Rachel Gets Lost in Baltimore: Part 2

by: Rachel Olsen

THE IDEA OF THE WRITING CONSULTANT 

"The expectations students and faculty
have for writing consultants are high,
 and it is important for consultants to
have a strong understanding of their
role in academic support . . ."

My first blog post about the IWCA conference was about how we define students in writing centers.

Today I want to focus on issues surrounding the writing consultant.

The expectations students and faculty have for writing consultants are high, and it is important for consultants to have a strong understanding of their role in academic support and why that role is valuable.

As I made the rounds each day of the conference, I tried to attend a fair number of sessions centering on professional development for consultants/tutors.

Those who do writing center and tutoring work still believe that tutors not only put theory into practice, but also turn practice into theory, and this tenet was at work in Baltimore.

Grammar Lottery Presentations: Final Day

Chelsea Pruitt is a tutor at OCCC's Communications
Lab.  She is also the Grammar Lottery winner and
December's Tutor of the Month.

This is it - the final Grammar Lottery presentation.  We did skip one - present tense verbs, which we would like to get up eventually, but we will have to see if the tutor can find the presentation she made before we can post it.

Otherwise, this was the winning presentation, Chelsea Pruitt's handout on past tense verbs.

Through a vote of her colleagues, Chelsea won a gift card to Target. Congrats to Chelsea for the hard work she displayed making this neat handout.

Unlike the other presentations, Chelsea's Grammar Lottery entry was structured like a newsletter.  The Complete Thought wanted to maintain the structure of her entry as much as possible, thus we posted the entire thing as a photo, instead of posting the text.

Chelsea is currently a student at OCCC. She is also the Communications Lab's newest tutor, having started in August of this year.

In that time, Chelsea has proven herself to be a confident tutor and was also chosen as tutor of the month for December.

In her free time, Chelsea enjoys photography, chocolate and all-you-can-eat crab buffets.

Rachel Gets Lost in Baltimore: Musings on the 2010 IWCA-NCPTW Conference

by: Rachel Olsen

Rachel Olsen is the supervisor at

OCCC's Communications Lab

Hello readers!

I attended the 2010 IWCA-NCPTW conference in Baltimore last month, and I'd like to share my thoughts.

This conference is a gathering of writing center administrators, teachers, and writing consultants. 

I had a great time connecting with fellow writing center colleagues, plus the keynote talk given by Andrea Lunsford was phenomenal! 

If you have not read her 1991 article, “Collaboration, Control, and the Idea of a Writing Center,” it is a must-read for writing consultants and lab assistants.

Conference obligations notwithstanding, I even made time for a scrumptious brunch, a mini-trip to a local museum, and a reunion with some of my former writing center colleagues at Kansas State University. 

Anyhoo, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to distill all of the information I took away from my conference experience, and I have come up with three overall areas on which to focus. 

Since I am also getting more and more long-winded as I age, I am going to break my conference reflection into a series of somewhat bite-size segments (Take note, gentle reader! This means I really want you to read what I wrote and chat with me about it.) 

Admittedly “Northian” in their origins, I decided that the central ideas are the ideas we use to conceive of the student, the writing consultant, and assessment. 

Comm Lab thrills with holiday caroling

Lab staff perform in front of the Communications Lab
Tuesday, December 14, 2010, to spread a little holiday
cheer and to raise money for lab events.

Communications lab staff spread some holiday cheer today during a festive fundraiser which included a round of caroling and a bake sale featuring fudge, cookies and other chocolate treats.

The Communications Lab fundraiser raised money during the holiday fundraiser through sales of confections and donations from caroling.

Notables attending the fundraiser included former Comm Lab supervisor Tonya Kymes and Dean of Arts and Humanities Susan VanSchuyver, as well as several students and well wishers.

Carolers consisted of Comm Lab assistants and tutors singing songs including "Jingle Bells", "Silver Bells" and other holiday classics.

Tutor Charlton Rigsby accompanied the carolers on a guitar.

Tutors Bethany VanderSchans (left)
and Marijah Adams (right) take
donations for bake sale goods.

The fundraiser will benefit lab events including the purchasing of folders for workshops and activities for the  Comm Lab's ESL Conversation Groups.

Lab assistant Lydia Rucker stated she planned on incorporating more collaborative activities into the ESL groups including a movie night and a video project that teaches persuasive techniques.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 6: Subject-Verb Agreement

Tutor Marijah Adams reflects on subject-
verb agreement.

We apologize for the wait between GL Day 5 and 6.  The lab has been very busy as we approach Finals Week.

Today's Grammar Lottery Presentation is on Subject-Verb Agreement by tutor Marijah Adams.  This begins the first of a three-part series on verbs as we count down to the winner of the Grammar Lottery.

Marijah has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for 3 years.  Having graduated from OCCC, she currently attends the University of Central Oklahoma for sociology.

As one of the lab's more experienced tutors, Marijah has proven herself to be an asset by challenging herself to learn new things and by offering a wide range of personal and educational experience that have made her tutoring more dynamic for students.

