Dear Paula, our University is not big (only 420 students), therefore our writing program is peculiar but I have visited several writing centers in USA and all of them have interesting options for big institutions. For sure some American colleague will contact you soon. If it does not happen, please do not hesitate to send me a mail and I’ll tell you about the American system gladly.
About our writing program I think these are the more relevant aspects:
· Students must take a writing course (Written Communication) when they are freshmen. The course is focused on identifying the criteria of a good text and developing the needed skills to achieve those criteria. It also emphasize on learning strategies, practical writing tips and how to criticize a written text.
· In other courses they practice what they have learned in Written Communication. We expect at least 30% of the courses to intensively cross Written Communication with their particular classes and the rest of the courses to assign and feed back at least one paper. For that purpose I deliver a couple of training session a year for faculty. In those meetings I share the topics of my class, some of the methodologies used in my classroom and encourage them to do the same. My colleagues also share their main problems to implement the topic in their classes, in order to find a solution together. They also share their strategies and their tips.
· In third year the students take Written Communication again but they do not attend a regular class. They fulfill a portfolio with some of the assignments presented during second and third year. They have to show the efforts made during that period to improve their writing skills.
This is a very fast overview. If you read Spanish you can find the whole manual that I designed with the help of colleagues from every level in this link: http://usi.earth.ac.cr/SitioComunicacionEscrita/Documentos/Manual%20de%20Procedimientos%20-%20C.E.-%20EARTH%20-%202.mht
We have not spent too much money but what we have do invested is a lot of time.
If you are interested I can give you more details about the process. You are wellcome if you want to visit us in Costa Rica.
Regards,
Carlos Montoya-Álvarez, Ph.D.
Professor
EARTH University
[log in to unmask]
Tel: (506) 2713-0000, Ext: 3201
Apartado 4442-1000 San José
Costa Rica
Visiting Research Scholar Professor
Teaching Resources Center
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
University of Florida
307B Rolfs Hall
P.O. Box 110540
Gainesville, FL 32611-0540
USA
352-392-0502 x237
________________________________
De: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing - discussions [[log in to unmask]] En nombre de Paula Haapanen [[log in to unmask]]
Enviado el: jueves, 19 de agosto de 2010 03:48 a.m.
Para: [log in to unmask]
Asunto: Setting up a writing centre
Dear colleagues,
I am writing for advice on how to set up a writing centre.
Our university is looking for solutions to improve our researchers’ chances of getting published. In addition to the academic writing courses that we already offer(which are not compulsory for every student), I suggested that we consider establishing a writing centre. This writing centre would, of course, serve the whole university and should provide not only the teaching and mentoring of academic writing, but possibly translation and proofreading services as well. The idea is that we use the English lecturers we already have (4) because there’s not an awful lot of money in the kitty to invest in this (or any other) solution. In other words, we’re looking for a miracle here.
What kinds of experiences have you had? What things should be considered? What kind of money are we talking about? What services should be offered? Are there alternatives to a writing centre that might be more feasible? All suggestions would be most welcome.
If you e-mailed me directly at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, I’m sure that other subscribers to this list would breathe a sigh of relief but rest assured, I’ll send out a summary of the responses to the list in one form or another.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Paula
**************************************
Paula Haapanen
Coordinating Lecturer - English
Language Centre
Lappeenranta University of Technology
PO Box 20
53851 Lappeenranta
Finland
Phone: + 358 (0)5 621 2213 (direct)
|