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.