Second Shift: Teaching Writing to Working Adults

With working adults representing higher and higher percentages of our postsecondary student population, the time has come for a book to help address the unique needs of nontraditional students. And no one is in a better position to write it than Kelly Belanger and Linda Strom. Instructors of college-credit writing courses at a steelworkers' union hall, these authors traveled throughout the country researching successful union-based and corporate-identified writing programs. Their goal was to discover sound pedagogies that accommodate the special needs and strengths of working adults.

Second Shift is the first study to combine historical and contemporary perspectives on pedagogical and political issues that affect college-level literacy education for working students. Through case studies of five current writing programs, this book details how four approaches to teaching critical literacy shape teachers' classroom practice-from selection of readings, to writing assignments, to course goals. By combining theory and practice, the authors give specific and useful ideas for:

• developing writing curriculums customized for working adults
• offering college-credit for writing about life experiences
• creating flexible delivery modes
• reflecting on ideology in the writing classroom
• teaching writing to adults across disciplines
• working in partnership with unions and corporations.

Second Shift is an invaluable resource for college composition instructors, theorists, and administrators as they face the challenge of teaching writing in today's educational landscape.

Kelly Belanger is Associate Professor of English at the University of Wyoming, where she directs the Graduate Teaching Assistant Program and teaches writing courses at all levels. Her articles on composition theory and pedagogy have appeared in numerous journals, including The Journal of Basic Writing, Writing Instructor, and Rhetoric Society Quarterly.

Linda Strom is Associate Professor of English at Youngstown State University, where she serves as Coordinator of Workforce Education and teaches working-class studies and composition. She has published articles in Women's Studies Quarterly, Radical Teacher, and Writing Instructor.