Recap: Weeks 2 and 3

Very sorry for the lapse in postings. Following the assignments has been fairly easy since the majority of my weekly appointments are from Pegeen's class. I find that very little time each session is devoted to reviewing the previous week's work or re-reading the assignment, which is helpful.

Week 2 I sat in on the Thursday class and listened to the group revision discussion. I appreciated being invited to watch this process because it gave me further insight into what Pegeen's goals were for the class and it also allowed me to see how the writers were responding to her teaching style. After watching the group discussion I mirrored some of Pegeen's techniques in the cubicle, which the writers responded to positively.

After the group revision Pegeen broke up the writers into small groups to finish the revision process for everyone's essays. I was placed with three writers and Pegeen asked me to offer feedback on each essay. This proved to be a bit difficult because there was not much time available to give a full reading to each paper. Furthermore, when it came to sharing our views on the writing, I felt a bit pressed for time and ultimately had to provide bullet point-style feedback, which I do not like to do. The writers heard what the strengths and weaknesses were in their essays but we did not get to fully discuss how to begin the revision process. No doubt this was most likely covered with Pegeen in class, but I would have liked to give full feedback to each writer as well.

I feel very positive and optimistic about the program from my sessions in week 3. I noticed considerable revisions in some of the writers' final essays with better understanding of why they made their decisions on the page.

My only concerns are with the small group work. I felt a bit uncomfortable that Thursday when I attended class because I was alone and only one group of writers was able to meet with me. I know that scheduling has been difficult but I feel that a second tutor would provide more balance to the tutor-student dynamic in class. Also, the limited time affected the quality of feedback I was able to provide the writers. If possible I would like to sit in on the entire class so that my presence is not viewed as a disruption and there is no need to brief me on what the class has been working on before I arrive. This might also provide more time for feedback as well.

-Brian

Week 4

I know we are supposed to be posting every week to talk about our experiences in the classroom, but the reason why I personally have not been posting is because I haven't been in the classroom since the first day of school. Unfortunately, the people going into the classroom on Tuesdays are not scheduled to come in as often, which has proven to be a disadvantage during the sessions with my student from the class. There have been a few times when the student has tried to explain to me what they did during class, or what Pegeen expected the class to do with their assignments. The student didn't fully understand it herself in the first place, which in turn confused me as well when she tried to relay it back. I often feel that my sessions are not as successful due to my absence in the classroom, and that I could have better serviced my student if I had been there to understand the expectations of them.

I really love the idea of this program, and I loved going into the classroom on the first day getting to know the dynamic of the class. I hope that maybe something will be amended to the schedule so that the Tuesday people will get more of a chance to sit in on the classroom and get to know the students. I look forward to seeing everyone for the meeting on Wednesday!

Casey

First Week

Aside from the Timetrade mishap I think the first week of in-class tutoring went well. Meeting at the pre-semester meeting was very helpful, however there were a few moments this week where I was a bit unclear about the process.
It was wonderful meeting Pegeen's Tuesday morning class and listening to the explanation of the syllabus. This overview gave me a good idea of the course goals, which I feel will be beneficial to my tutoring sessions this semester. I was able to meet with two students after sitting in on the first class and our sessions mainly consisted of brainstorming and discussing what success meant to them. Getting the essay started was difficult for them, so we mainly wrote outlines and rough drafts of the reflection.
When Thursday came I was a bit unsure what I was supposed to do in class that day. Nita also said that she wanted to send another tutor with me and suggested that Kendra accompany me and become part of this project. When we arrived at the morning class Pegeen briefly explained the revision process to Kendra and I and gave us a copy of the student writing we would be reviewing in class. After the students read their papers aloud I was a bit unsure how much Pegeen wanted Kendra and I to contribute to the discussion. I recalled Pegeen mentioning at the pre-semester meeting that the tutors would be contributing to group discussions so I felt it was expected of Kendra and I to contribute. When I felt that the conversation was losing steam I offered my opinion hoping to keep the momentum going. I commented once on two different pieces and I think Kendra commented once on another. Listening to Pegeen's instructions for the revising process was helpful, especially since she wanted to emphasize that the goal was to make the second draft different, not necessarily better than the first one.
After class Pegeen told Kendra and I that she wanted the tutors to mainly observe during these group readings for the first part of the semester and maybe gradually begin contributing. She also wanted Kendra and I to pass the word along to all of the tutors to be aware of the "different, not necessarily better" rule for this first essay.
After sitting in on the class I met with one of the writers and we mainly focused on defining the difference between an accomplishment and a success. I stressed that once they had decided upon that they would know whether or not to continue writing about this same topic, re-tell the situation from a different point of view and so on. The concept of writing a "different" essay came up when the writer proposed different points of view to tell the story from and I questioned whether or not those other points of view would differ much from that in the first draft. At the end of the session the writer still had many questions but knew what to do in order to start the next draft.

I suppose for the upcoming weeks I would like to know ahead of time when the tutors are allowed to contribute to the group discussions, in order to avoid the confusion of this first week. When that time comes it might be good for the tutors to meet with Pegeen ahead of time to share our views and be sure we're on the same page. Other than that I am very excited about this project.

-Brian

1st day

Brian and I got through the first day of the program with a little bit of frustration due to a Timetrade issue. That aside, it really seems like the semester will go smoothly. Pegeen really seems to want to involve the tutors directly and is keeping us well informed. Despite that little issue with Timetrade, I'm pretty optimistic right now.

Just checkin' it out...

I can't believe I remembered my old password. Yea! for not having to create a new one.