Developing grass roots writing resources: a novel approach to writing within the social work discipline

In this case study, we report on the development of a writing-specialist position, the 'Writing Resource Coordinator (WRC)', in a school of social work at a large state university in the southern USA. Such programs are facing increasing budgetary pressures at the same time as their growing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching in higher education 2013-11, Vol.18 (8), p.920-932
Main Authors: Kilgore, Christopher D., Cronley, Courtney, Amey, Beth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
At Risk Students
Budgets
Case Studies
College Students
Discipline
Dropouts
Enrollment Trends
Low Achievement
Observation
pedagogy
Resource Centers
Seminars
social sciences
Social Work
United States (South)
WAC
WID
Workshops
Writing
Writing (Composition)
Writing Apprehension
writing assistance
Writing Instruction
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Summary:In this case study, we report on the development of a writing-specialist position, the 'Writing Resource Coordinator (WRC)', in a school of social work at a large state university in the southern USA. Such programs are facing increasing budgetary pressures at the same time as their growing enrollments strain available resources. Students who arrive under-prepared or un-acculturated to the discipline often suffer high writing-related anxiety, putting them at risk for low performance, or dropping out altogether. The WRC provides discipline-specific 'grass roots' writing assistance to the most at-risk students through a program aimed at both students and faculty, providing a two-pronged service strategy including: (a) individual consultations and (b) group-oriented seminars and workshops. We describe the implementation of this resource and offer recommendations for improving upon and adopting this approach in social science programs at comparable institutions.
ISSN:1356-2517
1470-1294
DOI:10.1080/13562517.2013.827647