Research
Current Research
My most current research project, "Building Bridges and Changing the Story: Recognizing Funds of Knowledge in Summer Bridge Programs," examines student transitional experiences to higher education. Positioned at the crucial point of access to higher education, summer bridge programs often serve students of color and multilingual learners as well as first-generation and low-income students. Bridge programs, which frequently include first-year composition courses, represent an underexplored entry point for collaborations between academic and student affairs. In this forthcoming qualitative research study, twenty-two summer bridge program websites were systematically coded and analyzed to assess the extent to which bridge program website discourse incorporates funds of knowledge, which are the resources and experiences that diverse groups of students bring to university spaces. The results from this study indicate that bridge programs provide models for integrating aspirational knowledge and familial knowledge, two funds of knowledge areas, into academic coursework and departmental programming, particularly into the work of writing programs. Composition scholars are uniquely positioned to share their expertise regarding linguistic knowledge and resistant knowledge with their bridge program colleagues. This article suggests that campus partnerships between academic and student affairs can create meaningful institutional change to better support diverse groups of students. Ultimately, this research places the onus on the institution to become a more inclusive space for all students, and I am committed to working toward this goal throughout my career. |
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles Conti Maravillas, Maria. “Building Bridges and Changing the Story: Recognizing Funds of Knowledge in Summer Bridge Programs.” Composition Studies, Fall 2023. Conti, Maria, Rachel LaMance, and Susan Miller-Cochran. “Cultivating Change from the Ground Up: Developing a Grassroots Programmatic Assessment.” Composition Forum, vol. 37, Fall 2017. http://www.compositionforum.com/issue/37/arizona.php Book Reviews Conti, Maria. “Review of David Coogan’s Writing Our Way Out: Memoirs from Jail.” Community Literacy Journal, vol. 10, no. 2, Spring 2016, pp. 71-74. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/631453/pdf Campus Publications Conti, Maria, Gabriel Oladipo, and Ziwei Yu. “Making the Most of a Writing Center Appointment.” The Paw Print, vol. 2, no. 7, March 2018. [co-authored with undergraduate Writing Center tutors] Textbook Excerpts Conti Maravillas, Maria. “Approaching Instructor Feedback.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings, 5th edition. U of Southern Mississippi Edition, edited by Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly Goggin, W.W. Norton & Company, 2021, pp. USM 8-9. Conti Maravillas, Maria. “Writing Center Pro Tips.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings, 5th edition. U of Southern Mississippi Edition, edited by Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly Goggin, W.W. Norton & Company, 2021, pp. USM 11-13. Conti, Maria. “Construct a Cover Letter.” A Student’s Guide to First-Year Writing. 38th Ed., edited by Christopher Brown and Eric House, Hayden-McNeil, 2017, pp. 189-190. Conti, Maria. “Example Rhetorical Analysis of a TED Talk.” A Student’s Guide to First-Year Writing. 37th Ed., edited by Emma Rose Miller, Christopher Brown, and Eric House, Hayden-McNeil, 2016, pp. 58-62. Research Awards and Grants University Research Professorship, Youngstown State University Scholarly and Creative Activity Grant, The University of Southern Mississippi Research and Project Grant, The University of Arizona |