Re: "Productivity Models" and Writing Center work

[newma_sl@JHUVMS.HCF.JHU.EDU]

Clint,

I imagine I'm not the only one on this list who cursed 
upon reading about the misguided comparison that motivated your first 
post and then uttered another, saltier expletive when you revealed in 
your response to Anne the administrative structure that limits your 
conversation.

Assuming that you've already tried various ways of explaining the 
profound difference between math and writing consultations, I then 
wonder if and how you could circumvent this person.  In your first post, 
you mentioned that you didn't really want to get into the administrative 
(il)logic behind this problem, but I worry that you may not be able to 
avoid it.  While there's a risk that you will piss this person off and 
thus further imperil your budget, the question is whether, with morale 
and expenditures already dropping, you can afford not to, over the long run.

Others with more experience in handling ticklish matters like this would 
be able to better-advise you (Jeanne Simpson springs to mind).  And, 
ideally, you will able to hit on some way of explaining the differences 
between the proper criteria of "productivity" (a word, I have to say, 
that seems a bit suspicious from the start, not because Writing Centers 
shouldn't be efficient but because it threatens to reduce the quality of 
the work we do to sheer quantity) so that you won't go over this person's 
head or behind his/her back.  


Good luck!

Best,

Steve Newman
Johns Hopkins University

On Tue, 8 Sep 1998, Clinton R. Gardner wrote:

> Anne,
> 
> Thanks for your great response....you have pretty much described 
> how we work too...individual attention...reports and all...likewise 
> you have very well described the math tutorials.  I wish to work with 
> my counterpart...but the problem is, is that my "counterpart" isn't 
> really my counterpart...he is in charge of distributing the funds we 
> get and everytime I talk to him he brings up the productivity issues. 
> 
> 0--clint
> 
> Forwarded by:   
> 	
> CGARDNER@ENGLAB.SLCC.EDU
> Forwarded to:   	gardnecl
> Date forwarded: 	Tue, 8 Sep 98 8:48:50 MST
> Date sent:      	Tue, 08 Sep 1998 08:50:17 -0700
> From:           	anne mullin <mullanne@isu.edu>
> Send reply to:  	wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu
> Organization:   	isu
> To:             	wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu
> Subject:        	Re: "Productivity Models" and Writing Center work
> 
> > Clinton R. Gardner wrote:
> > > 
> > >> 
> > > What I am writing to ask, is what kind of "productivity" model
> > > should a writing center be accountable to....or, for that matter, how do
> > > we measure "productivity" in our centers? and what the heck can I do to
> > > bring up tutor morale in the face of this menacing issue?
> > > +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
> > Clint -- math labs and writing centers should not be using the same
> > "productivity model"  -- here at ISU our math lab folks are right next
> > door, and they do a drop-in service with, usually, 2 or 3 tutors on per
> > shift and probably 10 - 12 students on average. The tutors hop around the
> > tables,get someone started on one problem, go to the next person, etc.,
> > they check on the steps and each step takes only a few minutes. My math
> > lab counterpart fully understands that this is not what the writing tutors
> > do -- we have always been able to explain our different kinds of tutoring
> > and training AND COUNTING/NUMBERS SERVED when we do our different reports.
> > The Writing Lab keeps individual files on the students we see, almost all
> > by appointment, and the files have our report sheets which say what was
> > worked on/how in the session.  That shows the "productivity" and the
> > individual attention given.  The math lab does not do appointments, keeps
> > no records except the sign-in sheet. Our Academic Skills Center Director
> > and the Dean of Student Services are fully aware that we are using
> > different strokes -- if need be, of course, one could draw on writing
> > pedagogy, studies on revision (Perl's shows the kind of intensive time
> > students spend on just a few sentences), studies on peer response and the
> > time that takes, e tc. Can you and your math/science counterpart join
> > forces to promote your two very different services and their different
> > kinds of productivity?
> > 
> 
> 
> +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
> Clinton Gardner (cgardner@englab.slcc.edu)
> Writing Center Instructional Support Coordinator
> Salt Lake Community College
> Have you visited the SLCC Online Writing Center today?
> http://www.slcc.edu/wc/
> +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
> 
>