Technology in the Writing Center

Like some professors I encountered, some in the writing center believe that there is no space for technology in the writing center. Buck and Shumway stated "writing centers have for years endured an uneasy relationship with technology." .... violates the very foundation of the writing center philosophy."
I actually feel in some ways technology will stop the fix it shop issue. With programs like "Grammarly", you wouldn't have to look over much as far as grammar or word usage, which is more of things that are done towards the end of the paper. More focus can be committed to the composition of the paper and collaboration of the though process.
There was something also mentioned where they felt the writing process would be loss due to computers. I digress. I think the writing process is a delicate one which the writer can get more thoughts down before losing them in the thought process than with handwriting. There is a certain degree of thinking that goes on when you are handwriting and I feel a fluid typist obtains the same degree of the thought process. Yes, people who have to look at the type writer or have issues typing may have typing issues and should write things out first.
I am not a fan of online tutoring. I think the process is broken up too much to get the most out of a session. Online tutoring because of the delay, is really best when a paper is toward the final drafting process. The fix it shops that the writing center is trying to go against.

Writing Across Curriculums

In this weeks readings it was about the knowledge or lack there of, of writing across curriculums. In Muriel Harris's reading, I understood where it was mentioned that the tutors had a more effective session when they were not so familiar with the topic than those who were. Tutors who have too much knowledge on a topic can tend to come off a superior in a session. The idea is to not to become so familiar with a topic that you lose sense of what should be entailed inside of a paper.

I have had experience with writing across disciplines when visiting the writing center. I had a psychology paper that was due, and my tutor wasn't a psychology major. That didn't hinder our session at all. It added the benefit that he wasn't familiar with the topic and had questions that he posed, if it wasn't understood.

In the paper "Connecting WID and the Writing Center: Tools for Collaboration", I felt that it might actually be a good plan to incorporate into training of tutors. While it may not be a one size fits all, any additional options that a tutor may have at hand to use can be of value to someone. I believe in the writing center the use of being a flexible tutor will have more value to the tutor and the tutee than following a structured routine for everyone that comes inside looking for help.

I had a sort of enigma moment when reading that so many have a misconception of what the writing center is. I know we have focused on the tutees and the English department. I just can't grasp why the writing center is shunned upon. It is a great place that offers students support and assistance they would not otherwise get from their peers or professors. Imagine trying to get your friend to look at your paper every time you wrote one for a class, it can become quite tedious and tiresome. Four to six classes 3-4 papers a piece, it is tiring even thinking about proof reading or peer reading this for 4-6 semesters.

I disagree that faculty should not be mandated to participate in writing center workshops or tutoring programs. Why shouldn't they? maybe it would help to avoid some of the misinformation and poor stigma attached to the Writing Center. In MCC they made it mandatory and I never felt as if the professor was pressured or in a bad mood. While I do believe the students should not be forced to go more than once, and once being the introduction to the resources offered, I see no pain in actually taking advantage of learning what a session actually entails and what they can expect. Yes, it will fill up gaps of time, but maybe it can help just one student. That to me makes it work it.

Disability in the Writing Center

In this week’s readings, I found that the article named Support for Students with Disabilities, focused on practicing with a bit more detail. I didn’t find that this was focused as much on those with disabilities as just general tips on how everyone can improve using methods of organization. Colored markers, high-lighters, note cards, reading your paper aloud or using a tape recorder, or go to the writing center to assist you in the process of writing.

This to me rolled into the article Access for All: The Role of Disability in Multiliteracy Centers, where the author spoke of not just accommodating those with disabilities, both physical and mental, but restructuring the way the tutors approach each tutee in teaching per various learning styles. Kinesthetic, audio, or visual learning styles should be adjusted to assist the student with finding out what methods would best work for them. In doing this, the tutee can help the disabled students, instead of accommodating them, based off style and not the disability. In some ways, I feel this works, in other instances, tutors should accommodate the student based off their needs. The Universal Design of making sure the environment is structured to accommodate an individual that requires special accommodations. Also, the pedagogy should be able to be adjustable to assist all students.

