Jessica Clements, Whitworth University
Joy Aivaliotis, Whitworth University
Kendra Guttridge, Whitworth University
Emily Kapus, Whitworth University
Lydia Kramer, Whitworth University
Matthew Lochridge, Whitworth University
Marta Muñoz Laserreta, Whitworth University
Ezekiel Pierson, Whitworth University
Graham Shuhda, Whitworth University
Abstract
This video essay offers and holistically analyzes the lived experiences of undergraduate writing center consultants during the COVID-19 pandemic from the minds and mouths of the consultants themselves. It situates the consultants’ reflections among current literature on consultant mental health and wellness and suggests we “fill the gap” in this literature by continuing research on consultants’ well-being. Consultants reflect on a specific intervention assignment they engaged with in an ongoing consultant education course at a small liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest during Fall 2020: the Pandemic Wellness Project. They conclude that writing centers should: offer more opportunities for processing cognitive load; make space for consultant mental health and wellness as a regular—and significant—part of consultant education theory and practice; and create new avenues for meaningful dialogue between consultant and director, consultant and consultant, and, especially, consultant and self.
Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, mental health, wellness, cognitive load, well-being, lived experiences, mindfulness, intentionality, motivation, self-care, assignment design, online consulting, communication, support systems, development, ongoing education, Pandemic Wellness Project, reflection, emotion, body language, tutoring style, learning style, survival, grace, community, social justice, helping, vulnerability, safety protocol, relationships, space, place, modal expression, consulting roles, empathy
Link to video essay
Transcript
On-screen, text, video essay title: When Support Systems Need Support: Constructing Paths to Consultant Wellness during COVID-19
On-screen, text [authors’ names]: Dr. Jessica Clements, Joy Aivaliotis, Kendra Guttridge, Emily Kapus, Lydia Kramer, Matthew Lochridge, Marta Muñoz Laserreta, Ezekiel Pierson, Graham Shuhda
On-screen, video: Undergraduate writing center consultant walking across campus to writing center’s library location.
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Lochridge, voiceover: It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental
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health and wellness concerns of many in
academia, but there is a considerable gap
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in consulting literature specifically about
writing consultants themselves who are first
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and foremost students. While consulting during the
pandemic has provided these student workers with
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meaningful work and relationship opportunities,
it has also revealed the negative impacts of
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increased cognitive load on both their
quality of work and personal well-being.
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In this video essay, we offer the lived experiences
of consultants at a small, liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest
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as testimony for writing
center scholars’ further attention to writing
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center practices that productively focus
on consultants’ mental health and wellness.
Transition to scholarly context
On-screen, video: Shot personal interview style with two undergraduate consultants (Aivaliotis and Pierson) talking directly into camera; important concepts occasionally highlighted in white text on the screen, verbatim
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Aivaliotis: So, the research for mindfulness in the writing
center has been increasing over the past, kind of,
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five to seven years, and one great example of this
is a study done by Elizabeth Mack and Katie Hupp.
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They published “Mindfulness in the Writing
Center: A Total Encounter,” which is a
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publication that describes an eight-week-long
experiment that the director, Katie Hupp, did.
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In this experiment, she let people,
or her consultants, voluntarily
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decide if they wanted to participate in this,
in this eight-week long program, where each week
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they would have a new mindfulness exercise that
they would do either at work or outside of work.
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For example, they would take some time. They
would, like, outside of work, they would take
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five minutes to just breathe and become
more aware of their surroundings each day.
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And another example of, like, the during work
time is that they would take an extra minute
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or two in between consultations to just, kind of,
center themselves again, themselves again, and
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be able to approach the next consultation with an
open mind and not carry over any negativity from
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the past ones if it happens to be negative. And
Elizabeth Mack wrote about her positive experience
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in this experiment. She’s one of the consultants.
And she said some of the biggest things that stood
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out to her were that they really appreciated
the intentionality behind the mindfulness that,
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that Katie was trying to create. The students
reported that they found it particularly helpful
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to take the frequent breaks, and just breathe, and
that becoming more conscious of their surroundings
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helped them be able to focus better. One
of the biggest takeaways was also that they
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were focused on listening rather than reacting,
which is very helpful in consultations, especially
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if the client and the consultant aren’t
having the greatest time. And these
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practices improved motivation and kept energy
levels higher, which is very positive as well.
