The essays in this collection explore how writing conferences that depart from traditional teacher-student relationships can foster higher-order thinking skills. The contributors describe writing conferences in which students adopt the roles of novice writers seeking advice from teacher-"experts." The student novices control the content of these cooperative conversations by proposing topics for discussion. Teachers then encourage students to pursue their ideas by analyzing the development of the student's ideas and offering information and guidance on request. By providing insight into notraditional writing settings, Dynamics of the Writing Conference illustrates how college composition teachers can promote an exchange of ideas with their students and help them achieve independence in their writing.