Building a Pedagogy of Writing Transfer Through an Undergraduate Journal Publication

Authors

  • Kaitlyn Harris University of Toronto Mississauga
  • Paige France University of Toronto Mississauga
  • Dr. Christopher Eaton University of Toronto Mississauga

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29668

Keywords:

Writing Transfer, Undergraduate Journals, Knowledge Transfer, Writing Literacy

Abstract

Despite effective knowledge transfer being a primary goal among post-secondary instructors, scholars, and administrators, students still have difficulty adapting their skills to novel contexts. This challenge is especially salient in writing pedagogy, where the transfer of writing-related knowledge is not guaranteed (Driscoll, 2011; Perkins & Salomon, 2012). To investigate possibilities for catalyzing writing transfer, this paper reports on a collaborative autoethnography project (Chang et al., 2013) carried out by two undergraduate students and a faculty member based at a large Ontario university. Their experiences on the editorial team of a first-year writing journal provide insight into how mentorship within journal environments can contribute to post-secondary students’ literacy development, and, concurrently, help them to transfer what they know to new contexts. We consider how similar learning opportunities may contribute to undergraduate skill development outside traditional classroom contexts.

Author Biographies

Kaitlyn Harris, University of Toronto Mississauga

Kaitlyn Harris is an MA candidate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a researcher at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her work focuses on cultivating student writing communities, from elementary through postsecondary education. She has research interests in language development, writing transfer, and multiliterate teaching and learning.

Paige France, University of Toronto Mississauga

Paige France is a graduate of the University of Toronto Mississauga, double majoring in Biology for Health Sciences and Psychology. Her research focuses on writing discourse and equity representation in Autism Spectrum Disorder research, pedagogical foundations, and epidemiology.

Dr. Christopher Eaton, University of Toronto Mississauga

Christopher Eaton is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in Writing Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga. His work focuses on how students can inform writing pedagogies, with a particular lens that examines writing and learning transfer. He usually blends his backgrounds in writing and education in his current research and pedagogy.

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Published

2025-01-14

How to Cite

Harris, K., France, P., & Eaton, C. (2025). Building a Pedagogy of Writing Transfer Through an Undergraduate Journal Publication. Language and Literacy, 27(1), 137–152. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29668

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 1 (2025): Regular Issue

Section

Articles

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