For the seniors in Pat Shepherd's English class, the rush of extra bodies was a welcome addition to their writing assignments.
Last Thursday, four volunteers delivered one-on-one critiques on letters to the editor, senior project introductions and essays. Garrett Shaw saw a way to insert more of his personal experience into a report about building an orphanage in Mexico. Nikki Anderson smoothed out some grammatical rough spots and strengthened her argument for making cheerleading an official sport. And Shepherd got the assurance his students were receiving the kind of writing help that might open doors to good colleges, good jobs and good communication.
Solorzano Work coached both Shaw and Anderson in 10-minute sessions while the rest of Shepherd's class worked in a computer lab. While the time seems short, it essentially doubles what Shepherd can usually devote to an assignment.
“It lets them get a different perspective than mine, and it gives them an audience,” Shepherd said of the coaching sessions. “I think that makes them more careful about what they do. Just the idea that someone else is going to read their material is kind of exciting.”
Shepherd tries to give the average assignment at least 10 minutes of review time. A research paper or project gets about 20 minutes per student. But he can't also spend that many minutes talking with each student about the results. For that, he relies on the coaches.
The “blitz” strategy developed over several years of seeking the best way to reach students. Many writing centers place coaches in a room and wait for students to visit. For several reasons, that wasn't working at Hellgate.
“What we got was the kids who really didn't need help,” said center coordinator Diane Benjamin. “We'd get the kid who got a B+ and was shooting for the A. Not the one who wouldn't feel comfortable coming to a site-based center.”
Bringing the coaches to the kids solved several problems. More students get face time with a coach. And the coaches know their time commitment won't be squandered sitting at an empty desk.
Benjamin schedules the blitzes around assignment deadlines and coach availability. That ensures students get help when they need it. It also avoids asking coaches for regularly occurring, long-term commitments. Benjamin simply posts the dates of the next blitz and delivers student assignments to as many coaches as can participate.
In the past three years, center coaches have held 2,429 work sessions with students. Although currently limited to Hellgate High, Benjamin said interest is growing among teachers at Missoula's other high schools. The number of coaches is also slowly growing, and now stands at more than 40.
Hey coach!
The Hellgate Writing Center always needs new coaches. Contact coordinator Diane Benjamin at 546-6269. The center also needs financial support for copying, materials and coordination needs. Fact & Fiction Bookstore has six literary-themed gift baskets donated by writing coaches, which are up for silent auction until Dec. 22. Themes include aviation, piano music, food and mysteries, natural cosmetics, women's history and children's climate change.
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.
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