Program Overview
Wildcat Writers links students from UA composition classes and area high school English classes in a collaborative writing partnership. The program pairs high school and college teachers, and these teams work together to design assignments that allow their students to interact with one another. Possibilities include having students discuss the same texts online, co-author writing assignments, or simply exchange occasional emails about high school and college life. Wildcat Writers offers a lot of freedom for each pair of instructors to link their classes in a way that fits their particular goals.
The aim of Wildcat Writers is to create a sense of continuity and community between secondary and higher education. A partnership can benefit local high school students by increasing their motivation to apply to college, as well as offering a greater understanding of what occurs in college classes and a glimpse of the college experience through the eyes of current students. It can also give high school students an opportunity to collaborate intellectually with new people, to receive writing assistance from more experienced students, and to write for a real audience. Some benefits for first year composition students may include increased critical awareness of factors affecting education, engagement with social justice issues, a context from which to generate writing, greater audience awareness, increased confidence in their ability to assist others with their writing, and an opportunity to learn from students outside their composition class. Finally, teachers benefit from sharing resources and having a greater understanding of the work that each does with students from the community.
The aim of Wildcat Writers is to create a sense of continuity and community between secondary and higher education. A partnership can benefit local high school students by increasing their motivation to apply to college, as well as offering a greater understanding of what occurs in college classes and a glimpse of the college experience through the eyes of current students. It can also give high school students an opportunity to collaborate intellectually with new people, to receive writing assistance from more experienced students, and to write for a real audience. Some benefits for first year composition students may include increased critical awareness of factors affecting education, engagement with social justice issues, a context from which to generate writing, greater audience awareness, increased confidence in their ability to assist others with their writing, and an opportunity to learn from students outside their composition class. Finally, teachers benefit from sharing resources and having a greater understanding of the work that each does with students from the community.