Teaching in a Writing Center Spring 2020

I am particularly struck by the exploration of how to respond to self-deprecation (see pages 3-4). The student may say "I'm bad at [using the possessive] for some reason," and the tutor responds with a question (that includes an embedded suggestion): "Do you ever read it out loud to yourself?" Haen points out, rightly I think, that while this kind of response is at odds with the typical/"natural" response to self-deprecation (i.e. disagreeing and complimenting), it can be very beneficial. Haen's work in this article is a bit jargon-y and gets lost in the weeds of a super-specific case study analysis, not to mention the argument is brief and somewhat cursory--but he readily acknowledges in his conclusions that "there is more to investigate about how tutors navigate opportunities for affiliation" (8). Still, the article brings to light some interesting questions, and I'm definitely on board with (re)thinking how we approach agreement/...

42:7-8 Article: "Tutor's Column: 'Paradoxical Authority: Preparing Tutors for Classroom Based Tutoring'" by Rachel Stroup In her article, Stroup discusses the challenges of tutoring outside of the Writing Center, where individual attention and time are available and prioritized. She focuses her attention on who she calls "classroom tutors," which from my understanding are synonymous with TAs as we understand them at UIOWA. She identifies factors at play in the classroom that make writing writing instruction particularly difficult: "the number of students who require assistance, the teacher's instruction, and the integration of tutor as part of the curricular structure." While we do not have "classroom tutors" in our Rhetoric or GenEdLit courses, we are often put in a position of playing both the role of tutor and instructor at once, making these concerns about tutoring versus instructing overwhelmingly pertinent in our own clas...

Williams, Heidi. "Tutor's Column: 'Validation'." Writing Lab Newsletter, vol. 43, no. 3-4 (November/December 2017), pp. 2-25. Williams' article talked about something I have never thought about as a tutor: what happens when students bring in writing that talks about a traumatic experience. In the article, Williams mentioned that the student came in with an essay talking about her relationship with a drug addict and how he committed suicide. One important take away is this phrase, "It is vital that tutors first react appropriately to the context of the student's paper in these types of situations before tutors approach writing techniques" (23). In other words, students need validation and they need us to be human first. William states that after this step, tutors can slowly guide students back to more technical questions, but it also must be done in a careful manner such as by posing the question, "What do you want to share with your story?...

Volume 44, Number 7-8, March/April 2020, pgs. 26-29 Tutor’s Column: “‘I’m A Terrible Writer’: Helping Students Who Lack Confidence” Ash Thoms, University of Nevada-Reno The title of this article reminded me of a consistent issue I find in tutoring; I hear this phrase from a student, and assure them that they aren’t a bad writer, but then have trouble figuring out how to change the student’s attitude. Thoms’ article recognizes that we ourselves as tutors have this problem and offers her own tools in a focused engagement to open communication and establish trust: active listening, engaged interest, positive rapport, and positive feedback. These steps value each aspect as equally important. Thoms uses the personal narrative of coming to consider herself a writer as a framework for the reader to understand ways to help students shift their self-concept. This article models a useful set of tools that we already use intuitively to some de...

Beckwith, Jennifer. "Tutors' Column: 'My Idea of the Writing Center: Through the Eyes of a Client Turned Consultant.'" Writing Lab Newsletter 41, no. 4-5 (January/February 2017): 26-29. Jennifer, who I presume was an undergraduate student and tutor at Worcester State in Massachusetts, offers a very positive and insightful take on her experiences as a student and as an instructor in the same Writer's Center. Here are some bullet point highlights: "...[A Writing Center is] simply a place to progress." As a student, Jennifer assumed a tutor was an editing service, a place from where she could emerge with a finished paper. "...My duty as a writing consultant is to honor the student's writing." I really like the title of writing consultant. "Tutor" has never felt right to me. "...[Ask] them outright what they are struggling with the most." I'll be putting this to practice in about ten minutes. Questions li...

WLN  article info: "Is Knowledge Repurposed from Tutoring to Teaching? A Qualitative Study of Transfer from the Writing Center"  by Brent Weaver from Kansas State University, article issue September/October of 2018. In this article, Brent Weaver studies how people who both tutor and teach feel about transferring knowledge from the writing center to the classroom. He bases his research on one simple question" Do teachers transfer knowledge from their work in writing centers to the teaching of writing in classrooms? Weaver's  methodology consisted of investigating if tutor-instructors self-reported this transference of knowledge. He designed a 10-question survey asking participants to state their tutoring and teaching backgrounds and training, describe their teaching philosophy and respond to transfer specific questions, like whether participants felt like their writing center pedagogy transfers to their teaching, and whether they consciously implement writing cen...

WLN article info: “Tutoring Begins with Breath: Guided Meditation and its Effects on Writing Consultant Training,” by Nicole Emmelhainz from Christopher Newport University, article issue January/February of 2020. In this article, Nicole Emmelhainz who both trains writing center tutors at CNU and is a certified yoga instructor, makes the argument that teaching meditation/mindfulness practices should be included in writing center training curriculums.   In Emmelhainz’s case, she is mainly training undergraduates who will be tutoring their peers.     Her argument is a compelling one, using scholarship, small research studies, and student reflection essays to show the positive impacts a regular meditation or mindfulness practice can have on a student’s ability to function as a responsible tutor. “Both observation and nonjudgmental attitudes are necessary abilities when working with others and their writing but are also valuable in establishing personal welln...

