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Silence in the Writing Center

Shirley Shue, University of Michigan Writing 300: Christine Modey

Silence

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“Noticing silences, things that are not present, is more difficult than noticing things that are present, but is equally important.”

-Barbara Johnstone, Discourse Analysis

Silence is the Other Half

Silence is……a word.…a part of speech.…a sound.…a thought.

+ Agenda

Proposal/ThesisDefinitions/Implications of Silence

1. Physical environment2. One person3. Both people

How to Contextualize SilenceComments or Suggestions

+What did you say?

How do you give readerly responses?

How do you collaborate with tutee?

How do you ask open ended questions?

What should you say before the tutee leaves the session?

+Writing Process Requires Silence

Pre-Writing: Brainstorming and generating new ideas Writing Post-Writing: Revisions, organization, grammar

Create environment for people to feel comfortable coming in at any part of writing process

+Silence.Instead of feeling uncomfortable during an awkward silence, tutors should learn to contextualize silence in a way that makes the time productive and meaningful for the student.

+ 1. Silence in the room

Physical environment in which tutorial is taking place

+Physical Environment

92% of writing tutors surveyed had a problem with their university writing center’s small space and close proximity of tutoring stations (Veronica Oliver, University of Wisconsin)

Distractions and loud conversations hinder quality of tutoring session

Private room or crowded room?

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Difficulty of Noise

students who struggle with a language barrier “have greater difficulty in a learning environment where listening is complicated by other acoustic stimuli” (Carroll 70)

For the Tutee, especially ESL Students

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Difficulty of NoiseHinders ability to give best

help to tuteeFor the Writing Tutor

+Silence in the Room

For both the tutor and tutee, silence in the room would help create a more productive atmosphere that fosters a place for both people to focus solely on the student’s writing.

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2. Silence from one person in tutorialSilence in Tutee or Tutor

+Common Misconceptions

Silence is form of inferiority Controlling silence is a form of power The more talking there is, the better the tutorial will be

Consider this: Perception of inferiority created by silence is not always accurate

+Common Misconceptions

Silence suggests the tutoring session is not collaborative Silence in TUTOR:

Tutor being too non-directive Silence in TUTEE:

Tutor being too directive

Consider this: Silence should not be the factor determining where the tutor falls on a spectrum from non-directive to directive tutoring

+Common Misconceptions

Silence implies apathetic attitude towards writing

Consider this: Being silent does not need to correlate with apathy—rather, it could be indicative of introverted personality, cultural differences, and more.

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Truth: SilenceOne-half to one-third of the world’s population are introverts, many of whom are successful leaders and inventors today.

“solitude matters and for some people it is the air that they breathe”

-Susan Cain

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Truth: SilenceThere is zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas

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Click icon to add pictureClick icon to add picture

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3. Silence between both tutor and tuteeBattling the Awkward Silence

+Cricket, Cricket…

Most resisted form of communication at writing center Goes against traditional teaching and tutoring

pedagogies Seems contradictory that something can be achieved in

silence

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“It was often helpful for [tutors] to remain silent and let students take control of and

determine the next course of action for themselves.”

-Becky Ropers-Huilman

+Writing Process Requires Silence

Pre-Writing: Brainstorming and generating new ideas Writing Post-Writing: Learning new grammar rule

Create environment for people to feel comfortable coming in at any part of writing process

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Making Silence Productive

Contextualize silence so that tutee knows exactly what to do during silence

Use silence as opportunity for student to think through problem to a solution

Give student something to work on during silence

Ask open-ended questions to make student think and allow time for silence

Using your words to set the context

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Making Silence Productive

“interpretation of the meaning of the silence draws clues from other nonverbal behavior: body movement, vocalics before and after, eye gaze”

-Marjory Boudreaux

Using Non-Verbal Cues

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Making Silence Productive

Greeting/Introduction important for setting tone of session

Set clear expectations Friendly rapport

Students expect certain responses from tutors

Create environment where student feels comfortable sitting in silence to do something

Creating a friendly, open, honest environment

+SilenceImportant for students to become truly reflective thinkers in the whole writing process