Thursday, September 23

Important Reminder: Students who participate in research involving human subjects at Kean University must provide proof to the Kean University Institutional Review board that they have completed NIH training. As stated in class, I requested that certificates needed to be submitted by September 14. Any student who does not submit evidence that they have completed training by September 28, will not be able to conduct research in the Writing Center, and will need to withdraw from the course. These are Federal Regulations and there is simply no way around them. If you are having difficulties - please let me know so we can resolve them.

What we did in class: We used tonight's class as a workshop for you to work on your papers, as practice for coaching WC sessions, and as an introduction to using note-taking as a way to document and reflect on coaching practices. The notes you take on WC sessions - either by reconstructing what happened in your own sessions (as you did tonight), or by requesting permission to observe and taking notes as the session unfolds - will be the basis of your research project.

Documenting work at the writing center: In our discussion of note-taking we pointed out that there were three kinds of observations that it was important to include.

• The "facts" of the session - information that is directly observable. The time, place, setting. The physical descriptions of the individuals involved. How and where they are seated. It is important to note time not only at the beginning of the session - but also at selected points as the session unfolds. Inserting time-notes will document how much time was spent in the sessions different parts.
  
  
• Description - description might be considered a kind of fact, since in some sense it is "there" and it is created through careful observation. At the same time, it is much more detailed and more carefully elaborated. What makes it description is that the observer's word choices have a much more powerful effect in its characaterization than does "fact" writing. The difference here is between stating that the session took place at the computer near the window in the KU writing center and the student sat with his back to the window (facts), and pointing out that the light on the screen made the documents "fuzzy" and hard to see and that the writer was constantly leaning forward, holding up his hand to make a shadow, or a description of the writer's behavior while waiting for the document to appear on the screen.
  
  
• Inferences and reflections - are statements that are clearly interpretations. Stating that the student in the last scenario was frustrated is an interpretation. It may seem like a fact, but it involves some speculation on the part of the observer. If the student says "I am frustrated" and the observer writes down the short quotation => then it is description. Reflections about your feelings, (being nervous, being unsure about what to say next and resorting to "what do you think?) are sometimes combinations of reflections and description. Documenting your internal state is important - because sometimes, when you go back to notes after a week or so - you might discover that the observations on the page do NOT evoke the same feelings.

It is important to include some of each kind of observation. Student note-takers (with the exception of storytellers and writers) often skip directly to the interpretations - leaving out the facts and descriptions that are the "proof" of their conclusions. Be sure to include sufficient descriptions to support your inference that a student is "satisfied with the session," "frustrated," "confused" and so on.

You turned in some sample notes, which I will read through and get back to you on Tuesday with some very general comments about how to strengthen your notes so they will better support your research essay.

We also noted that the calendar has been revised, and that the draft for the Writing Cultures paper is now due October 5. If you have questions, need references, or just want to make sure you are moving in the right direction - try the writing center - or schedule a conference with me.

For Tuesday:

Blog 6: Discussion of your Writing Cultures essay. Be sure to include:

• the aspect of academic writing culture that is your focus (the values, expectations, un-stated "rules" of academic writing that direct how writing is received in the academy)
• the identity/culture of the group who has a problem with academic writing
• a description of the values, expectations, & un-stated beliefs about what writing is and how it is used that associated with your group
• the problems the aspect of writing culture causes for your group of writers
• what these writers want when they come to the writing center

Yes - this is a kind of "map" for your paper. By posting this you will do some thinking and put yourself in a position to get some feedback from me and your peers before you invest too much effort in writing the papers.

Read: North "The Idea of a Writing Center," and "Revising the Idea of a Writing Center," pp. 63-92.

In class Tuesday we will start talking about writing center philosophies.