Abstract
Drawing on the Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project, Marymount University is launching its own
project to explore how consulting has influenced the skills, values, and careers of tutors after
graduation. We will report on our methodology (literature review, internal review board proposal, and
questionnaire) and on our initial findings.
The Things They Carried with Them: Interviewing Previous Generations of Writing Consultants
Most universities acknowledge that writing centers provide a tremendous service to student writers.
But those of us working on the inside are forever pointing out that the benefits run both ways: peer
writing consultants learn as much or more than their tutees, honing their skills as critical readers, active
listeners, and process-conscious writers. Collaborative learning is a win-win activity “although not in
entirely transparent ways” (Kail, Gillespie, and Hughes). Drawing on the work of Harvey Kail, Paula
Gillespie, and Brad Hughes in the Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project, the Center for Teaching
and Learning at Marymount University is launching its own project to explore how consulting has
influenced the skills, values, and careers of tutors after graduation. At MAWCA 2014, we will report on
our methodology (literature review, internal review board proposal, and questionnaire) and on our
initial findings.
The PI on this research, I am a peer writing consultant who grew up to be a professional writing
consultant. Who knew that my undergraduate work experience would be so germane to my
professional resume? By involving undergraduate writing consultants as co-investigators, I hope the
project will strengthen bonds across Marymount generations and underscore for current students the
long-term value of the consulting experience beyond the modest paycheck.
We are tweaking the Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project survey. It combines demographic
information with reflection questions that call for narrative or Likert scale responses. We are asking our
alumni to consider the benefits (and drawbacks!) of tutoring both in the short term (applying to grad
school or first jobs out of college) and over time. In addition to emailing a survey to all the alumni we
can identify who worked at our various student resource centers, we will follow up with phone
interviews conducted by peer consultants. Conversation fuels collaborative learning, so it seems
appropriate to move beyond the page with those informants who are willing to participate.
The Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project invites “colleague contributions” and posts summaries
of these on its website. We at Marymount aspire to join that cohort—and hope through this MAWCA
2014 presentation to inspire other institutions to join as well.
Work Cited
Kail, Harvey, Paula Gillespie, and Brad Hughes. The Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project.
University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2013. Web. 13 December 2013.
<http://www.writing.wisc.edu/pwtarp/>.
Almasy, Rudolph, and David England. “Future Teachers as Real Teachers: English Education Students in
the Writing Laboratory.” English Education 10.3 (1979): 155-62. Print.
Anderson, James E., Ellen M. Bommarito, and Laura Seijaas. “Writing Center Tutors Speak Out: An
Argument for Peer Tutoring as Teacher Training.” Improving Writing Skills. Ed. Thomas Hawkins
and Phyllis Brooks. New Directions for College Learning Assistance. 3. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
1981. 35-37. Print.
Annis, Linda F. “The Processes and Effects of Peer Tutoring.” Human Learning: Journal of Practical
Research and Applications 2.1 (1983): 39-47. Print.
Bell, Elizabeth. “The Peer Tutor as Principal Benefactor in the Writing Center, Or It’s Not Just for English
Teaching Any More.” The Writing Lab Newsletter 9.9 (1985): 10-13. Print.
Bergmann, Linda. “Writing Centers and Cross-Curricular Literacy Programs as Models for Faculty
Development.” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition,
and Culture 8.3 (2008): 523-36. Print.
Kail, Harvey, Paula Gillespie, and Brad Hughes. The Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project.
University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2013. Web. 13 December 2013.
<http://www.writing.wisc.edu/pwtarp/>.