ERIC Number: EJ1116117
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Dec-21
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1554-8244
EISSN: N/A
"Striking While the Iron Is Hot." A Writing Fellows Program Supporting Lower-Division Courses at an American University in the UAE
Ronesi, Lynne
Across the Disciplines, v8 n4 Dec 2011
US-based writing fellows programs have traditionally placed writing fellows in upper-division courses to support student writing beyond first-year composition, given that student writing skills become more developed in the context of genre- or discipline-based writing. The author describes a writing fellows program at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in the United Arab Emirates where, despite initial attempts to place writing fellows in upper-division courses, faculty requests for writing fellows came from classes at the 100- and 200-level, resulting in students receiving writing fellow assistance while still enrolled in introductory writing courses. Drawing on interviews with professors, writing fellows, and students in three lower-division writing fellow-supported courses, the author concludes that writing fellows at AUS are quite effectively placed in lower-division courses running concurrently with first-year sequence writing courses due to the immense learning curve AUS students face in their first few semesters. First-year transition challenges can be characterized by the differing pedagogical approaches of various secondary educational systems, divergent cultural attitudes toward learning and teaching, students' inexperience with American university-style academic writing and writing conventions, and the disparity between the content of the first-year writing sequence, suggesting that even in introductory courses AUS students need writing support earlier in addition to later in their university life. Writing fellow intervention in these lower-division courses introduces and provides a network of support that students new to the university--and their professors--do not know how to access on their own.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, International Education, Writing Instruction, Writing Skills, Program Descriptions, Introductory Courses, Teaching Methods, Cultural Differences, Partnerships in Education, Academic Discourse, Undergraduate Students, Intervention, College Faculty, Interviews, Student Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Fellowships
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Arab Emirates
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A