Hi everyone. Hope you are not too stressed out by teaching online until the rest of the semester, by the news reports, the closings, and by our new stay-at-home lifestyle. Next blog assignment : Because the week after break, pre-corona threat, we were going to present in person on our Writing Lab Newsletter articles, I figured we could accomplish that task on the blog, but please post by Monday 3/30  so we have time to comment on one another's posts.    Please introduce your post by telling us the title of the article, the names of the authors and their college affiliations, and what issue of  WLN  it is from. The purpose of this assignment is to acquaint you with an accessible writing center publication in which you might consider publishing. It's also to learn about what other writing centers are doing and what other writing center people are thinking about. After everyone writes a couple of paragraphs summarizing, analyzing and/or critiquing, and then...

I think the main problem with asynchronicity in tutoring would be the lack of collaboration in the dynamic between tutor and student. The book tries to address this concern on page 91 by claiming that asynchronous tutoring situations can also facilitate rapport-building and a "pen pals" kind of feeling, but I don't think this is a strong enough substitute for the kind of back-and-forth collaboration that is possible when both people are "in the room" (or virtual room, e.g. chat window, web conference, or other synchronous method) together. Sure, asynchronicity helps cancel out some possible biases/stereotypes due to its anonymity--and it gives students a written record to peruse and study on their own time--both of which the book points out as possible advantages. Still, I'm not convinced that these advantages outweigh the conversationality (and temporal efficiency) of synchronous tutoring. On an unrelated note, here is a video of a pig putting his toys ...

I read the section about synchronous and asynchronous tutoring with interest. On one hand I agree with Sallie and Bethany about the limits of online tutoring. I especially can see how the element of investment or care on the part of the student might be absent in online tutoring. I had experience recently being on the receiving end of both styles of tutoring, with a couple of writing workshops I took over the summer. One workshop met "virtually" on a specific date and time, the essays were submitted and read before the meeting time, and then everyone in the class hopped on a group chat. The instructor tossed out a question about the work, and we all typed in our answers, and, similar to an in-real-life discussion, bounced ideas back and forth with our colleagues. We all got, and were able to give, feedback that was helpful to the person submitting as well as a nice sense of camaraderie with the group. Since it was clear who was responding and who was not, there were stakes...

I have mixed feelings regarding online tutoring. On the one hand, I do see that online tutoring is quite beneficial for those who don't have the resources (time, transport, etc) to make an appointment in person. Sometimes, the writing center also gets full during the hours that the person is available and they have to opt for online tutoring. However, I also am not so convinced with the effectiveness of online tutoring because there's a lot of grey area. How much feedback is too much feedback in online tutoring? Do the students care about our feedback at all? Face-to-face sessions require us to meet our tutor/student in person and we are pushed even more to respect their time and effort. One thing that I did find interesting in "Tutoring in the Information Age" is the idea of having standard feedback at the ready and personalize for students. I never thought of that, and it does seem useful. I do note that online tutoring may be suitable in extreme situations, like ...

I am skeptical of online tutoring.  This is not due to  any real qualms about its efficacy, but instead about what seems to me to be an avenue for helping those who are not particularly willing to put the work in. When a student comes into the writing center, I recognize that they have taken time out of their day, and likely went out of their way, to come speak to me out of genuine concern over their paper. However, if a student fires off a paper in one-click, I am not sure about the level of investment in the student, and my work as a tutor can feel a bit more trudging. I realize that this response  is likely due to some antiquated idea of pre-internet "justice," but it is hard to shake. The benefit for online editing is that there is not so much couching of comments. You can get your point across, and due to the same anonymous robotics I complained about above, expect a level of acceptance of and personal detachment from criticism. If the student is willing to put in ...

I like online tutoring.  It is medium-efficient . no discussions, conversations, or questions get in the way of the prose itself. True to the product, the author can't jump in and clarify something beyond the words they have written. Online tutoring  There is actually prose to work on . The burden is upon the student to have completed most of the work before turning in their draft. How many students walk in with a hazy idea of their assignment, and little writing done? I don't mean to say that tutoring doesn't have a role to play in pre-writing activities, but rather that it is nice to every once in a while engage with writing with which the author has lived for a while. Modeling is fun. I really get a kick out of illustrating a concept while discussing a concept.  "You write clearly, but I'd encourage you to try merging similar sentences together. Seek variety in length. Surprise your reader! It shouldn't all be short, and it shouldn't all be lon...

One challenging aspect of asynchronous tutoring is not being able to use body language or tone to enhance communication with the student while commenting on their paper.   Chapter six warns, “use humor and sarcasm carefully” to avoid offending the student, because often these communication styles need body language in order to succeed.   Similarly, asynchronous tutoring does not allow for the tutor to properly assess the student’s understanding of the assignment.   I have yet to do any online tutoring, so I can’t say for sure, but I imagine asynchronous tutoring also inhibits our ability to relate to our students on what they’re struggling with because we’re less likely to know how they are struggling.   Earlier this semester we talked about the practice of sharing with students our own struggles/tendencies with writing to assure them that they’re not alone in their experiences.   It seems asynchronous tutoring may limit this possibility as well. ...