SSWCA hosts digital roundtables on various topics of interest to secondary school writing and peer tutoring center directors and tutors throughout the year.
All meetings are held on Zoom. As always, our member schools participate in these sessions for free; join or renew your membership here. For the 2024-25 school year, Digital Roundtables are free for all registrants, whether they are SSWCA members or not.
All individuals who want to participate must register ahead of time for each digital roundtable of interest. Space is limited to allow participants to engage in small-group, collaborative discussions. Registered participants are emailed a Zoom link and guiding questions a prior to the digital roundtable. For security reasons, we cannot admit individuals who are not pre-registered, so please ensure the name on your Zoom account matches the name you used to register.
Questions and suggestions for future roundtable discussion topics can be emailed to admin@sswca.org.
UPCOMING ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
New Directors, New Centers
Wednesday, October 30th, 7-8 pm EST
Facilitated by Lisa Fisher, The Hockaday School, TX
If you are new to the role of Writing Center Director or in the process of starting a new writing center (or just thinking about it), please join our digital roundtable discussion! Drawing on participants’ experiences and referencing The Toolkit: Writing Center Resources for Middle and High Schools, our roundtable will be facilitated by Lisa Fisher, Writing Center Director at The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas.
Register Here – This event is FREE for all (members and non-members). Registration closes at 4 p.m. EST on the day of the event.
All-Subject Learning Centers
Wednesday, November 20th, 7 pm EST
Facilitated by Melissa Morgan, SSWCA Middle School and Learning Center Board Member
Are you considering expanding your writing center or starting an all-subject learning center? Come learn more about this process from a director who’s been there, Melissa Morgan, the former Director of Peer Tutoring at West Springfield High School in Springfield, VA. We’ll discuss the similarities and differences between writing centers and learning centers in areas such as administration, recruitment, tutor training, Admin buy-in, and more. We’ll also share some SSWCA resources specifically designed to help those running learning centers. Regardless of where you are in your journey, you will leave this roundtable with concrete ideas to help you grow your center.
Register Here – This event is FREE for all (members and non-members). Registration closes at 4 p.m. EST on the day of the event.
AI In the Writing Center
Thursday, December 12th, 7 pm EST
Facilitated by Tarra Stevenson, Westridge School for Girls, CA and Dan Harrison, New Vistas High School, VA
How are Writing Centers responding to the challenge of AI? How are we working with English Departments to stay aligned on AI policies and expectations? How do we have the discussion with students about the benefits of human-generated thought vs AI generation? How are tutors engaging in this discussion?
Recommended Reading: Why A.I. Isn’t Going to Make Art | The New Yorker
Register Here – This event is FREE for all (members and non-members). Registration closes at 4 p.m. EST on the day of the event.
PAST ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
SSWCA 101 for Tutors
Director Tips & Tricks for Conference Travel
Workshop for Directors: Writing an Article for JPTSS
Open Forum
New Director
Determining Areas of Growth
The Elective Course
Talk with The Journal of Peer Tutoring in Secondary Schools Editors
Director Speed Dating: Making Professional Connections
Tutor Recruitment
All-subject Learning Centers
Goal Setting and Prep for Next Year
Tutor-led open forum discussion
Converting your conference presentation into a JPTSS article
Beyond the English Department (Writing Across the Curriculum initiatives, etc.)
Managing goals/expectations and setting boundaries