Interview with a Writing Fellow (not nearly as scary as a vampire)

After chatting with Greg Peterson about his experience working as a Writing Fellow in a Communications Disorders class  (mentioned in last week's blog), I decided that I wasn't satisfied with just a short conversation and begged him if he would let me interview him.

Thankfully, he agreed. 

I should mention that Greg is a second year graduate student in the English program at EIU, he has worked in the Writing Center for three semesters, he taught English Composition course on campus last fall, and he is currently writing his Master's thesis about the hero's journey in David Foster Wallace novels. 

He's also cool.

What follows is Greg's great answers to my simple questions about his experience working as a Writing Fellow. 

1.      Did you know anything about the discipline your assigned course is in before the course   

      started?

No. In fact, the course material is fairly advanced communication disorders and sciences knowledge. The coursework focuses mainly on brain science: how the brain works and how the brain can fail to function properly, resulting in communication disorders.

2.      How many classes do you sit in on during the week?

1 class, 50 minutes, three times a week.

3.      Do you help design the writing assignments for this CDS course?

The professor consults with me when creating writing assignments and assignment sheets. Ultimately, the assignments are of her design, but she does ask me to make sure that these assignments are clear. She also asks me to make sure that the assignments are writing intensive and challenging.

4.      How is being a Writing Fellow different than being a consultant in the Writing Center?

Many ways. The most basic being that I get the privilege to work with a specific group of students who are all doing the same assignment. I get to observe the different ways the class full of students approach a writing assignment. I also get to work with the same writers on four different assignments, so I can get a closer look at their processes and individual progress. The Writing Center is in some ways the opposite experience. You get the privilege of constantly working with an amazing chaos of diverse writers and writing assignments at different skill levels and stages of the process.

5.      Are you given opportunities to teach writing lessons in the classroom or are you strictly meeting with students during assigned times?

Every once in a while I am granted class time to give mini instructional lessons on facets of the composition process like paraphrasing, thesis crafting, and creating successful introductions and conclusions.

6.      How has being a Writing Fellow changed your tutoring style?

I’m sure it has affected me in ways I don’t even realize, but mostly it has made me more aware of individual students’ writing process.

7.      What other disciplines do you think could benefit from having a Writing Fellow?

 Any course that involves writing assignments could benefit from a Writing Fellow, especially disciplines that participate in WAC. 

8.      Do you have any suggestions as to how this program could become even better?

More funding perhaps? But what department doesn't need more funding?

Special thanks to Greg Peterson for taking a moment to answer my questions.