BRIDGET GELMS

Assistant Director, Howe Writing Initiative

Graduate Assistant, English Department
Bachelor Hall 362, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056
5635434344 | gelmsbc@miamioh.edu | bcgelms.weebly.com

EDUCATION
PhD, Composition and Rhetoric. Miami University, expected 2018
Research interests include: digital writing/rhetoric; writing pedagogy; social
media; popular culture .
MA, English Studies. Ball State University, 2013
Research Project: Linking Community to Learning: Student Perceptions of
Blogging in First-Year Composition.
BA, English Studies. Ball State University, 2011
BA, Telecommunications: Film & Television Studies. Ball State University, 2009

ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Director, Howe Writing Initiative. Miami University, 2014-present
Responsibilities include consulting in a writing center integrated in the business
college; mentoring undergraduate writing consultants; preparing and facilitating
workshops on writing; designing outreach materials; meeting with faculty to
create and maintain partnerships within the business school; preparing and
facilitating writing-related workshops in business courses.
Assistant Director, Writing Program. Ball State University, 2012-2013
Responsibilities included preparing and facilitating faculty workshops and
professional lecture series; mentoring new teaching assistants; conducting
intensive syllabi review and curriculum design; designing and overseeing
writing program contest; editing and maintaining in-house first-year writing
handbook; working on various tasks as assigned by director.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Portfolio Reader, Portfolio Program, Miami University, 2014.
Read and scored incoming freshman portfolio submissions for credit in the
composition program.
Editorial Assistant; College Composition at Miami & Teachers Guide. Miami University,
2014

Revised and redesigned the composition programs freshman reader; copyedited

selections; prepared manuscript for publication.
Digital Pedagogy Consultant, Digital Writing Collaborative. Miami University, 20132014
Designed and prepared outreach materials related to the support of technology
use in the writing program; facilitated faculty workshops on digital pedagogy;
consulted with faculty and students on multimodal projects.
Research Assistant: Immersive Learning Ethnography. Ball State University, 2012
Observed and took ethnographic fieldnotes for a semester-long immersive
learning ethnography of a course on digital game design; conducted interviews
with research participants throughout the semester; transcribed audio; intensive
analysis of possible publication venues.
Research Assistant: Contemporary Rhetoric Anthology. Ball State University, 2012
Located and compiled readings for an anthology related to contemporary
theories and histories of rhetoric.
Writing Center Tutor. Ball State University, 2011
Consulted in the writing center with undergraduate and graduate students on
various writing projects; conducted online consulting sessions; attended various
workshops related to writing center work; completed various administrative
tasks as assigned by the director.
Editorial Assistant; Snowy Egret, 2010- 2011
Worked in InDesign to create folios and prepare submissions, both essays and
artwork, for publication.
Assistant to Vice President of Information Technology. Ball State University, 2009
2011
Oversaw scheduling system for staff training programs related to information
technology; maintained the Vice Presidents schedule; maintained official
websites for departments related to information technology; copyedited technical
writing.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Miami University (2013-present)

English 315: Business Writing

A genre-centered approach to business writing, focusing on contexts, purposes, and
audiences appropriate to professional settings; in-depth analysis and production of
memos, apology letters, recommendation reports, research proposals, resumes, and
cover letters.

English 112: Composition & Literature

Themed around Oscar nominated films; inquiry-based approach to close-reading,

historical and cultural analysis of text(s), creative exploration of course theme, and a
comprehensive reflection.

English 111: Composition & Rhetoric

An introduction to composition and rhetoric through the use of inquiry-based
approach to personal narratives, rhetorical analyses, researched public arguments,
remediations, and a comprehensive reflective portfolios.

Ball State University (2011-2013)

English 114: Honors Composition {Assisted}

Applies the fundamentals of rhetoric to the writing and research process; fulfills the
requirement for honors students with emphasis on critical thinking, and
reading/responding to literary texts and films.

English 104: Composing Research

An inquiry-based approach to research writing and methods (primary and
secondary); major projects included analysis of representation in the media,
multimodal ethnography, research-based argument with accompanying annotated
bibliography, and conference style presentation.

English 103: Rhetoric & Writing

An introduction to rhetoric and writing through exploration of both digital and
print-based texts; major projects included internet meme analysis/production,
podcast review, multimodal production of photo-essay, podcast, or documentary
film, and reflective essay.

PUBLICATIONS
Gelms, Bridget. Potential Uses for Teaching with Storify. Gradhacker.org. 21 March
2014
McNely, Brian, Paul Gestwicki, Bridget Gelms, & Ann Burke. Spaces and Surfaces of
Invention: A Visual Ethnography of Game Development. Enculturation 15 (2013)
McNely, Brian, Paul Gestwicki, Ann Burke, & Bridget Gelms. Articulating Everyday
Actions: An Activity-Theoretical Approach to Scrum. In SIGDOC '12: Proceedings of the
30th Annual Conference on Design of Communication. New York: ACM

PRESENTATIONS
Lazy, Respectful, Self-absorbed, Kind, Entitled, Committed: Perspectives of a
Homogenized Student Identity. Conference on College Composition & Communication.
Tampa, FL. March 2015 (Forthcoming)

Moving Images as Texts: Reading/Writing with/about Film. Conference on College

Composition & Communication. Indianapolis, IN. March 2014
(Re)assessing Multimodal Projects: Student Ethos in an Open-Ended Approach. North
Carolina Symposium for Teaching Writing. Raleigh, NC. March-February 2014
From Passive Readers to Thoughtful Responders: Peer Commenting Practices of FirstYear Composition Bloggers. North Carolina Symposium on Teaching Writing. Raleigh,
NC. February 2013
The Forbidden Source: Towards Using Wikipedia to Teach First-Year Composition.
Crossing into Digital Dimensions: Conference on Multimodal Composition. Dayton, OH.
May 2012

INVITED PRESENTATIONS & WORKSHOPS

Graduate Applications for Professional Schools. Howe Writing Initiative Business Writing
Workshop Series. Oxford, OH. October 2014
Resumes and Cover Letters. Howe Writing Initiative Business Writing Workshop Series.
Oxford, OH. September 2014
iPads in the Classroom: Teaching with Apps. Ball State University Writing Program
Professional Workshop Series. Muncie, IN. February 2013
Podcasting & Filmmaking in the Writing Course: Utilizing Existing Infrastructure to
Teach Tech-heavy Writing Projects. Ball State University Center for Media Design
Institute. Muncie, IN. November 2012
iPads & Productivity. Ball State University Writing Program Professional Workshop Series.
Muncie, IN. November 2012
Rethinking Multimodal Composition: Encouraging More Innovative Multimodal Texts.
Ball State University Writing Program First Friday Lecture Series. Muncie, IN. September
2012

AWARDS
Curricular Innovation Award, Miami University, 2014
Outstanding Teaching Award. Writing Program, Ball State University, 2013
Research Fellowship Award. Writing Program, Ball State University, 2012

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Composition Awards Committee. Miami University, 2014
Writing Curriculum Committee. Ball State University, 2013
Teaching Assistant Review Committee. Ball State University, 2013
Writing Program Research Fellowship Award Committee. Ball State University, 2013
Writing Program Contest Judge. Ball State University, 2012-2013
Writers Community Creative Reading Judge. Ball State University, 2012
Practical Criticism Midwest Graduate Conference Coordinator. Ball State University,
2012
Graduate Student Advisory Board Treasurer. Ball State University, 20112012