RESULTS OF LAB USAGE PATTERN STUDY
During both the 2002-2003
semesters, a complete record of usage was maintained for the English tutoring
service in the Hickory Ridge walk-in lab (Fall 2002) and CLC (Spring
2003). The results have implications
for future funding, training, and marketing initiatives.
Methodology
At the beginning of the Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 terms, a notebook
filled with blank log sheets was placed on the table at the English tutoring
station in the walk-in lab. English
tutors were instructed on the purpose of the log and the importance of entering
data consistently and accurately. The
log sheets consisted of the following headings:
1) Student name
2)
Date/time
3)
Course
4)
Instructor name
5)
Skills tutored
6)
Tutor name
7)
ESL status
As the semester progressed,
data from the log sheets were compiled in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. To simplify the process of data analysis, I
coalesced the skills-tutored entries into several general categories:
prewriting, thesis, topic sentence, organization, development, and
grammar. For all entries that did not
fall under these major category headings, I used the skill descriptions
supplied by the tutors. Time data were
entered into the spreadsheet based on the hour in which the conference
began. Otherwise, all data were entered
verbatim from the log.
In addition to the logbook
entries, Accutrack software was also used to measure walk-in lab and CLC use
during the 2002-2003 term. This
application is valuable for instructors who wish to monitor lab use by
particular students; however, at present, Accutrack does not track English
conferences to the degree of specificity that the handwritten log yields.
Accutrack does provide
valuable data on overall use of the CLC.
Below is a summary of Accutrack data on CLC lab use during the Spring
2003 term:
1)
Number of unique CLC users: 605
2)
Total number of CLC visits: 3446
3) Total hours of CLC use: 3150
Results
The logbook data reveal patterns of lab use
throughout the semester. Results are
presented in terms of the following categories:
1) Overall number of
conferences
2) Usage trends, by week
3) Usage trends, by day of
the week
4) Usage trends, by hour
5) Usage trends, by skills
tutored
6) Usage trends, by course
7) Usage trends, by tutor
8) Usage trends, by
instructor
9) Usage trends, by ESL
status
The results from the present study will also
be useful for purposes of comparative analysis with regard to the fall and
spring terms as well as subsequent semesters.
Overall
number of conferences
A total of 646
conferences were entered into the logbook for the Fall 2002 term. This figure treats multiple conferences by
the same student as unique entries. The
number of conferences decreased during the Spring 2003 term by eight to
638. The move of the service to the new
Instructional Lab Building likely affected the slight reduction in use during
Spring 2003.
The totals for Fall 2001 and Spring 2002 were 709
and 750, respectively. Several unfilled
slots in the Fall 2002 tutoring schedules contributed to the decrease in the
overall number of conferences for the Fall 2002 semester. During the Fall 2002 term, 4 1/2 hours were
unstaffed, leaving the lab staffed with tutors for 51 1/2 person hours/week.
During the Spring 2003 term, the CLC fully staffed
for 52 hours per week, including two tutors between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Monday through Thursday, for a total of 60 person hours per week.
Usage trends, by week
The first two
weeks of lab operation (during the second and third weeks of the fall and
spring semesters) yielded the fewest number of conferences (n = 5 and 23,
respectively). Usage peaked at 87 conferences during the 7th week of
the fall semester and at 75 during the 14th week of the spring semester (the
last week of lab operation). Fall 2002
and Spring 2003 weekly lab usage data are shown in below in Figure 1 and
Figure 2.
Usage
trends, by day of the week
Since we began
tracking tutoring use, the general trend has been for use to be highest on
Mondays and decline gradually throughout the remainder of the week. With one exception, the Fall 2002 and Spring
2003 terms replicated this trend.
During the Fall
2002 term, Mondays yielded 198 conferences.
The number of conferences declined sequentially throughout the course of
the week, culminating in 62 conferences on Fridays. Usage trends for Fall 2002, by day of the week, are shown in Figure
3.
During the Spring
2003 term, Mondays yielded 150 conferences.
