When I was in graduate school, a friend asked me to take a ballet class with her. Up to that point, the last formal dance class I had taken was in 1979 as a four year old. I was terrified not only because I would have to wear a leotard in front of a group of people but also because unlike any other class I had taken – history, science, English, math, music – I had no reference point; nothing was comfortable or familiar about ballet. I didn’t even know the basic vocabulary or how to discuss the art. But the idea of stretching next to a bar with my hair up in a proper bun on the back of my head listening to classical music was appealing. So with a little coaxing from each other, my friend and I were ballet dancers for a semester. During that time, I tried to watch the instructor’s demonstrations very carefully. I studied her lines and movement, her grace and poise. I listened to the music and tried to align my body with models. I also paid close attention to her verbal instruction. She would glide across the room studying our attempts and providing general instruction to the group. At times, she would stop next to a student and place a leg or slightly nudge an arm to a higher position. I waited with giddy anticipation for her to approach me and offer suggestions. One afternoon in class, I was attempting an awkward round de jambe when I noticed her next to me. She lifted my leg slightly and explained to me two or three phases of the movement. That’s all it took. I had it. For a moment in that college dance studio, I performed a perfect round de jambe. It was magical.
Productive feedback is essential for anyone trying to learn a new skill. If you don’t realize what you are doing well or how you are doing something poorly, it’s hard to improve. Hemingway once said, “I like to have Gertrude [Stein] bawl me out because it keeps one[‘s] opinion of oneself down – way down –She liked the book very much she said – But what I wanted to hear about was what she didn’t like and why” (as cited in Baker, 1981, p. 394). I’m not sure that all of our students can confidently say, “tell me what you didn’t like about my writing and why,” but they ultimately want to know. And Hemingway suggests verbal feedback. He wants to “hear” the critique. Sometimes, as in my dance experience, diagrams, models, and written explanations aren’t enough; personal communication – an encouraging tone, a familiar and friendly voice, dialogue, can convey feedback and instruction in a way that no other communication can.
At the KUWC, we want to provide the most effective feedback to student writing possible. Since we are not in the business of editing work or correcting papers, our paper review feedback must reflect our philosophy of tutoring and coaching students to build strong writing skills and become more independent writers. In an effort to provide the most effective feedback possible, we are instituting an audio feedback pilot.
Audio feedback is not a new practice and has been seen as an effective method of review for developmental writers. In a 2007 study, Sipple found audio feedback the preferred method of feedback for students in her developmental writing courses. In fact, 70 % of students in the study preferred audio feedback, and 9% preferred both written and audio feedback. Students noted audio comments “increased [their] self confidence as writers and their motivation to write in ways handwritten commentary did not . . . helped them to internalize feedback more fully . . . reduced their misinterpretation of feedback” (p. 24). Sipple’s study posits several reasons for the audio feedback preference including students felt the feedback and praise were more authentic and they felt a personal connection to their reviewers. This justification aligns with a goal of the Writing Center—to provide a supportive area for students to build writing skills and become independent, effective communicators.
With the pilot, we hope that audio feedback will not only provide that authentic, personal encouragement; we hope it helps generate or continue the writing conversation. In a discussion of peer tutoring, Bruffee (1984) explains “writing always has its roots deep in the acquired ability to carry on the social symbolic exchange we call conversation” (210). The KUWC continues to seek out and provide innovative ways to engage students in that dialogue. In our live tutoring platform, individual student outreach, and more recent interactive workshops, tutors relate to students and their writing, encouraging students to learn the language of composition and find their place in academic discourse. We hope audio feedback will contribute to these efforts.
How will our pilot work? Several of our tutors will begin providing this new method of feedback on randomly selected papers from our paper review service. We will use Jing software (www.jingproject.com) to capture a video image of the student’s essay and talk through the areas of the paper that reflect strong skills and developing skills. We will still provide some written comments in the margins of papers on specific areas of need or strength in the paper. Our justification for keeping some written feedback is to both appeal to visual learners and provide models for clear, effective writing through the feedback. Once the student has had a few days to review our comments, both written and audio, we will contact the student with a brief questionnaire about the experience. We hope to discover students’ thoughts on the effectiveness of this new approach to KUWC feedback.
Communicating our goals clearly with students and receiving their input is a crucial part of this pilot program. At times we are challenged with misconceptions of our purpose as a writing center. For instance, some students think the paper review service will correct all errors in their papers. Though that is not at all our mission, and our practice and literature reflect that it is not our mission, the reputation persists with some. We are hoping that innovative approaches to feedback like our audio pilot will continue to demonstrate to students that our services do much more than any paper correction service could.
At the KUWC, we teach and coach students to become the best writers they can be, and we encourage students to contribute to the discourse of the academic world through their knowledge, experiences, and developing writing skills. With advances in technology and avenues for interaction with students, we will continue to provide resources to help them become effective writers. Audio feedback is one way we hope to make the conversation about writing helpful,relevant and inclusive.
Baker, C. (Ed.). (1981). Ernest Hemingway, selected letters, 1917-
1961. Scribner.
Bruffee, K. A. (2001). Peer tutoring and the “conversation of
mankind.” In R. Barnett & J. Blumner (Eds.), Allyn and
Bacon Guide to Writing Center Theory and Practice. (pp. 206-
218). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (Reprinted from Writing
Centers: Theory and Administration, 1984, National Council
of Teachers of English.)
Sipple, S. (2007, Spring). Ideas in practice: developmental writers'
attitudes toward audio and written feedback. Journal of
Developmental Education, 30(3), 22-31. Retrieved September
3, 2009, from Professional Development Collection database.
Did you
know…
know…
Joni Boone enjoys cooking authentic Mexican cuisine? Joni is a staff member at the Writing Center.
[This article was originally published in our September, 2009 issue.]
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