From October 30th- November 1st, four members of the Norman H. Ott Memorial Writing Center staff attended and presented research at the IWCA/NCPTW conference in Orlando. Besides enjoying the wonderful world of Disney, tutors and the Writing Center director attended many research sessions covering an array of topics. The information and ideas gathered have been and will continue to be very valuable in bettering our writing center here at Marquette! In addition to learning how we can strengthen our own center, tutors were also able to share their own research in attempts to better writing centers across the nation. See photos bellow to learn a bit about what research tutors presented:

Alex Rucka and Emily McCormick present their poster titled, "Grade School Wisdom: The Role of Outlining in the Collegiate Writing Process." For their research they looked at how and when students of varying years and disciplines outlined.

Here they are explaining their research to interested readers!

Next, Kim Baker presented on a panel discussion concerning how tutors can create a safe space for writers. Her presentation was titled "The Role of Positive Feedback and Affirmation in University Writing Centers." In her research she talked about different strategies tutors can use so that writer confidence is maintained, even when constructive criticism is given.

Of the Writing Center staff, director Rebecca Nowacek also presented research on a panel with other University directors from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kansas State University and University of Notre Dame. Their panel session was called, "What Are Threshold Concepts and Why Do Writing Centers Need Them?" In this panel the audience was at capacity! The research prompted much discussion and encouraged dialogue between those very involved in their writing centers' administration.