Research Question and Annotated Bib

Angela Castillo

Dr. Chandler

Annotated Bibliography

Research Question: What relationship does conversation and body language have to authorship in peer tutoring and are their differences based on culture and gender?

Behm, Richard. "Ethical Issues in Peer Tutoring: A Defense of Collaborative Learning." Writing Center Journal 10 (Fall/Winter 1989): 3-12.

Overview: Researcher Richard Behm claims that students regardless of experience in writing, should be given the same amount collaborative tutoring.

Use: This article is useful in terms of providing me with more information that supports collaborative learning. Because the Writing Center at Kean University emphasizes peer tutoring, coaches too are learning from their students. However, some individuals may expect writing centers to be teacher focused and in turn, this may be noticed during observations of body language in sessions.

Blalock, Susan. "Negotiating Authority through One-to-One Collaboration in the Multicultural Writing Center." Writing in Multicultural Settings. Ed. Carol Severino, Juan C. Guerra, and Johnnella E. Butler. New York: MLA, 1997. 79-93.

Overview: This book discusses the role of authority in collaborative writing sessions that are based in writing centers which are composed of students from different religions, ethnicities, ages, skill levels, genders and backgrounds. This book is made up of twenty different essays from teachers and professors of English and composition courses.

Use: Because Kean University is a diverse community, this book would be beneficial in helping me identify some of the common issues that multicultural writing centers have in terms of authority and collaborative writing.

Bruffee, Kenneth A. Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1993. Print.

Overview: In this book, Kenneth Bruffee argues that universities and colleges need to understand and accept that collaborative learning is necessary in order for students to succeed and best acquire knowledge throughout their academic careers. Part one’s chapter five and six contain sections that focus on collaboration and peer tutoring.

Use: This book is relative to my study because it focuses on the importance of collaborative learning which is emphasized Kean’s Writing Center. During collaborative learning, both participants are expected to engage in conversation however some coaches may talk more than the student. This may show who has authorship during the writing session.

Carino, Peter. "Power and Authority in Peer Tutoring." The Center Will Hold: Critical Perspectives on Writing Center Scholarship. Ed. Michael A. Pemberton and Joyce Kinkead. Logan: Utah State UP, 2003. 96-113.

Overview: This essay section of the textbook focuses on theoretical pedagogy in regards to authorship, tutoring and the role of collaboration in writing centers.

Use: This essay will provide me with a theories that I can apply to my observation in terms of the body language and authorship during collaborative tutoring sessions.

Jones, Kathleen. "What is Authority's Gender?" Revisioning the Political: Feminist Reconstructions of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory. Ed. Nancy Hirschmann and Christine Di Stefano. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996. 75-93.

Overview: This article explores feminist theories on authorship.

Use: This article may help me understand how women are viewed in terms of authority which may explain the dynamics between female tutors and male students and male tutors with female students during tutoring sessions.

Severino, Carol. "Crossing Cultures with International ESL Writers" The Tutor as Contact Zone Contact Person." The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. By Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.

Overview: This chapter focuses on working Tutoring ESL writers and the expectations that they come to the writing center with and whether or not they view the tutor as having authority in the writing session.

Use: This chapter can give me background information on the expectations of ESL students which will give me a better understanding of the reasoning behind the way students interact with the coaches both in conversation and body language.

Smulyan, Lisa, and Kristin Bolton. "Classroom and Writing Center Collaborations: Peers as Authorities." Writing Center Journal 9.2 (1989): 43- 50.

Overview: This article studies students from a writing center located within a high school. It explores the dynamics between students and tutors in regards to the types of abilities that learners needed in order to have effective collaborative writing both within a class setting and in a writing center.

Use: This article can serve as an example for the types of interactions between peer coaches which lead effective tutoring sessions. These examples may relate to the observations that I have made at Kean’s Writing Center in regards to authorship, body language and conversations.