Biography
Amy Cicchino, Ph.D. believes that writing is a lifelong practice of discovery, communication, and community-building. Whether in the classroom or the Writing Center, meaningful writing empowers students to find their voice, make intentional rhetorical choices, and envision the futures writing can help them shape. This philosophy informs her approach to teaching and mentoring: she encourages writers to ask better questions, revise with purpose, and see writing as integral to who they are and what they do.
Her research takes up writing praxis and digital composition, experiential and high-impact learning experiences, and writing program administration and has appeared in journals such as WPA: Writing Program Administration, the International Journal of ePortfolio, and the Writing Center Journal, among others. Her recent edited collection with Troy Hicks, Better Practices: Exploring the Teaching of Writing in Online and Hybrid Spaces (2024), won the 2024-2025 Computers & Composition Johndan Johnson-Eilola Distinguished Book Award and received an honorable mention for the 2025 CCCC Outstanding Book Award.
Amy serves as president of the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE), where she collaborates with specialists in online literacy instruction to advance pedagogy and professional development tailored to digital and online learning contexts. She is also deeply engaged in the high-impact practices (HIPs) community, serving as a track leader for HIPs in the States, and the Association for Authentic, Experiential, Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL), where she was a founding co-chair and remains an active member of the Digital Ethics Task Force. Lastly, Amy contributes to the field through editorial work, collaborating with Christopher Basgier and Helen Chen on a special issue of Across the Disciplines on ePortfolios across the disciplines and serving on the editorial board and as incoming editor for the Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ELTHE) journal.
Education
- Ph.D. in English, Rhetoric and Composition from Florida State University
- M.A. in English from Florida Gulf Coast University
- B.A. in English, Minor in Education from Florida Gulf Coast University
Research Interests
Writing center studies, writing praxis, digital composition, experiential and high-impact learning, and writing program administration
Recent Research Activities
Peer-Reviewed Articles, Chapters, and Editorial Projects
Cicchino, A. & Hicks, T. (Eds.). (2024). Better Practices: Exploring the Teaching of Writing in Online and Hybrid Spaces. WAC Clearinghouse, Perspectives on Writing series. Winner of 2024–2025 Computers & Composition Johndan Johnson-Eilola Distinguished Book Award. 2025 CCCC Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention.
Basgier, C., Cicchino, A., Brown, K. H., Haskins, M. (2024). (De)Centering whiteness in writing center assessment. In A. B. Inoue and K. DeMint Bailey (Ed.s), Narratives of joy and failure in antiracist assessment: Exploring collaborative writing assessments (pp. 191–212). WAC Clearinghouse Practices and Possibilities Series.
Brown, K. H., Smith, M., & Cicchino, A. (2024). Creating an OER that lasts: A sustainable model for design, publication, and maintenance. Research in Online Literacy Education, 4(1).
Cicchino, A., & Gilbert, B. (2024). Empowering students to include externally created artifacts in their ePortfolios. The AAEEBL ePortfolio Review (AePR), 8(1), 10–14.
Basgier, C., Chen, H. L., & Cicchino, A. (Eds.). (2023, Dec. 31). ePortfolios in the Disciplines [special issue of Across the Disciplines], 20(3/4).
Cicchino, A., Snyder, S., & Szymanski, N. (2023). We’ve been burned out and exhausted: GenAdmin WPA labor issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. WPA: Writing Program Administration, 47(1), 102–116.
Cicchino, A. (2023). “I Passed first-year writing—what now?”: Adapting strategies from first-year writing to writing in the disciplines. In Writing Spaces, vol. 5, edited by Dana Lynn Driscoll, Megan Heise, Mary K. Stewart, & Matthew Vetter (pp. 167–188). WAC Clearinghouse.
Cornejo Happel, C. & Cicchino, A. (2023). Enhancing faculty engagement: The role of CTLs in providing peer mentorship for new faculty. Journal of Faculty Development, 37(3), 84–88.
