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On this Larger Ed Careers interview, Leah Jackson speaks with Dr. Hannah Bellwoar, director of writing and co-director of the Writing and Speech Middle at Juniata Faculty, about why writing stays a foundational ability throughout disciplines and careers — and the way she’s serving to college students acknowledge the worth of human connection in writing and perceive each the capabilities and limitations of AI.
Leah Jackson, HigherEdJobs: Inform us about your present position as director of writing and co-director of the Writing and Speech Middle at Juniata Faculty and what led you particularly to show writing.
Hannah Bellwoar, professor of English and director of writing, Juniata Faculty: My present position and profession trajectory will be traced again to my schooling and what bought me excited in regards to the discipline. As an undergraduate English main at Temple College, I took a category on tutoring writing, and ended up working within the writing middle there, the place I began working one-on-one with writers. This work lit a spark in me; first, working one-on-one with a author was fulfilling work, and second, being a part of a group made me really feel like my voice and my presence mattered and was having an influence.
As director of writing and co-director of the Writing and Speech Middle, I am accountable for the writing program. In my day-to-day work, I help writing instructors at Juniata, facilitating skilled growth and entry to assets that help their educating. I additionally educate and supervise writing tutors, coaching them to work with writers a lot as I did in my undergraduate days. I hope that a lot of them will discover the identical spark that I did!
Jackson: Introduction to Skilled Writing is certainly one of Juniata’s really helpful common schooling programs for first-year college students. Why is that this such a key class, and why is constructing a robust writing basis so necessary throughout disciplines and careers?
Bellwoar: Since I began educating Introduction to Skilled Writing as a graduate scholar in 2002, the category has remained targeted on the identical core expertise: understanding viewers and writing context. Regardless of the self-discipline or profession, these expertise are foundational. Once I first began educating this course at Juniata 10 years later, college students practiced these expertise by studying (about) skilled writing, finishing assignments in several genres, and utilizing a wide range of technological instruments. In recent times, the course has been tailored to fulfill the moral duty common schooling requirement at Juniata, and college students take into account how they could method a wide range of moral conditions associated to writing of their chosen disciplines and careers. Even via all these diversifications, the first focus of the course is NOT to show college students the talents they should write for an expert group, however to show them methods to be taught the talents they want as soon as confronted with an expert writing state of affairs.
Jackson: Has AI shifted the best way you educate writing? And what conversations are you having with college students about utilizing AI ethically — each within the classroom and when it comes to what could be anticipated of them by future employers?
Bellwoar: AI has definitely shifted the best way I educate writing as a result of it has shifted the best way my college students be taught and interact in increased ed. Within the classroom, I am discovering that AI cannot do for college students every part that I need them to do or need them to be taught. Main college students to acknowledge the bounds of AI and the fun of interacting with people has been my focus. When it comes to what could be anticipated by future employers, a number of what I’ve seen comes right down to expectations of AI literacy. There are completely different facets of AI literacy within the completely different programs that I educate. I used to be in a number of conferences on campus the place campus leaders lamented studying cowl letters from job candidates that seemed to be written by AI. That gave me the concept to have AI generate cowl letters for my college students in Intro to Skilled Writing to take a look at the restrictions. Additionally, since I work with the writing and speech tutors, within the curriculum we have been contemplating collectively the worth of working with a human tutor and serving to college students acknowledge that worth. As I work with college students to think about the restrictions, I have been refreshed by what number of college students are skeptical of AI, as a result of it reveals that it’s potential for them to develop AI literacy and significant approaches to utilizing this know-how.
Jackson: Given how a lot emphasis there’s immediately on profession outcomes, what recommendation would you provide different writing professors who need to stability growing the entire particular person with getting ready college students for writing careers?
Bellwoar: In my expertise, there’s a number of energy in a liberal arts method to writing. I accomplished my undergraduate and graduate levels at massive universities, and Juniata was the primary small liberal arts faculty expertise that I had. In graduate faculty, the main target was on jobs at analysis universities just like the one I attended, so though I had a breadth of educating expertise, I did not understand the depth of expertise that could be accessible in a distinct kind of atmosphere.
I’ve discovered {that a} small liberal arts faculty like Juniata is a superb place to show skilled writing. On the Faculty, we deal with interdisciplinary work, and the skilled and creative writing program of emphasis (main) consists of coursework in communication, artwork, and data know-how along with the core English programs college students take. As a result of we’re a small faculty, I’m able to spend money on relational pedagogy, setting apart time in school for college students to work collectively and type a group supporting one another to succeed.
My recommendation to writing professors is to proceed to spend money on the core {of professional} writing that does not change – viewers and context. As writing professors, we must always change into lifelong learners ourselves, modeling for our college students methods to be taught as we method the altering office with curiosity, flexibility, and flexibility. And even when your class sizes are bigger than mine, spend money on relationships with college students. Discover methods to get to know college students in your lessons, hearken to their suggestions, and attain out to exterior assets to assist help them of their studying, such because the writing and speech middle, when you have one in your campus. In these methods, we mannequin for college students how they can also method the individuals within the office as complete individuals, making a group the place every particular person issues and might make an influence, and supporting success wherever their profession trajectory takes them.
Jackson: You are the president of Small Liberal Arts Schools-Writing Program Directors (SLAC-WPA), and your annual convention was in January. What conversations are writing program directors at small liberal arts schools having proper now? What tendencies are you seeing?
Bellwoar: In alignment with our theme, “Doubts, Information, and Choice-Making,” we had conversations about compassionate and collaborative evaluation practices. Our theme was designed to have fun the 2024 publication of the edited assortment “Writing Assessment at Small Liberal Arts Colleges “and glean what continues to be related analysis that may assist us face the challenges of being writing program directors at small liberal arts faculty within the present second. Collaborative and compassionate evaluation practices embrace the work that I contributed to the edited assortment together with former scholar and mentee Abby Madar. Our chapter, titled “Amplifying Scholar Voice in Writing Program Administration via Mutual Mentoring and College students as Companions,” highlighted our work collectively within the writing program at Juniata, the place we collected and analyzed information that centered scholar voice in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of this system. By means of this collaboration, we every skilled reciprocity and mutual advantages to our educational, skilled, and private lives.
Presenters on the SLAC-WPA convention targeted on their work in writing facilities and writing applications within the face of the various challenges we’re experiencing in increased schooling immediately. Presenters included collaborations of college, employees, and college students at small liberal arts schools throughout the nation. Classes targeted on how AI is altering our work and our college students’ work, how we assess our applications in conditions the place the longer term is unsure, and the way we proceed to search out which means in our labor regardless of the challenges.
Jackson: What retains you engaged and captivated with educating the following era of writers?
Bellwoar: I’ve been educating Intro to Skilled Writing since 2002, and after I went to show it once more this previous fall, 23 years later, I puzzled if I may carry enthusiasm and vitality to the subject. I used to be stunned and excited to be saved engaged and passionate by the curiosity and recent views provided by my college students. For instance, on the day we put passive voice sentences on the board so as to edit them into lively voice, the category erupted in uproarious laughter as we went across the room, every group sharing not solely their humorous sentence however their hilarious drawing of zombies performing menial duties (who knew that zombies analyzing information in Excel could possibly be so humorous!). Their senses of humor are infectious – and simply the factor I have to hold me going all these years later. I’m studying a lot from the following era of writers!
