Brett Looks at My Rough Draft, I Look at His: A Tale of Two Papers

Brett and I exchanged our rough drafts during the class time. We decided to read our drafts separately and comment on them through email after. Reading through Brett and Griffin’s rough draft, it is obvious that they need more theoretical framework to build their research question around. The literature review should be streamlined throughout the rest of the research paper. As a professor as said in one of my classes, the research should be a child of the literature review. The theoretical framework should be seen throughout the rest of the study.

Brett had some good advice for my study. He suggested that I find more academic work that surrounds ESL students, which I have begun doing already. I plan on writing my literature first and then moving on to the actual study, for I hope to have a solid theoretical framework (as I stated previously… I feel like a broken record). I need to jump start this project right away because I’m a little afraid that I won’t be able to find enough people to participate in the focus group, for I do not know many international students. But, hey, this should be a good learning experience and a chance to meet new people!

Proposing My Research Again: Another Research Proposal

I have decided to for sure do my research over ESL students and the way they learned to write and their writing practices now.

Research Question

How did non-native English speakers learn how to write in their primary language?

How are non-native English speakers used to getting feedback?

What are their writing practices/rituals now?

Method

I plan on compiling a group of 8 international students for a focus group. The breakdown of genders will be 4 males, 4 females. I will ask them a series of questions that will allow them to explain how they learned to write and how they write now.

Negotiating with ESL Students

This article ties together well with my tentative research study proposal, as my topic includes ESL students. Harris and Silva’s “Tutoring ESL Students” provides a good back ground for my research project, as she discusses limitations and obstacles of tutoring a student whom English is his/her second language. The student may have their sights set on working on organization, but the tutor may see that grammar needs work, as well. How do consultants work their way through this? Do they obey the student’s wishes and only work on grammar? Or does the consultant suggest working on grammar even though the student didn’t specify needing help in that aspect? Harris and Silvia find a good common ground, where the student and consultant negotiate what will be the focus and for how long (531). I do think that this negotiation has to be respectful to the student’s wishes because technically the students are the paying customers and the consultants are providing a service.

Proposing My Research: A Research Proposal

I think I’m going to do my research study over international students and their writing experiences as children. The writing practices of different languages and cultures—I’m guessing—are different those of the United States. I want to hold a focus group of international students and have them talk about how they learned to write in their respective country. I think that I study like this could help with how consultants at the writing center assist international students in writing papers. Maybe some students are used to a more indirective approach to writing and others respond more to a directive approach. This could be reflective of the cultures of each student, as well.

A few research questions could be:

How do the writing practices of international students differ from those of US citizen students?

Do writing practices differ among people from different countries/cultures?

Does the Space Matter That Much?

I had an interesting time reading Jack Grutsch McKinney’s “Writing Centers are Cozy Homes.” I felt as though the idea of the piece was nice, however when put into practice I have a hard time believing that it would be viewed positively among students.  I’m not sure that McKinney’s description of the current writing center environment is exactly what it’s like for students. He describes it as being, “that other, scary institutional lab for remedial students” (24). I can somewhat see how this perception would be built up, however, I haven’t really seen this perception manifest itself at UNL. I don’t think students are deterred from the writing center at UNL because their scared of it, however I do think that some students do see the writing center as somewhat remedial. I don’t think that this perception has anything to do with the actual space itself. A comfy space could even make the writing center less credible. What academic institution looks like a home? I do think that a cozier space would change the actual environment of the writing center, as any physical change would. However, I think this would mainly be a change for the consultants and not necessarily the students who are seeking assistance. Because the consultants are there for several hours throughout the week, the way that they perceive the space would likely be different. Perhaps they would feel more comfortable to express themselves, or feel more at home.

