Parent tutor and student learner interactions during writing conferences in a second-grade classroom

This study investigated what interactions occurred between parent volunteers and students during writing conferences. Using a qualitative research design, a content analysis was performed on the video taped writing conferences that took place between the parent volunteers and students over the course of 12 weeks. From the data emerged a number of hypotheses regarding the types of interactions that occurred between the parent volunteers and students as they conferenced about the students\u27 writing. The five interactions that occurred, either singularly or combined, were (a) Comfort Level, (b) Accessing Knowledge, (c) Mentoring, (d) Audience, and (e) Out of Role Behavior. As the students and parents began to conference, a Comfort Level was established through the parents\u27 use of conversation and body language. After the Comfort Level was established, the students and parent volunteers could engage in interactions in which the parents helped the students Access Knowledge, acted as a Mentor, or acted as an Audience. The needs of the students during each conference determined which type of interaction took place. Despite participating in training and being informed of the role they were to play, some parents engaged in Out of Role Behaviors. The study revealed that both the parent volunteers and students came to the writing conferences with expectations and an image of themselves as writers