Emily+Mooney

=**Emily's page!** =

=
Although I have yet to conduct a session of my own, I did begin shadowing the other returning Writing Center tutors this past week. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and I was skeptical that any of the tips I had read about in class would prove to be very beneficial.======

=
To begin, I walked in and introduced myself to Michelle, the tutor working alongside me. After doing homework for about an hour of my shadowing time, a student, Sally, finally walked in. She was confident and relaxed, which I had not expected. According to many of our class readings and discussions from experienced tutors, most of the students who come to the Writing Center for help are nervous and hesitant, so Sally’s attitude caught me by surprise. She told Michelle that she had been to the center before and needed help on an anthropology paper due at the end of next week. I observed as Michelle and Sally read through one paragraph at a time. After each paragraph, she would pause and ask Michelle simple, open-ended questions about what she meant by certain phrases and helped her talk out her idea in order to help her develop her argument more thoroughly.======

=
At the conclusion of the session, Sally inquired about a type of citation that she had never seen before. Michelle left the table and picked up a sheet nearby with information about different types of citations, each with links to websites that could tell you about each one in more detail. Sally and Michelle then went to the website together briefly.======

=
In response to the only session I shadowed, I was pleasantly surprised that my in-class readings had related so directly to the actual session itself. The tutor covered the main focus and purpose of Sally’s paper, asking her some form of the question “Tell me in a nutshell what your paper is about,” as explained in Rafoth’s section on //Establishing a Focus for the Writing Task//. Michelle assisted Sally in articulating her goals for her paper and in thinking about everything she wanted to say to her readers. In addition to covering these higher order concerns, she also briefly worked with her on lower order concerns, such as the citation help.======

=
Additionally, as discussed in a large number of our readings, Michelle really did work to improve the client’s writing, rather than just her paper. Sally, before beginning the session and out of nowhere, commented on how she had really benefited from reading her paper aloud to someone, and how it helped her to catch her own mistakes. I’m not sure how many times Sally had been to the Writing Center prior to the session that I observed, but it was clear that she was already improving as a writer through her visits at the center. And even more importantly, she realized that she was improving and kept coming back.======

=
Thus, although I only got to shadow one session this week, I was really pleased with what I saw. I was surprised that so many of our readings in class could be so easily relatable to the actual sessions themselves. Additionally, I actually got to see, first hand, how writing center sessions help to improve writers along with their papers.======

February 22,2010
Tonight I had my first session actually working in the Writing Center! I wasn't sure what to expect, and just hoped that I might have just one easy, pleasant session in my two hours of work. I ended up completing about three sessions on my first night! And, although I was a little overwhelmed, I could not have asked for a better way to get started.

My second session of the night was with a sophomore girl, Amanda, who needed help with her application for study abroad. I asked her if she had been to the Writing Center before, and she replied that she hadn’t. I explained the Client Need Form and other workings of the Writing Center to her. However, when I asked her to read her paper out loud, she was very hesitant and seemed uncomfortable with reading it. I kindly encouraged her to do it, for I knew that that was how a proper session was supposed to go.

Once she started reading her paper aloud, I noticed that she began to stutter and struggle with the flow of her own voice. I followed along as she slowly read aloud how the study abroad program in Ireland would be beneficial to her, for she wouldn’t need to learn a new language. She further explained how she had a speech disability that would most likely cause her many challenges if she were to try to learn a new language, in addition to English.

I felt horrible. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t been more sensitive to Amanda’s visible discomfort when I asked her to read her paper aloud. I had no idea that she had a speech disability, or that she probably wasn’t comfortable reading her own paper to me. For the remainder of the session, as we reread her paper and discussed overall organization, she and I alternated reading her paragraphs aloud. I tried my best to make Amanda feel comfortable and remained patient as she worked through her speech disability. Additionally, I felt that since she struggled with getting the words out, the initial purpose of reading aloud – catching some of your own mistakes – was somewhat lost on Amanda. She seemed so concentrated on not making any speech mistakes that she wasn’t focused on her grammatical errors or sentence clarity. In this particular instance, I felt it necessary to read some of the paper aloud for her, in hopes that she might be able to recognize her own mistakes better that way.

