Sparks.

According to our CIA's annually published World Factbook, The United States (6.26/1000) is #46 globally when it comes to infant mortality (infant deaths per 1000 births). This position is directly behind Guam and two slots behind Cuba. Meanwhile, if the District of Columbia (14.1/1000) were it's own country, it would be displace the British Virgin Islands for slot #96. This means that a baby born in the Ukraine (8.98/1000) is more likely to survive than one born in our capital. The median household income for D.C. was $59,290 in 2009 while the same metric for the Ukraine was $27,996 during the same period.

Thoughts?

Tips for Tutoring

The following sites and links are helpful tips and techniques for creating a helpful tutoring session:

1. In this link, the De Anza College has compiled a list of various links to excellent references and resources used in their own writing tutor sessions. This includes a wide range of topics, from thesaurus and dictionary sites to general writing techniques and their explanations.

- http://www.deanza.edu/studentsuccess/writing-reading-center/resources.html

2. The following is a handbook for the Bluefield College Writing Center. The link states objectives for tutors to use in their sessions, as well as processes and specific steps to follow to be certain a tutor is successful in helping the tutee.

- http://bcweb.bluefield.edu/cowl/tutor/bchandbook.htm

3. The next link is from the Dartmouth Writing Program. They have shared ways of quickly getting to know the student writer, as well as specific questions to ask the writer to help him or her achieve what he or she is attempting.

- http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/tutor/methods/diagnose.shtml

Writing Center Stuff

http://php.scripts.psu.edu/dept/ulc/Dangling_Modifier/index.php

This is a great international newsletter written by and for peer tutors in writing and produced by the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing. The contributors come from a wide variety of background, from Western Kentucky University to Villanova. But they all do what we do and offer some great insights and ideas. I especially liked “Investing Tutors in the Future of Writing Center Theory and Practice.”


http://www.jccc.edu/home/download.php/19948/WritingCenterJournal.pdf

This is a writing center journal by Johnson County Community College titled “IN THE POCKETS OF YESTERDAY’S PANTS: Theory, practice, theory.” It has some great pieces including “Patchwriters” which deals with recognizing and deterring plagiarism, as well as “On the Road to Being Less Critical” and “The Role of the Peer Writing Tutor.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRc2_U4xJeU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXK8Z79NOBk&feature=related

These are two short YouTube clips titled If Writing Center Myths Were True and Get Thee to the Writing Center! They are not so much educational as just plain funny.

Tutor Resources

I think the Writing Center should offer some sort of certification that can be earned over the years of service. Below are two links that seem reliable and would offer some useful start-up tips in order to gain certification. I think the goal of becoming certified would help some tutors stay motivated and engaged in the tutoring process.

http://www.crla.net/itpc/certification_requirements.htm


http://www.hau.gr/?i=learning.en.tutor-training-program

“Training for Tough Tutorials” looks like a good resource. It offers quick links to the tutor who knows what kind of tutee/paper she is dealing with. (e. g. “reluctant revisor,” “offensive paper,” “I don’t get it!”)

http://writing2.richmond.edu/training/tough/index.html

Some light reading for future tutors.

A writing-center director explains how the concept of "self-efficacy" helps define successful strategies and objectives for both writing consultants and student writers. Tutors can read more in depth components to help them structure sessions to build self-efficacy such as : success through effort, modeling, persuasion and encouragement, and reducing anxiety.

“Mapping the Meaning of ‘Help’: Tutor Training and the Sense of Self-Efficacy”
http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/praxis/?q=node/336

By observing fellow tutors’ consultations, writing center tutors improve their abilities to evaluate their own practices when working with students. This article gives an example of a good questionnaire and how to reflect after observing an experienced tutor and also reflecting after being observed.

“Watch and Learn: Peer Evaluation and Tutoring Pedagogy”
http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/praxis/?q=node/340

This is a training video that would be shown during tutor training. There are quite a few chapters to this Bepko tutor training that you can easily find while viewing one video on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7GjfF4CrY

Here are a few resources that may lend a hand to new writing tutors:

1. Wow! The following is a great resource for both experienced and novice tutors. It includes videos with scenario notes. On the left are various profiles; each depicts a typical "tough tutorial." The resource is from the University of Richmond.


http://writing2.richmond.edu/training/tough/index.html

2. From The Writing Center at Winona State University, this brief chapter from A Guide for Writing Center Tutors is entitled "Self Reflective Tutoring: Practices and Concerns." It includes information regarding conferencing with students and assessing one's tutoring. It also provides a model tutoring session, as well as "some variations on the model."
http://www.winona.edu/writingcenter/05/Guide/guide2.htm

3. This resource comes from Oakland University Writing Department. The series includes videos that depict realistic peer tutoring scenarios. Some of the topics that I browsed include students with disabilities, "texting" tutees, plagiarism, "irate" tutees, tutees who are English language learners, and one entitled "No, You Can't Drop Off Your Paper!" They're somewhat humorous, but also provide insight into tutoring.

These videos may all be found by going to www.youtube.com and typing in "Oakland University Writing Center Video Scenario."

HAPPY TUTORING! :)