RE: Peer Consultants/Adjunct Consultants

["Coblentz, Linda" <CoblentzL@zeus.dt.uh.edu>]

Joel,

UH-Downtown has that combination of instructors and peers, all tutoring
at the same time.  We don't seem to have the problem of someone
insisting on one flavor or another, and everyone is fairly engaged most
of the time.  In fact, preferences for one tutor or another seem to be
based on factors other than status.  Writers sometimes perceive the real
advantage that peer tutors offer, the reason that we hire them in the
first place:  they really understand the writers' dilemmas and
hesitations.  

I also have some strategies in place.  We usually have two instructors
and 2 peer tutors scheduled at the same time in prime times. At least
one instructor is designated to handle all our tutorial-course students
at that hour, so that's one at of the loop for that hour.  We privilege
peer tutors over instructors for basic writers to overcome the
horrible-English-teacher-ogre syndrome that sometimes finds its way into
students' minds.
 
Linda Coblentz
UH-Downtown
	----------
	From:  JOEL NYDAHL [SMTP:NK_NYDAHL@commnet.edu]
	Sent:  Monday, November 10, 1997 12:12 PM
	To:  Multiple recipients of list
	Subject:  Peer Consultants/Adjunct Consultants

	Next semester I'll teach a credit-bearing course in which I'll
train
	undergraduates to work in the Writing Center.  NOt a new idea
(I've done it
	before), but I have a question that I didn't have to ask before.
Do those
	of you who have both students and faculty working in a writing
center make
	sure that their hours are kept separate on the schedule?  Some
people have
	raised the concern that if students and faculty are scheduled at
the same time
	that students will almost always insist on seeing a faculty
member.  I know
	for a fact that sometimes students prefer seeing a peer
tutor--but is the
	concern justified?  Should I make an effort to keep the peer and
faculty
	schedules separate--or can I meld them?  Any experience out
there that
	can speak to this issue?

	Joel Nydahl
	Writing Coordinator
	Norwalk Community-Technical College
	Norwalk, CT 06854