COURSE SYLLABUS
Stevenson 96 WITH EMPHASIS ON WRITING TUTORING
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PEER-GUIDED LEARNING
FOR WRITING TUTORS
Fall, 2015
Required of all UCSC writing tutors hired since Fall 2014 who have not yet taken the class.
Instructor: Holly Gritsch de Cordova, hcordova@ucsc.edu, ARC 224
Office Hours: Wednesday 4-5 PM and by appointment
Course Meeting Dates:
Thursday from 6:00 – 7:45 from September 24 – December 3
Class Location, ARC 203
(No class on November 26, Thanksgiving)
Required Saturday Class: October 3rd from 9:00 AM-12:30 PM at the Oakes Learning Center
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to provide first-time UCSC writing tutors with the theoretical
background and practical learning/teaching strategies essential for planning and implementing
effective peer-guided writing improvement. The course will focus on learning theory, practical
small group and individual tutoring techniques, communication skills, attaining cultural
competence as an educator, effective university-level, discipline-specific writing strategies, and
informal assessment and evaluation techniques. Emphasis in class discussions will be on
understanding and respecting the ideas that student writers intend to communicate, engaging
student writers in interactive planning, writing, and revising strategies wherin they produce text
during sessions, assisting students to understand the writing conventions of their academic
disciplines, and assisting students to increase their facility with grammar and style without
serving as their editor but rather as their educator.
Special emphasis in readings, discussions and practice will be given to the process of using
writing tutoring as a means for assisting students to become better writers.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To introduce student tutors, to the educational theory relevant to effective peer-guided
learning in one-to-one and small group settings.
2. To assist student tutors to develop writing tutoring techniques so as to implement
interactive sessions that enable students to produce writing.
3. To enable student writing tutors, to analyze the particular learning demands of their
academic disciplines.
4. To assist student tutors to develop materials and methods so as to assist their students to
learn and write effectively.
5. To provide a forum for discussing tutoring, teaching, and learning issues related to
assisting UCSC students to become better writers within and across academic disciplines.
6. To develop an understanding of the relationship of cultural difference, stereotype threats,
and academic underpreparedness on the self-efficacy and, therefore, academic
achievement of individual students.
7. To apply the theory and practice of writing tutoring pedagogy to specific students’
writing challenges within multiple academic disciplines and varied academic writing
expectations within the research university.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Attend all class sessions and participate in small and large group discussions. If you miss
all or part of a class session, your final course grade may be affected. We recommend
that you enroll in the class, selecting a pass/no pass option if you cannot attend all of
every scheduled class session. One absence may be excused by the instructor (more in
emergency situations).
2. Complete the assigned reading prior to class.
3. Complete the course assignments to include:
Response Assignments: Written Response Assignments that focus on readings, your
experiences as a tutor or learning assistant or both. You will be given a handout
explaining each assignment. Since the purpose of these short assignments is to enliven
class discussion, we will not accept late work.
 Peer Observation Assignment: a written discussion of a Peer Observation of an MSI
or tutoring session led by an experienced writing tutor in your discipline (must be
submitted to earn credit for this course).
 Session Planning and Implementation Assignment: The Session Planning and
Implementation Assignment is intended to enable you to focus on selecting,
implementing, and evaluating interactive learning strategies (must be submitted to
earn credit for this course).
 Quick Assessment Assignment: The Practice with Quick Assessment Assignment is
designed to allow you to develop and practice quick strategies to promote and assess
student learning (must be submitted to earn credit for this course).
 The Final Position Paper discussing an educationally-related hypothesis which you
can support with evidence from your tutoring experience and assigned reading (must
be submitted to earn credit for this course).
You will receive a detailed handout describing each assignment.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS
Because some of the required course assignments rely on your participation with tutees in actual
tutoring sessions, it is important to have students signed up for your sessions. In the case that no
students sign up for your tutoring sessions, we will require you to do alternative assignments that
will be equivalent to the ones listed in this syllabus. Please let us know October 22nd if you
foresee any difficulties recruiting tutees or completing assignments.
COURSE GRADING POLICY
Your course grade will be determined by the quality of your class participation and written
assignments. As you are unable to participate in class if you are not present, you must attend all
but one of the scheduled class sessions. Your response to assignments must exemplify
university-level critical/analytic thinking and writing skills.
Class Participation
Response Assignments
Session Planning and Implementation Assignment
Written Discussion of a Peer Observation
Practice with Quick Assessment
Final Position Paper
30%
10%
10%
15%
10%
25%
READINGS
Course readings are from the Stevenson 96 Writing Emphasis Reader, which is available for sale
in the Bay Tree Bookstore. We also have readers available for limited check-out in the LSS
office and at McHenry library.
SCHEDULE OF DISCUSSION TOPICS, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS
Thursday, September 24:
Overview of the class
Introduction to interactive learning strategies and their effectiveness in tutoring.
How to quickly establish goals and rapport in different situations.
Addressing issues of perception and self-perception in writing tutoring.
Explanation and handout of Response Assignment #1.
Thursday, October 1st:
Preparing for writing tutoring sessions
Establishing a comfortable tutoring session atmosphere
Building rapport with students
Establishing boundaries and expectations within the tutoring session and the tutor/tutee
relationship
Setting goals and plans for the session.
Distribute and explain Reading Response Assignment 2
READINGS DUE:
Section 1:
“Meeting the Writer.” Emily Meyer and Louise Z. Smith (pg. 3)
“Setting the Agenda for the Next 30 minutes.” William Macauley. (Pg.27)
“Building Rapport.” Amy Endicott. (pg. 31)
“The First Meeting.” Hana Metzeger. (pg. 32)
“Our Schools and Our Children,” Mike Rose. pp. 7-12. (pg. 35)
“From Diversity to Educational Equity A Discussion of Academic Integration and Issues
Facing Underprepared UCSC Students” Holly Cordova and Charis Herzon. pp.