This article to me rolled into the Blurring my boundaries: insights from tutoring a student with visual impairments where Susan, a blind student was being helped by a tutor. The tutor felt initially thrown into the tutor session but learned on her own how to help this blind student through trial and error. The tutor looked forward to the sessions with the disabled student and learned how to assist her, even though she stepped into taboo territory and did some of the “No-No’s” that most writing centers prefer.

I didn’t care for the Dual Citizenship of Disability. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why the tutor felt they had the authority to diagnose a student with a disability. I felt if they used the approach from the other article using a flexible pedagogy with all students, that the need to diagnose a student would be irrelevant. Also, a statement made when one student entered and told them immediately about being dyslexic, that she wishes all students were that honest. Why do they have to disrobe themselves for the sake of the tutor’s comfort? The tutor is there to help, no matter the disability. With time and patience, maybe the student will trust the tutor more to tell such valuable information. I found that this article was out of line in some areas if you feel the student may have a disability, you can offer them information that may enlighten them to this knowledge, but I don’t feel a diagnosis or statement that may be considered a diagnosis should be offered. They stated they are not a counselor but seemed a lot of the statements led me to believe that they were both tutor and counselor, or psychiatrist.

ESL, EEL, but no LOL

This week readings have me thinking a lot about the programs that exist and the challenges faced by student from other countries that native language is not English. Coming to the United States for an education where English is the language of choice, already put a damper on the individual’s outlook on a good experience verses a challenge to excel at what they like and want to do.

Writing centers have a unique challenge and this challenge seem to effect students grade as well as some student’s self-esteem. As we get more involved in methods to better address student’s needs, we will start to excel at being better tutor and teachers for all. Shenandoah University decided to change their approach to working with students in the writing center due to the frustration of the student not fully learning the concepts and the tutor not fully getting the satisfaction of helping a student reach their goal. The focus was changed to have the session “the Idea Check procedure put in place. This procedure requires all ESL students make visiting the writing center a part of the process to writing papers for classes. This process would make the student feel comfortable in the environment as well as get good habits for writing. Ideas would be formulated to the structure of what would make a good or structured paper or writing assignment. The outline of what is trying to be accomplished would be the primary focus followed by a first draft of the paper that have the ideas transformed. This method proved to be effective and mostly produced ESL students with a full grade difference on an assignment they would have received a lower grade without this guidance.

I strongly agree that we have a problem with the assistance provided to student is the learning centers in regards to ESL and ELL students. Building a relationship with the student as well as helping them get the needed skills to succeed is fulfilling two fold. Inventing and correcting not at the same time to produce better growth gets the results needed and propels the student to feel comfortable and want to excel. It is I am sure an emotional challenge as well as an educational translation challenge.

Working together with student on long term papers and projects measures the improvement over a period of time and deepens the level of understanding and the acceleration of learning.  As the population of ESL and ELL students increase, it is very important to have the tutors and teachers focus on the growth of the student mentally (for confidence) and educationally, so they receive the level of education that they are looking for.

Lastly, bridging the gap between learning and relationship is important. Confidence builds learning, Learning builds confidence. The relationship between the tutor and the student builds trust. The student will believe in themselves and the methods they are learning to better themselves. The tutors will get meaningful tools and build a strong list of best practices for helping student to become not just better people, but better writers.

Oppression

This weeks’ readings had me in a big of a fuss. I found them to be contradictory to what North stated as “The tutor should focus on the tutee as a writer and not the actual text itself.” Yet, I feel in this weeks reading the focus was on oppression and the avoidance of it. When is it the writers job to make the tutor feel comfortable. I do not feel the writer should conform their beliefs to appease the tutor. Nor do I feel the tutor should insist on long bouts of dialog in order to change the mind of the tutee. I believe that they are entitled to feel and believe as they desire. Yes, it is okay to help enlighten the tutee, but when does it cross the line of imposing on the part of the tutor? When does it become a situation where personal boundaries are being crossed in the writing center?