This particular session caught me by surprise. We hadn’t really discussed what to do in this type of situation, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. Do I keep having the client read aloud? Or do I read it aloud for her? As I am not all that familiar with speech disabilities, I wasn’t sure what was best for the client in this situation. Is it better to have Amanda read through it at her own pace, or does it create a more comfortable environment for her if I read the paper aloud?

At the time, I thought about Murphy’s “Freud in the Writing Center” article that we had talked about just that day. It discussed how a student-consultant relationship is similar to client-therapist relationships. Murphy stated, “The more genuine and openly communicative the tutor is, the more successful the interaction will be.” In this session with Amanda, it was imperative that I be as openly communicative as possible. At certain times within the session, I asked her if she wanted me to read aloud for a while. I also used “empowering” and “healing words” in order to strengthen my relationship with Amanda, as well as to make her feel more comfortable with me. I tried to make her feel safe and secure, like in a typical client-therapist session, and realized that I needed to be open and accepting of her vulnerability for our session to be successful.

__Kristin’s Response__ Emily: I really enjoyed how you described your first writing center session. My response attempts to answer your question concerning if a student with speech disabilities should read her paper out loud. When the student comes into the writing center, the consultant should ask her if she feels comfortable with reading. If the student seems uncomfortable with reading her paper, maybe the consultant should ask her to describe her paper paragraph by paragraph. The consultant should only read the pieces of the paper aloud for emphasis; I don’t think the consultant should read the whole paper because this takes the control away from the student.

March 1, 2010
On Wednesday of last week, our class discussed Ryan’s article, “The Writers You Tutor.” When I first read the article, I didn’t feel that it was all that beneficial. I didn’t think that I would encounter people with writing anxiety or learning disabilities all that often. However, this past Monday, as my first session began, I realized that the students who come into the Writing Center are more diverse than I had previously thought.

My first session of the night was with a freshman girl named Ursula. She came in with an entire page of typed-up notes on her prompt. However, when I started reading through them, they were difficult to decipher and connect to one another. Her “brainstorming” had direction, but was still in need of a lot of work. After talking to her more I realized that Ursula had to write a fairly long paper (5-6 pages), in which she connected events in a book she had read to more universal principles. The concept of the prompt and the length of the paper completely overwhelmed Ursula. I came to the conclusion, based on Ryan’s article, that she was suffering from writer anxiety. For the remainder of the session, I tried to help her organize some of her more interesting brainstorming ideas, as well as helped her to break down each sub-topic of the paper. As we learned in class, breaking down the assignment into smaller, more manageable parts helps the writer with writing anxiety to not be so overwhelmed.

Overall, I didn’t feel that I had helped her all that much, but I think I did cause that initial spark to get going. Ursula stuck around a while and asked me little questions here and there. In this type of situation, is it alright for a client to stay in the Writing Center and work on a paper? Was it okay for Ursula to sit at one of the back tables and ask me questions again once I was not busy, or should I have sent her away and told her to come back for another separate 30-minute session when she was ready? What is the proper way to handle this type of situation?

---

After I was done with my first session this past Monday night, I observed as Hannah, the returning consultant, took a session with an ESL student. She was writing an essay as part of her transfer application to a different school. From what I gathered by observing, the client did not have difficulty writing in English, but rather was not as proficient in speaking it; thus, her paper was not full of a lot of grammatical errors or all that difficult to understand. Instead, Hannah and the client ran into boundaries when communicating about corrections that should be made or other suggestions.

I observed as the consultant handled the session using various strategies that we had discussed in class the previous week. Just as Ryan discussed in “The Writers You Tutor,” Hannah was kind and made the client feel very comfortable. Often, the student did not understand what Hannah was explaining or asking. In these instances, she restated her questions and remained calm, even when she had to explain concepts multiple times over. At the conclusion of this session, the client was more than pleased! She commented that Hannah was “really good at this stuff,” and left very content about how her paper turned out. Again, in this situation, the strategies we discussed from Ryan’s readings came into play. I realized that diverse writers come into the Writing Center all the time, and they all require a different formula for a session. Although I find it difficult to switch gears between various levels of writers and their needs, I also think the diversity of students is what makes the Writing Center so exciting.

