What is a successful writing center?

Exploring a problematic definition

Diane Dowdey

Frances Crawford Fennessy

Sam Houston State University

Why is it problematic?

• Writing centers have different constituencies, who define success differently.– University administrators may want numbers, but they

may not see student use as sufficient evidence of success.

– Faculty may want only to see immediate improvement in papers they read.

– Students may want only affirmation or higher grades.– Tutors may have specific expectations that differ from

administrators, faculty, and students.

Defining success:

Success depends on mission and goals.

Success depends on audience and constituencies.

Success has a number of different aspects such as use, learning, satisfaction, confidence.

Contributing complications:

In the literature of writing center evaluation, it seems clear that quantifiable methodologies do not provide adequate measures of success.

Writing center directors and tutors are more comfortable working with narrative structures.

Question One: What is a successful tutoring session?

Please describe a successful tutoring session and why you thought it was successful.

Tutor Demographics

• Twenty-two student tutors defined a successful tutoring experience by giving an example.

• Nine tutors were graduate students

• Thirteen tutors were undergraduates

Experience as a tutor

Semesters as a tutor

Number of tutors

One 5

Two 4

Three 6

Four 2

Five 2

Six 1

Eight 1

Coding Statements• 1. Student shows a desire to learn: cooperative,

willing, wants to understand.

• 2. Student trust the tutor, is comfortable, develops rapport.

• 3. Student has a receptive attitude: attentive, interested, excited.

• 4. Student is able to provide information about the assignment.

• 5. Tutor and student successfully communicate.

Coding Statements• 6. Tutor is able to reflect positively on the

tutoring session: confident, appreciated.• 7. Tutor is able to provide instruction about the

higher-order writing processes.

• 8. Tutor feels comfortable with student.• 9. Tutor is able to provide instruction about lower-

order concerns.

• 10. Students’ attitude or knowledge changes positively.

Successful Tutoring Sessions

Codes:

• 10 distinct statements were used for coding:

• 5 were associated directly to the student» behavior» actions

• 5 were associated directly to the tutor» actions» emotions

Student

2123

19

11

20

0

5

10

15

20

25

Showsdesire to

learn

Trusts tutor Hasreceptiveattitude

Is able toprovide

information

Changesattitude

positively

Student shows desire to learn

• Cooperative

• Willing

• Wants to understand

She responded that she was concerned with everything, from figuring out what she wanted to say to getting it organized on paper.

It was evident that the student was eager to learn as much as he could.

Student trusts the tutor

• Comfortable

• Develops rapport

She felt secure enough with me to vent her opinions of the assignment without feeling that anything said would go back to the professor.

During the session, I observed her as she became more comfortable and relaxed.

Student has receptive attitude

• Attentive

• Interested

• Excited

She became energized about writing.

The student was involved and engaged throughout the entire session.

Student is able to provide information

• Brings assignment

•Brings text being analyzed

She slid the assignment sheet and a stapled copy of her paper toward me. I skimmed over the requirements, looking for key words and ideas to look for in her work.

As I filled out my portion of the of the session form, she took out two copies of her paper as well as the assignment sheet and a pen.

Student’s attitude or knowledge changes positively

• Student feels more confident

•Student has learned

Certainly, what I am doing in the writing center will, or at least should, translate into better grades; however, my primary measure of successful tutoring is knowing that the writer I worked with left my session with more skills or confidence than when he or she had walked into the center.

Her countenance visibly changed; she looked, well, proud of herself.

Tutor

21

31

18

8

12

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Is able toreflect

positively

Provideshigher-orderinstruction

Provideslower-orderinstruction

Tutor reflects positively on the tutoring session

•Appreciated by student

•Confident about session

He was very appreciative of our help. Then, I realized that a session I had considered a failure had been a success that led to another session.

This session was one of, if not the best, not only because she felt very confident upon leaving, but also because I felt confident in providing her with assistance.

Tutor successfully communicates

I simply listened and gave advice when I was asked. I learned that day that being a tutor is more than just proofreading papers. It is becoming friends with my peers, listening.

There is an interaction and a communication that enable us as tutors to really feel the student is learning.

Tutor provides higher order instruction

•Teaches prewriting strategies

•Discusses thesis and organization

Typically, my most successful tutoring sessions are those where the the writer has a clear sense of what ideas to present but are not sure how to do so because he or she does not write traditionally.

The majority of the session ws spent marshalling arguments and brainstorming ideas for the essays. The best aspect of this session was that the student and I were both interested in both topics, and we were able to deal with higher-order issues like invention.

Tutor feels comfortable with the student

•Knows the student

Because she was so cooperative, I felt even more relaxed than in any session; it seemed as if I had tutored her before although I hadn’t.

He knew I had his welfare in mind, and I already knew his temperament and writing ability.

Tutor provides lower-order instruction

•Teaches grammar and punctuation rules

•Reviews citation styles

•Discusses word choice

We focus on conversational speech, but our sessions do not leave out grammatical things like verb agreement and article use. He brings in idioms that he does not understand, and we discuss what they mean and how they are used. We also discuss phrases or sayings that have similar denotative meanings but slightly diffeent connotative meanings.

In the final run through his draft, we discussed the underlines and check marks I had made. We discussed ways to make the sentences more clear. We discussed phrasing and word choice.