In the lab, Marijah assists with ESL Conversation Groups and was partly the inspiration for the Grammar Lottery.

You can access Marijah's presentation here.

Join us for tomorrow's presentation on Present Tense Verbs.

MLA Shortage Leaves Students and Comm Lab Staff Short "Cited".

The Communications Lab's handout rack
has been missing MLA Style Guides
since Monday.

The Communications Lab is currently experiencing a shortage of MLA Style Guides.

Increased pre-Finals Week demand from students has caused supplies of the lab's most popular handout to dwindle to one copy.

The MLA Style Guide is a 13 page condensed version of the Modern Language Association Handbook 7th ed. containing instructions for formatting and citation examples.

Currently, the Communications Lab is using a single copy they are making available for students to use while in the lab.

Students needing a personal copy of the MLA Style Guide can still access them online.

Communications Lab assistant Brandon Isaak entered the order with OCCC print services for the MLA Style Guide Monday; the order is expected to be completed around 1 PM.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 5: Fragments

Beau Lewis, Comm Lab
tutor, ponders whether
sentences with subjects
and verbs are always
complete.

We had a little delay in the posting of the latest Grammar Lottery presentations, but we are back today with Fragments.

Fragments, like run-on sentences, are forms of sentence boundary problems.

Tutor Beau Lewis explains fragments and gives a fun activity for identifying fragments.

Beau Lewis has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for over one year.

Considering himself to be the Comm Lab ladies' man, Beau is a creative individual who likes to do his own thing; this is exemplified in his photography.

Though Beau's approach to explaining fragments may seem a little brief at first, it was a strong contender for the Grammar Lottery prize due to its simplicity and ability to engage students in a creative manner.

Tomorrow, we will leave sentence boundaries in the Grammar Lottery and begin to present the Grammar Lotteries dealing with subject/verb relationships.

Spanish Tutor and Comm Lab Friend Wins Award

Bill Smiley has wins a local
radio station contest
for Teacher of the Week.

OCCC Spanish tutor Bill Smiley and long-time Communications Lab friend has been named Teacher of the Week by Oklahoma City's Magic 104.1 FM KMGL radio station.

According to an email from OCCC Arts and Humanities Dean Susan VanSchuyver, the accolade was bestowed to Smiley following a letter written to the radio station by a student.

The unnamed student said, "Bill ... not only built award winning choirs, he touched lives. His laugh & voice can easily fill a room & with his playfully sarcastic sense of humor, he has the uncanny ability to motovate a lot of young people to keep practicing, pay attention, listen to & work with one another"

Smiley is currently a teacher at Bridge Creek High School in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, where he has taught for over 20 years.  Smiley plans to retire in December of this year.

Smiley teaches music appreciation and choir and has taught Spanish at the high school.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 4: Run-Ons

Comm Lab tutor James Williams
explains run-ons sentences
and how to correct them.

We are officially out of clauses now on the Grammar Lottery Presentations.  The past presentations focused on parts of speech.

The different clauses, when used correctly, are normal parts of constructing sentences, even when we aren't aware when we are using them.

Other presentations in the Grammar Lottery focused on issues that are always considered incorrect when used.

For example, today's presentation is about run-on sentences.

Tutor James Williams explains what a run-on sentence is and how they can be avoided.  James has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for almost one year, having started his tutoring position in January of 2010.

James is also a student at OCCC, majoring in literature.  James plans on attending the University of Oklahoma next semester and teaching when he graduates.

When James is not tutoring students in the lab, he enjoys watching movies with his son, playing softball, and leaving his laptop unattended in the lab with his Facebook page logged in.

Join us tomorrow for more Grammar Lottery presentations as we count down to the winner of the Grammar Lottery.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 3: Adverbial Clauses

A bright-eyed Charlton Rigsby on
his first day of tutoring in the lab.

It's day three of the Comm Lab Grammar Lottery Presentations.  We are very glad to be back following the much needed Thanksgiving Break.

As a special treat, we bring you Adverbial Clauses today, finishing up our clause theme from the previous two Grammar Lottery Presentations.

Today's Grammar Lottery presentation comes from tutor Charlton Rigsby.

Charlton has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for almost two years.  He is currently a student at OCCC and is majoring in history.

When he is not tutoring students in the lab, Charlton enjoys helping with ESL conversations groups, watching Glee, spending time with his new wife and helping out at his church.

You can access Charlton's presentation on Adverbial Clauses by clicking here.

Please be sure to check back for tomorrow's Grammar Lottery Update as we count down to the winner of the Grammar Lottery!

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 2: Adjective Clauses

Tutor Spencer Stephens enjoying a nice sit with a cane.

Day 2 of the Grammar Lottery Presentations is all about Adjective Clauses. This second grammar concept comes to you from tutor Spencer Stephens after yesterday's discussion on noun clauses by tutor Bethany Vander Schans.

Spencer has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for about 2 years and has a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Christian University in English..  Spencer enjoys playing chess and Magic the Gathering when he is not tutoring in the lab.  He produces his own podcast and tutors students online.