COMMENTS

In response to the questions in the first segment of this reflection, I would say that a client shouldn't be in the writing center after her session is over. I would suggest that in this situation consultants can tell the client to come back from another 30 minute session after they have spent time working on it away from the writing center. Of course, if they are an ESL student and need another thirty minutes straight after a session I think this should be allowed. However when a client sits in the center after and asks questions this could interfere with writing up the forms after a session. After you have written it a client may ask additional questions that you may have needed to put on the form that you sent to their professor. Additionally, if other clients see this happening, they may think they also have the liberty to do this, and we do not want a crowded center.

I like the second segment of your reflection. I do find it exciting that we have diversity. My third writing center session was with an ESL student and I had a great time working with him even though it was difficult to understand him sometimes.

-Jillian

You said that you did not feel like you really helped Ursula. It sounds like you did. From the sessions I have had so far this semester, the number one issue I have faced is organization. Almost all of my clients’ papers have had organization problems. I think the reason for that is writers know their topic and know what they want to say. Writers will start getting their ideas down and have illogical organization patterns that make sense to them. I think writers forget sometimes that their readers do not have as much knowledge and therefore cannot follow their logic patterns. Writers also forget that not everyone has their same thought process. It really seems to help my clients to have a new set of eyes look at the organization of their papers. I think by focusing on organization with your client, you probably helped her out a lot.

As for your question, that is a weird situation to be put into. I think in that situation, you have to politely tell the client to leave, but let the client know he or she can come back and start a new session whenever the client is ready. We do not want other clients’ privacy taken away by students hanging out in the Writing Center. We also do not want students coming to us for every little question. I think if Ursula came back with a question here or there that would not be a big deal. I’ve helped a student before who had a small question about citations. We just do not want students coming in every five minutes with questions.


 * - Michael McFarland**

March 8, 2010
Since I did not have any sessions tonight I am going to just write about the readings. One reading, in particular, that I enjoyed but have yet to discuss on here was "The Assignment Sheet Mystery" article by Anna Kendall in the Writing Lab Newsletter. In fact, both of the articles we've read from the Writing Lab Newsletter have been interesting and presented a refreshing change of pace in comparison to our other readings. In Kendall's article, she discusses the difficulties and frustrations that of hand-in-hand with confusing assignment sheets or prompts. Many times, I have looked at an essay prompt and been completely confused and overwhelmed the first couple of times I glanced over it. I feel that this frustration is commonly occurring, and that solving the Assignment Sheet Mystery is very important.

The article discusses how to de-code the assignment sheet by identifying exactly what it's asking of the writer. It also discusses how identifying "command words," such as //describe//, //explain// or //include//, can help in deciphering the mysterious assignment sheet. As a consultant, I expect to encounter many students who are confused by the assignment itself. And after reading this article, I hope to be able to help them identify the command words, audience and context of the paper. By slowly deciphering the instructions on the assignment sheet, the client and consultant can figure it out together and discuss the best ways to write the paper. Additionally, I think that it is helpful, in these situations, to ask the client about what they've been talking about in class and maybe suggest that they look at their notes, or write down key ideas that apply to the paper. The student has the right tools to write the paper, but often the assignment sheet can be confusing or overwhelming.

Kendall goes on to elaborate several strategies for tutors to use in these instances. She states that tutors can show clients how they would de-code the assignment sheet by identifying key sentences in which the instructor really "directs the student on what and how to compose." I found this advice to continue to further reiterate that the Writing Center is not an editing service, but rather a place where students //learn// how to write more effectively. Additionally, Kendall advised tutors to decipher a student's assignemnt sheet during the session so that they can answer the client's questions as the session progresses. I found this to be beneficial advice that I plan on using in my future sessions. The more familiar I am with a prompt, the more I can help the student. If I have a full understanding of the prompt, I can focus on purpose, audience and context much more easily.

COMMENTS ON OTHER POSTS: 1. Michelle Longo 2. Kristin Pinder

=WIKI 2=

March 16, 2010
This week in the Writing Center, I only experienced one session. A senior, named Kristine, came into the center wanting help on an English paper based off of two books she had read in class. I helped her re-order her paragraphs and assisted in making the introductory and concluding paragraphs a bit clearer. I always become a little bit intimidated when I get clients who are older than me. Although I have already taken higher level English classes and written many papers for them, I still get anxious about the age difference. What is even worse is when the older client comes into the Writing Center with a subject that I am unfamiliar with. Then I get doubly nervous!

