IWCA Collaborative@CCCC on April 3! Here’s additional information for the Collaborative. Session Times Session times are as follows: 7:30 am-8:30 am -- Check-in, Breakfast, Welcome 8:30 am-9:45 am – Session A  9:50 am-11:05am – Session B  11:05 am-11:25 am – Snack & Coffee Break 11:30 am-12:45 pm – Session C  12:45 pm-2:00 pm – Lunch (Ballroom) 2:00 pm-3:15 pm – Session D  3:20 pm-4:35 pm – Session E (Breakout Rooms) 4:40 pm-5:30 pm – Closing Reception with Buffet (Ballroom)  We’ll email an electronic version of the full program early next week, which will include session time and location. Accessibility Please review this detailed conference accessibility guide for accessibility guidelines and practices.  Room Technology Each room is outfitted with either a projector/screen or a large TV for presentations. The projector/TV is connected to an in-room PC that presenters can use to either pull up their materials via the internet or, using a USB drive, they can also plug into the in-room PC. There are presentation clickers in every room. If presenters bring their own personal laptops, they can be connected directly to the TVs/projectors via HDMI. There are a few adaptors for those with Mac devices, but presenters may wish to bring their own Mac adaptor. For Wi-Fi, presenters and attendees can log on to the Gonzaga Guest Wi-Fi from their personal devices. To access, you just select the network and click that you have read and agree to the terms of service.  Conference Center staff will be in the building throughout the day to assist anyone with getting set up in their room. Swag Exchange Finally, please bring some small giveaways from your Writing Center, if you have any! We will have a “Swag Exchange” table, where you can stock up on pens, post-its, stickers, etc.! Julia Bleakney Chair, IWCA Collaborative@CCCC Hannah Hanson Coordinator, IWCA Collaborative@CCCC

We are pleased to announce a call for proposals for a special issue of Research in Online Literacy Education(ROLE), the peer-reviewed research journal of the Global Society for Online Literacy Education (GSOLE). This issue engages with the work of scholar, teacher, and founding editor of ROLE, Michael Greer, to commemorate his contributions to ROLE, GSOLE, and the field of online writing instruction more broadly. 

In his “Editor’s Note” from the March 2018 inaugural issue of ROLE, Greer put forth a number of priorities for the journal, including multimodality, multidisciplinarity, strategic pedagogy, and hybrid practices. Greer noted that the journal would define literacy “broadly, as a convergence of writing, reading, composing, interpreting, and designing texts that are alphabetic, multimodal, oral, visual, and digital.” He emphasized the importance of “bringing voices from reading, writing studies, technical communication, composition, writing centers, writing across the disciplines, digital humanities, cultural studies, and beyond.” He centered teacher-research and reflective practice, reiterating the journal’s commitment to “strategic pedagogy, where theory and practice engage and question one another.” And he invited teacher-scholars to imagine “new, hybrid approaches and practices” that address the unique context of online literacy “with its complex mix of technology, discourse, talk, text, image, and play.” 

One of his last publications, Design for Learning: User Experience in Online Teaching and Learning, co-authored with Jenae Cohn (2023), is an accessible guide for designing and teaching online classes. Reviewers note the strength of this work is its usability; situating the approach to online course design in user experience, Cohn and Greer crafted an exceedingly usable guide that offers readers multiple pathways to engage with it depending on their needs and experience.

The editors of the journal invite scholars, teachers, and practitioners working broadly in the field of online literacy education to contribute to this special issue. We invite submissions that engage with or consider in some way one or more of the following questions:

• What are current best practices in teaching, composing, designing, and/or interpreting multimodal texts?

• What new literacies related to multimodal composing are emerging?

• What new technologies or best practices can improve the accessibility of alphabetic, multimodal, oral, visual, and digital texts for both author and audience?

• What impact is AI having on online pedagogy, digital literacy, and/or muItimodal composing?

• What new opportunities for multidisciplinary research exist in the fields of user experience, online literacy instruction, and instructional design for learning?

• What tutor training or writing center practices can provide tutoring support for online literacy learning or multimodal composition?   

• In what ways do WAC/WID programs engage with multimodal composition and digital literacy?

• What opportunities exist for multidisciplinary collaboration in curriculum design to facilitate learning transfer related to digital literacy and multimodal composing?

• What strategic pedagogies are needed in the field to advance and improve online literacy education?

• What kinds of professional development opportunities can WPAs provide to support teacher-research and reflective practice for faculty engaged in online literacy education?

• What “new, hybrid approaches and practices” are needed to address the unique context of online literacy teaching and learning?

• What ways have you applied, tested, and/or benefited from the practices and strategies outlined in Design for Learning?  

We welcome proposals for full-length research articles (4,000-6,000 words) as well as shorter vignettes and narratives (500-1,500 words) that engage with the impact of Greer’s work on your teaching, tutoring, instructional design, learning, and research. Presenters at GSOLE conferences are especially encouraged to submit a proposal based on your presentation. We also invite submissions that push the boundaries of form to imagine other ways of presenting academic research, embodying the spirit of Greer’s vision for ROLE as “not just another journal, but another kind of journal.”

Submit 500-word proposals via this Google form by April 15, 2024. We also welcome email questions and project ideas as you prepare your proposals to Ashlyn Walden or Michelle Stuckey at role@gsole.org.

Timeline for issue:

Proposals: April 15, 2024 

Notifications: May 31, 2024

Full Draft Due: August 1, 2024

Forthcoming Issue: September 2024

References

Cohn, J., & Greer, M. (2003). Design for Learning: User Experience in Online Teaching and Learning. Rosenfield Media. Greer, M. (2018). Editor’s note. Research in Online Literacy Education. 1(1). Retrieved

February 17, 2024 from http://www.roleolor.org/editorrsquos-note.html

Think Aloud Protocols in Composition II Courses: Let’s Talk About Research by Laura Seeber

Supervising Asynchronous Team Projects: An Exercise in Trust by Bonnie McLean

Save the Date for GSOLE Con 2025! 

Synchronous Sessions on February 6-7 with Asynchronous Sessions available February 1.  

Call for proposals coming Summer 2024. 

Interested in Bulk Institutional Registration?  

Email vice-president@gsole.org for more information!