The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

Social Constructivist Strategies for Completed Drafts
147
L. Meghann Kulmman
Spring 2011
The diversity of culture, age, and fields of study among CSUS students makes our writing center
an ideal place to observe and participate in the vast exchange of knowledge and perspectives which
characterizes modern universities. The theory of social construction reminds us that the goal of these
interactions is to achieve greater mutual understanding, thereby creating new knowledge through our
collaboration. Many aspects of social construction come naturally to tutoring sessions, such as dialogue
and teamwork. Still, it can be useful to define specific practices of social construction because they can
help tutors negotiate between the validity of the student’s ideas and the expectations of the university.
The tutor’s job is to help students revise their papers for greater clarity, which means finding a
better way to translate the student’s thoughts into the specific context of their assignment. According to
Dana King, the goal of social constructivism is to, “help [students] see that although there is no right-orwrong
approach, there are some practical methods for assessing which approaches might be ‘more right’
than others.” Because there is no clear-cut right or wrong answers students must evaluate information
from multiple sources in order to determine what methods work best for them. By presenting the idea
that knowledge is created socially students gain the confidence to create and assess new alternatives.
However, when a student comes into the writing center with a completed draft, the path to this approach
is not always clear. Some of these practical techniques be of help.
� King claims that when tutors “model the process of evaluating choices” they empower students to
“own” their learning process by developing the ability to analyze and incorporate a broad range of
information, which is necessary for success in modern society. To accomplish this she suggests
asking open-ended questions which encourage an evaluation of the student’s own thought process
such as, “How might this change in your writing affect the overall tone and message of your piece?”
or “Why did you choose to write your ideas in this particular order?” These questions prompt
students to assess their own writing and decide which rhetorical techniques are most appropriate for
themselves and the situation.
� Returning frequently to the assignment prompt and expectations of the professor helps reinforce a
critical knowledge of the specific context the student faces. Questions such as, “In what way does
this section of your paper respond to the prompt?” or, “How can you relate this idea back to what you
have learned in class?” will allow students to reason through their own thought process and clarify the
relevance of their ideas for themselves. Encouraging students to refer back to class notes and texts
also highlights the significance of outside information to the creation of knowledge within the class.
These approaches emphasize the validity of the student’s thoughts while promoting an understanding
of context by creating a dialogue between the student and the task in front of them.
� Another useful strategy is to model and explain the perspective of the specific discourse community
in which the student is writing. Reminding students of their broader audience emphasizes that the
tutor’s opinions are not the correct solution but rather a way of approaching academic
communication. It can be helpful to provide students with information about the specific framework
they are operating within in order to make the boundaries of their discourse apparent. Comments
like, “These are some conventions of this writing style, what are some ways your idea can fulfill this