I agree where the article stated there should be intentional diversity in the writing center. That not all scenarios can be accomplished in mock training. By encouraging diversity amongst the tutors in the center, they deal with real life differences and issues that might occur. Their exposure to multiple cultures are not foreign and the introduction of another whose culture is different is met with less surprise and more competence and understanding. What we do not understand something it often makes us uncomfortable. When we understand a situation better, we are better able to adapt to changes that might occur.

Students whose second language is English also face misunderstandings in the writing center. I observed 3 sessions this week in the writing center this week where three students from WENZOU – Kean university in china, were being tutored. The differences in each session going on simultaneously were totally different and all based on the tutor and their experiences and comfort level with those of different backgrounds. I will explain it briefly below:

One tutor seemed to not be uncomfortable with the student but was very formal. Asked the student questions, and when the student did not understand, he posed questions in as simple forms as he could without me, the on looker, getting a sense of frustration. While he basically ran the session, I didn’t feel he took over the session. He asked questions and waited for the client to be an active participant. He also took his time to explain details.

The second tutor was what I refer to as the “TUTOR TYRANT”. She was loud, she was controlling and totally took over the tutoring session. She barely received input from the client and I felt as if she was imposing all her beliefs on this student because of the language barrier. I believe this because I watched this tutor with a native English speaker and her mode of tutoring was totally different and more relaxed. I felt this session was hostile in some ways. I am sure the client did not notice it as such and just accepted it as such.

The third tutor had the perfect medium. She used collaborative dialog and actually asked questions of the client about herself and get a sort of understanding about where she was from. She took this client to the third space. She allowed the client to use what she knew to help her form this paper. I felt her whole session moved at this amazing pace that I’d expect at a regular session of an English speaker with no language barrier. She was the epitome of what a tutor should be.

Blog The Motivational Factor

Motivational Scaffolding a terminology that I haven’t heard of until this article. What I understood of it is that it is where they use the linguistics of the tutor to the tutee in order to build a rapport with the student that will encourage the student to become a better writer. They use politeness, analyzing, identifying and basically a kind of customization with the student that in turns help to build confidence within the student. Motivation is the drive that encourages us to do most of the things that aren’t innate in our lives. Whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, it is the motivation in itself, some type of reason that we do the things that we do. When a student comes into the writing center the extrinsic motivation may be what got them to come to the writing center, but, what keeps them coming back, could be a matter of who the tutor makes the tutee feel.

I always go back to my experiences, because, for the most part, they have all been so very positive. It is what kept me coming back to the writing center. My first tutor session at Kean University was a classmate. While she wasn’t so skilled in the paper I was writing, she sat with me and tried to help me figure it out. I then came back again. I met John, my famous happy tutor, at this point and he became the ideological ideal of what a perfect tutor was. He was patient, inspiring, motivating, encouraging, humorous and intelligent. I met several other tutors that I would also enjoy Kathrine and Holly, who also painted a critical picture for me. I had gotten so accustomed to John; I was a bit worried that the other tutors would not have been as thorough or as comforting as he was. As indicated in the article, as you come more frequently, you build a rapport with the tutor that is inviting. Sitting there I can collaborate with the tutor, and while the deadlines aren’t written in stone, you hate to disappoint them, so that intrinsic motivation kicks in.

