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SWC 300: Seminar in Peer Tutoring
Students in SWC 300 peer review a classmates essay
Students admitted to Sweetland's Peer Tutor Program must first enroll in this seminar. To become theoretically-informed and well-practiced Peer Tutors, students learn about writing, teaching, community service, cultural differences, and literacy practices. Activities and experiences include:
- reading and critiquing peer tutoring pedagogy;
- examining student papers and conferences together in class;
- writing extensively, from short explorations (e.g. daily reading logs) to lengthy exposition (e.g. seminar papers);
- workshopping peers’ papers;
- conferencing with the instructor;
- observing OWL tutorials;
- observing working tutors in the Peer Tutoring Center and Sweetland Writing Center faculty during Writing Workshop;
- practicing peer tutoring onsite and online;
- sharing experiences as writers and tutors.
Most of these activities are grounded in a balance between hands-on experience and theory. This course provides opportunities to learn by doing, by serving others, and by applying the theories learned in class. Ultimately the goal is for students to define their own tutoring style and develop their own theory of practice.
SWC 300 is a three-credit course that fulfills the Upper-Level Writing Requirement and counts toward a concentration in English (only one expository/creative writing course -- e.g., SWC 300, English 323, 325--can count toward an English concentration program). Because Peer Tutors respond to student writing online as well as face-to-face, this course is taught in a computer classroom, G444C Mason Hall.
