From novice to experienced consultants: changes in patterns of providing feedback in online writing center consultations

Writing centers and specifically online writing centers are gaining popularity at university campuses around the world. The writing centers present an important site for teaching language, writing, and socialization skills, as... [ view full abstract ]

Writing centers and specifically online writing centers are gaining popularity at university campuses around the world. The writing centers present an important site for teaching language, writing, and socialization skills, as well as supporting the students in expressing their identities and navigating the educational systems, so it is critical to examine the interactions of this context to identify patterns and best practices. While research has described various aspects of face-to-face and online consultations (Thonus, 2004; Hewett, 2015; Bell&Youmans, 2006; Cogie, 2006) and provided numerous manuscripts on training of the consultants (Kjesrud, 2015; Gillespie&Lerner, 2008; Rafoth, 2015), the question of how the consultants’ practices change as they gain experience remains largely unexplored. This issue is particularly important for online consultations, as most consultants start with face-to-face consulting and then move online. This mixed methods study draws on 30 consultation transcripts to compare patterns of feedback provided by consultants to students over their first year of online consulting, comparing the patterns of providing feedback and engaging students. The project also looks at the perceived identity of the students (multilingual or non-multilingual) and consultants’ previous training in working with multilingual students as additional variables. The consultants’ comments are categorized based on their form and function and then statistical analyses are used to identify significance. A close analysis of sessions reveals specific interactional patterns that elicit more robust responses from students.The project findings can be used in consultant training and suggest the need for further study of consultants’ practices as they gain experience in the field.