UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State faculty teaching undergraduate courses at the University Park campus can partner with tutors from the Writing Center @ Penn State Learning to help their students strengthen their writing skills.
Working through the Writing Center’s Outreach Program, undergraduate tutors collaborate with faculty through customized workshops, class visits and peer tutoring. Tutors work directly with professors across various disciplines to enhance writing instruction and help students strengthen their written and critical thinking skills. Writing Center Coordinator Tabitha Fisher said the Outreach program thrives on this collaboration.
“We see the Outreach Program as both a high-impact experience for our writing tutors and an opportunity to make meaningful connections with faculty and students across the curriculum,” Fisher said.
According to Fisher, the program aims to bring together tutors, students and faculty in beneficial ways: peer tutors develop professional skills such as teaching, communication, and collaboration; student writers benefit from peer tutor knowledge; and faculty get to teach writing in new ways while also making a strong impact on their students and tutors.
Faculty perspective
Faculty who partner regularly with the Writing Center noted not only significant improvement in student writing but also opportunities to see how writing operates outside of the classroom for various audiences. According to Jun Akiyoshi, assistant teaching professor of English, students exposed to Writing Center workshops have the opportunity to interact with peers in leadership roles.
“The presentation facilitators are college students who are not much different from my students,” Akiyoshi said. “The implication here is that the academic/professional performance that the Writing Center tutors demonstrate or perform is something that my students can also do if they learn more and more about writing.”
Diane Spokus, teaching professor of health policy and administration, underscores how engaging with the Writing Center has prepared her students for future internships and successful careers. Specifically, students in Spokus’ Health Services Policy Issues course visit the Writing Center each semester to enhance their writing for audiences in the healthcare field.
“Since my students have attended the Writing Center workshop and are required to visit the center to see a peer tutor during their policy brief writing process, they can interpret the feedback they receive more clearly,” Spokus said.
Similarly, Mitchell Smith, assistant teaching professor in parks, recreation and tourism management, praised the Writing Center for helping students meet high standards required for their Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) internship portfolios. Unlike most college assignments, these portfolios are graded by the PGA of America on a scale of one to five (one being poor and five being perfect) and are key to students receiving PGA certification. Smith noted that the Writing Center played a vital role in preparing students to meet or even surpass this standard in the RPTM 350: PGA Facility Management Level 3 course.
“We just had our first set of students have their work submitted to the PGA of America that were part of RPTM 350 cohort that actively used the writing center and to date every student in that set earned at least a four or a five from the PGA of America for ‘professionalism and communication,’” Smith said. “That is huge in helping our students be able to successfully complete the PGA Golf Management program.”
Outreach as tutor professional development
Through these partnerships, faculty can host class workshops and offer valuable co-curricular experiences to tutors and student writers alike. According to Clara Miller, a junior pursuing a degree in secondary English education and a student coordinator for the program, she and her team train tutors in classroom facilitation, workshop design, and working with faculty. This commitment to collaboration not only shapes the workshops themselves but also the tutors’ skill development.
“One of the core beliefs that influences the work we do at the Writing Center is collaboration; collaboration is something that is in the forefront of my mind during all of my work, as both tutor and coordinator,” Miller said.
Miller also noted that each tutor may benefit differently from participating in outreach activities. They can foster personal and professional growth, become more comfortable speaking in front of groups and can take on leadership positions.
Kayla Lumish, a junior pursuing a degree in secondary English education and a tutor who regularly facilitates outreach, emphasized the value in connecting with and learning from faculty across disciplines.
"I would love to eventually teach college courses too,” Lumish said. "I’ve shared this goal with outreach program instructors, and they’ve shared their experience as a professor and advised me on choosing graduate programs."
Teaching Professor of English and Scholar in Residence for Writing and Communication Beth Parfitt said the Writing Center is one of the few places on campus where this kind of collaboration takes place. Through the Outreach program, faculty participation is vital for tutors to gain experience through hands-on learning.
“Faculty participation is an integral component to the outreach we offer. Designing workshops and bringing students into your classroom is important collaborative work that involves flexibility and an openness to student learning and expertise. When faculty make space for these conversations in their classrooms, they signal an investment in student engagement and support,” Parfitt said. “It’s a reciprocal exchange and we couldn’t do our work without them.”
The Writing Center’s design reflects a learning-communities approach, highlighting why collaborative academic spaces remain essential to student success. Together, these high-impact practices aim to help strengthen connections between students, tutors and faculty, transforming classroom learning into real-world readiness driven by collaboration.
“To me, this is what teaching, learning, and working in higher education is all about,” Writing Center Coordinator Tabitha Fisher said.
Work with the Writing Center @ Penn State
Instructors interested in collaborating with the Writing Center @ Penn State Learning can learn more about workshops and presentations at pennstatelearning.psu.edu or by contacting Tabitha Fisher, center coordinator. Students looking to meet with a tutor can schedule via Starfish or walk-in.