“Tutoring in Unfamiliar Subjects,” as discussed by Alexis Greiner in Rafoth’s text, captures the essence of the latter. The article states that when consultants are not experienced in a subject, they should focus on writing aspects rather than content or subject matter of the piece. Often a fresh set of eyes is good for a paper. An outside perspective with no prior knowledge on a subject can do a better job of determining whether the paper is communicating ideas clearly and whether the reader is getting out of the paper exactly what the writer intends. The article also stresses the importance of discovery through conversation and creating ideas through the collaboration of both client and consultant. Often these techniques are much more useful than what a client or consultant could accomplish on their own. On the same note, conversation is key. A consultant should expect more than just one-word answers from a client, while the client should also expect helpful, engaging feedback from the consultant. Regardless of the subject of a student’s paper, a session should contain these types of collaboration and conversations. And lastly, when tutoring in unfamiliar territory, don’t be afraid to trust the client – they know more about the topic than you! Listen to the client and trust their instincts on the paper. Ask them questions if need be, but try to provide limited feedback solely on topic concerns. Focus more on organization, clarity and other writing aspects.

Thus, although I have yet to experience a Writing Center situation in which I am presented with a paper in a subject area I don’t know, I still feel that it is important to be prepared. I feel that after reading this article and having my fellow classmates present on it, I am now a little bit more knowledgeable in how to properly handle and consult a paper on a topic that I know nothing about. I do think that this is a concern that many Writing Center consultants have and, like anything else, will eventually become more comfortable about it with practice.

2) Do you think it's fair to expect clients to be willing to explain their unfamiliar topic to consultants?**
 * 1) What is the //best// consulting strategy to handle a paper written on an unfamiliar subject?

March 17, 2010
Today, our ENG 319 class attended an ENG 110 College Writing class. I had two sessions with students who were working on writing a comparative rhetorical analysis of library sources. Their topic of interest could be anything that they wanted, as long as they used a variety of textbooks, magazines and journal articles, and then focused their paper on comparing these diverse sources.

My first consultation was with a girl named Leigh whose paper needed quite a bit of help. We focused on making sure her sentences made sense, not capitalizing common nouns and organizing her thoughts. Based on her writing style, we focused on more basic aspects of writing. However, my next client only had the first third of her paper completed, but it was nearly flawless. We talked a little about how to properly cite a source within the text of her paper, and I suggested that she add a few more quotations from her list of sources to help build her credibility.

Both of my student writers needed help with their paper and benefited form the session. I left feeling that my first session had gone better, only because I had so many suggestions to give her and her paper could have used a lot more tweaking. My second session was not any less beneficial, just different. My second student wanted reassurance that she was on the right track with her paper and wanted advice on proper citation, grammar and other lower-order topics. It was interesting to see just how diverse an ENG 110 class is in regards to writing skills and levels. With just the two sessions I had, both students represented either side of the broad spectrum of writing talent.

Overall, I felt that the ENG 110 classroom visit was beneficial to both the clients and the new consultants. We each got something out of it and I would insist that ENG 319 students do this again in the future. I think that it helped introduce freshmen to the Writing Center who were unfamiliar with it, or weren't quite sure what to expect. It did a much better job of exposing our services to these writers, more so than just having the teacher mention it a few times, or require their students to go.

2) Do you think that it helped to expose students to the Writing Center in a good way? Do you think the activity left the Writing Center in a positive light to Hlavaty's students?**
 * 1) Did you feel that the ENG 110 classroom visit was beneficial to you as a new consultant?

March 29, 2010
Today in class, we had several assigned readings on grammar. I found the article, "Reporters, Actors, Renters, and Presidents: Grammatical Stories about Real World Writing," by Bonnie Devet to be very entertaining. I wish I had had an English teacher or professor like her! Her approach to grammar transforms a boring topic into one that is stimulating and relatable to the real-world. I think that it's very important to make teaching grammar an enjoyable experience, for its proper usage is essential for paper-writing and success in higher education. As a writer, proper grammar usage improves your ethos tremendously.

However, as writing consultants, we aren't really supposed to focus on grammar technicalities. Instead, we are to look at higher-order concerns like organization, focus and elaborating ideas. So, do the WC consultants have any business focusing on grammar? I think yes. However, it is not important that consultants know everything about grammar usage. Instead, consultants should focus on the areas of grammar that they are strongest in when correcting other students' papers. They should look for patterns in student writing. They should keep an eye out for common mistakes that a student is making and point those out, in hopes that the student will not make future errors. The consultant also is not just supposed to pick out errors, but to use and discuss grammar with clients in order to improve sentence complexity, overall structure and clarity.

Thus, although the Writing Center is not an editing service, grammar will sometimes come up in a session. In these instances, the consultant should focus on common mistakes being made, and teaching the students about how to correct these errors in the future; thus, making the Writing Center more of a collaborative learning process and service instead.

2) Despite the fact that the Writing Center is not an editing service, should grammar ever become the focus in a session?**
 * 1) How do you handle a paper that needs both a lot of higher-order //and// lower-order help?

April 2, 2010
Today in the Writing Center, a girl came in asking me and the other returning consultant if we were familiar with Chicago writing style. We both replied "no," and the returning consultant gave her the Documentation Styles handout. The girl left to go decipher it on her own.

From what I've noticed thus far from working in the Writing Center, almost all students have trouble with citation. Today, we discussed citation generators and their authenticity. For class, we read an article "Database Citation Generators: Generating What, Exactly?" by Susan Mueller in the Writing Lab Newsletter. I, myself, am guilty of using citation generators form time-to-time, but as my professors have started getting a little bit more concerned with students learning how to properly cite on their own, I have resorted to the Purdue OWL. According to Mueller, even Ebsco and ProQuest possess citation generators as part of their services. She points out the differences in the correct citation of an example article and the Ebsco or ProQuest version.Most times, these generators provide incorrect citations, but is a writing tutor any better? Mueller thinks so. She suggests that the consultant first determine the writer's experience level with that style of documentation, and then, show the writer a correct example, using a reference as a teaching tool.

For me, generators aren't the biggest issue. I think, more often than not, students incorrectly cite in their papers, not because they used a faulty generator, but more because they don't know how to do it. As a consultant in the Writing Center, I have gotten many students who come in seeking my help about how to properly cite in a certain format. Often, they struggle with how to properly cite in-text, other times they are completely unfamiliar with a style in a new class. I offer them the Documentation Styles handout, and tell them to go to the Purdue OWL website. IF they have brought in their laptop, I take the time to show them the website and how it works. I've noticed that any little help with citation is appreciated form students, because, at times, it can seem like such an unfamiliar thing. At least for students who come to the Writing Center, we can provide them the help that they need, make them aware of any updates or changes to citation styles, and alert them about the incorrectness of some citation generators.

2) When a student comes in for assistance with a paper //and// citation help, how important is it to focus on their citation needs? Do you usually leave it for last? Do you go to the Purdue OWL website with clients, or do you just hand them the Documentation handout?**
 * 1) Should WC consultants recommend citation generators to clients?

Response: Citation is definitely an issue I have noticed too. It is confusing especially since the format for MLA has recently changed. Some teachers may still not know about the change and you never know when your professor will be extremely picky or not even read the citations. I think the most important part, like our citation basics reading stated is to give credit where it is due. There have been several times when a student will come in to ask a quick citation question and it takes three tutors looking up information on OWL Perdue before we find the answer. The sheet is helpful for students because it teaches them where to go and what to do so they can find the information themselves. This goes along with our Writing Center Goal of making better writers not just better papers. Therefore, I think it is ok to just give them a sheet and let them know they can come back in if they still have trouble. ~Kelly

Below is a link to a website called The Lousy Writer, that, like the Purdue OWL, offers help with punctuations, as well as how-to advice for APA, MLA and Chicago styles.

[]

COMMENTS ON OTHER POSTS: 1. Kristin Pinder -- April 2, 2010 2. Megan Justice -- April 2, 2010

=WIKI 3=

April 12, 2010
After much brainstorming on possible topics of interest, I have finally settled on Dance Therapy as my area of focus for my final project in this class. I want to look at Dance Therapy, its history and how it formed, the balance between psychology and dance to form this type of therapy, the benefits of dance therapy on people with all types of learning disorders, physical illnesses and traumatic pasts, other universities that have a Dance Therapy curriculum, and the process of implementing a new course into a college curriculum. By the conclusion of this project, I hope to have learned all of this information and gathered it into a professional persuasive letter addressed to both the head of the Dance Department and the head of the Psychology Department here at Elon, in hopes of starting a Dance Therapy course in order to introduce undergraduates to this new form of study. As a past dance major, I have a strong feeling that students would be interested in trying out a new way to use their undergraduate Dance degree, especially if they also have an interest in Psychology. I think it is important to always explore your options for the future, and have the opportunity to explore all types of possible career paths.

So far, I have done some preliminary brainstorming, and researched for journal articles on the Internet. I'm struggling the most with exactly what I want to focus on, how I'm going to acquire the information necessary in order to make a valid claim to the Psychology and Dance departments, and how exactly to organize my research. I know that I have a diverse collection of topics to focus on, I'm just struggling with sifting through it and only focusing on what truly pertains to what I need to be focusing on. I find all of the case studies done on people with abusive pasts, learning disorders or other illnesses to be very interesting, but I'm not sure if this information is all that pertinent to what I need to be looking at. I've found it challenging to find information on how to implement a new course or discipline into a college curriculum, as well as struggled to find all that many universities in existence that have some form of Dance Therapy course or focus. Additionally, because Dance Therapy is still a fairly "cutting-edge" form of therapy, not as much information is published on it yet.

I will continue working to find more articles pertaining to Dance Therapy, as well as set up interviews with the head of the Dance and Psychology departments to talk to them about their interest in possibly implementing this new, combined course.

2) What topics most spark your interest about my topic? Do you feel that a Dance Therapy class would be beneficial to Dance and/or Psychology majors?**
 * 1) Do you have any other suggestions about where else could I look for information on Dance Therapy? Do you have any other suggestions about who I could talk to about this topic besides the department heads?

April 18, 2010
After this weekend, I have found around 16 or 17 articles pertaining to a variety of aspects pertaining to Dance/Movement Therapy. I have a handful of articles on the importance of Dance Therapy in other nations around the world, a couple pertaining to Dance/Movement Therapy training, and many on Dance Therapy research regarding people with both mental and physical illnesses. I would like to explore more graduate school sites that specialize in Dance/Movement Therapy. I have found it difficult to find many articles pertaining to Dance/Movement Therapy outside of the //American Journal of Dance Therapy//. All articles seem to come form this singular journal, and I just want more of my sources to come from a variety of authors and scholarly journals. I did find two websites, the American Dance Therapy Association, and the Health Professions Network Organization. Both sites discuss Dance/Movement Therapy, its history and the requirements for becoming an arts therapist.

Additionally, I have emailed the head of the Psychology and Dance departments here, and have only heard back from one. I would like to use my interviews with both of them as sources, too. I would like my list of final sources to be as diverse as possible, in order to strengthen my argument towards implementing this class into Elon's curriculum. I also think it would be interesting to interview current Elon undergraduate students in the Dance and Psychology disciplines about their interest in taking a Dance/Movement Therapy class. Lastly, I would also like to find more sources regarding the specific Dance/Movement Therapy undergraduate classes offered at other universities. I have many plans for my final list of sources, even though my annotated bibliography will most likely only include online journal articles and websites.


 * 1) What other types of sources would be beneficial to use, in addition to the ones I've mentioned?**
 * 2) Do all of the article types that I have mentioned pertain to my research?**

April 19, 2010
I have been putting a lot of thought into the actual Dance/Movement Therapy course that I would like to see implemented into Elon's class catalog in future years. I want the class to be an elective for both Dance and Psychology majors and minors, as well as other students that are interested in taking it. I think that the class would best be taught with two professors, one Psychology professor who specializes in psychoanalysis and clinical therapy, as well as a Dance faculty member who has experience with Dance/Movement Therapy techniques, research and training. I do not see the class acting as a form of Dance/Movement Therapy experience for the students who need it, but rather as both an educational environment in which the students learn about the benefits of this form of therapy on those who struggle with Parkinson's, test anxiety, abuse, and other ailments, as well as a more hands-on experience in which the students actually participate in some of the Dance/Movement practices and exercises. Thus, part of the class would take place in a classroom, and the other half would take place in a dance studio space. The purpose of the class would be to introduce students, at the undergraduate level, to Dance/Movement Therapy as a possible career path. The class would offer Psychology and Dance majors the opportunity to become more familiar with a course of study in their fields that they may have never thought of before. Just as with any other elective, this class would highlight a specific area of the Psychology and Dance disciplines that has not yet been thoroughly studied, and could provide some students with future arts therapy careers.

