Class Discussion: Annotated Bibilography + Research Questions

Tonight we looked through the calendar to get the big picture for where we were going with this research project. As we saw from the calendar, the course is set up so that you do your project in parts - and through using the blogs - so that you share your thinking, data, writing and resources with classmates as you develop them. This practice will allow us to work together.

Overview of due dates for November (first approximation)

Annotated bibliography: November 2

Research plan: November 9

Rough draft - "problem " (your research question) + review of the literature: November 16

Rough draft - presentation of data: November 23

For the next several weeks we will be meeting as a class on Tuesdays, you will be observing (and then coaching) in the writing center, and I will be available in the Writing Center during class time on Thursday. On Thursdays we can work one-on-one or as a class on research/writing issues of your choice.

Annotated bibliography

A sample annotated bibliography is listed to the right. For this assignment, I am looking for a (tentative) list of references for your research paper. As in the sample - I am looking for a short, clear statement of the main focus of the work. In addition, I will be looking for a statement of how you plan to use this reference in your research.

For example, if you were going to do a study of power issues involved in setting the agenda for what writing issues students end up working on in their sessions - you might ask a research question such as: what "authorities" do coaches/students invoke to "persuade" one another with respect to what they will work on during a writing session? How does the choice of "authorities" correlate with the chosen focus, and with student satisfaction with respect to the session? (authorities might include: teacher's expectations stated in class; assignment sheet; genre characteristics; evidence from the paper itself (there may be several categories for this) ; student's feelings about what s/he needs help with; and so on).

To develop a annotated bibliography for this topic you might consider essays on agenda setting, power dynamics in sessions, discourse analysis of tutoring/conferencing/writing center sessions; and so on.

A sample entry might be:

Entry: Newkirk, Thomas. "The First Five Minutes: Setting the Agenda in a AWriting Conference." Writing and Response: Theory, Practice. and Research. Ed. Chris Anson. Urban, IL: NCTE P, 1989. 317-331.

Overview: A description of the dynamics of agenda setting in conferences for a freshman English course.

Use: I can use Newkirk's transcripts & analysis of the three sample "agenda settings' to identify key references to authority in the negotiation of the focus for the conference. This will show that these references are wide-spread moves - and not just in the sessions I observe.

Your annotated bibliography should have the minimum number of entries required for your research essay.

As I said in class - these bibliographies often become a communal source, and student frequently find that essays from classmates bibliographies will be important to their research. By the time projects are complete - students usually have "borrowed" reference from several classmates - and that is exactly the point of asking you to post your bibliography on your blog.

Finding sources.

We spend about half the class identifying and testing strategies for finding references. Suggestions included:

• using amazon to identify books (and some articles) - and reading the bibliographies for recent publications if possible
• using google scholar - noting how many times articles that come up have been cited, and checking out related references (and, of course, mining the bibliographies of all relevant articles)
• using Rebecca Moore Howard's bibliographies (& searching her lists using control F for dates + keywords)
• checking out writing center journals + the IWCA (NOT the international window cleaning association)
• searching by author for leading scholars in your field (using Kean databases + google.scholar &etc)

Sample essays:

There are two sample essays posted with the Annotated bibliography: one qualitative, and one hybrid qualitative-quantitative. I chose these two as samples since they both follow the more-or-less standard form for composition research essays. We discussed the (surprising) results for the study of correlations between WC satisfaction and grades as a way to think about both how you might design a study - and how you might explain your results. Either of these essays would serve as a satisfactory model for this assignment.

Observations in the center:

We spent the rest of class talking about what struck you about observations in the center - and then speculating about what kind of questions/explorations you might develop to follow-through on those observations. There were lots of solid ideas for projects in this discussion. I am very excited about reading through your findings!

If you will miss your time in the center - or if you want to re-schedule: send an email to wcenterkean7@gmail.com.