However, the spring term yielded an atypical pattern of weekly use. The first four days of the week yielded nearly
equivalent numbers of conferences: Tuesdays (n=149), Wednesdays (n=135), and
Thursdays (n=143). The number of conferences declined dramatically on Fridays
(n=56). Usage trends for Spring 2003,
by day of the week, are shown in Figure 4.
Usage
trends, by hour
The three hours
that yielded the highest number of conferences during the Fall 2002 term were
12:00 p.m. (n = 76), 11:00 a.m. (n = 69), and 2:00 p.m. (n=58). During the Spring 2003 term, the three hours
that yielded the highest number of conferences were 11:00 a.m. (n=81), 12:00
p.m. (n=72), and 10:00 a.m. (n=63).
The sums of the three highest hourly slots during
the Fall 2002 term (n=202) and Spring 2003 term (216) were significantly lower
than the three highest hourly slots during the Spring 2002 term (n = 299) and
Fall 2001 term (n = 329). Scheduling
gaps likely contributed to this reduction.
The three hours that yielded the lowest number of
conferences during the Fall 2002 term were 8:00 p.m. (n=9), 6:00 p.m. (n=17),
and 7:00 p.m. (n=24). The lowest hourly
slots during Spring 2003 term were 8:00 p.m. (n=11), 9:00 a.m. (n = 31), and
7:00 p.m. (n = 35). The sum of the
three lowest hourly slots during the Fall 2002 term (n=50) and Spring 2003 term
(n=77) compare as follows with the equivalent three slots during the previous
two semesters: Spring 2002 term (n = 92) and Fall 2001 term (n = 54). During Fall 2002 and Spring 2003, no slot
yield results low enough to merit a schedule change.
Complete usage
trends, by hour, for Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 are shown in Figure 5 and
Figure 6.
Usage trends, by skills
tutored
As mentioned
previously, skills-tutored data were coalesced into major categories, where
applicable. The 10 major categories
were grammar, organization, development, thesis, prewriting, editing,
conclusion, topic sentence, diction, and content. For Fall 2002, grammar (n = 216), organization (n = 155), and
thesis (n = 65) were the frequently tutored skills. For Spring 2003, organization (n =217), grammar (n = 171), and
thesis (n = 105). This is the first semester in which grammar
has not been the most frequent skills-tutored category. One can infer from this that CLC tutors are
increasingly taking a global approach to the work of the students whom they
tutor. Usage trends, by skills tutored,
are shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8.
Usage trends, by course
The four courses
that yielded the highest number of conferences during the Fall 2002 were ENGL
101 (n = 183), ENGL 102 (n = 150), ENGL 097 (n = 138), and ENGL 087 (n =
18). The four courses that yielded the
highest number of conferences during the Spring 2003 term were ENGL 101 (n =
195), ENGL 102 (n = 155), ENGL 097 (n = 108), and ENGL 087 (60). Predominant usage trends, by course, are
shown for Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 in Figure 9 and Figure 10.
Note on lab use by developmental students:
In addition to the
significant number of conferences by ENGL 097 students in Fall 2002 (n = 138)
and Spring 2003 (n = 108), students from other developmental courses ( ENGL
094, ENGL 096, and ENGL 096/097) participated in English conferences in the CLC
as well.
Collectively, developmental
students comprised 23.6 % (n = 153) of all users of the CLC English tutoring
service during the Fall 2002 term and 20.5% (n = 131) during the Spring 2003
term. As in previous academic years,
this decrease from fall to spring is primarily the result of an overall
reduction in developmental students in the spring term.
Note on lab
use by students enrolled in ESL courses:
Among students enrolled in courses
specifically designed for individuals with ESL backgrounds, usage of the
walk-in lab English tutoring service during the Fall 2002 term was as follows:
ENGL 087 (n = 18), ENGL 086 (n = 1), ENGL 085 (n =1), ENGL 084 (n = 5) and ENGL
083 (n = 4). Comparable figures for
Spring 2003 were ENGL 087 (n = 60), ENGL 085 (n =2), ENGL 084 (n = 9), and ENGL
083 (n = 1).
