Clint Gardner

It has been a busy summer further developing the Tutorial Session Report system (TSR) for the SLCC Student Writing Center.  I last wrote about the development of TSR last year.  There have been some remarkable changes this year.  Joe McCormick who is currently a graduate student at Durham University in the UK, deserve a lot of credit for inspiring the changes and in a fair share of the implementation.  Before he left for grad school, for instance, Joe completely redesigned our interface, making it really slick.  I'll write about that soon, as well as the systemic changes I've been working on later.   It is a big write up, I fear, and I'm still in the midst of implementing everything.

One exciting development that I can show you now, however, is our fully integrated appointment system.  A student can make an appointment online, or she can walk up to our kiosk in the Center.  Here are two Vines of the kiosk in development:






After the student makes an appointment, a report is …

I recently had the honor of giving the keynote address at the 2013 South Central Writing Center Association's Annual Conference.  Here is the text of the speech:

Keynote Address for the South Central Writing Centers Association Annual Conference February 21-23, 2013
Corpus Christi, Texas Clint Gardner
Salt Lake Community College Student Writing Center
PRE-INTRODUCTION
How many here are peer tutors?

How many here have been peer tutors?

Being the good writing center person that I am, I’m going to have you do a little writing first. Strange thing in a keynote address, I realize, but bear with me.  “What are the most significant abilities, values, or skills that you developed in your work as a peer writing tutor?”
Peer Tutoring:  The Writing Center's Essential Contact Zone
INTRODUCTION
Today I want to talk about why I think Peer Tutoring is the essential contact zone for a writing center.  By contact zone I mean the place where learning happens, in all its glory:  learning about wri…

I neglected to link in a post to my article "Rhetorical Media and the Twenty First Century Open-Access Writing Center: Predictions, Predilections, and Realities."  The issue of Computers and Writing Online that it is featured in didn't stay up very long either.  Ah well.  Here is an excerpt from the conclusion to further tempt you to read the whole thing:
 Are we at open-access institutions, quite literally, disabling our students by not providing them with adequate response to non-traditional types of texts?  Millward (2008) states, “Two-year colleges, whose mission is to serve as a gateway for nontraditional students, must not allow themselves to become, by default, the new gatekeepers for the [under-served]” or, what Cynthia Selfe (1999) bluntly calls a new illiterate class (423).  As individual writing center professionals at open-access institutions, we have to decide if it is worth while to keep our writing centers relevant to this change, or whether we will focus …

On November 3, 2012, I was honored to receive the 2012 Ron Maxwell Award for Distinguished Leadership in Promoting the Collaborative Learning Practices of Peer Tutors in Writing.  Here is the acceptance speech I delivered:

I want to thank the selection committee and especially my good friend Jon Olson as well as the Maxwell family for continuing Ron’s legacy.  I also offer my humble thanks to Harvey Kail who nominated me for the award.  It is truly an honor to be listed among those who have contributed such excellent work to the field of peer tutoring in writing.  When Jon first notified me of the award, I was taken aback.  It was something I never expected, but am truly honored to receive. I also wish to thank and offer my appreciation of the peer writing advisors at Salt Lake Community College for helping me to learn about peer tutoring and fostering learning.  When I think of my work, I think of the peer writing advisors and their origins and their successes.  I think of John, who …