Blog 12: messy discussion of what you are reading and ideas for your project (to get some ideas out there for classmates)

Read: essays for your research (candidates for your annotated bibliography)

See you on Thursday (or not). The assignments for Thursday (due Tuesday, November 2) will be:

Blog 13: Draft annotated bibliography

Read: Sample research essays posted on blog

In class on Tuesday, November 2 we will discuss the form of the sample research essays, share references, and talk about developing a research plan.

October 21

We spent today's class brainstorming ideas for the research project. I encouraged you to keep an open mind as you observed your first several sessions, and to remember that you need to frame your study so that it answers some specific questions with respect to writing center work.

In addition to the research project assignment sheet, I have posted two sample research essays that have a form similar to the work you will be doing. As we discussed in class, because of your brief window for observation - your data will necessarily be "thin." That's OK. The real purpose of the project is for you to get your feet wet in using the observational-reflective processes that are frequently applied both in writing centers and in writing classrooms.

For Tuesday:

Blog 11: brainstorming for research project

Read: use the "research plan" sheet (posted to the right) to do some in-depth thinking about your project. Specifically, begin to identify + check out research essays that will be useful for your project.

For the next couple of weeks, we will have class on Tuesday, and then we will have optional meetings in the WC for one-on-one or group work on your projects on Thursdays.

For those of you who showed up but were unsure about what we were doing, (I was late) sorry for the confusion about this Thursday's class.

October 12: Permission forms + taking & analyzing notes

We talked through the permission forms (posted to the right) and I provided each of you with a copy that has my signature. You will need to copy the signed forms, date them, and add your information. We talked through the protocol for presenting the permission forms and following up with the debriefing forms. Subjects have their own motivations for taking part in our research - but it is often out of generosity and a wish to help, so remember to thank them. Study of how writing and coaching work is an essential part of writing center work - and by conducting and publishing research in our center - theories about writing will account for the writers and coaches at our University.

Basic protocol for requesting permission to observe a session:

1) Approach coach before session begins to ask if it will be OK to observe. If s/he agrees, provide/explain permission form to coach,and obtain signature.

2) Approach student as s/he checks in at the receptionist desk. If s/he agrees, provide/explain permission form to writer, and obtain signature.

3) Request that receptionist make copies of the signed forms.

4) Position your self to observe the session so that you have a clear view, but so that you do not interfere with the work of the session. DO NOT sit at the same table as the session you are observing.

5) Take notes.

6) As session closes, thank coach and writer for their partication and provide debriefing forms.

7) Make sure writer and coach each receive a copy of the signed permission forms.

8) Keep a copy of the signed permission form for your records.

We spent most of class onserving, taking notes on, and discussing a coaching session focused on Erin's Writing Center Philosophy and facilitated by Eric. This session modeled how the permission /notetaking fits into the pattern of coaching, and gave us an opportunity to develop a set of notes from observation - and to talk about how we would use those notes to discover, explore, and theorize a research topic. (unedited notes are posted to the right) The approach we talked through is presented in more detail in Barney Glazer and Anselm Strauss - The Discovery of Grounded Theory (1967), Anselm Strauss and Juliet Corbin, Basics of Qualitative Research (2007); and by Ian Dey, Grounding Grounded Theory: Guidelines for Qualitative Inquiry (1999). The first two books provide systematic, step by step approaches for using qualitative data as a basis for describing and theorizing the interactive dynamics within local contexts - like in a writing center. The third explores the assumptions and limitations of the approach.

I briefly discussed my note-taking strategies (moving between description of what I saw, what I heard, and what I inferred), and talked about strategies for analyzing notes. At the beginning, before you have a research topic, notes serve as representations of "what happens" that you can look at, think about, and look at again. This looking allows you to look for patterns, curious happenings, or anything that strikes you as interesting. After taking "open" notes on a series of sessions - you may "discover" a pattern or something that interests you = and you will shift the focus of what you write down.