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Some exercises, however, were more beneficial than
others, and it was kind of challenging for them to
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keep mindfulness present in their minds when in
the room with a client, because sometimes it’s just
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harder to put those things into actions. And it’s
also hard to actually make time for just taking
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care of yourself, as I think we all know. And
those, yeah, those were some of the challenges that
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they found during the study.
Pierson: Another article that
we found super helpful to, kind of, contextualizing
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our own scholarship in this area of mindfulness
and wellness in the writing center is an article
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from Sarah Johnson called “Mindful Tutors, Embodied
Writers: Positioning Mindfulness Meditation
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as a Writing Strategy to Optimize Cognitive Load
and Potentialize Writing Center Tutor Supporting
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Roles.” So that’s quite the mouthful, but really what
this article is saying is that there is a lot
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of cognitive load that goes on in the process of
learning, which—wow, huge surprise statement—, but
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Sarah Johnson really helpfully delineates here
between germane cognitive load, which is cognitive
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load that is actually necessary and needed in
order for the learner to absorb, to learn—to absorb
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information and to learn. Or, on the other hand,
there’s extraneous cognitive load, and that’s
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just cognitive load that exists because of the
way the assignment is structured or because of the
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fact that we’re in a, we’re learning in a pandemic
right now, right? But it doesn’t have anything to do
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with the actual content of the material, right,
with the actual material that’s being learned.
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And, so, Johnson argues that mindfulness
is one way to reduce this cognitive load.
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She also advocates for better assignment design
and for an increased awareness that advocates
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can, that directors and consultants, are aware
of the cognitive load they place on their clients.
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So, that, we find this article super helpful
because we find this idea of cognitive load
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to be a very helpful way to think about a pandemic,
right? In a pandemic, suddenly there is a lot more
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extraneous cognitive load, even if you’re
completely online and safe at an institution, which
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our institution is not; we, we have a hybrid model
going on. You’re still thinking about all these
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complicated interactions with technology instead
of just sitting down in a classroom.
Aivaliotis: Through this
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research, we identified a few things where we
realized that our own writing center might
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fall short and just kind of writing centers in
general. We realized that we need more documented
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experiences of tutor wellnesses during a pandemic
in order to accurately grasp where the gaps are.
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We also need stronger paths formalized of
communication between our director and
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consultants in the online world since now you [don’t]
have random run-ins happen at the library or
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coffee shop or just anywhere on campus. And we
need more in/formal support and development as well.
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So, figuring out how to maintain these practices
in an online setting, even though now we don’t
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have them—or we don’t have access to such support
as much anymore. And, so, we need to find new ways
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where we can establish a more informal setting
that helps us take care of our minds and mental health.
Transition to assignment introduction
On-screen, text: The Intervention: The Pandemic Wellness Project
On-screen, video: Clements [writing center director] narrates over stills and video: images of writing center, classroom space, pandemic-related signage, and the assignment prompt itself.
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Clements: It’s unsettling, like remembering
where I was on September 11th.
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But I do remember exactly where I was when I got
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the email stating there would be
no going back after spring break.
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I was with my consultants facilitating
our ongoing education practicum
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in a library computer lab just down the hall
from our writing center’s physical location.
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There was a nervous energy that intensified after
I made the announcement to the class. We didn’t
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know what that email really meant. But the
institution birthed a flex approach over
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the summer, and I knew I would need to address
not only the modal changes with my consultants
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but also, how a world turned upside down
impacted their mental and emotional
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well-being. So, I implemented the “Pandemic
Wellness Project.” It’s a reflective project,
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a chance for consultants to process the cognitive
load of the pandemic, because, as I mentioned in the
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prompt, the pandemic context will bring unusual
circumstances to bear on your consulting work.
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This individual reflection helped us
better understand the gap in writing
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center literature surrounding consultant
mental health and wellness, but we know we
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could do more. So, we decided to collaboratively
reflect as we entered the scholarly conversation,
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to further interrogate what we learned
and what we can do with what we learned.
Transition to collaborative undergrad tutor reflections, parts 1, 2, and 3.
Part 1
On-screen, video: Shot group interview style in Zoom during an undergraduate consultant continuing education class session; some close-up “speaker” views and some class as a whole, “group grid” views.
On-screen, text: How has the pandemic affected you as a consultant?
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Kramer: So, I still meet with students face-to-face
with a plexiglass screen and everything. And, so,
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it’s definitely been nice to be able to do
that, but, at the same time, you’re missing
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some of that emotional connection that you might
have had otherwise just being able to see facial
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expressions and everything. And, so, though you
can tell that the clients and I really enjoy
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that, it definitely makes it harder to connect
and sometimes embrace that vulnerability that
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comes with sharing your writing.
Lochridge: And it also
means I have to adjust my tutoring style—as
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well as the client might have to adjust their
learning style—to be able to fit into whatever,
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whatever we can get through on the
online platform that we’re using.
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Muñoz Laserreta: As a Spanish [language writing] consultant it’s just harder for me
to explain the language when we’re missing body
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language, like you were saying, and face-to-face
interaction is just, like, makes it harder.
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Students are also way less motivated to make
appointments.
Pierson: When students are, kind of, in
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this survival mode of, like, “we’re online—
we just got to get through this semester,
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gotta get through this pandemic—” it
becomes a lot harder to talk about
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things like forming a better writer and, like,
pushing yourself off towards writing excellence.
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And, so, to some degree there’s this tension
of, like, how much do you ask the client
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to get, to develop, and how much do you say, “okay
well, we are in a pandemic, there needs to be some grace here.”
On-screen, text: How has the pandemic affected you as a student?
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Shuhda: I will say that does come with some benefits of
knowing and having the security to know that I’m
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safe from, you know, the pandemic, by sitting on
the other side of a screen, but, at the same time,
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missing those environmental, those
tactile, sensations as a student
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really does not do well for the academic mind.
Pierson: I think the pandemic really has increased the
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cognitive load of taking classes, and, so,
suddenly, there’s just a difficulty—
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like, you can’t just go to class, attend a
lecture. Even if you’re going to class in-person,
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you still need to, like, pay attention
to safety and health protocols.
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Those things are things that you have to think
about, but they’re not actually helping you learn.
On-screen, text: How has the pandemic affect you as a person?
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Lochridge: I just feel a lot more isolated, just
in general, throughout my, my work as
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a student and as a consultant. It’s really,
just, kind of reduced a lot of my schoolwork,
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a lot of my time in school, to just doing
schoolwork and not really anything besides that.
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Aivaliotis: I’m very much an extrovert, and I love just hanging
out with people, doing work around people, and,
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just, those connections are kind of what keep me
going. And just spending so much time online
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is very draining, and my energy level has been
probably the lowest that it ever has been in
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this past year.
Muñoz Laserreta: It’s hard just knowing that, for example,
my grandma has been by herself for months now,
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or that my mom who’s a nurse is working overtime
because some of her co-workers contracted COVID,
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and something I’ve also struggled a lot with is,
just, I don’t know, I guess realizing how unfair
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the world is in general, like how
people don’t want to wear a mask,
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how minorities have been deeply affected by this
pandemic, how the US will be fully vaccinated
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soon but third-world countries will not get
a single vaccine.
Shuhda: As someone who suffers from
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anxiety, depression, and I also, I have ADHD,
it has been, it has been a real struggle.
On-screen, text: How has your writing center work complicated or supported you during the pandemic?
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Muñoz Laserreta: The few consultations that I [have] had during the
pandemic were absolutely wonderful, like, they
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were a way of socializing and feeling, like, the
sense of community that I feel, like, we all need.
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And once I was done with the consultations, it just
felt great knowing that you’re helping someone
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even though it’s just with a paper or
whatever project they’re working on.
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It’s just, like, made me happy to know I could make
someone’s life a little easier during a pandemic.
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Kapus: So, like, the social justice issues and all these
other things, kind of, all happening at once—and it
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can feel really overwhelming to, just, have so much
to worry about. Having this time where I can help
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students and, just, completely focus on them and
make a small—but I think meaningful—contribution
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to the Whitworth community is, has been a really
positive and affirming thing.
Pierson: When I have clients,
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and I’m able to work with them, that is a very
satisfying and honestly, like, life-giving thing,
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because it’s just very straightforward, like, it’s
a very straightforward way of, just, helping someone
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in a very simple way—but it’s at least it’s
something that I can do.
Shuhda: I want to give my 100 percent,
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but I just don’t have enough energy to be able to
give that to . . . my job in the writing center,
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and that can be distressing, but it’s one of the
reasons why we’ve been doing this project, is to
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provide information and context and research firsthand
about the support we can offer for each other
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in a pandemic as writing center employees.
