¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ

Coordinated Consultations are a collaboration between Miami faculty and the HWC. Faculty request that we set aside a number of appointments, within a given time frame, for their ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to come in for appointments with peer consultants. Faculty also agree to work with HWC staff to ensure that ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs asked to make consultation appointments understand the nature and purpose of these consultations.

Research shows that these types of visits function best when faculty/instructors are involved in planning the appointments. Once HWC staff have received a request for a coordinating consultation, we will contact instructors to clarify the following:

1. How many ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs are in the class and will be asked to attend consultations
2. The assignment ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs are working on (including assignment sheets, rubrics, and other supporting documents, if you have them)
3. The time frame ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs have for writing and revising
4. The instructional goals for ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs’ appointments with HWC peer consultants. 

HWC staff will then work with instructors to:

• Determine which type of consultation will work best for ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs (see below), given the number of ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs we will accommodate, the assignment, and the timeframe for writing and revising.
• Schedule a brief class visit to introduce ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to Coordinated Consultations, where they will help ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs make appointments and prepare them for their work with peer consultants. 
• Set aside an appropriate number of consultations for ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs.

The number of ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs, the assignment being worked on, and the timeframe for writing and revising will all determine which type of consultation will work best for different Coordinated Consultation schedules.

Some options may include:

• Full hour or half-hour consultations,
• In-person, Live Online, or Written Online consultations, 
• Individual, paired or team consultations (in a paired consultation, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs come with a classmate to discuss their drafts together with a consultant; this works best with assignments that benefit from a classmate’s perspective. Team consultations involve all authors of a team project or presentation).

If faculty have other ideas for making Coordinated Consultations work well for their ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs, they are encouraged to let us know when they make their request.

Class visits help HWC staff prepare faculty and their ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs for HWC consultations. Without a class visit and the information and resources it provides, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs may not understand the purpose of their HWC consultations, and, as a result, their appointments may be less effective. 

HWC staff will work with faculty to design a class visit presentation specifically tailored to the faculty member’s intentions for these peer consultations.

The HWC recommends that faculty/instructors spend time outside the required class visit to discuss their goals with their ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs for upcoming consultations. Research shows that ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs who lack knowledge of their faculty/instructors’ intentions/goals for their visit often struggle to understand the purpose and effectiveness of their appointments. As a result, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs sometimes come to their appointments with little to no understanding of what a writing center appointment is or what its benefits are, and may be reluctant to participate fully. 

To prevent this confusion, consider implementing credit-bearing, short pre- and post-session reflections on their appointments as outlined below:  

Before your ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs are scheduled for their writing appointments

• Discuss with ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs the assignment they are to bring to their appointment, and the purpose of the consultation.
  • Students should know that HWC peer consultants are writing experts, but they are not content experts in the subject matter of the class. Students benefit from understanding this distinction ahead of time, and from being given opportunities to specify the kinds of writing-related questions you would like them to address in their consultation. 
  • These writing related issues might entail:
    • Understanding assignment guidelines and brainstorming topics
    • Developing, clarifying, or organizing arguments and ideas
    • Incorporating evidence according to disciplinary conventions
    • Refining tone, style, or register, per assignment guidelines
• Even a five-minute in-class activity can help ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs get ready for their consultations. Instructors might:
  • Provide a worksheet where ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs briefly outline, alone or in pairs, their main writing questions and challenges, which they can then bring to their consultation
  • Review your assignment prompt with ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs with the writing process in mind. You can ask: how should ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs approach this writing task, and how can a consultant help at their different stages of writing?
  • Have ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs annotate their copy of the assignment prompt to mark the aspects of this writing task where they could still use support 
  • Discuss with ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs your own positive experiences with writing feedback from peers, and what made this feedback valuable 

After your ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs have completed their writing center appointment

Prepare a post-session reflection prompt to help them process the session, and also curate a revision/drafting plan based on the outcome of that appointment (350-400 words).

Questions they might answer in their reflection include:

• When was your session, who was your consultant, and what was its modality? Why did you choose each?
• In your opinion, what was the most difficult/challenging aspect of the session? 
• Was this opportunity helpful to you as a writer, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ, or individual? Why or why not? 
• What advice from this session do you want to implement in your writing process for this assignment or even the final draft?
• What advice do you plan not to implement? 
• What would you do differently if you had to go to another appointment for this course? What worked well that you’d do again?
• What, if anything, did you learn about yourself as a writer, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ, or person during this appointment?

At the end of all HWC consultations, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs receive an email from our online scheduling platform that briefly summarizes what was discussed in their session. Faculty can ask ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to forward them this email as evidence of their visit.

But in addition to forwarding you this email, we also recommend that you require ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to compose a brief reflection on how their consultation has shaped their revising plans. Research shows that this kind of reflection significantly impacts ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs’ development and sense of self-efficacy as both writers and learners. In this reflection, you might ask ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈs to consider:

1. What feedback do you plan to use as you continue to write and revise this draft?
2. What feedback do you plan not to use, and why? 
3. What questions about the assignment, if any, did this consultation raise for you?
4. What did you learn about yourself as a writer, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ, or person during this appointment?
5. What might you do differently or similarly if you were to make another writing center appointment?