About the Center
The Center for Writing, located at 81 Blake Street, promotes effective writing and thinking by offering a variety of services for both students and faculty. We work with students to improve their writing and with faculty to support their effectiveness as teachers of writing. This combined effort strengthens the role of writing in our academic community.
Students’ Frequently Asked Questions
Faculty Members’ Frequently Asked Questions
Peer Tutoring Trained peer tutors conduct more than 1400 one-on-one sessions per year with Keene State students. Many sessions are initiated at faculty request. Students may arrive at the Center with questions about grammar and punctuation, but often leave with greater clarity about the content and quality of their thoughts and claims. The staff brings our service to the attention of incoming students to help them understand the value of working with peer tutors throughout their KSC experience. In order to further establish a relationship between the Center and the student population, our Partnership Program provides tutor liaisons to faculty teaching the first year Thinking and Writing course.
Tutors frequently collaborate with faculty members. They summarize and report on students’ Center sessions, are available to visit a class to introduce the Center to students, and can conduct workshops on selected writing processes. By arrangement, a tutor may also serve as a Writing Assistant for a particular course.
The Task Force on Writing This interdisciplinary faculty group, established in 1992, advocates for faculty development and training to improve the practice of teaching writing in all disciplines. With this objective in mind, the Task Force sponsors workshops and other activities that address such issues as how to create challenging writing assignments, using writing as a tool for learning, and exploring effective ways to respond to student writing. Many newsletter articles are archived at www.keene.edu/wtf.
The Calderwood Institute on the Teaching of Writing The Institute welcomes faculty members in any discipline and immerses participants in current research on composition studies, cognitive developmental theory, and the relationship between thinking, writing, and learning. Funded by the Calderwood Writing Initiative, a private foundation in Boston, the Institute begins with an intensive, one-week summer workshop and continues supporting participants throughout the academic year as they experiment with writing pedagogies in their courses. A brief documentary DVD about the Calderwood Institute is available for free to any interested faculty.
For more information about any of the Center’s services, contact Dr. Phyllis Benay: 603 358 2398 or pbenay@keene.edu