PeerCentered

Like mentioned in the previous blog, establishing and maintaining community within a writing center can be difficult regardless of size. But depending on how these centers are structured and how they function, meaningful relationships can be created and long-lived. Possibly the most important reason for these interactions is to serve as resources for consultants. I’ve learned a lot in the past year and a half, and everything I have learned is because of the way the Texas A&M writing center operates. In   February   of last year, a colleague and I presented “ Be a Tool: How to Utilize Your Coworkers As a Valuable Resource” at the SCWCA conference in Houston. The main focus was to discuss several mechanisms that help create collaboration and interaction among coworkers, which in turn facilitates increased knowledge and productivity.    In a way, this is an extension of some of the procedures we touched on at the conference. The conference went well and evoked the ...

Writing centers are responsible for fostering a sense of community, and we call ourselves consultants because of the type of interaction we have with students. After all, sometimes a consultation shows more symptoms of a therapeutic session than a paper revision. But as easy as it is to share a sense of community with our student population, it’s difficult to establish that same environment within the center itself. And there are several aspects to blame, such as center size, scheduling differences and high turnover rates. I don’t want to be misunderstood—I’m not saying that we should be like family, because that is an overused, inaccurate comparison. But as coworkers, we should at least be familiar with one another. Sadly, after working at the center for more than a year, I still (from time to time) exchange the “do I know you?” look with other consultants as if they were strangers. Yet in all seriousness, I have introduced myself to new-hires more than 6 weeks after having worked tog...

[Updated 1/24/2012] The program for the online talk-time conference Writing Centers in the 2-Year College is set!  For more information about conference attendance, please visit http://bit.ly/wbIto3 .  The information isn’t up yet, but should be shortly.  I’ll be sure to update you all when it is up.  It is going to be an excellent conference!  I am particularly pleased by the number of sessions being lead by community college peer tutors.   It will be an excellent way to kick of International Writing Centers Week 2012 (Feb 12-18). Here is the unedited schedule [with links to the online conference rooms] to whet your appetites: Note: Rooms will be open for admission 30 minutes before each session. Monday, 2/6/12: A Wide Angle View of the 2-Year College Writing Center 1:00-2:00 pm EST “Two Year College Writing Centers ‘By the Numbers’” Jill Reglin, Lansing Community College 3:00-4:00 pm EST “What We Do, What ...

At the 2011 National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing held in Miami, Florida, Jon Olson shared a video clip of the late Ron Maxwell's advice to peer tutors.  Jon kindly sent the video clip to PeerCentered: