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
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First of all, I'd like to thank you, Brian, for giving me a heads up as to what would be expected of me during class. As we all know I have a tendency to open up my big mouth at inappropriate times. Your warning helped me to tether in my opinions and instead listen. I think this communication will be vital in the upcoming weeks.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'd like to say that I feel this process, while still in the early stages, has given me the opportunity to really get to know my students better. Seeing them in a class context gave me a more dynamic view of their learning style and writing abilities. Most importantly though it gave me insight in to the workings of the instructor. It's very helpful to understand where she's coming from, what she's covering in class and what she believes is important for this class. This gave my tutoring a lot more direction and helped me to tie in classroom activity to the tutoring sessions.
On the whole, I predict only positive outcomes to this endeavor. It allows communication between all parties, and unites the writing and learning experiences in both a classroom environment as well as a tutoring environment.
-Alicia Allyn Bobcheck