David,
The Writing Centre at Liverpool Hope has, through funding from the Write Now CETL, been employing undergraduate peer writing tutors for some three years; this year we recruited our first PhD student as a peer tutor and are now offering peer tutorials to postgrads as well as undergrads. We have nine tutors in all, each available for 3 hrs tutoring per week. Since November, the tutors have provided 213 one-to-one tutorial hours. The tutors work with both L1 and L2 writers, and with writing at all stages of the writing process (initial thoughts through to finished drafts). A quarter of the writers using the centre are L2 writers in English (a disproportionate number in respect to institutional demographics), and some tutors report difficulties in working with this group. This fact notwithstanding, the work of the tutors is extremely well received: 0ver 60 % of writers tutored last year rated tutorial as 5* immediately post tutorial, and 46.3 % likewise in an end of year survey.
The tutors follow a 16 hr training programme prior to undertaking any tutoring, and are further supported by a programme of weekly team meetings, peer observation of tutorials, individual supervision, and an open-door policy of access to myself. As part of their initial training, the tutors participate in mentoring cycles, and engage with both study skills literature and the literature on tutoring through the production of writing helpsheets and through journal and workshop tasks. In addition, and in collaboration with the Writing Centre at London Met (which has also run a peer tutoring/mentoring programme since 2006), the tutors produce website reviews. The team meetings are central to the philosophy of the programme as they provide a means of meeting tutor need at the point of need and of sharing anxieties about the difficult work that they do; the tutors participate very freely in these meetings. Supporting the tutors is a high cost activity and this does raise questions in respect to 'constraints on resources'.
Best wishes,
Julian
Julian Brasington
Writing Centre Coordinator
Liverpool Hope University
Gateway Building
Hope Park
Liverpool L16 9JD
Tel. 0151 291 3938
http://www.hope.ac.uk/writingcentre
>>> "David Donnarumma (Staff)" <[log in to unmask]> 12/19/08 12:11 pm >>>
Dear All,
Due to the constraints on resources, we are planning to incorporate PhD
students to volunteer and support students on a one-to-one basis with
help in their academic skills and Maths. I was wondering whether anyone
had had any experience of using PhD students in providing academic
writing advice to undergraduates in this way?
Best regards,
David
David Donnarumma
Senior Learning Adviser
Effective Learning Advice Service
Learning Teaching and Development Unit, Lc019
[log in to unmask]
Direct Dial: 01895 267313
Internet: http://intranet.brunel.ac.uk/ltdu/elas/
|