Part 2
On-screen, video: Shot personal interview style by individual undergraduate consultants in their own homes/dorms or offices/campus common spaces.
On-screen, text: What is an area of relationship building that suffered has or improved during the pandemic in the process of consultations?
Lochridge: Working
as a writing consultant during the pandemic has
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actually provided me opportunities to build
relationships in ways that I wouldn’t have
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during the pandemic without this job. These are
relationships and opportunities that I wouldn’t
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have had without my work in the writing
center regardless of the pandemic or not.
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Because I’ve taken all of my appointments
and all of my team meetings this year online,
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most of these relationships that I have
with people through the writing center
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have never been face-to-face, and it’s especially
difficult without, you know, face-to-face connection
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and some physical proximity to be able
to facilitate a growth of relationship.
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Guttridge: Consulting in a pandemic is strange. Even as
an in-person consultant, I would estimate that
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around half of my appointments are still online
either because I’m in isolation or my client is
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in isolation or there’s some kind of confusion
around in-person versus virtual consultations
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and who the right consultant to sign up with would
be.
Kramer: Honestly, things have been very hard for a lot
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of people during this pandemic. As most people,
everybody knows, like, relationships have suffered,
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mental health has suffered, and things have
been really difficult. And, so, when I ask someone,
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“How’s your day going? How are you?” a lot of times
I’ll get more of an honest answer now than I might
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have before the pandemic. And I am an in-person
con—, consultant, so I do have the, kind of, that
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benefit of being able to talk them in-person,
but . . . .
Pierson: Even though there’s been moments of real
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vulnerability with clients, the screen has made
that impossible to, to turn that into relationship.
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Aivaliotis: In an online format, it’s just hard, because there’s
not much structure, and, so, because everything just
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happens through a screen, and, so, it’s just, kind
of, it’s harder to keep track and stay focused.
Shuhda: I
0:17:13.520,0:17:18.080
sincerely wish that we could feel a little
bit more rooted in the community because
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it’s no longer a case of being able to sit in our
office and wave “hi!” to people as they come by, which,
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though it’s a small thing, definitely
generates a sense of “we’re here for you.”
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Kapus: I think one more aspect of relationship building
that has been a little bit difficult since the
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pandemic is checking in with a client at the
beginning of the appointment, because when I ask
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how they’re doing the answer is, of course, that
they’re not doing well because this is a pandemic
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and everyone is struggling. So how much of my time
do I spend checking in with them emotionally, and
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how much of the time do I say we should, you know,
work academically and be respectful of your time
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for, to work on the thing that you made the
appointment to work on?
On-screen, text: How has the pandemic affected your relationships with your fellow consultants?
Kramer: Before COVID, we would
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have a lot of overlapping shifts, and we’d be
able to, kind of, come together in that writing
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center space and talk about like, “Oh, shoot, like,
how do you do this one thing of APA citation?”
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or “How’s your day going?” and, just, like, kind
of, connect in those ways, and that’s just not
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a thing anymore. If, sometimes I’ll see the
other fellow in-person consultant. We have, like,
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half an hour of an overlapping shift, but, I mean,
there’s a plastic screen between us. There’s all
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the COVID precautions, which is fantastic
and great and I’m glad we have those, but
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it’s just not the same environment that it was
before and not the same community, honestly.
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And, so, I feel, like, although I’ve still
been able to foster those relationships
0:18:59.840,0:19:07.680
between consultants that were already there,
I do think that the newer consultants and I
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haven’t been able to connect in that way.
Pierson: I’ll
be honest, the primary way I built relationships
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with my fellow consultants was by just
sharing space, sharing the space of the center
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with them. And, so, when that was lost, a lot of my
opportunity to build relationships have come, [to]
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have conversations, just completely
collapsed.
Shuhda: I genuinely miss being able
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to work alongside my consultants in workshops
or to share hours together in our writing center.
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A lot of it just has to do with spending time with the
people you work with and then founding positive
0:19:46.480,0:19:51.200
and influential professional relationships from
that time spent with each other.
Lochridge: Working during
0:19:51.200,0:19:56.000
the pandemic has, of course, caused some strain
on those relationships, and it’s made it kind of
0:19:56.000,0:20:02.480
difficult to progress and deepen those bonds both
with clients and my fellow consultants in kind of
0:20:02.480,0:20:08.960
similar ways.
