亚洲AV

New lab gives students access to best practices for writing, communication

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Shelby Broberg, Susan Lawrence, Melissa Broeckelman-Post, and Heidi Lawrence Photo by John Boal
Shelby Broberg, Susan Lawrence, Melissa Broeckelman-Post, and Heidi Lawrence Photo by John Boal

, like many other great creations, is the result of a group of dedicated people asking the question 鈥榳hat if?鈥櫶

鈥淭hat was the beginning of our vision,鈥 said , director of the Writing Center and associate professor at 亚洲AV. 鈥淲hat if the Writing Center and the Comm Center were in one place?鈥 she asked with , professor and basic course director of the Communication Department.听

鈥淰ery soon thereafter, Heidi [Lawrence] came along and said 鈥榳hat if we build a research engine into this?鈥欌澨

The lab, on the second floor of the Johnson Center, hosted a grand opening on Nov. 2.听

鈥淭he primary function of what happens here is the writing consultation and the communication consultations for the students,鈥 said , associate professor of English. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a space for them to bring projects, questions, future goals and aspirations and for them to workshop those pieces with consultants.听

The Communication Center primarily focuses on helping students with speeches and oral presentations and the Writing Center focuses on written projects.听

鈥淭he ultimate goal as we grow is to serve every student in the university,鈥 said Communication Center consultant Sarah Strunk, a senior in .听

鈥淪haring our space makes things more active because we鈥檙e all together,鈥 said Alice Christensen, a鈥痡unior major and .听听

Writing Center consultants Laura Pixley and Shelby Rothberg describe the Lab鈥檚 services to a guest at the open house Photo by John Boal
Writing Center consultants Laura Pixley and Shelby Rothberg describe the Lab鈥檚 services to a guest at the open house Photo by John Boal

鈥淚 can talk to a communication consultant and get some strategies that I wouldn鈥檛 be able to get from another writing center consultant, because that鈥檚 not part of our bubble, but I can learn from them and they can learn from us,鈥 Christensen said.听

Susan Lawrence and work together to help the center run and to help students, whether they鈥檙e working on written or oral communication goals, said Strunk.听

Broberg, director of the Communication Center, joined the program in May.听听

鈥淚t just makes sense to have the Writing Center and Comm Center together because the things that we do work well together,鈥 said Broberg. 鈥淭here are times when we refer people to them in the middle of a session or they refer their clients to the Comm Center.鈥澨

Clients of the Lab for Writing and Communication get 30- to 45-minute consultations. Walk-ins are also accepted if a consultant is free at the time.听听

All consultants have standard university trainings as well as professional development throughout the year focusing on an array of topics, such as balancing the student communicators鈥 individual goals and learning preferences with best practice to shape a session that works well for the student, said Christensen.听

鈥淲e talk through specific scenarios to get them thinking about how to work with different types of students,鈥 said Ivan Moore, the Lab鈥檚 accessibility specialist, who assists in consultant education.听听

鈥淭he big thing we want to focus on when we鈥檙e consulting is transfer of knowledge,鈥 said Christensen. 鈥淚 want this student to leave better equipped to help themselves, so they don't have to keep coming back to me for help.鈥澨

鈥淲hen students talk to a knowledgeable peer about their writing project, the disciplinary learning鈥攖he learning about the subject matter鈥攇ets deeper,鈥 Susan Lawrence remarked. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the writing, but it鈥檚 not only about the writing. In consultations, students explore and scrutinize their ideas more fully, and I wish more people knew that.鈥澨

Communication Center consultant Fadzi Sambana tells guest Raymond Davis about the Lab and its services Photo by John Boal
Communication Center consultant Fadzi Sambana tells guest Raymond Davis about the Lab and its services Photo by John Boal

In addition to housing consultations with student communicators, the lab is a site for research. Heidi Lawrence noted that 鈥淲e want to make research opportunities available to our student consultants, and we want to apply the knowledge we鈥檙e building here with community partners, and to bring that expertise from the community back into the lab.鈥澨

鈥淲e want to help students empower themselves through their own language use,鈥 said Susan Lawrence. 鈥淭hat is what we鈥檙e about.鈥澨

To , use the online scheduler to login or register, and gain access to the calendar to see which consultants are available at certain times. Meeting options include in-person, Zoom sessions, or written feedback. Clients have access to in order to see who might be the best fit for their academic needs.听