observation tutor session ( 3 sessions in 1)

1) The miscommunication
my tutoring session with the tutor actually did not got go as planned...but i learned more. I planned to meet him at his 4 o'clock session but because i was on campus early then anticipated i just went to the learning center to do my won personal work. I ran into the tutor  and made sure he knew what i was here for and he told me he had a session for 3:30 and 4. So i casually chose my seat next to where he was going to be tutoring. I did not here everything that was said in that 30 min session between him and the student but i could tell there was some confusion and frustration . When she finally left i asked the tutor what was the problem that she came in for. This was an intentional student who wanted a more in depth information to help with her paper about the 3 branches of government. She came for structure of the paper but they couldn't get to that part due to the information she was lacking ( i learned there are some things that , when asked a question, you really don't know the answer for and there for).

2) The no-show
when it came to our actual session the tutee never came so this opened up the floor for questions and dialogue between us. I asked him what he typically has problems with and he said the major factor is  the language barrier, and i told him some of my ways and ideas on how to over come those obstacles. I heard of translating conversations back and forth through your phone so those of another language can understand, he said that can help. I also asked him since sessions are typically 30 min how much can be done in that short window span and he said if it is just and editing job a lot can be done, he also informed my that In the learning center they are allowed to mark a students paper if that is what they want done. He also told me that sometimes students try to get over on them and ask if they would do the rewrite for them saying "isn't that what you do" and he said that you have to be stern with them. Even though we are all around the same age or older this is still our job and we don't get paid for that kind of "help". There was also another instance where a student he was tutoring asked if he could help out his friend to on the side on her paper, but he had to remind him that if the tutee would sent up an appointment he would gladly help. He was basically telling me there is a line of professionalism when helping the students. That a writing tutor can only help but so much at the end of the day.

3) Third times the charm
Lastly he had a 4:30 appointment that walked in and who needed a read through and edit of a paper she wrote for a psych class involving suicide rates and methods of particular age groups. She didn't need much correcting as to lengthening the paper. Adding more details of her own to support the information she found, context. The tutor even asked me for my opinion on any suggested she could use for the paper. There body language was facing towards each other, they were both engaged in the process and she asked a lot of questions. and she brought in a hard copy of the paper for which to edit from (most times students bring either their laptops or ipads for which to work from). This session was very successful. He taught me that this is the STUDENTS session so don't over power them , even if they may not even know what kind of help they need. Work with them.

Overview: Out of this whole experience i can relate it more to Chapter 3 of the Bedford for Writing Tutors. The tutor went through all the steps especially with "giving the students control over the paper" because after all it is there paper not yours and their voice should resonate through that, which also implies to ESL writers about "Avoiding Appropriation" "the more control the tutor, teacher, or editor has over the writer's text, the greater is the likelihood of appropriation" (pg, 54). Also structure is good when tutoring, kind of like having a lesson plan. Started off with an objective that the Tutee wants to go over will help with the flow of conversation and also help control the amount of time you'll have together. The way Chp 3 describes how a tutoring session goes is almost like a partner ship and that was what i had seen in the 3rd session with the Tutor.

first field report

Andrea and Asia

1) a list specific questions that you want to be on the look-out for during your observation,

-          First explain to me what i am about to read (what is this topic about..)

-          What is the criteria of the paper (rules, guidelines)

-          What is the professor looking for (did they give any examples of what they are looking for)

-          What kind of class is this for (subjects call for different type of paper analysis)

(2) a non-evaluative description of what transpired during your observation,

During my field report with Andrea i noticed that we both took into account the other person major in how to effectively helped with each others writing process. Taking into account that Andrea is in a science major i had to talk to her different then how i would another English major student like myself. I had to ask her more questions; like what is the topic or experiment; was your hypothesis different/ similar to the outcome you were expecting. I also asked her who is the teacher and what are his expectations for the assignment. All of these are important factors in understanding how to help the student write effectively. I also asked (since she already work her piece) what would she do different if she were to write it a second time, did she any mistakes she could have fixed or added additions she could have put.

(3) preliminary answers to your questions and brief thoughts how this particular observation experience can help you consider your emerging tutoring praxis

I actually had to ask myself internal questions as well as tap into other information that i knew about the sciences to help her. Sometimes outside basic knowledge can help the student as well and also make the tutoring go more effectively. I also suggested to her outside help from other sciences professors, it could be that she doesn’t understand the professor or the way he is explaining the assignment.

additional thoughts: after class on Tuesday I started thinking of body language and how body language is apart of how we communicate with each other. It can show being engaged with someone and not paying attention to them at the same time. During our mock trial tutor session I think that both me and Andrea were engaged  with each other; neither one of us showed the other that we didn't care what the other was saying or talking about. And then there is the dilemma of awkward silences, If that does come about my only suggestion is a change of scenery. For me a change of scenery helps the creative process...to a certain extent. 

When you figure out the mechanics behind how something works (what goes into it, how it was formed, what is concept or main point) then the piece in its entirety is much easier to understand. It is almost like finding out a person history; if you figure out the history behind someone or something it makes it easier to understand. It also helps to look at other examples of what you are trying to do, that's why teachers let us look at sample works of 'A' papers so we know 1) what an A paper looks like so we have something to work up to and 2) we also see the mechanics of how an A paper is formed. All of these steps is what makes a good writer.

backpacks vs. breifcases

Everything in our lives creates an impression, whether we think it does or  not. It is how we interrupt the world around us and how we understand and comprehend. This article explained the important of rhetorical analysis and how we are effected by t in our daily lives.
When tutoring i think it is important for the tutee to understand the assignment, to read it and comprehend. Reading is just as fundamental as writing, "understanding rhetorical messages is essential to help us to become informed consumers, but it also helps evaluate the ethics of messages, how they affect us personally, and how they affect society" (pg.46).
When tutoring I think one of my methods would be to either take the assignment they have to do and break it up piece by piece, or take the reading assignment, and question it. I think that would be an effective learning technique. 

teaching about thinking...

Now teaching about thinking is a more in depth to "Teaching two kinds of thinking". It is the teaching and the learning of the two different thought processes. After reading this article  I found that the first order has no limits; that anything is up for interpretation. My favorite line from this article is " There is no right way to think or write" (pg.39).
If teachers were to teach this early on we would have a lot more writers in the world. In the education system, as a student, we are taught that their are right and wrong ways to do something. Then our brains get trained to this one way of thinking. Writing is enjoyable because it is fluid, there is no right or wrong answer or a wrong way to explain something...as long as you have the evidence to back it up.

two kinds of thinking...

The most effective kinds of writers are those who can tap into both their creative side and their analytical side of their brain. It is both the intellect as well as the imagination that brings people in. However, there are those who are more creative and there are those who are more intuitive then others. This article calls them "first-order" and "second-order", it is these two factors working together is what is needed when writing a good and convincing paper. Since each of these kinds of thinking has its own strengths and weakness they need to balance out. Writing is like a stream of organized consciousness, like an organized chaos. This is all apart of the creative process of writing.

Why care...

"So what? Who cares?", has been my exact reaction when it came to reading academic articles. The question of 'what is the point' will always be in the minds of high school and college students. I for one have always been a get-to-the-point kind of reader, but this article really helped explain the reasoning behind them all. When writing a paper it really does matter to the reader why they should be reading something in the first place. They ask themselves why what they are reading is important and what affect it has on their lives, why should they even be listening or reading something if it doesn't relate to them. I think this more has to deal with the readers ethos, pathos and logos. When you tap into someone's emotions you get them to care and therefore get them to listen. You have their attention. Whether you are the reader or whether you are the writer the goal is to get your audiences attention.