English Department faculty share pedagogical innovations and career reflections at the Conference on College Composition and Communication
Five English Department faculty presented at the 2026 Conference on College Composition and Communication, which was held March 4-7, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Catherine Bowlin, assistant teaching professor in English, presented “A Liberating Way to Take a Course: Linguistically Just, Collaborative Feedback and Assessment in First-Year Writing,” a pedagogical intervention she began piloting in her Fall 2025 courses (ENG 1100 and COR 1100). This question-based feedback model requires students to submit specific questions about their drafts before receiving peer or instructor feedback.
This approach is part of Bowlin’s broader commitment to linguistically just assessment practices that center student agency and challenge traditional grading structures that often reinforce linguistic hierarchies. Bowlin shared preliminary findings from three courses and received valuable feedback from scholars in writing studies. Early data suggests that structuring feedback around student-generated questions can increase students’ confidence, sense of ownership over their writing, and engagement with the revision process.
Paula Patch, associate teaching professor in English and associate director of the Common Reading and First-Year Foundations in the Elon Core Curriculum, participated in a roundtable discussion on career options after a faculty member has served as a Writing Program Administrator. Titled “‘Learning on the Bones’: Life After Writing Program Administration,” the roundtable featured five mid- to late-career faculty who spoke about their experiences as administrators, what they decided to do next in their careers, and advice they have for others. Patch spoke about the unique opportunities and sense of belonging that program and campus leadership offers for non-tenure track faculty. The presenters also debuted a call for proposals for an edited collection on the same topic. Patch was the Coordinator of the College Writing Program at Elon from 2012 to 2019.
Associate Professors of English Heather Lindenman, first-year Writing coordinator, and Julia Bleakney, director of The Writing Center, and Associate Teaching Professor Greg Hlavaty presented the findings of a Spring 2025 study that piloted two versions of AI-integrated first-year writing courses (ENG 1100). This presentation, “Navigating Control and Trust: A Study of Two Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching First-Year Writing with Generative AI,” detailed two pedagogical models for engaging AI in the FYW classroom; shared an overview of the study’s findings from both survey and focus group data; and discussed pedagogical and curricular interventions being currently piloted in Elon’s first-year writing courses as a result of this study’s findings and implications.
Elon and ENG1100 have been leaders in research surrounding generative AI and writing pedagogy. These presentations contributed to conversations among Writing Studies scholars regarding pedagogical adaptations to support student and faculty engagement.