Supporting English Language Learners

When you hear the term English Language Learner, you might think of international students who’ve grown up in countries where English isn’t a primary language. But many other English Language Learners (ELLs) have grown up in the U.S. in multilingual families. In Colorado, 16% of families speak a language other than English at home. Value

Break It Down: A Quick Prep Method for In-Class Workshops

Our category 20 Minutes to Class Time shares ideas you can put together with little prep for effective in-person teaching. Today’s post focuses on a fast method for breaking down and modeling reading, learning, or writing strategies for in-class practice. I often hit the same point every semester: realizing my students know how to do

Building Student Relationships through the Writing Center

Hilary was a first-year student at the University of Pittsburgh almost 20 years ago. I was an adjunct, teaching one section of first-year composition and tutoring 10 hours a week in the Writing Center, a mix of walk-in appointments and first-year students with weekly appointments. The Pitt Writing Center’s long-standing Composition Tutorial program enrolls first-year

The Spotlight on Tutoring

My first job in higher education was as a tutor. I worked at the writing center at Cuyahoga Community College’s Parma campus to gain relevant experience to show the prospective graduate programs I was applying to that I was dedicated to being an English or literature professor. In an earlier post I wrote about working