Olejnik, M., Cicchino, A., Harahap, A., & LaVecchia, C. (2023). Blurred boundaries: Sussing out thresholds between WAC and WPA in administrative professionalization. Adapting the Past to Reimagine Possible Futures: Celebrating and Critiquing WAC at 50, edited by Megan J. Kelly, Heather M. Falconer, Caleb L. González, and Jill Dahlman (pp.189–204). WAC Clearinghouse.
Neal, M., Stark, K., Cicchino, A., Albert, K. & Healy, M. (2023). Institutional matters: The (in)visibility of localized WPA labor. In Making Administrative Work Visible: Data- Driven Advocacy for Understanding the Labor of Writing Program Administration, edited by Leigh Graziano, Kay Halasek, Remi Hudgins, Susan Miller-Cochran, Frank Napolitano, and Natalie Szymanski (pp.185–202). Utah State University Press.
Cicchino, A., Brown, K. H., Basgier, C., & Haskins, M. (2023). Beyond transactional narratives of agency: Peer consultants’ antiracist professionalization. Writing Center Journal, 40(3), 56–75.
Brown, L. & Cicchino, A. (2022). Asynchronous peer review feedback in an undergraduate nursing course: What students can teach each other about writing. Nurse Educator, 47(5), 303–307.
Cicchino, A. (2021). Preparing students to compose across media for various audiences: Syllabus for an upper-level professional writing course. Syllabus Journal, 10(1), 1–22.
Cicchino, A., Haskins, M., Gresham, M., Kelly, K., Slade, C., & Zurhellen, S. (2021, July). Digital ethics in ePortfolios: Developing principles, strategies, and scenarios. International Journal of ePortfolio, 11(1), 67–82.
Neal, M., Cicchino, A, & Stark, K. (2021). Kariotic design: Developing adaptable, humanities- driven OWI pedagogy preparation. In English Studies Online: Programs, Practices, Possibilities, edited by Susan Spangler and William P. Banks. (pp.182–200). Parlor Press.
Cicchino, A. (2020). A broader view: How doctoral programs in rhetoric and composition prepare their graduate students to teach composition. WPA: Writing Program Administration, 43(1), 86–106.
Cicchino, A. (2020, August). Supporting online learning with writing-to-learn activities. Online Literacy Open Resource (OLOR).
Cicchino, A., Clark, L., & Austin, T. (2020, July). Blackboard Ally: Can digital tools help us identify accessible practices? Online Literacy Open Resource (OLOR).
Recent Conference Presentations
Remixing professional development to enhance post-Covid online writing instruction (OWI). Conference on College Composition and Communication. Apr. 2025.
Integrating AI into classroom assessment and feedback techniques: Cases for critical AI literacy. Continuous Improvement Summit. Feb. 2025.
Supporting Gen AI literacy: Three assignments on AI use in-action. Global Society of Online Literacy Educators Conference. Feb. 2025.
From inquiry to insight: Cultivating local conversations on AI. POD Network Conference. Nov. 2024.
Faculty support for high-impact study abroad experiencesu200b: A community of practice modelu200bAssessment Institute. October 2024.
From research to application: ePortfolio practice across the disciplines. Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL), Invited Virtual Workshop. 27 June 2024.
The verdict on value: Employing juried assessments for learning assurance. Innovation at Altitude Continuous Improvement Summit. April 2024.
Assessing and showcasing teaching effectiveness. Innovation at Altitude Continuous Improvement Summit. April 2024.
Reimagining mentoring: Sharing approaches to mentorship for new facultyu200b. POD Conference. November 2023.
Evaluating ePortfolio technologies based on your institutional goals and values. Assessment Institute. October 2023.
Publishing on your practice: Doing digital ethics in our classrooms, programs, & publications. AAEEBL Conference. July 2023.
