The UCF Center for Writing Excellence, which supports student and faculty writing at UCF and beyond, comprises the University Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum program.
Writing Across the Curriculum
The UCF Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program has remained an integral stakeholder in campuswide conversations about how increasing access to artificial intelligence-powered content generators is impacting, shaping and affecting writing and the teaching of writing. Faculty and students alike are engaging in conversations, questions and explorations related to the roles and responsibilities of writers when it comes to AI-powered text, and the WAC Program has supported the development of critical AI literacy and offered a forum for meaningful conversation.
This year, the WAC program offered fourteen workshops focused on AI and writing, ranging from “Effectively Assigning Writing in an Age of Artificial Intelligence” to “Cultivating Critical and Functional Literacy of AI-powered Content Generators.” The program offered practical workshops that enabled faculty to work on documents like syllabi and assignment guidelines and exploratory workshops that prompted faculty to ask the hard questions about why they assign writing and whether AI tools would enhance or inhibit their goals for students. Additionally, the WAC program was able to offer insights that not only benefit UCF constituents but also a range of regional stakeholders. Through a partnership with UCF Connect, I brought the insights developed through our WAC workshops to forty attendees from five different institutions across Central Florida in an all-day symposium on Reimagining First Year Writing in the Era of Artificial Intelligence. Opportunities like this create a broad sense of shared responsibility for ways that writing is taught and a collaborative community for faculty in our region.
The WAC program enhances student success by helping faculty within the disciplines adopt research-based best practices that enhance learning and contribute to research discovery and exploration. This year alone, we supported faculty and advanced student research by facilitating co-curricular writing workshops to support students working on Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects that translate evidence into practice, hosting on-site research protocol in the WAC research lab for a UCF-funded seed grant project, co-developing a survey-based study of students and faculty on use and perceptions of Artificial Intelligence in/for writing; and supporting a WAC-affiliated post-doctoral researcher through a National Science Foundation grant related to disciplinary enculturation and institutional transformation.
WAC also continued to celebrate the National Day of Writing on October 20 by hosting writing activities that celebrate the role of writing in our everyday lives. However, this year, we extended the celebration beyond just one day, partnering with faculty to the School of Teacher Education and the UCF Arboretum to offer several days of outdoor writing activities as part of Write Out, a two-week celebration co-sponsored by the National Writing Project and National Parks Service.
The UCF Writing Across the Curriculum program continues to bring the best of what we know about writing — in all its forms — to everyone, especially those who are experts in their disciplines and domains but don’t necessarily have a background in writing studies. We not only help writers and teachers adopt existing best practices but also help to build new knowledge through our research projects, shared conversations and community collaborations. If you have an idea or a question about the ways writing works in your domain, I hope you’ll reach out to collaborate. I’d love to see you at a WAC event soon!
— Laurie A. Pinkert, director
University Writing Center
UWC consultants celebrate student writers
The University Writing Center (UWC) conducted over 4,200 one-on-one peer consultations this year across more than ninety-eight disciplines. In addition, it engaged with around 1,600 student participants through various workshops, events and presentations.
Thanks to a collaboration with the Hispanic Serving Institute and a grant from Bank of America, the center launched a Healthcare Research lab last year. The lab was operational four days a week in the evenings and on Sunday afternoons, offering in-person and virtual support to enhance students’ research and writing skills in healthcare professions.
The UWC participated in an event hosted by the Florida Space Institute for the partial solar eclipse, during which we encouraged students to write down their reflections. The thoughts were then posted on the windows of the writing center, allowing the campus community to come together and share this experience in the moment and in the days that followed.
In April, the UWC and the Department of Writing and Rhetoric teamed up with members of the Learning Institute for Elders (LIFE) at UCF to participate in UCF Celebrates the Arts. In addition to the public audience, more than twenty tutors attended the event and found listening to the members’ personal stories motivating and empowering.
The UWC offers a Drop-in-Drafting Lab as an additional resource where students can ask quick questions or spend time writing. Additionally, the center publishes a newsletter twice a year, collaborates with Writing Across the Curriculum and runs graduate writing groups. The UWC supports students from diverse language backgrounds, assisting undergraduate and graduate students in collaborating, researching and improving their writing skills.
— Debbie Weaver, director