Research & Publications
We are proud to support City Tech's broader commitment to research (Research - City Tech) by conducting and facilitating various research projects focused on Writing Centers, student needs, professional development, and the role of artificial intelligence in education. The diversity of our student population and the unique challenges they face in an urban, public commuter environment provide a vital lens to explore the effectiveness of different educational interventions and outcomes. A snapshot of our research achievements are included below.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2023 International Writing Centers Association Conference
“​​Mother-languaging the writing space: Rewriting the center”
Joe Franklin (CTWC Director) and Rachel Rodriguez (Washington College WC Director)
Panel presentation which discussed welcoming multilinguality in two ways: an inaugural International Mother Language Day event at City Tech, a CUNY institution in downtown Brooklyn, and beginning to tutor in languages other than English at Washington College, a small liberal arts school in Maryland.
2024 European Writing Centers Association Conference
“The Voice in the Machine: Writing Centers and AI Hallucinations as a Part of Student Futures”
Anna Laura Falvey (CTWC Lead Tutor)
Presentation which outlined ways that AI can be used to help students by shining a light on the predicted patterns detected in AI-identification platforms, and the potential of using those limitations as teaching tools in the writing center and beyond.
2024 Bronx Community College Tutors Alliance Conference
“Your Emergency, Our Emergency: Lessons from Wilderness Rescue Transferred to Writing Center Work”
Joe Franklin (CTWC Director)
Presentation on how his experiences attempting rescues as a climbing ranger and backcountry first responder at Mount Rainier National Park overlap with attempting the rescues that we respond to in the writing center.
2025 Conference on College Composition and Communication - Accepted
“Remixing the Resume Workshop: Sampling the Corporate and the Artificially Intelligent in a Brooklyn Writing Center”, Annie Wang (associate director), Anna Laura Falvey (lead tutor), Naila Butt (digital media specialist), and Joe Franklin (director)
Engaged learning experience detailing how our team remixed resume workshops with generative AI, product development frameworks, and “mission”-based adventure formats to help students rethink their professional identities.
PUBLICATIONS
Writing Centers and AI: Generating Early Conversations, edited collection
“Reclaiming Agency: AI Hallucinations and Translingual Interrogations in the City Tech Writing Center”
Joe Franklin (director) and Anna Laura Falvey (lead tutor)
Article describing how AI tools are impacting students like our demographic of multilingual, urban writers and how to approach conversations in productive ways.
Untitled Op-Ed - currently pitching
Amelia Gramling (tutor)
An op-ed about the significance of Writing Center work, and why that work is so vital for a public institution like CUNY.
RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS
Project Future
Research project conducted by Scott Dahlie (ENG faculty) and managed by Annie Wang (Associate Director) to examine the institutional organization and funding landscape for Writing Centers across the United States, with a focus on public institutions serving similar student demographics. This project allowed us to formulate our own Center’s short- and long-term strategy for growth.
Student-Tutor Pain Points
Scott and Annie also partnered to research key student-tutor pain points during sessions that impeded more effective learning. This project resulted in the creation of new student resources and a new faculty workshop designed to improve assignment prompt writing.
Hokkaido-CTWC Exchange
Research project by our Hokkaido, Japan-based colleagues to collect information on how to start a new writing center at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, a rural institution in northern Japan. Joe (director) hosted the team and discussed the different methods of writing center start up around the world, the history of writing centers, and writing program administration.
Cairo-CTWC Exchange
Research project conducted by Joe (director) to discuss their funding models and digital media projects at the Mohamed Taymour Writing and Communication Center at the American University of Cairo.