Digital ethics: Promoting awareness workshop. AAEEBL Digital Ethics Task Force Workshop. April 2023.
Digital literacy includes your data: Helping students, educators, and administrators teach with data responsibility in mind. Global Society of Online Literacy Educators Conference. February 2023.
Making space to reimagine ourselves: The potentials of educator ePortfolios. POD Network Conference. November 2022.
Choose your own ePortfolio adventure. American Association of Colleges and Universities ePortfolio Institute (invited speaker). July 2022.
Professional development workshop: Building your professional ePortfolio. Association of Authentic, Experiential, Evidence-Based Learning. July 2022.
From administrative allies to accomplices: Strategies for navigating risk while advocating for inclusive practice as a non-tenured WPA. Conference on College Composition and Communication. March 2022.
Writing literature reviews. Violet Cuffy Writing Boot Camp, Caribbean Tourism Researchers Network (invited speaker). February 2022.
Meaningful learning and ePortfolios post-COVID. HIPs Conference, The College System of Tennessee (invited speaker). January 2022.
Online literacy instructor growth and development in GSOLE’s first online literacy certification program cohort. Global Society of Online Literacy Educators Conference. January 2022.
Writing is conversation: Online writing instructors publish as a community of practice. Global Society of Online Literacy Educators Conference. January 2022.
Ensuring equitable evaluation: Digital ethics in ePortfolio assessment. IUPUI Assessment Institute. Virtual Conference. October 2021.
What are you doing to include everyone in ePortfolio practice? A primer for equitable ePortfolio practices. IUPUI Assessment Institute. Virtual Conference. October 2021.
Digital ethics in ePortfolios: Version 2.0, resource development by the AAEEBL Digital Ethics ePortfolio Task Force in 2021. ePortfolio Forum, ePortfolios Australia. October 2021.
Blurred boundaries: Sussing out thresholds between WAC and WPA in administrative professionalization. International Writing across the Curriculum Conference. August 2021.
WAC mentoring workshop. International Writing across the Curriculum Conference. August 2021.
Supporting faculty ePortfolio development. Association for Authentic, Experiential, Evidence-based Learning. July 2021.
Hackathon: Hack the AAEEBL task force’s digital ethics principles. Association for Authentic, Experiential, Evidence-based Learning. July 2021.
More than replication: Reimagining spaces using an affordance-forward approach to design in online writing instruction. Conference on College Composition and Communication. April 2021.
Faculty professional development series. HIPs in the States. February 2021.
On the global preparation of online literacy instructors: A tale of GSOLE’s Basic OLI Certification Development. Global Society of Online Literacy Educators. January 2021.
Approaches to integrating ePortfolios through high impact faculty development. IUPUI Assessment Institute. October 2020.
Professional development as a high-impact practice implementation strategy. IUPUI Assessment Institute. October 2020.
Strategies for online WAC faculty development. Association for Writing across the Curriculum. April 2020.
Shaping high impact professional development: Lessons from the Academy for Writing. HIPs in the States. College Station, TX. February 2020.
Awards
2025 Conference on College Composition and Communication, Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention in the Edited Collection category, 2025
International Engagement Award for International Research, Center for International Education, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2024
Innovation Award, for “Small Teaching, Big Results,” the POD Network (with Lori Mumpower, Teha Cooks, Claudia Cornejo Happel, Kim Chambers, and Chad Rohrbacher), 2023
President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant. Nova Southeastern University, 2021
Fred L. Stanley Award for Excellence in Teaching College Composition. Florida State University, 2019
Courses
| Course # | Course | Title | Mode | Days/Times | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12272 | ENC3314 | Writing & Rhetoric Foundations | Mixed Mode (M) | M,W 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM | Unavailable |
| 12601 | ENC5933 | Seminar for Writing Consultant | In Person (P) | F 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Unavailable |
| Course # | Course | Title | Mode | Days/Times | Syllabus |
|---|