2) Do you think that adding this course into Elon's curriculum would be worthwhile?**
 * 1) What other aspects of the Dance/Movement Therapy course would you like to see be implemented?

Kelly’s Comment: Emily, I absolutely love this idea! I did not even know dance could be a form of therapy. It sounds like it would be a really interesting class. I think it would be a great addition to Elon’s curriculum too. If you are serious about implementing it as a class though you should take Elon’s budget into consideration. Two teachers for one class is pretty expensive. However, I do see the importance of having two parts to this class because I think to fully understand the therapy techniques students will need to practice the dance part as well as study why it is therapeutic. Perhaps you could suggest a psychology teacher and a TA who is a dance major. I can’t wait to hear more about it. Good luck!

April 26, 2010
After completing my annotated bibliography and getting feedback from both my peers and Paula, I was emailed **many** Elon Psychology teachers, as well as two dance faculty members. The Dance professors were more than willing to meet and discuss the topic with me, but almost all of the Psychology professors seemed hesitant to meet with me to talk about a topic that was not their area of expertise. I then emailed Dr. Eric Hall in the Exercise Sports Science department, and he agreed to meet with me on Wednesday. He, too, admitted that Dance/Movement Therapy was not really in his area of specific knowledge, but as an Exercise Sports Science professor, I think it would be worth a try to talk with him.

Additionally, as a suggestion of one of the Psychology professors, I plan on looking through the scholarly books and articles written on Dance/Movement Therapy, and hopefully looking into any undergraduate or graduate program professors outside of Elon to email. I'm not entirely confident that I will get a reply from any, but it would be really helpful to gain some information from an expert, or another professor involved in a Dance/Movement Therapy program. Since this form of therapy seems to be so foreign to professors at this school, I don't think it would hurt to do some research elsewhere. That way, I could ask questions pertaining to how their DMT program works, and what is required of a Dance Therapy course at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. After (hopefully) hearing back from these more experienced people, I will gain much more valuable knowledge about implementing a course at Elon, as well as knowledge about Dance/Movement Therapy training and education in general. I then can use these emails and interviews as key sources in my research!

2) What key questions would you want to hear their answers to?
 * 1) Will emailing a professor at another university be beneficial to my sources?

Comments:**

I think it would be very beneficial to email professors at other universities and not just because Elon’s professors are being a little hesitant. I think interviewing professors at other universities will widen your research’s perspective. For example, I’m sure the dance and psychology departments at UNC do not have the exact same opinions on dance therapy as Elon’s departments. It might be really beneficial to email a professor at a university who has a real expertise in dance therapy. That kind of interview could be great for your research.

I think the main question I would want to hear a professor, who has an expertise in dance therapy, to answer would be what are the main pros and cons of dance therapy compared to other types of therapy? I would also be interested to hear a dance therapy professor talk about the popularity of dance therapy. Why is dance therapy not a popular study at all university psychology and dance departments? - Michael McFarland

Comment:

I would definitely email a professor at another university. I do this all the time for my newspaper articles and I am always genuinely surprised at how excited and open other professors are. They are always really excited I called and can't wait to help me and answer all my questions- sometimes a lot more excited and helpful than Elon professors. If you talk to a professor who is already running a major like the one you recommend, I think that could really help strengthen your article. After all, what is better evidence than the continued success of the same program is a school similar to Elon's. That would have to strike a resounding cord with the people you are going to write to. Good luck! - Michelle Longo.

I like the idea of getting varied responses from a bunch of different view points and sources, like the professors at other universities thing everyone seems to be hooking on. It's always beneficial to get the opinions of a lot of different people involved in any one topic because it not only opens eyes to alternate ideas, but also serves as a really pertinent way to strengthen one's own viewpoint with points from another, be it in argument or simply informational pieces like we're writing. Good luck with the emails! -Mike Milano

COMMENTS ON OTHER POSTS: 1. Megan Justice -- April 26, 2010 2. Kelly Robinson -- April 26, 2010