Sustaining the Community Brain

John CadiganLeah ChangLeticia Meza

Pamela Krayenbuhl

Presented by the Senior Tutors of the University of California, Berkeley Writing

Center

Introduction of UCB Writing Center

• In service since 1973• 60 Writing tutors• Different formats for writing

tutoring: • Drop-In

• By-Appointment

• Individual

• Collaborative Model

• Workshop

• Other Voices

Our Community

Consistencies support

dialogue• Training

• Philosophy

• Language

Differences improve

our services• Majors

• Tutoring experiences

The Community Brain• Similar challenges

– Writing

– Situations

• Culture of Collaboration– Empowerment

– Decentralized (Non-authoritarian)

– Dialogue

• Continuous Learning– Reflection

– Sharing experiences and knowledge

– Legacy

• "Culture is to society what memory is to the person. It specifies deigns for living that have proven effective in the past, ways of dealing with social situations, and ways to think about the self and social behavior that have been reinforced in the past. It includes systems of symbols that facilitate interaction (Geertz, 1973), rules of the game of life that have been shown to 'work' in the past. When a person is socialized in a given culture, the person can use custom as a substitute for thought, and save time" (511-512)

Triandis, Harry C. "The Self and Social Behavior in Differing CulturalContexts." Psychological review 96.3 (1989): 506-20.

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New Tutors

• New tutors (±20) join the SLC every semester• Variety in disciplines and experience

• New tutors work one-on-one with the same students throughout the semester, usually in introduction to college writing classes.

New Tutor Training

• In seminar, new tutors:• Discuss common challenges with tutoring• View and constructively criticize other new

tutors’ videos• Create a community by use of dialogue• Engage with texts emphasizing the SLC’s

philosophy on approaching tutoring

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SLC Philosophy

• Banking model vs. Freire’s democratic education• Teachers as students and students as

teachers (Community of Learners)

• Ability to engage with each other• Question based approach• Writing as a process, not a result

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Tutoring Style

• Through seminar, tutors are equipped with skills to deal with any situation they may meet• Readings• Check-In

• However, students are encouraged to develop their own personal tutoring style• Authenticity• More personal rapport

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Senior Tutors

(That’s us!)

• Model, engage with, and reinforce the community tutoring philosophy

• Lead New Tutor Orientation each semester

• Act as mentors to new tutors• Weekly meetings for “check-in”• Reading journals and reflections

• Pool knowledge and experience to tackle long-term projects

What We Do

Our Place in the Brain

• Neurons! They fire!• We generally act as facilitators of

information

• We teach, we learn…• ‘Senior’ just means ‘old’—not necessarily

‘wise’

• We are a resource—a repository of knowledge

Collaborative Model

Collaborative Relationships

• Combines new and continuing tutors• Allows space for each tutor to learn

from one another• The tutor works collaboratively with

the instructor of the College Writing course and as a result establishes a relationship with the instructor

Implementing Pedagogy

• Assigned 6+ students from the course • Attends the class and keeps in close contact

with the instructor• Able to design the tutoring sessions in ways that

reflect the class (guidance according to course)

• Tutors also serve as mentors to instructors, offering a mutually beneficial relationship• Insight in individual students• Link to campus community for new instructors

Sustaining the SLC Community

• Because the collaborative model involves instructors and students, the outside community works along with the tutors to sustain the integrity of the Writing Center

• The pedagogical approaches that tutors observe from attending class and interacting with the instructor are reinvented and brought back into the SLC community

Handouts

1. Legacy of former tutors2. Constantly reconstructed3. Tutors improve handouts

Addressing Challenges as a Community

• Furloughs/Staffing• Seminar Cuts (Already got the most

of their training)• Influx of people that come into

tutoring/Groups are becoming more diverse

Challenge: Furloughs/Staffing

• By empowering tutors with the knowledge to address tasks and encouraging them to ask each other, tutors can find answers to questions even if key members of the community are busy or otherwise unavailable

Challenge: SLC Seminars

• Seminars are meant for our community to let one another know how their tutoring is going

• During this time we not only learn from one another but we come up with new ideas in how to make our community stronger

• Formats have had to cut down on the number of times they meet throughout the semester

• Tutors are able to seek help or vent outside of seminars which allows the community brain to continue growing healthily• Creation of a community in the Atrium and SLC space

Challenge: An Overflow in the Writing

Center• Fewer educational funds + fewer

academic resources + less available educators = CHAOS

• Solutions?• Diversity comes in handy!• Discipline-specific assistance—sought &

offered

Check-In: What issues are you facing at YOUR writing

center?

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Thank you!