Changing Notions of Difference in the Writing Center: The Possibilities of Universal Design

Abstract

The Problem: The Divide Between Theory and Practice Like most writing center directors, we have always included in our tutor prepa-ration an emphasis on differences students may bring to a session. Up until a few years ago, this approach mainly took the form of a unit on working with ESL writ-ers and another on working with students who have learning disabilities. This approach to diversity was reinforced by the textbooks we chose for our tutor train-ing seminar. The guides for tutors that we have assigned over the years (including Meyer and Smith's The Practical Tutor , Capossela's The Harcourt Brace Guide to Peer Tutoring, , McAndrew and Reigstaďs Tutoring Writing: A Practical Guide for Conferences , and Gillespie and Lerner's The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring) tended to include chapters or sections on ESL students and on students with dis-abilities, as did the collections of essays we used (Murphy and Law's Landmark Essays on Writing Centers ; Barnett and Blumner's The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing Center Theory and Practice). Each year, we supplemented the textbooks with additional readings and with presentations from guest speakers. Tutors seemed eager to explore these topics, and we typically spent significant class time discussing sample papers by and sessions with ESL writers and students with disabilities.