Writing Center Research
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Authors
I participated in the collaborative conduction and presentation of primary research along with Jason Cessor, Jenny Crelia, Joshua Johnson, and Kelsie Walker. Context During my first semester of working in the University Writing Center (UWC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a conversation started between me and several of my fellow interns about how we felt reluctant to have our own writing conferenced by each other. We recognized that we were experiencing the stress of cognitive dissonance because while we were encouraging clients to share their work openly with us at different stages of the writing process, we ourselves did not partake in this essential practice with each other. Thus, we set out to conduct a case study to see what practices could be implemented to improve our interns’ abilities to conference others as well as be conferenced themselves. Audience The audience for this research was aimed at writing center administrators and tutors in attendance at the International Writing Centers Association Conference in San Diego, CA (2012) and the South Central Writing Centers Association Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, TX (2013). Purpose The purpose of the research was to answer the question “If ‘authentic apprenticeship’ impacts writing center training, how can we put it into practice?” |
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Research Process
I. Exploration and application of theory
“Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning” by John Seely Brown, Allan Collins, and Paul Duguid laid the theoretical groundwork for our research. In their article, Brown, Collins, and Dugiud presented that learning occurs in context and comes from participating in the "ordinary practices of the culture” or what they define as “authentic apprenticeship.” By reflecting on this theory, we noticed that learning how to conference and be conferenced could only be acquired by authentic apprenticeship. From here, we set out to discover what methods were best suited to help our interns enter into authentic apprenticeship in the UWC.
II. IRB-approved video interviews
To uncover the emotional underpinnings of why UWC interns were reluctant to have their own work conferenced, we conducted video interviews of current and past interns.
The IRB-approved interview questions we asked the interns are as follows:
(primary questions)
(secondary background questions)
III. Proposed solution: writing circles
Our proposed solution for the problem was the implementation of a writing circle, or small group composed of 3-5 interns, whose members would take turns conferencing each others' work on a rotating schedule. We implemented the writing circles during our weekly meetings and then collected interns’ responses to the experience through anonymous follow-up surveys.
Results
The follow-up surveys from the interns revealed
Technical Tools
I. Exploration and application of theory
“Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning” by John Seely Brown, Allan Collins, and Paul Duguid laid the theoretical groundwork for our research. In their article, Brown, Collins, and Dugiud presented that learning occurs in context and comes from participating in the "ordinary practices of the culture” or what they define as “authentic apprenticeship.” By reflecting on this theory, we noticed that learning how to conference and be conferenced could only be acquired by authentic apprenticeship. From here, we set out to discover what methods were best suited to help our interns enter into authentic apprenticeship in the UWC.
II. IRB-approved video interviews
To uncover the emotional underpinnings of why UWC interns were reluctant to have their own work conferenced, we conducted video interviews of current and past interns.
The IRB-approved interview questions we asked the interns are as follows:
(primary questions)
- How many semesters have you worked in the University Writing Center?
- Do you use the conferencing services of the University Writing Center for your own writing assignments?
- If your answer is yes, how have those services helped you?
- If your answer is no, why do you not use the services of the UWC?
- Are you reluctant to share your writing with other interns? Why or why not?
- Are you reluctant to be a tutor for other interns? Why or why not?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?
- Has working in a writing center improved your own writing?
(secondary background questions)
- What do you like or dislike about working in writing centers?
- Do you have concerns when working with writing center clients? If so, what are they?
- What have you learned about the writing process based on your experience as a writing center intern?
- Has being a UWC intern benefited you in any way? If so, how?
III. Proposed solution: writing circles
Our proposed solution for the problem was the implementation of a writing circle, or small group composed of 3-5 interns, whose members would take turns conferencing each others' work on a rotating schedule. We implemented the writing circles during our weekly meetings and then collected interns’ responses to the experience through anonymous follow-up surveys.
Results
The follow-up surveys from the interns revealed
- All of the participants that completed the follow-up survey said they found the conferencing experience beneficial
- All respondents said that their group members had at least some helpful suggestions
- None of the participants reported the experience as a waste of time
- [We should] “Do this more often”
- “My group was very helpful in suggesting directions for me to take”
- “I'm a little bit less intimidated now”
- “I was surprised to learn something that I could apply to my own conferencing strategies through this experience”
Technical Tools
- Prezi
- Adobe Premier
Work Cited
Brown, John Seely, Allan Collins, and Paul Duguid. “Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning.” Educational Researcher 18.1 (1989): 32-42. JSTOR. Web. 9 Sept. 2013.
