English faculty present at composition conference at UMass Boston

Timothy Berrigan, M.A, Michael J. Cripps, Ph.D., Eric M. Drown, Ph.D., and Cathrine Frank, Ph.D., all faculty in the Department of English, presented as part of a panel at the Engaging Practices conference on composition, held at UMass Boston on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

The panel, "Supporting WAC through Composition: Writing Fellows, Peer Review, and Reading Development," examined the development, pilot implementation, and emerging lessons from the first year of 91AV's writing fellows initiative.

The writing fellows initiative connects undergraduate tutors to specific classrooms, where they collaborate with a faculty member on a range of activities to support student learning and writing development. The first phase of this initiative focused on English Composition. In 2014-15, the program will expand to include writing emphasis courses in the Core curriculum.

Cathrine Frank coordinates the initiative and teaches the Writing Fellows Practicum, a course in which undergraduate fellows discover how their work fits within the theory and practice of peer tutoring in disciplinary contexts. Timothy Berrigan and Eric M. Drown teach English Composition, contribute to the development of models for implementing the writing fellows program, and participate in assessing the program. Michael J. Cripps directs English Composition and is the principal investigator for the Davis Educational Foundation award that helps support the writing fellows initiative.

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.