Reading Strategies and Tutoring in the Writing Center

READING IN THE WRITING CENTER

Introduction

  • Opening question: What do you do when you read?

  • Encouragement for reflection on both the environment and strategies for engaging with texts.

  • Responses from students in a peer tutoring course at Marquette highlight various personal approaches to reading.

Student Responses

Sheri's Approach

  • Reading for Class:

    • Ensures she has all supplies: glasses, highlighter, pencil, blue pen, notebook paper, dictionary, and a quiet, cold place.

    • Pre-reading strategy: review chapter headings and bold print words to formulate questions.

    • Increases interest in the text by looking for answers during reading.

    • Uses study guide questions to guide attention during text.

  • Reading for Enjoyment:

    • Preference for comfort: removes shoes, sits on the floor or in a comfortable chair.

    • Enjoys natural light and fresh air, with a focus on immersion in the story.

Sara's Approach

  • Always has a pen or pencil for notes and underlining important information.

  • Practices keeping logs of readings from high school.

  • Considers taking naps before reading boring or overwhelming material to improve focus.

Aesha's Approach

  • Needs a quiet spot to concentrate; avoids reading in her bedroom to prevent distraction from her bed.

  • Forms visual images to comprehend text; struggles with marginal notes.

  • Reads difficult material aloud to maintain focus.

  • Enjoys reading with a partner for collaborative understanding.

Susan's Approach

  • Engages in "close reading," doing extensive markups on the text.

  • Questions the time spent on this method but appreciates it for its rewards during discussions.

Importance of Reading in the Writing Center

  • Connection between reading and writing: Both are closely interlinked, affecting students' abilities to express thoughts effectively.

  • Students visiting writing centers often have varied texts across disciplines (literature, essays, research, etc.), requiring tutors to accommodate diverse reading experiences.

  • The aim is to help students develop strategic reading skills that align with the goal of enhancing their writing.

Developing Strategic Readers

  • Findings by Robert Tierney and Timothy Shanahan indicate that writing prompts thoughtful engagement with reading material across various subjects.

  • Emphasis on the writing tasks tied to readings: summarization, analysis, evaluation, and integration into personal research.

Challenges in Reading Comprehension

  • Writers may struggle not just with writing but also with understanding their reading material.

  • Declaring frustration (“He just isn’t getting it”) can misplace focus; the issue may relate to comprehension rather than writing skills.

Strategies for Reading Difficult Texts

  • List of strategies developed by attendees at a writing conference:

    • Reread

    • Look up words

    • Take notes on content

    • Write summaries

    • Self-questioning

    • Taking breaks

    • Changing environment

    • Continue pushing through or giving up

    • Adjust reading pace

    • Understand the text word-by-word

    • Imagine the writer

    • Discuss with others

  • A variety of strategies can enhance understanding, especially for engaging with complex texts; poor readers rely on limited strategies.

Metacognition in Reading

  • Metacognition: Awareness of one's learning processes; crucial for reading comprehension.

  • Levels of strategic knowledge proposed by Scott Paris, Margerie Lipson, and Karen Wixson:

    • Declarative Knowledge: Awareness of available strategies.

    • Procedural Knowledge: Understanding how to employ strategies.

    • Conditional Knowledge: Insight into when and why to use strategies.

  • Ruth Garner's components of a reader's metacognitive knowledge:

    1. Knowledge of self (personal abilities)

    2. Knowledge of the task at hand

    3. Knowledge of specific strategies for task management

Strategies for Tutors

  • Engage writers about their reading strategies to build self-awareness and critical reflection on strategies.

  • Share personal successful reading strategies and annotation methods.

  • Model effective reading practices through shared reading sessions to demonstrate thought processes in real-time.

Common Strategies for Effective Readers

  1. Looking up unfamiliar words.

  2. Identifying main ideas of texts.

  3. Formulating predictions regarding the reading.

Summary Writing Procedures

  • Steps to aid in summarizing texts:

    1. Read the text carefully.

    2. Reread and divide into sections; label sections descriptively.

    3. Write one-sentence summaries for each stage of thought.

    4. Create an overall summary that encapsulates the main thesis.

    5. Finalize the summary based on these components.

SQ3R Strategy for Reading

  • Acronym SQ3R stands for:

    • Survey: Preview the text to get a sense of its organization and main ideas.

    • Question: Generate questions based on the survey phase.

    • Read: Read for answers to the questions.

    • Recite: Answer the questions aloud or in writing.

    • Review: Reread parts of the text to clarify understanding.

Tutor Responsibilities

  • Focus on improving writers’ long-term development rather than simply explaining text meanings.

  • Approach sessions with flexibility; be prepared to adapt strategies to individual writer needs.

Examples from the Writing Center

Example 1: Co-constructing Confusion

  • Scenario with a graduate tutor in sociology and an undergraduate writing on Howard's End.

  • Issues with tutor's unfamiliarity with the text and the writer’s vague recollection of material indicating comprehension difficulties.

Example 2: Crossing the Line

  • A graduate tutor in applied linguistics directing the conversation on a Thoreau text.

  • Concerns arise when the tutor tries to lead the writer toward her interpretation without encouraging independent thought.

Example 3: Co-constructing Meaning

  • Successful session focused on poetry analysis, with an established rapport between tutor and writer.

  • Collaborative exploration of sonnet themes and analysis strategies exemplifying skilled tutoring, not leading interpretations.

Conclusion

  • Tutors must guide students towards independent thought and understanding of their texts, ensuring they build effective reading strategies for long-term academic success.

  • The ultimate goal is not just to make students better writers but also more capable readers of various texts.