Abstract
Asynchronous writing consultations are often considered challenging given the format’s lack of nonverbal cues and real-time dialogue. However, this presentation argues that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy of writing support and asynchronous online tutoring can be an effective modality for working with students. Asynchronicity offers real advantages in the online learning environment where student learning and thinking has the potential to become more visible as consultants make productive use of additional time to develop intentional, thoughtful feedback: in the form of both marginal and recorded commentary. This paper demonstrates how asynchronous techniques and strategies, such as integration of user-friendly programs like Microsoft Word and Quicktime Screen Capture, allow the writing center to widen its range of benefits for all types of graduate and professional students. Drawing on the experiences with WCOnline’s tutoring platform, interviews with tutors, data, and practices of the University of California, Riverside’s Graduate Writing Center with an asynchronous tutoring program, this study considers empirical evidence for best practices and provides practical applications of how to maximize multimodal instructional potential for student success. This innovative modality offers two different collaboration contexts: the collaboration taking place between consultants and the collaboration between the students sending in repeat drafts to the same consultants, creating a conversation across channels about the student’s ideas of their own professional identity as they put “pen to paper” and explain why they kept or removed content from the previous drafts.
Presenters
Lauren HammondStudent, PhD in English, University of California, Riverside, California, United States Christina Trujillo
Graduate Writing Center Coordinator, Graduate Division , University of California, Riverside , California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Considering Digital Pedagogies
KEYWORDS
Asynchronous, Collaborative, E-learning, Drafting, Process-oriented
