TRAC Writing Fellows Pilot Begins

A new Library and Technology Services program, the Technology, Research, and Communication (TRAC) Writing Fellows Program, is moving into its pilot phase.

An undergraduate peer-tutoring initiative developed by Greg Skutches, Coordinator of Writing across the Curriculum, the program will integrate writing and other forms of communication, information literacy, and effective use of new educational technologies into the undergraduate culture at Lehigh. The program is adapted from a highly successful one at Brown University in Rhode Island.

By creating productive partnerships between highly trained student peer tutors and faculty in the disciplines, the TRAC Writing Fellows Program will help all students involved (1) improve the quality of their writing and other forms of communication; (2) develop their research skills; (3) cultivate the habit of using writing and other forms of communication as modes of learning; and (4) expand their use of new educational technologies.

Students will practice habits that lead to mastery of writing and communication skills and strategies, important in college as well as in their specific disciplines and careers after graduation.

The program is open to first year students, sophomores and juniors from all majors who have a minimum GPA of 3.2 and are in good standing. Fellows need to be dependable and have strong skills in writing, reading, interpersonal communication, leadership, and time management.

Faculty members have nominated approximately 150 talented and highly qualified students as candidates for the program so competition is stiff. The Selection Committee will choose only 12 students for the pilot program beginning in the Fall 2008 semester.

In their first semester in the program, Fellows will be trained in a four-credit course designed to develop their skills and capabilities in preparation for working with both faculty and students in courses that feature writing and other forms of communication as central modes of learning.

Each Fellow will work with no more than 15-20 students during the semester so large classes will require more than one Fellow.  Fellows will neither grade student papers, nor play any other role in determining grades. Even during the initial semester Fellows will be matched with faculty members who are teaching courses that make substantial use of writing as a central mode of learning.

These faculty members will attend a workshop designed to help them prepare to make the best use of their TRAC Fellows as they work together. The Fellows also receive a stipend for their work as peer tutors.

Others involved in the program, as members of the Fellows Selection Committee and in other ways, include: Roseann Bowerman, Librarian and LTS Team Leader for College of Arts and Sciences Support; Judd Hark, Instructional Technology Consultant; Lisa Getzler-Linn, Associate Director of Integrated Product Development; Ed Lotto, Director of First-Year Writing and the Center for Math and Writing; and Greg Reihman, Director of Faculty Development. For more information consult the web page for this program at www.lehigh.edu/~inwxc/trac.html.

-- Greg Skutches
   Coordinator of Writing across the Curriculum

Article posted April 8 2008
 

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