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The Utah State University (USU) Writing Center teaches a practicum class, English 4910, for each new cohort of tutors. These tutors must submit a portfolio of observations, notes, and paper drafts from their first semester of coursework and tutoring, with a final “Tutor’s Column” about an aspect of tutoring that they have practiced, studied, and researched. Some of the aspects of tutoring examined here include how to listen to students, assisting those who have disabilities, how to teach different types of writing (eg. creative, scientific, etc.), best practices for student-tutor interactions, and more. The information provided in the Tutor’s Column can help future USU Writing Center tutors learn how to best help students improve their writing skills.
2021
Changing the Narrative: Proofreading at the Writing Center, Claire Atwood
Constructive Criticism: Analyzing and Implementing Student Feedback as a Tutor, Gracie Jo Averett
Effective in the Affective: Cultivating an Emotionally Intelligent Writing Center, Camille Bassett
Soft Skills: The Importance of Empathy in an Online Writing Center Appointment, Halli Bleak
Make Listening Visible, Carson Brown
The Empathetic Tutor, Kristina Carter
Every Student is a Writer: Building Confidence through Tutoring Sessions, Sandra Edwards
Scaffolding in Online Tutoring: Addressing the Issue of Productivity, Nathan Franson
Pick Your Poison: Fall Down a Flight of Stairs or Have your Qualifications Questioned, Aubrey Hampton
Independence and Interdependence in the Writing Center, Candace Heki
Praise as a Learned Behaviour, Rebekah Jensen
Improving Global Flow with the Known-New Contract, Ben Ladner
Tutoring ELL Students in the Digital Age of Zoom: An Abundance of Resources, Hannah Lee
Let Me Write That Down: Tutoring Session Notes, Emma Lundgreen
Covering the Basics: The Importance of a Good Layout and Strong Thesis, Adam Robinson
Revision: Overcoming a Paralyzing Fear, Kennan Thompson
Mindfulness: Solution for Stumbling Students, Kylee Zimmerman
2020
Branding the Writing Center, Courtney Akagi
Editing is Easy; Tutoring is Hard: Helping Writers with Learning Disabilities, Mikenna DeBruin
Writing Center Space The First Frontier, J. Benjamin Howell
The Intricacies of Tutoring Personal Narratives, Hailey Hunt
Being the Tutor Students Need, Clayton Lords
Bad Puns: It’s How Eye Roll: Humor Writing as a Technique to Engage and Strengthen Writers, Hala Louviere
The Place of Procrastination, Grace Taylor
Questioning Our Questions, Makenzie Vance
2019
How Not to Panic in the Face of Panic, Emily Abel
“All Right Stop, Collaborate, and Listen”: A Writing Center’s Role in Community Collaboration, Riley Anderton
On the Right Note, Carolyn Baird
Breathe: Helping Students with Mental Disabilities- and Helping Yourself, Miranda Cundick
Finding Place for Printing, Ian Duncan
A Science Writing Center as a Catalyst for Improving Undergraduate Writing Skills in the Sciences, Andrew J. Felton
Balancing Give-and-Take in Tutoring, Stephanie Fielding
Preparing to Perform: The Power of Observations in Tutor Education, Jordan Forest
The Right Answer: Intuition in Tutoring Sessions, Hunter E. Henrichsen
What's Another Name for Bull****?, Nicole Hurst
More than Writing: The Application of the Writing Process, Logan Kelley
Writer Empowerment: Seeing Through the Veil of Disinterest, Jay Paine
140%: Helping Students with Reading Disabilities, Emily Joy Powell
Professionalism in the Writing Center: Combining Compassion and Composition, Carrigan Price
Becoming a Goat: Leaving Mediocracy to the Sheep, Heidi Bonkemeyer Roskelley
Escaping the Spiral: How Peer Tutoring Disrupts Perfectionistic Tendencies, Anne Schill
Pictures of Words: The Importance of Visual Strategies in Tutoring Writing, Kylie Smith
Redefining Labels: The Session is Ours for the Taking, Erica Snow
Making Sandcastles with the Sands of Time, Sophia Thimmes
Mind the Gap: Exploring Mindfulness as a Tool for Tutors, Students, and Everyone In Between, Ashley Thompson
How About You Give it a Try: Hands-On Tutoring Sessions, Mikayla Tobler
Don’t Overlook the Power of Praise, Andrea Whittier
2018
The Importance of Devoting Attention to Students’ Introductory Paragraphs, Andrea Bresee
Spiders, Satan, and Uncertainty: Turning Idle Tutoring Sessions into Teaching Opportunities, Olivia Brock
Potential of a Tutor's Personality, Matt Crabtree
The Writer: An Endangered Species, Hayley Dykman
“Good Enough”: Teaching Confidence through Revision, McKayla Freeman
Leading Questions: Prohibited in Court and Tutoring Sessions, Jared Gheen
The Curious Case of Dr. Writer and Mr. Verbalizer, Libbey Hanson
A Tutor as an Educator, Justyn Hardy
The Creative, the Critic, & the Tutor: Tutoring the Creative Process, Nate Hardy
Perché Non Mi Aiuti? (Why Won't You Help Me?), Hailey Hibbard
Confidence is Key: The Importance of Building a Student’s Confidence in Writing, Tyler Monson
Rigid, Joshua Salisbury
2017
Turning Apathy to Ambition: Strategies for Countering Student Disinterest, Jared Bryan
Tutors: “Theses” the Problem: Students and Thesis Statements, Jackson Bylund
Stop, Think, and Question, Andrea Carlquist
The Business of Writing, Mikayla Doyle
Black and White and Gray All Over, Harper Forsgren
So What?: Writing and Tutoring Intentionally, Cassidy Gummersall
Wearing the Collaborator Hat, Jessica Hahn
Praiseworthy and Developable—How Psychology Takes Shape in Tutoring, Chloe Harvell
Interpersonal Communication: One Smile Away from a Lifetime of Success, Alexander Anthony Johnson
Putting Writers at Rest into Motion, Cody Kelley
Grammatically Speaking: A Look into Writer Development, Bayli Luebke
Why Don't You Ask Me?, Matilyn Mortensen
Power to the Writer, Sara Mozingo
Warm Smiles, Soft Chairs: A Testament to the Power of Ambience, Cari Phillips
Tutors—Writing Myth Busters, Stephanie Pointer
Let’s Talk: Training Anxiety Out of New Tutors, Nichelle Pomeroy
A Minute Too Late, Camille Rasband
Don’t Talk -Listen: The Power of Silence in a Tutoring Session, Megan Ririe
Blind Leading the Blind: The Experience of an Inexperienced Tutor, Westin Smith