Speak Less, (Active) Listen More

I am a firm believer that listening is essential in any interaction. In order to be engaged and prosperous in any interpersonal relationship, listening actively is key. I enjoyed reading Harris’ article over listening in the writing center. Harris’ argument values genuine listeners which is, “Caring about the student’s welfare, being a receptive audience, creating a feeling of closeness” (57). I believe that being a good listener is a skill. Some could believe that this inherently disingenuous because the tutors are not listening how they maybe normally would. However, I would argue that learning how to be a better listener is not insincere because it encourages the tutors to look past themselves and focus on others. Good listening does not come naturally, it’s a learnt skill that must be taught and mastered. We are not born good listeners; instead we learn how to listen in a way that is best for the person who is talking. I think that learning how to listen in such a way would benefit a great portion of the population and would also help tutors at the writing center.

Directive or Non-directive (or Both!), That is the Question

Reading the pieces over directive and non-directive tutoring reminds me of a tenant that I base a lot of my opinions and perceptions on—there is no easy answer to anything. Very rarely can one sum up a simple answer to any question, that’s just the way it is. As I read through the pieces over directive and non-directive approaches, it is clear to me that Peter Carino “gets” this mentality. In his article, “Power and Authority in Peer Tutoring,” Carino does not decide on one method of peer tutoring, but instead argues that the method used depends on the stake of power the student and tutor hold in the writing. For Carino, if the student has more authority over the writing than the tutor, an non-directive approach would work best to get the most out of the session. However, if the tutor exhibits greater authority over the writing than the student, a directive approach would fit best. This dynamic seems to make the most sense because every student has different needs and responds differently to different types of learning.

From Conversations to Paper: A Socialized Writing Center

I have not been to the writing center and I have little knowledge over writing center challenges, pedagogy, theory, etc. I am excited to explore these concepts and have a better understanding of how to teach writing and the limitations that accompany this. Last semester, I took a class with Dr. Stacy Waite about literacy practices. Before this class, I never realized how complex writing and literacy truly is. The combination of social, pedagogical, and theoretical framework that goes into this area of study is vast. I am excited to watch these concepts be applied to writing center, as I assume that they will.

Bruffee’s piece over the social context of the writing center interested me the most this week. It’s argued that the writing center should be viewed as a social context and writing is formed via conversations that are refined, reflected and transcribed. An excerpt that stood out the most for me came from page 91, “Peer tutoring, like collaborative learning in general, makes students – both tutors and tutees – aware that writing is a social artifact, like the thought that produces it.” I think Bruffee is trying to get at the idea that currently, students see writing as a solitary practice—their thoughts form their paper with no little or no collaboration. I can see how seeing writing as a solo process could be detrimental. The ideas of one student could be enhanced when thinking about it in a greater social context. Maybe a tutor at the writing center could challenge a student’s argument and that student then sharpens his/her argument. In an instance like this, collaboration makes for a better argument, paper, and a better writer. However, I could see the limitations of this, because students aren’t used to writing being collaboration, so a student could be confused or not care enough about his writing to take this method seriously.

Journal 1: Mindfulness is the New Meditation

The article featuring the benefits of practicing mindfulness intrigued me greatly. I’ve never heard of the term “mindfulness,” instead meditation is what comes to mind for this practice. However, the word “mindfulness” definitely adds a different connotation to this act of reflection and stillness. When I think of mindfulness, I think of being self-aware with your thoughts. It reminds me a lot of yoga, which I have practiced in the past. Yoga is all about finding your center and what feels good for you. It’s supposed to be a judgement-free zone. If it feels better to modify a pose to fit your own body’s needs, that is encouraged. You must be aware of yourself and what you want. Mindfulness seems like mental yoga, where you do what feels best for you—open eyed, close eyed, crossed legs, uncrossed legs, etc. Whatever makes you feel the most at peace or has the greatest potential of helping you to think freely and uninhibited is the most encouraged. It’s a cool concept. I’m excited to see how this manifests itself in our classroom. Will there be a change in how the class is? Will it bring us closer together? Will we leave our stresses at the door?