How much is too much?

[Libby Miles <lmiles@uriacc.uri.edu>]

WCentaurs:

At our bi-weekly staff meeting today, several of my tutors expressed
concern that they were doing too much of the talking in their sessions:
offering mini-lectures, suggesting too many sentences, prompting with too
many ideas, even encouraging with too much verbalization.  In other words,
they feel they may just be talking too much.  They have asked me to pose
the question to you all, to gather some of your collective wisdom and
practice.  So:

Do you have (or teach) strategies for self-monitoring the amount of
tutor-talk?

Do you have (or teach) guidelines for suggesting how much is enough, or too
much (with the usual caveats about every session being different, and
context determining how much is appropriate, etc.)?

Can you suggest articles or chapters (in WLN, WCJ, or other forums) or
threads from way back on this list that my staff and I might consult?

Frankly, I'm thrilled that my staff raised this issue: it shows they are
sensitive to the demands of student-centered, student-driven -- but
tutor-guided -- tutorials.  I suspect, too, that in their awareness that
there might be a problem, they may not be talking as much as they think
they are.  Also, a certain amount of talking is necessary and vital to the
interaction.  How much, then, is too much?  And how can tutors who might be
inclined to talk through the silent moments resist that urge and stay quiet
a bit longer?

We welcome any ideas, suggestions, dreams, and referrals.

Thanks to you all in advance,

Libby



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Libby Miles
Director of the Writing Center
University of Rhode Island

lmiles@uriacc.uri.edu