Multiliteracy Centers: Implementing Critical Change to Transform California State University Writing Centers
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MULTILITERACY CENTERS: IMPLEMENTING CRITICAL CHANGE TO TRANSFORM CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTERS Setareh Haddad Tabrizi B.A., California State University, Sacramento, 2012 M.A., California State University, Sacramento, 2014 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SPRING 2018 Copyright © 2018 Setareh Haddad Tabrizi All rights reserved ii MULTILITERACY CENTERS: IMPLEMENTING CRITICAL CHANGE TO TRANSFORM CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTERS A Dissertation by Setareh Haddad Tabrizi Approved by Dissertation Committee: _________________________________ Dr. Carlos Nevarez, Chair _________________________________ Dr. JoLynn Langslet _________________________________ Dr. Daniel Melzer SPRING 2018 iii MULTILITERACY CENTERS: IMPLEMENTING CRITICAL CHANGE TO TRANSFORM CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTERS Student: Setareh Haddad Tabrizi I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this dissertation is suitable for shelving in the library and credit is to be awarded for the dissertation. ___________________________, Graduate Coordinator _________________ Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig Date iv DEDICATION First, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my two grandmothers: Nayereh Rafii and Tauba Moharamzada. For as long as I can remember, every time I had an achievement in school my maternal Grandma Nayer would congratulate me with love and excitement and always say “and one day your doctorate degree hopefully!” Throughout my life this has stayed with me, long before I decided myself to attend this doctorate program, she always knew I would achieve it. My grandma came to the United States from Iran in her later years of life. She worked and learned how to speak English. She never let anyone or anything stop her. Even if her English was broken she kept talking because in her words “others would figure it out.” I have always appreciated her support, love and prayers but especially during this doctorate program. She never once doubted my ability to finish even at times when it was increasingly challenging. She is my only grandparent left and I love her to pieces! To my paternal Grandma Tauba, who passed away while I was in this program, I dedicate this dissertation to her memory. My grandma lived her whole life in Iran and I would visit her with my family throughout the years. Although she is no longer with us, I know her spirit lives on in her loved ones. This program has continuously repeated the same phrase “trust the process” and it was incredibly difficult for me to trust and have faith. My grandma had an unwavering commitment to her faith and God. She constantly prayed and communicated with her Lord and this trait of hers continued until her final day on this Earth. The final semester of this program I learned to have more faith and trust the process. I dedicate this dissertation to her memory for the incredible faith she v had and I hope that throughout my life her faith will grow in me. I love her and I miss her very much! Second, I want to dedicate this dissertation to my future children. Although they are not here yet, I have done everything with them in mind. I had always hoped that I would finish my education before I had children and I am pleased to say that is exactly what happened. My whole dream was to be married, have kids and be a mom. Until that happened, I kept advancing my education. I wanted to be finished with my education when I became a mother to dedicate my time and energy to my children, their lives and one day their education. All those long nights of working on this dissertation, all the stress and all the missed events was completely worth it so that in the future I would not miss anything for them. You are not here yet but I already love you both with all my heart! vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank everyone involved in helping me complete this doctorate program, especially my committee, my family and my husband. Thank you to Dr. Nevarez, Dr. Langslet and Dr. Melzer for agreeing to be on my committee. I appreciate all your efforts to helping me develop this dissertation and making it as strong as it could have been. Although there were challenging times, I am grateful for pushing me to do better and better with each draft. I want to thank my parents and my sister for all their love and support throughout this program. I was taught at an early age the importance of an education and have dedicated the past ten years of my life to higher education degrees. You have all loved me, supported me, and endured all the stressful days and nights with me. You were always encouraging and would help in so many ways. Thank you Mom and Dad for trying to make my life during this program so much easier by taking away some of my stress. Thank you Tala for running errands for me at Sac State when I could not get to campus or when I was too busy writing to make the trip. Thank you for being available when I needed a break from writing or when I submitted a draft and it was time to celebrate. You are the best parents and sister anyone could ask for. I love you all very much! Finally, best for last, I want to thank my husband Hugo for all his support, love and encouragement. We started dating during the time I was contemplating applying to this program. When I had brought up the idea to him before I could even explain that I was not sure yet, just thinking about it, his response was to go for it! He supported this vii decision right from the start and has been by my side supporting me throughout this whole program. We got married in October 2017, just at the beginning of the dissertation stage and I could not have completed this dissertation if it was not for his continued support, encouragement, help and love. He never doubted that I would finish, he knew from the beginning that I would and that encouragement meant the world to me. Thank you Hugo for all your help! You worked so hard to make my life easier so that all I had to focus on was my dissertation. Although you are not a night person, you stayed up late with me just so I would not be alone working, you kept me company whether I was reading, writing, analyzing or revising. Your encouragement never wavered, neither did your faith that I would complete this program. I am so blessed to have met and married you. Thank you for not only encouraging me to attend this program and being here when I finished it but thank you for being my best friend and amazing husband. Everything I do now, I do for our future. Te quiero mucho amor! This dissertation is not only the culminating work of my experiences in this program but the hopes and dreams of our families. To receive this degree is a reflection of the early decisions our families made to come to the United States for the betterment and future of their children and generations to come. Thank you to my parents, Roya and Reza Tabrizi, and to my in-laws, Teresa and Pedro Garcia, for the choices that you made early on in your lives that allowed me this opportunity to not only attain an education but to advance so greatly. viii CURRICULUM VITAE PROFILE Highly motivated educator with both teaching classroom and tutoring one-on-one experience. Multilingual speaker (English, Farsi and Spanish). Strong classroom management skills. Effective lecturer. Engaging facilitator of small group and large group discussions. Hardworking, reliable, collaborative and flexible. EDUCATION CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO, Sacramento, CA Ed.D. Educational Leadership (08/2015-05/2018) CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO, Sacramento, CA M.A. English: Composition (08/2012-05/2014) CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO, Sacramento, CA B.A. English: Pre-Credential (08/2010-05/2012) SIERRA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Rocklin, CA Transfer Student (09/2008-05/2010) ROSEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, Roseville, CA High School Diploma (08/2004-06/2008) PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE, Sacramento, CA (08/2014-Present) ADJUNCT PROFESSOR—English Writing ● Designing my own curriculum, creating syllabi and lesson plans ● Teaching lectures and facilitating small group and large group discussions ● Fostering and maintaining effective level of engagement from students ● Providing oral and written feedback to students in discussion and on writing assignments AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE, Sacramento, CA (01/2014-05/2014) INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT—Writing Across the Curriculum Program ● Provided one-on-one instruction for writing assignments from a variety of disciplines ● Tutored students in a drop-in Writing Center ● Assisted with the program coordination ix AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE, Sacramento, CA (01/2014-05/2014) INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT—Honors Program ● Created flyers for events ● Attended to the organization of student events ● Managed student files and assisted with questions pertaining to the program CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, Sacramento, CA (08/2012-05/2013) GRADUATE ASSISTANT COORDINATOR—University Reading and Writing Center ● Scheduled appointments and maintained center ● Mentored student interns ● Presented writing workshop topics across the curriculum CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, Sacramento, CA (08/2011-05/2013) INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT—English 109X Writing Workshop Leader ● Facilitated student in class and online workshops ● Created and presented lesson plans on writing related topics ● Created writing prompts and gave written feedback to