 March 1999 |
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Peer Tutoring in Writing Begins
by Tami Dimock After a successful run last year as a pilot program, the Peer Tutoring in Writing in the Disciplines course (CAS 390) has been approved and is being offered to George Mason students this semester for the first time. For years, graduate students in English have provided free tutoring services to the campus community through the Writing Center. Now, thanks to Peer Tutoring, undergraduate students in a variety of disciplines--not just English--will join them in their efforts to improve student writing. As indicated by its College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) course prefix, the Peer Tutoring program takes a multidisciplinary approach to writing akin to the university's Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program, which now operates out of the Writing Center rather than the English Department. Peer Tutoring and WAC are also similar in that they both report to CAS but are very much university-wide programs. According to Terry Zawacki, director of both the Writing Center and WAC, the new course is a perfect example of WAC principles in action. "Peer Tutoring is very much WAC," she says. "It is an example of WAC efforts coming out of the Writing Center. "The new course teaches students from across the disciplines to tutor writers in their own and other majors," says Zawacki. Three students are now enrolled in CAS 390: one psychology major, one math major, and one English major. Upon completion of a five-week training course, they will tutor student writers in the Writing Center for two to three hours per week. The one-credit, experiential learning course curriculum also requires tutors to read relevant articles, keep reflective journals, and write a final paper related to the theory and practice of tutoring writing. To be considered for the course, which may be repeated up to three times for credit, students must meet stringent prerequisites and submit two faculty recommendations and a sample of academic writing. In addition to working in the Writing Center, the undergraduate tutors are available to conduct workshops for faculty members, as well as work with them to determine the types of tutoring needed in their respective disciplines. "Tutors also can be attached to a particular teacher," notes Zawacki. "A course like PSYC 305, for example, is a writing-intensive course, and if the professor chooses, a tutor can work specifically with him or her. The professor can assign students in the class to work on their writing with the help of that tutor, and the tutor can do workshops for the professor." She adds that several faculty members have shown interest in receiving training similar to that of peer tutors. The training would benefit them, for example, when conferencing with student writers about their papers. The hope is that CAS 390, which received start-up funding from the university in the form of a Celebration of Learning grant, will have a significant impact on students and teachers alike as more of them become aware of the course and its benefits to the entire campus community. "The program demonstrates that writing can be at the center of the work that all of us do," Zawacki says, "and not only in a location called the Writing Center. Those centers are metaphorical in the sense that writing is at center even when the tutors are in satellite sites across the university." A recent WAC assessment survey at George Mason revealed that faculty members and others connected with writing-intensive courses were concerned about students' writing proficiency, and Zawacki hopes that the Peer Tutoring course sends a clear signal that help is available if needed. "I think the presence of peer tutors signals to students that we care about writing and expect them to demonstrate college-level proficiency in writing. And that we will support them in their efforts to achieve and/or exceed that level." For more information about Peer Tutoring, contact Zawacki at x31187 or tzawacki@gmu.edu. |