13-32. (pg. 47)
“A longitudinal Study of the Resources and Challenges in Linguistic Minority Youth’s
College Pathways” Margarita Azmitia et al. (pg. 73)
ASSIGNMENT DUE:
Response Assignment 1 (see handout)
Saturday, October 3rd Overview of LSS Programs and Services and Required Training
Oakes Learning Center, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Discussion of data from LSS programs and services
Peer guided interactive discussions resulting in the completion of Reading Response 2 for new
tutors, Title IXX presentation and discussion October 20th.
Thursday, October 8
Cognitive processes and social-psychological interactions within the writing tutoring
session. Discussion of the role of a thesis in student writing, its challenges and values,
and when and how to assist students with its creation, evaluation, and/or revision.
READINGS DUE:
“Academic Self-Efficacy and First-Year College Student Performance and Adjustment,” Martin
M. Chemers, Li-tze Hu, and Ben F. Garcia (pg. 113)
“Theoretical Frameworks of Peer Tutoring,” Nancy Falchikov pp. 101-116. (pg. 129)
“The Tutoring Process.” Paula Gillespie and Neal Lerner. (pg. 139)
“Building a Thesis from the Ground Up,” UC Berkeley Thesis Handout.
ASSIGNMENT DUE:
Response Assignment 2 (see handout)
Thursday, October 15
Assisting multi-lingual students still mastering standard academic English grammatical
conventions
How and when you should handle grammar issues when assisting native English
speaking writers.
Activity/discussion for quick ways to assess students’ fluency with standard academic
English and the language registers required for the writing assignment they are
completing
Overview of session planning and implementation assignment.
READINGS DUE:
“Avoiding Appropriation.” Carol Severino. (pg. 163)
“When Appropriation is Appropriate.” Jacqui Tejada. (pg. 169)
“Editing Line by Line.” Cynthia Linville. (pg. 175)
“Tutoring ESL Students: Issues and Options” Muriel Harris and Tony Silva (pg. 189)
ASSIGNMENTS DUE 4
Thursday, October 21
Assisting students with physical and/or learning disabilities and different learning styles.
Discussion and practice with interactive strategies for tutoring writing.
Wednesday, October 28th
Discussion of cultural competency and the stereotype threat: a tutor/learning
assistant/academic mentor’s role in creating comfortable and equitable learning
environments/opportunities
Please attend the presentation offered by Andrea Monroe focused on the
Stereotype Threat on Wed. Oct. 29 from 5:00-6:45 or 7:00 – 8:45 in ARC 202.
ASSIGNMENTS DUE:
Session planning and implementation assignment.
READING DUE:
“If Asked, I’m Ready: Effective Tutoring in a Multicultural, Social Justice Context.”
Andrea Monroe. pp 171-200. (pg. 195)
(No class on October 29 as students need to attend a session on Wed. Oct. 28.)
Thursday, November 5
Engaging students in dialog about their writing prompt and their written product.
Overview of Response Assignment #4
Activity on using observational evidence from a tutoring session to write a reflective
analysis
Introduction of the Peer Observation Assignment
READING DUE:
“Engaging in Dialogue.” Emily Meyer and Louse Z. Smith. (pg. 227)
“Effective Listening for Effective Tutoring.” Jon Guice. (pg. 235)
“Cultural Diversity,” When Tutor Meets Student. Martha Maxwell pp. 285-304. (pg.
239)
ASSIGNMENTS DUE:
Response assignment #3
Thursday, November 12
Discuss practice with Quick Assessment
Assisting students to trace and evaluate the logic of their argument/persuasive intent
using such practical strategies as reverse outlining, questioning strategies, etc.
Activity using Writing 2 student essays to create reverse outline.
READINGS DUE:
“Guidelines for Peer Revision and Editing.” Dan Scripture. (pg. 261)
“So you’ve finished your first draft: reverse outlining.” Handout. UC Berkeley SLC. (pg.
265)
“One Size Does Not Fit All: Response and Revision Issues for Immigrant Student
Writers.” Dana Ferris. (pg. 269)
“Writer’s Block and Writing Apprehension.” Virginia Draper. (pg. 285)
“Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language: A Cognitivist Analysis of
Writer’s Block.” Mike Rose. (pg. 291)
ASSIGNMENTS DUE:
Write-up for peer observation
Thursday, November 19, Discussion of Metacognition and its relationship to
effective writing. Sharing of Reading Response 4. Sharing of quick assessment in
your writing sessions and/or your plans to do so.
. Work with partners on the Final Paper Planning guide
Assignments due, Reading Response 4, Practice with Quick Assessment
Thursday, December 3
Helping students overcome writer’s block
The role of metacognition in the reading and writing process
Peer sharing of final paper planning guide.
READINGS DUE:
“The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education,” Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Paulo Freire. (pg.
301)
“Going to the Source: Critical Reading for Critical Writing.” Cindy Schwartz. (pg. 309)
“Inventing the University” David Bartholomae. (pg. 317).
ASSIGNMENT DUE – Final Paper Planning Guide
Guide.
Wednesday, December 9 Final Course Paper Due!
By 1:00 PM. Bring your final course paper to the ARC and hand it in at the LSS front desk or
to Holly in her office, ARC 224
If you are having difficulty meeting this deadline, contact Holly before December 9 at 1:00PM
phone, 459-3460, email, hcordova@ucsc.edu.
Please remember that, to earn a passing grade in this course, you must complete all major
assignments: Session Planning and Implementation, Peer Observation, Quick Assessment
assignment, and the Final Course Paper to include your signed Final Paper Planning Guide.