Aivaliotis: This is my first year consulting, and
I am fully online. And, so, it’s been, I’ve just felt
0:20:08.960,0:20:14.320
a little disconnected from the center itself. Like,
our weekly meetings for EL-421, those are helpful
0:20:14.320,0:20:21.280
in like connecting us, but they’re all usually just
very, like, project-focused and stuff like that.
Kapus: I do
0:20:21.280,0:20:26.000
feel a little bit closer to my fellow consultants
now than I did before the pandemic, and this is
0:20:26.000,0:20:31.120
because we have been so open and honest with
each other about our struggles with school,
0:20:31.120,0:20:35.760
our struggles with the pandemic, our struggles with
mental health and all of the things that we’ve
0:20:35.760,0:20:41.440
experienced over this last year. Through this
project, and, just, through talks through our class, I
0:20:41.440,0:20:47.840
think that this vulnerability that we’ve really
shared with each other has brought us all closer.
On-screen, text: How has the pandemic affected your relationships with your clients?
0:20:54.400,0:21:00.880
Kapus: Besides the fact that it is more difficult to read
nonverbal cues over a screen and besides the fact
0:21:00.880,0:21:06.320
that everyone is struggling more than they did
a year ago, I do think that my relationships with
0:21:06.320,0:21:13.440
clients have still continued to be really positive
ones.
Guttridge: I think there’s also this greater gratitude
0:21:13.440,0:21:20.000
that I experience and am able to express—to be
able to meet with them and see them. And I think, in
0:21:20.000,0:21:24.960
that sense, the pandemic has made relationship
building with clients a lot more personal,
0:21:24.960,0:21:32.160
because we already share this understanding of one
another’s stress in and outside of academics, and
0:21:32.160,0:21:38.960
there’s this heightened awareness of the emotional
and mental needs that a client and a consultant
0:21:38.960,0:21:44.160
has rather than solely, like, writing needs or
writing knowledge.
Pierson: It feels like my intuition
0:21:45.360,0:21:55.280
is, is less specific and direct. It feels like
we have less conversations that, that build toward,
0:21:55.840,0:22:00.720
kind of, like, big issues in writing. [It] feels more
like we’re just doing the bare minimum.
Shuhda: I have
0:22:00.720,0:22:07.920
hopes that things may change, but I can’t rely
upon that at the present time, and it’s unfortunate,
0:22:07.920,0:22:13.600
because I know all my clients are in the same
boat with me.
Aivaliotis: I’ve had a few clients who
0:22:14.240,0:22:22.240
come back a, like, bunch of times, and, so, I, kind of,
begin forming some kind of, or at least building a,
0:22:22.240,0:22:28.240
rapport with them, which has been really nice. And
it’s also just really nice that you know people
0:22:28.240,0:22:32.640
want to come back to me because they appreciated
my help in the first place and stuff like that. But
0:22:32.640,0:22:41.200
it’s a lot harder to become friends with someone
when all you know is online.
Kramer: People have definitely
0:22:41.920,0:22:45.920
had to face their emotions a little bit more
during this time because things have been
0:22:45.920,0:22:52.240
so difficult. And, in some ways, that has been
beneficial for building relationships, opening up
0:22:52.240,0:22:58.320
and, kind of, getting into that vulnerability
aspect. Being able to open up with clients who
0:22:58.320,0:23:04.080
maybe have been really struggling throughout
the pandemic, who come in and this is one of their
0:23:04.080,0:23:08.960
in-center interactions, is one of their
only in-person interactions throughout
0:23:08.960,0:23:14.080
the day just because a lot of classes are
in Zoom, that’s been actually beneficial
0:23:14.080,0:23:21.840
for my relationships with clients as I am an
in-center, in-person consultant during this time.
Part 3
On-screen, video: Voiceover still and/or animated original stick-figure comic/cartoon-style images composed by undergraduate consultants meant to represent how their training felt, in general, disconnected from their human experiences of consulting in the pandemic.
On-screen, text: How did pre-pandemic training prepare/fail you for the transition to full-time consulting?
0:23:28.160,0:23:34.240
Lochridge: I was trained as a writing consultant during the
spring of 2020, and, so, the focus of my training
0:23:34.240,0:23:38.720
was primarily one-on-one, in-person tutoring.
And then in the middle of the term, COVID
0:23:38.720,0:23:44.240
hits, and campus closed, and classes went online.
