Research Plan:
Purpose: Through my research, I hope to explore the links between agenda setting and student/ tutor perceptions of success.
Research Question: How are agendas set in a writing session? What is the relationship between goal setting and student/tutor perceptions of success?
Sub Questions to Consider:
What methods do students use to set the agenda for the session? Under what conditions do students set the agenda?
What methods do tutors use to set the agenda? Under what conditions do tutors set the agenda?
Under what conditions do students and tutors negotiate the agenda? What methods do they use?
What are the indications that an agenda has been set? What does the shift
between "setting up" and "doing the work" look like? What are the verbal/nonverbal cues?
What are the implications of an "unspoken" agenda? How does working with an "implied agenda" impact a writing session?
What are some indications of the success of a writing session? What are the verbal/nonverbal cues from both student and tutor?
How are the relative levels of student/tutor satisfaction related to the clarity of the agenda and the student and/or tutor’s acceptance of the agenda?
Information needed:
To proceed, I think I will need to gather the following information:
Articles that that speak the ways in which agendas are negotiated during writing sessions.
Articles that explore various aspects of body language and how they are related to confidence, power, control, and comfort/discomfort.
Articles that speak to methods used by tutors to aid in agenda making.
Articles that explore the factors that lead to students' feelings of empowerment during the session.
Articles that seek to measure the success of a writing session.
List of Sources:
Andre, JoAnne D. “Case Study Response: Oh What a Difference a Deadline Makes-or Does It?”
Journal of College Reading and Learning 32 no2 (2002): 210-217.
Waring, Hansun Zhang. “Peer Tutoring in a Graduate Writing Centre: Identity, Expertise,
and Advice Resisting.” Applied Linguistics, v26 n2 (2005):141-168
Bell, Diana Calhoun. Holly Arnold and Rebecca Haddock. “Linguistic Politeness and Peer
Tutoring.” Learning Assistance Review, v14 n1 (2009): 37-54
McKay, Corene and James H. Bell. Case Study: “It’s Due Tomorrow: Tutoring under a Deadline.”
Journal of College Reading and Learning 32 no2 (2002): 198-203
Newkirk, Thomas. “The First Five Minutes: Setting the Agenda in a Writing Conference.” The
Longman Guide to Writing Center Theory and Practice. Ed. Robert W. Barnett and Jacob
S. Blumner. New York: Pearson. 302-315.
Rafoth, Ben. “A Question of Procrastination or Ineptitude (An Analysis of the Case Study ”t's Due
Tomorrow: Tutoring Under a Deadline)”” Journal of College Reading and Learning 32 no2
(2002): 204-209.
Thompson, Isabelle. “Scaffolding in the Writing Center: A Microanalysis of an Experienced Tutor's Verbal and Nonverbal Tutoring Strategies.” Written Communication.2009; 26: 417-453
Plan for gathering information:
To gather information, I will observe and participate (as a tutor) in one-on-one tutoring sessions that take place in the writing center at Kean University over a six-week period. Tutors and students will not necessarily have had contact before the writing session.
I will observe the interactions between coaches and students during both the initial phases of the writing session and the "wrap-up" phase of the session.
During a brief follow up session immediately after the writing session, I will ask the tutor to identify the agenda and to explain his/her feelings about the success of the session. When I am the tutor, I will journal about my feelings of success.
When possible, I will ask tutees to complete a follow-up form, in which they can evaluate the success of the session. After the sessions in which I served as the tutor, I will verbally ask students to tell me the agenda and to share their feelings about the success of the session.
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