Blog 11: Research Idea Freewrite

I recently posted that my research idea would be to investigate the implications of agenda setting on the remainder of the writing session. I wanted to investigate whether or not the success of a tutoring session is determined by who sets the agenda. My hypothesis would be that if the writing coach controls the task of setting the agenda, then the student would be more likely to disengage from the remainder of the session. Receiving the message that the coach is the authority, the student would feel less obligated to participate fully. Conversely, if the student can determine the agenda herself or (at most with some prompting from the tutor), then she would view her input as being integral for the success of the session and would therefore invest more intellectual power to improving her paper.

Noting the body language of the tutor and the writer would also be important when investigating the impact of the "agenda setting" part of the writing session. For example, a coach who takes hold of the assignment sheet and reads it aloud may be sending a very different message about control than one who encourages the student to read the assignment. Likewise, a coach who sits back and listens, as opposed to leaning in with the student to read a paper, may be assuming a position of authority.

During my research, I should also note language. Which pronouns does the tutor use when referring to the work to be done- I, we, or you? The choice of pronouns could impact greatly the message the tutor sends about whose primary responsibility it is to determine the direction of the session and to participate in the session. I should also note sentence structure. Does the tutor use imperatives, suggestive language, or does he/she ask questions? And what is the impact of these various choices?

How am I defining a "successful" session? For now, I'm going to use these criteria:
1. one in which measurable progress has been made on a paper- ex: the student leaves with a written introduction, the student has altered information on his paper, the student can state clearly what he is going to do for the next session and why he will do it, the tutor and student feel as if the time they have spent in a session was valuable, the student can communicate that he/she feels the objectives/goals were met.

Success would not look like:

The student has no tangible evidence that work was done, the student cannot articulate what happened during the session, the student leaves with a look of exasperation/worry, the student and tutor spend much of the time missing each other's points and/or cutting each other off, the tutor dominates the session, the student cannot articulate any goals that were met.

Other ideas for research paper:

effective use of silence- when is it helpful, when is it an indication that something is wrong and how can tutors differentiate between the two.

the importance of "small talk" in establishing rapport, settling nerves, and opening space for work to be done.

how to steer students away from dependency