Partnership, Peer Support, and Storying Community With First-Year University Students
David S. Gamble, North Carolina Wesleyan University
Keywords:
Writing Center, First-Year University Students, Interdisciplinary Partnership
Key Statement:
Collaborative partnership between the North Carolina Wesleyan University Writing Center and a course for first-year students explores holistic approaches blending academic skill-building and community support.
Abstract:
This poster explores a semester-long collaborative writing and speaking project which grew out of a partnership between the North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) Writing Center and the instructor of a pilot course designed to support first-year university student academic skill-building and sense of engagement within the NCWU community. The piece tracks our project from the co-creation of a guiding conceptual model, through student submissions and revisions and collaborations with peer Writing Consultants, to the final product. It provides rich pedagogical insight, practical strategies for operationalizing interdisciplinary collaboration, and a rallying call for centering community as part of teaching and learning.
Hear it from the author:
Transcript:
Greetings! This poster highlights a collaboration between first-year students, a public health
professor, and the Writing Center.
The professor and Writing Center director created a semester-long assignment in which students
connected personal experiences to broader health issues. The goal of the project was to describe
and connect the student’s personal experience with health issues to raise awareness and offer
campus-specific recommendations in writing and final presentations.
Initially, Writing Center Consultants used who/what/where/when/why and how questions to help
students “scene-build” and connect their experiences to health issues. But during meetings,
students were confused – the assignment wasn’t working!
In response, the professor, Director, and Consultants met to share feedback. Consultants helped
translate student concerns into assignment revisions. With clearer guidance, students made a
dramatic turnaround. They returned to the Writing Center more confident and passionate, many
ultimately exceeding assignment expectations.
As a Writing Consultant, it is meaningful to work side-by-side with professors AND students
instead of just, effectively, working for them. Clear communication and mutual trust helped
bridge and transform confusion, allowing students to blossom their rough ideas into powerful,
polished presentations. Collaborations like this don’t just boost academic success — they help
strengthen the community on campus.
References:
Banda, C. (2019). Aiming beyond the written, to the writer and writing: The writing consultation as a mentoring process for life-long writing. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 57(1), 195–205.
Hughes, J. M., Oliveira, J., & Bickford, C. (2024). The power of storytelling to facilitate human connection and learning. Impact: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning, 11(2).
Lundin, I. M., O'Connor, V., & Perdue, S. W. (2023). The impact of writing center consultations on student writing self-efficacy. The Writing Center Journal, 41(2), 7–25.
Lunsford, A. A., Brody, M., Ede, L. S., Moss, B. J., Papper, C. C., & Walters, K. (2013). Everyone's an author. WW Norton and Company.