Of course, linguistically matters. You don’t want to hear negative connotation directed to your papers on a constant basis. Who wants to constantly go to the doctor if all you hear is negativity. It is discouraging. An example was some of the earlier articles we read in this class where they would say, the writing center was for those who were horrible writers, or for people with serious problems. I think if I heard some of the things that were said about the writing center before, it would have been discouraging. Also, if the tutor only points out errors or issues with the paper, would I want to come back? I would, but I am always looking for ways to improve. I do believe it would be discouraging. It is the old saying it isn’t what you say but how you say it that makes a difference. Make a negative into a neutral and try to be positive as much as possible. But, be honest. A paper with a lot of grammatical errors, (I know the writing center isn’t a fix it shop; it was just the easiest thing to gravitate towards). I see you have a few comma splices, I am going to help you with a few and leave you with a pamphlet to help you with the rest. I am not going to do it for them, but I would turn my focus then on the paper itself and leave the grammar alone. I am not going to say.. this is some horrible crap. I then would say if possible, I like how your body compliments your thesis accordingly. Positivity as much as possible.

Blog # 4 Training is Everything...

When deciding if working in the writing center for me was an attainable goal, I looked at my goals on the main thing I wanted to achieve. First, I wanted to be a better writer. I was told, if you want to be a better writer, you have to write. You cannot just wish for it. Second, I wanted to help others who were in the writing blues shoes, to get out of it and love to write, like I do. Give me a topic; I will write because I love it. YET.... Training.. I asked about training and was told they'd give me a few week training. Luckily, I have heard that training is ongoing. Still in the dark about what training consisted of, I learned through this weeks reading what a peer tutoring training course would possibly look like. It would fall nothing short of writing itself. Then your peers would critique it. The more they have to say about it, the better it is, in my opinion. In Marcia Silver's article about how Brooklyn College tutoring training course is constructed, she stated that there were four steps in the critique stage done by the peers and overseen by the professor/instructor. They implemented what things they wanted you to focus on at each stage.

In Paula Beck's, "Peer Tutoring at a Community College" response to Nassau Community College's training course, I was once again inspired to continue my pursuit of happiness in applying for a position at the writing center, despite being a little deterred lately about doing so. I love how Nassau implemented grammar into their curriculum and not entirely shunning it out because of a "Stigma" avoidance of what the writing center is. I enjoyed how a student said she'd learned more about people in once semester at working at the writing center than she had in ANY of her psychology and sociology courses. Other than becoming a better writer and assisting others, having a broader interaction and knowledge of others is what I am looking forward too. They used similar tactics in training that Brooklyn College tutor training used as well as adding specific training, such as grammar, to better assist their enrolled students. I digress in some aspects of the article, though, "Tutees can hope to emulate the skills of their peers, while those of their professors sometimes seem hopelessly beyond them." I am a firm believer that the higher you aim, the more likely you are to meet your target. I also have experience working with professors as tutors in the writing center and have never felt inferior to them. I felt as if I was a sponge, and they were filling me with knowledge. I also felt like they were the sensa', or sefu and I was the student, disciple. My goal is to be as good as the master, not to be inferior. TO learn all that, he knows and to surpass him, hopefully, in due time.

When Starting to read the "Training Peers Tutors in the Art of Teaching" by Thom Hawkins, I was excited not to be apart of his program.  Then as I read through I felt we had the same philosophy, " tutors learn by doing", which coincided with what I have been taught that writers learn by writing; it is the only way to get better. Tutors doing just learn to write..."they will have learned so much about the importance.. placed on reliability, determination, perseverance, and individual commitment to helping others. They learn to..."identify the cause of their students' problems, and willing to use all available resources to find solutions. they learn that they need to adapt their teaching styles to the learning habits of their students as well as the content." 

Whether the students second language is English, a freshman in a two year college/four year college, or a junior having trouble articulating what exactly they need to do in a paper for class, students come to the writing center with a need for getting help. I understand some of the students are lazy and might be manipulative into convincing the tutor to write the paper for them. I believe the training sessions enlighten and teach the tutor to expect these things and show them the proper response for handling the situation. I believe the more adaptable one is, be it directive or nondirective approaches, if you are flexible and trained to help most, if not all, students that walk through the writing center doors,  and this in turn will assist in helping to make them better writers.