Spencer is quite the aficionado about common and obscure grammar concepts, so users can feel privileged to experience only a piece of his library of wisdom here on The Complete Thought.

Users can also support Spencer's beard by joining its Facebook group by clicking here.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 1: Noun Clauses

"ESL students and
students enrolled in
developmental writing
classes would benefit
from learning about
nouns and noun clauses."

The grammar lottery presentations at the November 18th staff meeting were a big success.

All of the tutors did a great job, making the selection of one prize winner quite difficult for the lab assistants.

The Complete Thought will post all of the presentations, one each day. You can access them by clicking on the link on the upper right corner of the blog that reads "Grammar Lottery Presentations" under the "Pages" tab, or you can click here.

Today's presentation comes from Comm Lab tutor Bethany Vander Schans. She presented her lesson on Noun Clauses.

A winner was chosen, and that winner will follow the other presentations. Be sure to check back each day and read all of the grammar lottery presentations.

Pencil power: The role of the writing utensil in tutoring.

By Lydia Rucker

Lydia has been a lab assistant
in OCCC's Communications
Lab for almost three years.

Sometimes, they are yellow. Sometimes, they are red or green or speckled with glitter and multifaceted rainbow swirls. No matter what they look like, I think pencils are the greatest tool in the writing tutor’s toolbox.

Several years ago when I first became a writing tutor, using a pencil during a tutoring session was highly frowned upon. 

The reason behind this, I was told, is that tutors are less likely to “fix” a student’s paper and are able to better focus on verbal exchange with a student. 

On my second day of tutoring, I forgot this rule and carried a pencil with me into a tutoring session. Well into the session, I felt a gentle tug on my pencil and before I could look up, it was swiftly removed from my poised fingers and placed on the table beside me.  

Halloween in the Comm Lab

Comm Lab Works Study Marva Ward assists students
with signing in during the lab's Halloween festivities.

There were more than spooks and spectors in the lab today when lab assistant Nick Webb pulled out the Wheel of Grammar to challenge students' knowledge of writing concepts.

Topics covered by the wheel's quiz questions included commas, fragments, documentation and even Comm Lab trivia.

According to lab assistant Tonja Nelson, the Wheel of Grammar benefits students because it exposes them to the topics and, whether they get the question right or wrong, they hear the correct answer and why that answer is correct.

Updates on the Nov. 18th Staff Meeting

Tutors Chelsea Pruitt and Beau
Lewis work collaboratively on their
grammar presentations in the discussion pit.

As the date for the next Comm Lab staff meeting approaches, Rachel wanted to remind all of the tutors about the Grammar Lottery activity.

She sent an email to all of the lab staff that included the instructions for the presentations, as well as a deadline for when they need to be complete.

Tutors will need to send the completed presentations to Rachel by November 8th.

The best mini-lesson will also receive a prize.  It is still unknown what that prize will be.

Happy Documentation Day

Lab Assistant Nicholas Webb and tutor Charlton Rigsby
look on as two students help themselves to the Comm
Lab'sDocumentation Day refreshments.
(Photo by: Brandon Isaak) 

The Comm Lab would like to thank all of the tutors and lab assistants who helped make Documentation Day 2010 a success.

This year's event was the second Documentation Day we've had, and I think it went well.

Be sure to start your Grammar Lottery Presentations!

The lab staff have been challenged to come up with a way to present certain grammar concepts in a fun and interesting way.  This has been lovingly referred to as the "Grammar Lottery" because people drew their grammar concept from a cup, as opposed to winning some kind of major prize.

One of our tutors, Marijah Adams, has already started working on her presentation.  She posted her progress on her blog, http://xxversusxy.wordpress.com/.  You can read her post here.

The Complete Thought's New Purpose

If you've been following us (which is unlikely because we have had very little content so far), you will know that we explained that our purpose for creating a blog, like The Complete Thought, was to provide an outlet for students to share their work with the world.

We still hope that this can be a purpose for this blog; however, until we can garner more interest in The Complete Thought and can work out some of the issues related to student privacy related to posting papers online, we will use this blog as a way for tutors and students to discuss tutoring techniques and engage in dialogue about writing center ideas and knowledge.

Let us know what you think. How can The Complete Thought make learning more engaging for tutors and students?

Welcome to The Complete Thought

This is the Communications Lab's new blog The Complete Thought.  We are excited to be stepping into the information age with blogs, video tutoring and Facebook.  The Complete Thought, aside from being a portal to communicate with the Communicatons Lab, will also be a place to read the work of students' and members of the OCCC community who have created more that just writing worthy of a passing grade, but writing that strives to be considered art or literature.  The Complete Thought provides a place for students to showcase their work, both in and out of the classroom.  We welcome you to join us as we achieve the ultimate goal of any writing endeavor, to add to the public discourse through dialogue and the exchange of new ideas.  All that it takes is one sentence because, after all, what is a sentence other than "a complete thought."