This year, though, I am working entirely online.
0:23:45.840,0:23:52.400
And, so, of course my role is the same, but how I go
about fulfilling that role on a day-to-day basis
0:23:53.920,0:23:58.560
with clients one-on-one, that’s
very different than what I was
0:23:58.560,0:24:01.760
trained for, and it’s something that I’ve,
kind of, had to figure out as I go along.
0:24:02.880,0:24:10.640
Shuhda: In some respects, writing center training has failed
us in the pandemic, and I feel, notably, it’s the
0:24:11.200,0:24:18.160
ability to develop and cultivate empathetic
relationships. We were able to show that we
0:24:18.160,0:24:25.120
cared about them as students. We cared about them
as people. What hurts so much through the pandemic
0:24:26.000,0:24:33.360
is we don’t know how to do that through a screen.
We can’t really show the same level of concern
0:24:34.800,0:24:44.560
for their wellbeing and for their happiness. We’re
both stuck on opposite sides of a wi-fi network.
Guttridge: As
0:24:44.560,0:24:50.720
I’ve gotten more experience and more practice
in, I’ve been able to come to trust the training
0:24:50.720,0:24:56.080
that I did receive. A lot more of our class time
was used to check in on one another, and, together,
0:24:56.080,0:25:01.440
we could acknowledge how we were struggling. It
was this shared experience, and I think that set
0:25:01.440,0:25:08.800
a tone of anticipating a lot of trial. I do think
it was really helpful to have this sense that
0:25:08.800,0:25:15.920
our WCC [Whitworth Composition Commons] center is really supportive of what
consultants need as I began my time in the WCC.
On-screen, text: How have your skills improved or degraded in the pandemic?
0:25:22.240,0:25:28.480
Pierson: Since the pandemic has begun, I’ve
grown to be a lot more concerned about
0:25:29.120,0:25:36.640
directly helping the writer and what the writer is
working on right there in the moment. So, what that
0:25:36.640,0:25:43.120
means in practice is I’m a lot more directive,
because I feel like clients won’t listen to me
0:25:43.120,0:25:50.080
unless I’m providing material help. There is so
much crisis all around them, even a low-level
0:25:50.080,0:25:57.120
crisis, that it requires I be just a little more
proactive in how I consult.
Aivaliotis: It has also been fun
0:25:57.920,0:26:07.360
because I got to learn a lot about myself and
how to teach others even when I don’t feel
0:26:07.920,0:26:13.200
super great. It has been really nice to still be
able to consult even though I’m home right now,
0:26:14.240,0:26:21.280
because it gives me the opportunity to still
connect with Whitworth students in a different way.
Kramer: I’ve
0:26:21.280,0:26:26.800
just realized the importance of that nonverbal
communication, because me, like, moving my hands and
0:26:26.800,0:26:33.520
stuff, and waving that around, and to be like “Wow!
this is so good!” or to use my eyebrows and, like,
0:26:33.520,0:26:39.840
light up and surprise, like, that means so much more.
Being in the writing center during COVID, and that
0:26:39.840,0:26:45.920
whole process, has taught me to really work on my
interpersonal skills, to structure it to the client,
0:26:45.920,0:26:52.160
to what they need, and serve them to the best of my
ability, whether that means adapting or whatnot
0:26:52.160,0:26:58.480
even throughout the consultation.
Transition to conclusion.
On-screen, video: Undergraduate consultants speak individual lines directly into the camera. All shots directly against a dark blue/back background.
Lochridge: Consultants are
caregivers.
Pierson: While consulting is both satisfying
0:26:59.040,0:27:07.360
Aivaliotis: and life-giving,
Kapus: even and especially during
a pandemic,
Kramer: we can’t pour from an empty cup.
0:27:09.040,0:27:19.840
Aivaliotis: The COVID-19 pandemic will end,
Shuhda: but there will
be other traumas,
Lochridge: both collective
Kapus: and personal.
0:27:22.080,0:27:26.560
Pierson: Help us reduce cognitive load,
Kramer: by filling the wellness gap.
0:27:29.040,0:27:33.840
Shuhda: Fill the gap.
On-screen, text: Continue this research
On-screen, text: RAD methodologies do not eschew leaning into empirical methods and listening carefully to the lived experiences of consultants.
0:27:46.960,0:27:47.840
Lochridge: Fill the gap.
On-screen, text: Offer opportunities for processing cognitive load.
