This Is Howe We Do It

It’s the end of an era! In this milestone episode, we’re saying goodbye to our founding producer and Season 1 host, Rena Perez, as she prepares for her next big chapter. Rena has been the heart of the show since day one, and while we’re sad to see her go, we couldn't let her leave without a proper trip down memory lane. Join us as we look back at an exciting first season that took us deep behind t...

In this special "passing of the torch" episode, our new host, Mandy Olejnik, sits down with outgoing host Rena Perez to discuss the genre of podcasting. Rena reflects on her time behind the mic at This Is Howe We Do It, exploring podcasting as a unique form of public writing and storytelling. Tune in for Rena’s key strategies, takeaways, and advice for anyone looking to start their own podcas...

In this episode, we bring back HWAC Assistant Director Dr. Mandy Olejnik to discuss how the HCWE has responded to the implications of genAI on writing and writing instruction, including the design of the AI-Informed Writing Pedagogy Certificate Program.  Resources Related to or Mentioned in this Episode/Plugged by Our Guests Upcoming HWAC Workshops & Events Integrating AI to Guide Learnin...

In this episode, we sit down with undergraduate writing consultants and emerging scholars Kendyl Gurren and Alyssa Rose to explore their journeys as writers, researchers, and collaborators. Drawing on their work in the Howe Writing Center, Kendyl and Alyssa reflect on how consulting has reshaped the way they understand writing, teaching, and learning across contexts. They take listeners behind the...

In this episode, we talk with undergraduate writing consultants Katie Barton and Kelsie Weingart about their experiences supporting writers in the Howe Center for Business Writing (HCBW). They share what it’s like to work with business students on everything from presentations to team writing—especially through fast-paced, focused appointments—and how consulting in the HCBW’s recently revamped spa...

What can a degree or minor in Professional Writing , Rhetoric and Composition , or Writing Studies offer students today—and why should institutions invest in programs like it? In this episode, Miami undergraduate students and Howe Writing Center consultants Kerigan Moore and Cassell Presnell share how they found their way to studying writing, what they’ve gained from their courses and writing cent...

In this episode, we sit down with Howe Writing Center Director Dr. Lizzie Hutton and Graduate Assistant Director Cam Cavaliere to talk about the processes for introducing consultants to writing center work and mentoring the undergraduate and graduate writing consultants who work at the HWC. More specifically, we discuss how students’ experiences consulting with their peers in the writing center an...

In this episode, we sit down with two Howe Writing Center undergraduate writing center consultants Katie Dykhuizen & Charlotte Melville, to get their student perspectives on peer review processes and giving feedback to other students. They share their experiences engaging in peer review cross classroom and consultation settings and reflect on what makes feedback processes and interactions effe...

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Will Chesher (Howe facilitator) and Dr. Kelli Rushek about their work in a cross-disciplinary Faculty Learning Community exploring peer review—also known as peer response, peer feedback, or reader response. They share insights from their research into the practice of peer review and reflect on their experiences testing out two different edtech platforms designed t...

In this episode, we are joined by Dustin Edwards to unpack digital damage, his framework for understanding the extractive nature of large-scale digital infrastructures drawn from his forthcoming book, Enduring Digital Damage: Rhetorical Reckonings for Planetary Survival . His insights into the environmental and ethical costs of using AI tools and the implications of digital infrastructure on peopl...

In this episode, we hear the perspectives of three undergraduate writing center consultants, Meredith Perkins, Kylie Mullis, and Ally Britton-Heitz about their research on AI-generated feedback on writing and how it compares to the written feedback given by writing center consultants. We discuss what they have learned about using AI tools, the strengths and weaknesses of the feedback it generates,...

In this episode, Dennis Cheatham and I discuss various ways for partnering with generative AI as a thinking partner for writing and designing through a process-centered framework. Drawing from a course he specifically designed around creating with AI, this conversation offers insight into the use of AI tools in teaching design and writing in ways that focus on and assess the process as the means f...

We're back from a brief hiatus with a really exciting episode for you! In this episode, you'll hear from Liz Wardle about the sensemaking method that she has developed and evolved from our Howe Faculty Writing Fellows Program. We offer an introduction to the what, why, and how behind the sensemaking method for supporting teams of faculty looking to solve problems and make change in their instituti...

In this episode, I talk with Assistant Director of the Howe Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program, Dr. Mandy Olejnik, to discuss two different perspectives on graduate student writing—our experiences with being graduate student writers and insights for supporting and advising graduate student writers, drawing from Mandy's research and our HCWE programming on graduate student writing support....

This episode features a conversation with former Graduate Assistant Director for the Howe Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program Will Chesher as he reflects on his role and experiences as a graduate student working in this administrative role. This discussion offers insight into the projects from the past few years that were especially memorable to Will and the impact doctoral students can ma...

In this episode, our behind the scenes executive producer Will Chesher steps in as a guest host to interview Miami graduate student, and your very own podcast host, Rena Perez as this week's guest to continue the conversation from last episode on ePortfolios. While our last episode featured faculty perspectives on teaching ePortfolios, Rena offers a writers’ experiences and insights into the types...

In this episode, we unpack the genre of ePortfolios and their value for teaching and learning with Miami instructors Beth Reed and Julie Szucs. Drawing from their experiences participating in Faculty Learning Communities on ePortfolios through the HCWE, we share ideas for implementing and scaffolding ePortfolio assignments and what students can do with these compositions at the university and beyo...

In our third episode, we are joined by two Miami instructors, Jen Bulanda and Anne Whitesell, to continue our discussion of op-eds and their usefulness for helping students write to public audiences on issues of interest to them. Anne and Jen offer different perspectives on how and why op-eds can be designed and taught as an assignment and why they are useful for students’ learning and writing. Re...

Our second episode features Miami student Meredith Perkins, who has written op-eds for various newspapers, to discuss this genre as an important means for sharing your voice and perspective and engaging public audiences and strategies for organizing your ideas from her experiences learning how to write and publish them. Resources on Op-Eds Write to Vote Project Resources Mentioned in the Episode T...

In the episode, Elizabeth Hoover and Liz Wardle talk about the purpose of capstone projects, the importance of letting students take the lead, and what students learn from these engaging capstone experiences at Miami University. HCWE handout on  Creating Capstone Assignments Miami Writing Spotlight about Designing Transformative Capstones Check out additional resources at our website: https:/...

"This is Howe We Do It” is a podcast from the Howe Center for Writing Excellence at Miami University of Ohio where teachers and students talk about writing and teaching writing. Each episode features a conversation about a different genre of writing (e.g. ePortfolios) or discussion of writing (e.g. AI and writing), offering a way to learn from our guests’ experiences and perspectives as writers an...