Collectively, students enrolled in
ESL courses comprised 4.4 % (n=29) of all users of the CLC English tutoring
service during the Fall 2002 semester and 11.2% (n = 72) during the Spring 2003
semester.
The overall number of students with
ESL backgrounds who used the service while enrolled in all English courses is
discussed later in this section of the report.
Usage trends, by tutor
The six tutors who held conferences with the
greatest number of students during the Fall 2002 term were as follows: N.
Mooney (n = 67), W. Lowe (n = 49), A. Wood (46), J. Treibman (n = 39), M.
Ramsey (n = 37), and R. Allen-Klein (n
= 27).
The six tutors who held
conferences with the greatest number of students during the Spring 2003 term
were as follows: A. Lloyd (n = 104), J. Hansen (n = 56), A. Wood (46), J.
Kohl-Collier (n = 40), T. Lepp (n = 39), and D. Kross (n = 34).
Usage trends, by instructor
The six instructors whose students participated in
the greatest number of walk-in lab conferences during the Fall 2002 term were
as follows: W. Lowe (n = 49), E. Vifansi (n = 41), P. Walton (n = 39), B.
Hubinger (n = 39), P. Becker (n = 36), and J. Kohl-Collier (n = 31).
The six instructors whose students participated in
the greatest number of walk-in lab conferences during the Spring 2003 term were
as follows: P. Becker (n = 59), A. Yongue (n = 41), E. Vifansi (n = 36), S.
Hoffman-Blum (n = 34), B. Hubinger (n = 34), and W. Lowe (n = 34). During both Fall 2002 and Spring 2003, four
of the top six instructors were full-time faculty.
Usage trends, by ESL status
The numbers in this section access the ESL status of
CLC users throughout the sequence of English courses.
Students with ESL backgrounds comprised 58.3 % (n =
377) of all CLC English tutoring service users during the Fall 2002 term. Native speakers of English comprised 39.3 %
(n = 254) of all CLC English tutoring service users during the Fall 2002
term. The remaining 2.4 % (n = 15)
consisted of students whose ESL status was not clarified in the log.
During the Spring 2003 term, students with ESL
backgrounds comprised 61.3 % (n = 391) of all CLC English tutoring service
users. Native speakers of English
comprised 36.4 % (n = 232) of all CLC English tutoring service users during the
Spring 2003 term. The remaining 2.3 %
(n = 15) consisted of students whose ESL status was not clarified in the log.
Figure 11and Figure 12 show lab use, by ESL status,
for Fall 2002 and Spring 2003, respectively.
Analysis
The walk-in lab English
tutoring service was staffed for a schedule of 51 1/2 hours and 55 1/2
person-hours per week during the Fall 2002 semester. The lab was staffed with two English tutors at the peak hour of
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. All other slots were staffed with one English tutor. Adjusting for holiday reductions, tutors
were available for conferences in the lab for 633 person hours and provided a
total of 646 individual conferences.
This figure exceeds of our goal of a minimum of one conference per
person hour staffed; the ratio of conferences/person hours improved to
100.02/100, up from 87/100 in the Fall 2001 term and 92/100 during the Spring
2002 term.
During the Spring 2003
semester, CLC English tutoring was staffed for 52 hours per week, including two
tutors between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, for a total of
60 person hours per week. Tutors were
available for conferences in the CLC for 780 person hours and provided a total
of 638 conferences. This represents a
reduction in the conferences/person hour ration to 82/100. A plausible explanation for this decline is
the relocation of the English division to the ILB. In no longer sharing lab space with the math division, the CLC
can expect to experience a slight reduction in student traffic. In addition, students needed time to become
oriented to the location of the CLC in the new building.
During the 2003-2004
academic term, we should continue efforts to promote the CLC tutoring service
to full-time and adjunct English faculty. Student surveys conducted in the
previous academic year identified classroom instructors as the most significant
factor in encouraging CLC English tutoring service use. Consequently, the best way to increase CLC
usage is to increase direct promotion of the service to students by
instructors.