The implementation of a quality Tutorial Action Plan (TAP), in which the integral formation of students is the main objective, is a topical issue in the Spanish university environment. This paper aims to identify the actions contemplated in the TAPs of different Spanish universities and catalog the different types of activities performed by the…

Writing center theory in general seems to favor a collaborative model of the tutorial where the tutor and tutee work together to create shared knowledge and a shared text and an expressionist model of the tutorial which requires that the tutor do less talking and more listening. Writing center empirical research, however, suggests that the key…

This paper considers the best way to design a training program for prospective and current writing center tutors. The paper uses the writing center at Texas Woman's University as an example, for even after training, weekly meetings, and focused readings, peer tutors were at a loss for what to do--most of the peer tutors just were not able to get…

A paper describes a project in which a writing center created a Web site using digital video (DV) along with essay texts, scenario notes, and a Web-based response exercise, in order to better prepare writing tutor apprentices for a range of ethical and pedagogical dilemmas which might occur. The paper begins by discussing reasons for the project…

Noting that at Saint Mary's University (where the authors teach) the issue of spirituality is in the forefront of education and is seamlessly woven into required courses throughout four years of college in an attempt to "enhance students' spiritual and personal lives," this paper positions writing centers as a place for student inquiries…

This paper reports on the travails of the writing center at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. The paper recounts how the center has been forced to move physically several times in the past few years and has battled a budget crunch as well. It explains that, although the English Department has been allocating enough money from its budget to…

New readers must be taught a variety of decoding skills to allow them to increase fluency and get on with the process of meaning making. Four of the most important strategies of decoding are: (1) using context clues; (2) developing a sight vocabulary of whole words; (3) analyzing the parts of words; and (4) attending to the letter-sound (phonics)…

Edproj, a project team of faculty from the departments of computer science, software development and education at Monash University (Australia) investigated the quality of teaching and student learning and understanding in the computer science and software development departments. Edproj's research led to the development of a training program to…

Until recently, the conventional wisdom about the conjunction of peer tutoring and writing in the disciplines was that a tutor unfamiliar with subject matter actually operated at an advantage. In spite of some of the theoretical advantages of ignorance, recent research suggests that it is difficult to ask probing questions and make useful…

In training courses for writing tutors, an electronic mail forum is a particularly useful writing-to-learn activity because it gives tutors-in-training important experience with the collaborative intellectual processes at the heart of writing centers. In one particular class for tutors at Marquette University, Wisconsin, the assignment for the…

Inservice training programs on the needs of English as a second language (ESL) students may help writing lab staffs work more effectively. The training program could be a series of sessions devoted to six areas of concern: bridging the culture gap; profiling students' strengths and weaknesses; identifying error patterns on which to work in the…