CWP Tutoring Programme

The Centre for Writing and Pedagogy runs a peer tutoring programme as part of Krea’s work-study initiative for students. Students from the second year onwards are hired to tutor students of the Writing and Oral Communication (WOC) course.

Tutors are assigned to particular students in order to provide them reading support and writing feedback. This may involve working intensively with students as well as acting as a bridge between student and instructor. Tutors are trained for this role, and meet regularly with the Tutoring Coordinator and each other for feedback and support.

The tutoring programme adds to the layers of support that students can access during WOC, aside from their own course instructors. Students have one-on-one meetings with and help from peers who have successfully completed the course. Tutors learn important skills of reading and reviewing student work, identifying strengths and areas for improvement, and working with their peers to put ideas for improvement into practice.

The tutoring programme also arranges for students to meet up with conversation partners. Conversation partners are Krea students who volunteer to chat with their peers for upto an hour a week. These are unstructured conversations, which do not have to involve coursework. These allow students to practice their conversation skills in a safe and supportive environment. They have also been a way for students to connect with their peers despite not being together on the Kea campus.

WOC students interested in working with a tutor or conversation partner should contact the tutoring coordinator, or their individual course instructor.

The tutoring coordinator for 2021-22 is Sameer Thomas, available at [email protected]

CWP Conference

Online and Downloadable

As part of the CWP’s interest in the role of tutors in teaching and instruction, a panel on tutoring was held during the CWP conference Online and Downloadable in Feb 2021. Recordings of the panel are available here.

Hear from Past Tutors

Tutors Speak

Tutoring students from my favorite skills course was, simply put, memorable. It was super challenging, but equally fun to help the students ink their ideas and points of analysis effectively. To be on the other side of the classroom, alongside the instructors, and be a part of a student's growth in the course was incredibly gratifying, and I'm so thankful to the CWP and Prof. Sameer for this opportunity!

Kaustav MehtaStudent Tutor, Writing and Oral Communications, 2020

Being a tutor was a really enriching and exciting experience. I was really glad to have the opportunity to help people with their writing, which in turn helped me improve my writing as well. It was a joy working the instructors and the team at CWP, and getting a glimpse at the other side of the teaching process.

Ishita PradeepStudent Tutor, Writing and Oral Communications, 2020

Shreya HegdeStudent Tutor, Writing and Oral Communications, 2020

Current Tutors

Tutoring coordinator

Prof Sameer Abraham Thomas has been a Faculty Associate at the Centre for Writing and Pedagogy, Krea University since 2019. He has an MPhil in English Literature from the University of Delhi. At Krea, he has taught courses on Writing and Oral Communication and Literature and the Arts, and has also coordinated the first student tutor programme for the Writing and Oral Communication course in the 2020-21 academic year.

Sameer Abraham ThomasTutoring coordinator, Centre for Writing and Pedagogy (CWP)

Head conversation partner programme

Pritha Chakrabarti is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing at the Centre for Writing and Pedagogy, KREA University. Prior to this, she taught writing, research methods, media theory, journalism and film studies at various institutes of Symbiosis International (deemed university). She has conducted several workshops on academic writing, often in collaboration with her CWP colleagues, for research scholars, students and teachers at University of Hyderabad, Ambedkar University, Delhi, GITAM University, Hyderabad, Sanskrit College and University, Kolkata, etc. At present, she also serves as a resource person for Oxford University Press to conduct webinars on “Creative Pedagogy” for school teachers. Before venturing into academia, Pritha has been a journalist with the Times of India and has over six years of experience creating content in the media industry. She has a PhD in Cultural Studies from the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad and has been researching the intersection of caste, class, labour, gender and nationalism with Indian cinema, screendance and performing arts. Some of her works have been published in journals like Studies in South Asian Film and Media (2020) and South Asian History and Culture (2017) and as a chapter in the edited volume, Popular Cinema in Bengal: Genre, Stars, Public Cultures (2020). Her current research interest lies in the study of digital media, critical pedagogy and online education and as a writing instructor, her heart lies in discovering different reading strategies and using writing as a tool for analysis.

Pritha ChakrabartiVisiting Assistant Professor of Writing, Centre for Writing and Pedagogy (CWP)

Sayantan Datta is a Faculty Teaching Associate at the Centre for Writing and Pedagogy, Krea University. Originally trained as a neuroscientist, they now dip their feet in science writing, communication and journalism. Their current work critically evaluates science and science practice in India, and lies at an intersection of science, caste, gender, sexuality and health. They are also interested in investigating the relationship between close-reading of scientific texts and how that can lead to new scientific questions as well as insights. Their writing has appeared in various forums, some of which include Scientific American, The Wire, Economic and Political Weekly, IndiaBioScience.org, TheLifeofScience.com and The Swaddle. They have also published in peer-reviewed journals, and their recent book chapter, Finding (Homo)Sexuality in the Genome: A Critique of Genetic Investigations on Sexuality, has been published in Sexuality, Abjection and Queer Existence in Contemporary India, a volume edited by Pushpesh Kumar and published by Routledge. They have also been invited to give public talks at various forums, including the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Ashoka University, Microsoft, Anveshi Centre for Women’s Studies, DE Shaw and Co, and the University of Hyderabad. They are also a part of the feminist multimedia science collective, TheLifeofScience.com and a committee member at queer/disrupt at the University of Warwick. One can read more about them and what they have written at sayantanspins.com.

Sayantan DattaAssistant Professor, Centre for Writing and Pedagogy (CWP)