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.