Beyond Fitting In: Rethinking First-Generation Writing and Literacy Education

by Kelly Ritter (Editor)

Overview

Beyond Fitting In interrogates how the cultural capital and lived experiences of first-generation college students inform literacy studies and the writing-centered classroom. Essays, written by scholar-teachers in the field of rhetoric and composition, discuss best practices for teaching first-generation students in writing classrooms, centers, programs, and other environments. The collection considers how first-gen students of different demographics interact with and affect literacy instruction in a variety of public and private, rural and urban schools offering two- or four-year programs, including Hispanic-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities, and public research universities. By exploring the experiences of students, teachers, writing program administrators, and writing center directors, the volume gives readers an inside view of the practices and structures that shape the literacy of first-generation students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603296038
Publisher:	Modern Language Association
Publication date:	02/03/2023
Pages:	354
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Foreword Anne Ruggles Gere ix

Introduction: On the Precipice Kelly Ritter 1

Part 1 Defining First-Generation Students

A Keyword Analysis of Websites That Support First-Generation Students William DeGenaro Michael T. MacDonald 27

Integrated Regionalisms and First-Generation Students: A Place-Conscious Heuristic Jenny Rice 45

First-Generation Students in an Accelerated Learning Program at a Community College Sarah Elizabeth Snyder Eric S. Lee 60

Rural First-Generation Latinx Students and College Access: Considerations for Writing Instructors and Administrators Todd Ruecker 80

Finding First-Generation Students through an Intersectional Approach to Institutional and Programmatic Data Beth A. Towle 99

Part 2 First-Generation Students in the First Year and Beyond

Dual Enrollment First-Year Writing for First-Generation Students Casie Moreland 117

Writing Transitions of First-Generation Writers in a Paired Retention Program and First-Year Writing Course Christina Saidy 135

On a Path to Fitting In? Listening to First-Generation Students at a Branch Campus Caitlin Larracey 152

Bridging Literacies: First-Generation Transfer Students in a Writing Studies Major Christie Toth Cristina Guerrero Perez Kathryn Henderson Jose Loeri Joseph Andrew Moss Jacque Thetsombandith Adilene Tolentino Clint Gardner 171

First-Generation Students at a Historically Black University Talk about "Proper English" Shurli Makmillen 189

Part 3 Writing Contexts for First-Generation Students, Teachers, and Administrators

Writing Transfer Strategies of First-Generation College Students: Negotiation as a Metaphor for Adaptive Transfer Neil Baird Bradley Dilger 211

First-Generation College Students' Constructs of Writing in First-Year

Writing and Workplace Contexts Aubrey Schiavone 233

Research-Writing Pedagogy as Sustaining First-Generation College Student Identities in a Bridge Program Christine Alfano Megan Formato Jennifer Johnson Ashley Newby 251

Playing the Expectation Game: Negotiating Disciplinary Discourse in Undergraduate Research Heather M. Falconer 267

From Literacy Narrative to Identity-Conflict Memoir: Agency in Representation Nancy Mack 282

First-Generation Writing Program Administrators as Literacy Sponsors for First-Generation College Students Courtney Adams Wooten Jacob Babb 300

Afterword: The New Student Majority Deserves Fundamental Reform in Higher Education Elaine P. Maimon 317

Notes on Contributors 333

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2023

Broadly defining literacy as the ability to comprehend specialized texts and complex topics without outside assistance, Ritter (writing and communication, Georgia Tech.; Reframing the Subject) and contributors recommend instructors not expect first-generation students to adapt themselves to current educational practices. The book, with contributions from 22 faculty and 11 non-faculty members, including current first-generation students or recent graduates, suggests that instructors meet students at the their current level of academic experience. The foreword, introduction, 16 essays with endnotes and short bibliographies, and afterword discuss various aspects of teaching first-generation students, including student demographics and structuring syllabi. It also examines the differences between first-generation and traditional college students' needs regarding college preparedness, acceptance, transferring from community college vs. starting at a four-year institution, utilizing writing centers, and the environment's effect upon learning. This book examines what goes on behind the scenes with both students and instructors, whereas similar titles concentrate on the actual teaching process, techniques, improving outcomes, and setting goals and expectations. VERDICT Will be of interest to graduate students, teaching graduate assistants, researchers, and faculty. Due to its lack of an index, traditional nonfiction and professional collections might benefit more than a traditional reference section.—Laurie Selwyn

Library Journal