The First Ten Minutes:

How Initial Conversation and Active Listening Shapes the Session

Eric Klinger

University of

Colorado-Boulder

Common Ground

“Effective teachers form relationships that are trustful, open and secure, that involve a minimum of control, are cooperative, and are conducted in a reciprocal and interactive manner”

-Richard G. Tiberius, Psychologist and Learning Theorist

Not-so-Shared Assumptions

0 “Better writers, not better writing”-North’s paradox

0Student expectations0 Immediacy and risk aversion

0Unspoken best practices0 Global vs. Local concerns0 Reading silently (or loudly)0 Instruction (not editing)

What We (sometimes) Know0Type of writing project0Course and instructor0Time before deadline0Specific concerns

0 Meeting Assignment Objectives0 Logic and Idea Flow0 Reader Reaction0 English fluency0 Using and Citing Evidence0 Sentence Style and Clarity0 Grammar and Mechanics

What We Don’t Know

The Writer’s

0 Process

0 Expectations of the Writing Center

0 Individual struggles and needs

0 Experience with writing instruction

Getting Oriented

0An occasion to talk about writing

0 Resist immediately focusing on the paper in favor of the writer

0 Ask questions that help you to understand how the student

0 Approaches writing 0 Views the purpose of a session0 Perceives his/her strengths and struggles as a writer

The Paper

0Take a few minutes to look at the writer’s draft silently

0 This gives you essential time to begin prioritizing needs and establishing a realistic agenda for the session

0 Ask the writer to work on something while you’re reading (glossing, locating something in a handbook, noting difficult passages, etc.)

Your Approach

0 It’s not only good practice to discuss how you’ll approach tutoring the writer, it’s unethical not to

0Discuss the benefits and limitations of a 50-minute session

0Consider sharing some of your own challenges and struggles as a writer—good writing is never easy

Negotiating the Agenda

The agenda should be explicit and shared to develop the writer’s trust and engagement

0 Describe what you’ve identified as global and local concerns in the paper

0 Suggest what you would prioritize “if it were me”

0 Ask the writer how this fits with his/her concerns

0 Ask the writer to create an agenda for the session

Establishing Trust with Active Listening

0 Dedicate your full attention to the writer when he/she speaks

0 Keep a friendly but objective demeanor

0 Even when your opinion differs, keep listening and don’t become distracted planning a response

0 Ask questions to clarify the writer’s meaning and intentions

0 Respond with eye contact and non-judgmental feedback to the writer’s concerns

0 Use the readership/audience as the mediators for presenting choices and opportunities to the writer

Planting the Seed

0The most valuable and rewarding sessions are often with writers who return multiple times

0This is especially true for writers with significant writing challenges

0Encourage the writer to think of this session as the first day of class—it works best if you come back for more

References

Gillespie, P. and Neal Learner. (2008). The Longman Guide to Peer Tutoring, 2nd Ed. Boston: Pearson Longman.

Macauley Jr., W.J. (2005) “Setting the Agenda for the Next Thirty Minutes.” A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One, 2nd Ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

McAndrew, D.A., and Thomas Reigstad. (2001). Tutoring Writing: A Practical Guide for Conferencing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Murphy, C, and Steve Sherwood, eds. (2008). The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Boston: Bedford.

Ryan, L, and Lisa Zimmerelli. (2006). The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, 4th Ed. Boston: Bedford.