So, with only two weeks left to go, we’re going to be switching gears a bit this week. While there are readings about mindfulness in the Writing Center, I imagine that a lot of your conversation in the group discussions will be focused on the Research Project and the Research Project Work-in-Progress Updates. Again, and as I have been stressing (ironically?), these are nothing to stress about. That is, while you should take them seriously and approach them in a way that you are comfortable with and that is productive for you, they’re really just a chance to talk through your project in a 5 minute video (with visuals). As I explain elsewhere on the website (here and here), we’ll be sharing these in the dialectical journals next week so 1) everyone can see the awesome things that everyone else is doing and 2) everyone can get more feedback on their ideas and progress.
So, with that in mind, feel free to take this week’s discussion in a direction that works best for you. I know that there’s a lot happening at the end of the quarter, but I really encourage everyone to show up and make the most of the chance to talk about the readings — not only for your own benefit, but for your classmates as well. (Y’all seem to be doing great with this… it’s just about the time in the quarter when a friendly reminder can be helpful. 🙂 )
Here are the tasks for this first week group discussion (follow the links for a more detailed explanation):
1. Talk about the material (readings)
As I mentioned above, this week we’re focusing on mindfulness in the writing center. There might be some overlap with this and many of your topics for the final research project, so I encourage you to explore the readings through this lens and really try to find the connections. In light of everything that happens toward the end of the quarter, there are only two readings, but admittedly, the second one is rather long. With this in mind, I encourage you to focus on the concepts, strategies, and complications that you find most interesting and/or relevant to your own experiences and pursuits. In other words, it’s okay if you skim through some of it, but do try to actually read a good portion of it as well.
- Benjamin Dueck’s “Mindfulness in the Writing Centre: How Deepening Your Presence Makes You a Better Tutor” can serve as a sort of “wrap-up” for everything we’ve been talking about. While his discussion is focused on how to practice mindfulness as a writing center consultant, it also acknowledges that theory doesn’t always align with reality. Reflecting on the role of the tutor and the student, ultimately, Dueck explores how “the practices of mindfulness, meditation, and non-attachment … can help us see these roles for what they are, providing a broader perspective that we can use to make our writing centers more inclusive spaces.”
– - While it is definitely on the longer side, the chapter, “The Mindful Tutor: How We Teach Writing Tutors” offers an interesting perspective about tutor training while also exploring the multiple facets of the practice of mindfulness in relation to writing centers. Again, feel free to skim through some of this, but try to focus on one or two sections and really dive into them.
Possible Topics for Reading Discussion
- As you’re reading about mindfulness in writing center work this week, reflect on your own experiences with both the readings and your own consulting/tutoring (either in this class or in other contexts). How do you see your experiences being (or not being) addressed in the readings? How do you feel about the concept of mindfulness in general? Do you have any experience with it in any other educational contexts? What from the readings stood out to you? What do you think will be particularly helpful for you moving forward? What do you think is potentially problematic or reductive?
- Additionally: How might the readings from this week inform and/or overlap with the research you’re doing for your paper in this class? How might they connect to someone else’s topic for the research paper in this class?
2. Discuss Research Project Work-in-Progress Updates
As we head toward the final deadline for the research project, and as we have learned throughout multiple readings and discussions this quarter, a lot can be gained from talking through what you’re writing about. (This is basically the entire premise underlying the existence of writing centers.) So, the Work-in-Progress Updates are all about making space and time for everyone to do just that. Just to reiterate, for this assignment, you’ll be recording yourself for about 5 minutes talking about what you’re researching for the final project, what connections you’re making, and what questions or concerns you have about it. You should also include some type of visual component – whether that be google slides, power-point, images, etc. And, again, these are done with the assumption that your research project is still very much a work in progress.
With all that in mind, it will be especially helpful for your group to discuss the project and how you’re planning to approach the WIP Update. What are the main things you want to discuss? What are the questions you have? What might you want feedback about specifically? (This can range from the argument that you are making to the format/structure of your approach to possible resources you could include.) Basically, use this space to make sure everyone feels comfortable with every aspect of the project moving forward.