On-screen, text [appearing one line at a time]: We can’t always reduce cognitive load (make pressures disappear), but we can help consultants process cognitive load by explicitly recognizing and responding to their mental health and wellness concerns through exercises like the Pandemic Wellness Project.
0:28:32.640,0:28:43.840
Pierson: Fill the gap.
On-screen, text : Make space for consultant mental health and wellness as a regular—and significant—part of consultant education theory and practice.
On-screen, text: Humanizing the consultant experience should have as much or more emphasis as professionalizing the consultant experience.
On-screen, text: Create a dialogue between consultant and director: Include mental health reflection as part of daily job duties if educational coursework, staff meeting time, or online modules are not amenable.
On-screen, text: Create a dialogue between consultant and consultant: Organize peer mentorship for ongoing mental health and wellness discussion as well as social bonding occasions that create goodwill among the consultants as a staff.
On-screen, text: Create a dialogue between consultant and self: introduce practices that celebrate the accomplishments and important events in the life of consultants; let them know it’s not only their effectiveness with clients that matter, but also their wellbeing.
0:29:46.560,0:29:47.520
Kramer: Fill the gap.
0:29:50.080,0:29:53.840
Clements: By filling the cup.
0:30:42.400,0:30:42.900
On-screen, text: Works Cited and Consulted
[Each entry shows up as text on an individual screen for approximately 7 seconds]
Dixon, Elise, and Rachel Robinson, editors. Special Issue: (Re)Defining Welcome. The Peer Review, vol. 3, no. 1, 2019. http://thepeerreview-iwca.org/issues/redefining-welcome/.
Giaimo, Genie Nicole, et al. A Matter of Method: Wellness and Care Research in Writing Center Studies. PB Pressbooks, 2020. https://ship.pressbooks.pub/writingcentersandwellness/chapter/chapter-1/.
Johnson, Sarah. “Mindful Tutors, Embodied Writers: Positioning Mindfulness Meditation as a Writing Strategy to Optimize Cognitive Load and Potentialize Writing Center Tutors’ Supportive Roles.” Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, 2018, 24-33. http://www.praxisuwc.com/johnson-152
Mack, Elizabeth, and Katie Hupp. “Mindfulness in the Writing Center: A Total Encounter.” Praxis, vol. 14, no. 2, 2017, pp. 9-14. http://www.praxisuwc.com/mack-and-hupp-142.
Simmons, Erik, et al. “Is Tutoring Stressful?: Measuring Tutors Cortisol Levels.” Writing Lab Newsletter, vol. 44, no. 5-6, pp.18-25. https://wlnjournal.org/archives/v44/44.5-6.pdf.
Wells, J., & Driscoll, D. L. (2020). “Tutoring the Whole Person: Supporting Emotional Development in Writers and Tutors.” Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 16-28. http://www.praxisuwc.com/173-driscoll-wells
All images and videography copyrighted by authors unless otherwise noted.
References
Dixon, E., & Robinson, R. (Eds.) (2019). Special issue: (Re)Defining welcome. The Peer Review, 3(1). http://thepeerreview-iwca.org/issues/redefining-welcome/.
Giaimo, G. N. (Ed.) (2020.) A Matter of Method: Wellness and Care Research in Writing Center Studies. PB Pressbooks. https://ship.pressbooks.pub/writingcentersandwellness/chapter/chapter-1/.
Johnson, S. (2018). Mindful tutors, embodied writers: Positioning mindfulness meditation as a writing strategy to optimize cognitive load and potentialize writing center tutors’ supportive roles. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, 15(2), 24-33. http://www.praxisuwc.com/johnson-152.
Mack, E., & Hupp, K. (2017). Mindfulness in the writing center: A total encounter. Praxis, 14(2), 9-14. http://www.praxisuwc.com/mack-and-hupp-142.
Simmons, E., Miller, L. K., Prendergast, C., & McGuigan, C. (2020). Is tutoring stressful?: Measuring tutors cortisol levels. Writing Lab Newsletter, 44(5-6), 18-25. https://wlnjournal.org/archives/v44/44.5-6.pdf.
Wells, J., & Driscoll, D. L. (2020). Tutoring the whole person: Supporting emotional development in writers and tutors. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, 17(3), 16-28. http://www.praxisuwc.com/173-driscoll-wells
All images and videography copyrighted by authors unless otherwise noted.