Simple ways to begin to see what is of interest in a session are to note: beginnings and endings, points of transition, repeated language or behaviors, patterns that "chunk" the session into "scenes" - as if it were a play, turning points (ie when the writer "gets it") and the behaviors/language associated with turning points . As you look at these points, you will begin to look for actions, contexts, interactions, relationships, and outcomes that are repeated - and you will give them names - so you can "see" them in your data. These names or "categories" are the language you will use to identify, describe and theorize the focus for your research.

For Thursday: no class => go to the writing center and take notes on one session between now and Tuesday. Spend some time analyzing your notes and come to class prepared to talk about ideas for a research project.

Blog 10: Describe your note-taking practices=> what is working? what do you want to work on? What references, resources, in-class exercises would help you develop your note-taking (data collection ) process?

In class Tuesday, October 19, we will talk some more about notes and take a look at the criteria for the research project and the portfolio. Also, I will return your Writing Center Philosophies, and we can talk a little about where you stand with those.

Have a good weekend.

Late post for Thursday, Oct 7.

I graded and returned your writing culture drafts, and will be looking for your Writing Center Philosophy drafts in the course email today, October 12.

In class today you will sign up for the times you want to coach at the writing center, and we will go over the permission forms, and practices for observing.

We will also have some more practice taking notes + analyzing notes.

October 5: Writing Center Philosohpy!

We discussed Lunsford's essay - both to think about collaboration and the idea fo writing center - and to explore the different philosophies that underlie writing center (see 3 models handout posted under course documents).

From there - we revisited the assignment sheet - and filled in some of the missing requirements. The philosophy statement should be suitable for publication on a web site for a particular institution, and it should be directed toward a particular audience for a particular purpose. The sample philosophies ranged from about 500 - 750 words - so your philosophy should fit in that ballpark for length.

For the second part of the assignment - y0u will write a separate document where you discuss the practical consequences your philosophy will have for the coaching practices, physical space, administrative policies, identity of the staff, and so on.

You spent the rest of class conducting a paractice coaching session. You worked with the same partner you worked with in the last session - only you switched roles. Hopefully this exercise gave you some practice both with coaching and with taking notes.

For Thursday:
Blog 8: brainstorming/drafty writing for writing center philosophy
Read: Shamoon & Burns

September 30 Writing Center Philosophies

We spent most of class applying talk from Tuesday in a discussion of Writing Center philosophies (see assignment sheet posted on the right). As we talked through the language choices in the WC philosophy statements at the links on the assignment sheet, we were able to make some informed guesses about the the statement's audience and purpose, as well as about how the center operated, and why. As stated on the assignment sheet, your WC philosophy will include your statement AND an analysis of the connections between theory and practice your philosophy implies. The first draft for your WC philosophy is due on your blog for class discussion, October 7. The revised WC philosophy will be turned in as an attachment (and a blog post) October 12. And the final document (for the grade) will be turned in with your portfolio. I expect MLA format, but I did not develop a length requirement. As you noticed from the sample WC philosophies - in many ways the length of your statement is rhetorical and will connect to choices about audience & purpose.

We will spend some time in class Tuesday discussing the criteria for this assignment.

We spent what little time was left first characterizing and then "acting out" the coaching philosophies described in the two readings. If we had had time - we would have had a more in-depth discussion of connections between the authors' theories about learning - and the tutoring approaches. Because all learners are different -it is useful to have a range of coaching strategies to draw from. These two are a start.

For Tuesday:

Blog 8: Post your draft Writing Cultures assignment; at the top of your post make any requests for feedback/comments that you think might be useful for you.

Read: Guide, Andrea Lunsford, 92.

In class we will talk about Lunsford's classification for the different kinds of writing centers - including conversations about the philosophies/assumptions that underlie these different centers - we will continue to discuss the WC philosophy assignment - and if I can do a little better with my time-management skills - you will conduct some practice coaching sessions (and take notes) to develop the WC philosopy & analysis.

Enjoy the rain.