Mentoring Youth Writers

Mentoring Youth Writers shares findings from an in-depth qualitative case study of the Young Authors’ Studio program, revealing how college student “writing mentors” used six mentoring strategies to engage and inspire adolescents and guide them into writing as an authentic and meaningful practice: - exploring multimodal forms of writing; - inviting choice; - building community; - honoring student knowledge and experience; - nurturing students as writers; and - connecting writers to opportunities beyond the classroom. These findings are shared alongside interviews with several classroom teachers from around the U.S. to consider how experienced teachers have employed these mentoring strategies with their secondary students. Learn why a mentoring stance is needed in education today and how this work aligns with NCTE’s Position Statement on Writing Instruction in School (2022) and other research and theory in English education.