1. What did you notice about your writing process during this course? I began to not only write but think scholarly; meaning I developed my ideas before I began writing. It has become more of a process for me now instead of something to purge anf fix later.
Did your writing process change? If so, how? Yes. I have created more of an emphasis on creating an arugment you want to make and developing that main idea/focus.
If your writing process changed, what course assignments/interactions supported that change? My argument style has changed. I talk and write similarly in the sense that sometimes I leave out crucial details while including superfluous information that does not help develop my ideas.
2. What have you noticed about your finished essays? How essays in different genres vary immensely from each other. You have to think like a writer in whatever form someone is writing in. This class you have to think like a tutor, in CNF you have the freedom to think more creatively.
Did the quality of your essays change as a result of this course? If so how? I'm sure my future essays will get better but I haven't had enough time to really develop my ideas. I think next semester will show me how much I have improved.
If your final products changed, what do you think led to those changes? Class interaction and colloboration.
3. What did you notice about the way you coach writing students? I think I coached someone the way I would have wanted to coach me. Everything is spelled out, but the student still does the majority of the work. Simplistically Challenging is how I would describe it.
Did your approach to coaching change during the term? If so, how? Not really, because I felt it was working (hopefully I wasn't wrong).
Were any course assignments/interactions useful in facilitating this learning? Practice, practice, practice. Practice and consistancy is what really helped me develop these skills. doing it often made me feel more comfortable with my surroundings.
4. What have your experiences coaching writng students shown you about effective strategies for talking/communicating to others? That it really works, but only if you have a student that wants to be there and wants to work. Otherwise there will be a dead end where a student is only receptive to admirations--which doesn't help them at all.
5. How has your work coaching writing students changed the way you learn? I think from now whe I'll write I keep my audience in the back of my mind. Also I'll be writing from a tutor's perspective so thinking in terms of focus, description, arguments, hypothesis etc, with aspects outside of writing. I know how a tutor would break down an essay so I write with the intensions of answering questions an someone might ask during a tutoring session.
Were any course assignments/interactions useful in facilitating this learning? Describe.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
WC Philosophy
To say that my WC philosophy has changed since my first description of it in September would be an understatement.
A WC should be a functional and welcoming place where students are invited to visit, without apprehension or fear that their papers will get torn to shreds by a tutor who is perceived as all-knowing professional writer.
A WC should be organized and prepared to accommodate all students seeking help from on any subject matter. The workers their should include students from the University so they can practice tutoring real people other than just reading about how to tutor.
It should also be a place that is advertised across the campus heavily, by the center itself, and also professors that promote their students, especially their freshman.
In terms of the methods that should be used...all of them. There is no right method for tutoring someone. It's a game of trial and error. What needs to be done is to have as many intelligent people taking many different approaches for helping students write better. However, there is a wrong method for tutoring, and this isn't what a WC should consist of: stuck up tutors who put down writings, a place that is cold and unwelcoming, dysfunctional, disorganized, where only one method is used and forced, i.e. garret, minimalist, etc.
A WC should be a functional and welcoming place where students are invited to visit, without apprehension or fear that their papers will get torn to shreds by a tutor who is perceived as all-knowing professional writer.
A WC should be organized and prepared to accommodate all students seeking help from on any subject matter. The workers their should include students from the University so they can practice tutoring real people other than just reading about how to tutor.
It should also be a place that is advertised across the campus heavily, by the center itself, and also professors that promote their students, especially their freshman.
In terms of the methods that should be used...all of them. There is no right method for tutoring someone. It's a game of trial and error. What needs to be done is to have as many intelligent people taking many different approaches for helping students write better. However, there is a wrong method for tutoring, and this isn't what a WC should consist of: stuck up tutors who put down writings, a place that is cold and unwelcoming, dysfunctional, disorganized, where only one method is used and forced, i.e. garret, minimalist, etc.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Draft Research Essay
The blog homepage states methods "a section does not include findings, though it does explain your logic, and present your context. It should provide enough information so a reader could do what you did, and so s/he understands why you did your study the way you did it."
I'm not sure if I have provided enough information that explains my logic in why I chose to select particular methods. For the methods section, is my message clear in what I observed and how I interpreted my findings? Also, is this cohesive or just jargon.
Confidence, Control, and Perceptions within a Tutoring Session
introduction
From my collection of six tutoring sessions, four of them have been incorporated in this essay. Two, which present the most significance, are discussed in detail. Through my observations I noted the distinctions of students who were unsure how to complete an essay and other students who understood their assignment and knew what they wanted to work on in their paper. I focused on the intentions of both student and tutor and attributed the control of the session to whoever expressed more confidence. The factors contributing to my data collection were who spoke more and often, vocal characteristics, body movement, and comprehension of the English language.
The significance of my findings allows students to perceive writing centers as a welcoming place to attain informative writing techniques. I argue against the misconception that tutors are as educated and intimidating as teachers and that they represent the evaluative ambience of an educated person. It is true that tutors are required to have an extensive knowledge on writing and communication, but when a student seeks a tutor to help write an essay, it is the student’s job to be able to teach subject matter unfamiliar to the tutor. In retrospect, the student is giving more information than they actually receive.
review of the literature:
Charles Greenwood and his colleagues compared the effects of instructional arrangements that varied in: teacher versus peer mediators, methods used, levels of student academic responding generated, and content taught and tested in their article Teacher-Versus Peer-Mediated Instruction: An Ecobehavioral Analysis of Achievement Outcomes. This explains that these instructional arrangements (i.e., tasks, structure, tutor position and behavior) and students' levels of academic responding were measured by the amount of confidence when the student was both prepared and underprepared for their assignment. However they did not explore the tutor’s reaction and level of confidence throughout these observations. Writing Across the Curriculum: A Guide to Developing Programs is a collection of essays that defines terms, presents helpful suggestions, and provides models for conducting tutoring sessions. This article explains students' developing independence as writers but lacks in describing the role of a tutor and their own developing independence. My observations examined the ability of a tutor from a peer’s perspective. It also presents a relationship that permits honest dialogue and openness between the two individuals. Novice Tutors and Their ESL Tutees: Three Case Studies of Tutor Roles and Perceptions of Tutorial Success is study designed to investigate the negotiation between tutors and nonnative English speaking tutees in a particular setting. Lastly, Talking in the middle: Why Writers Need Writing Tutors focuses on the tutorial function of writing centers. It describes the uniqueness of the tutor/student relationship and claims that that relationship makes knowledge about writing possible in an institutionalized setting.
methods:
Throughout my observations of identifying the relationship between control/authority and confidence I collected data using several methods. These observations were collected from the beginning of October through the end of November 2009. I identified who initiates the control and if they retain it throughout the session. This was classified by whoever spoke lucid and with certainty. I also noted what it meant to have and lack control because non-verbal and verbal cues were given from the student and tutor when either participant knew what was being asked or when they were at a loss. These cues include the amount of body movement, eye contact, and the volume of the voices of both tutor and student. These methods correlate to the amount of confidence experienced by both people during the session.
My observations were equally distributed between each person in the session. When I observed both tutor and student I noted their physical characteristics, their proximity to each other, and how often each of them spoke—both when they were confident and when they were unsure of what they were saying. Observing how loud or quite both tutor and student were throughout the session varied depending on the level of confidence of each. I sought to determine that whoever expressed the most confidence, retains the control in the session; this was done by recording who talked more and if what was said was understood by the person receiving the comments.
A significant method was the recording of verbal and non-verbal cues from both participants. For example, when the tutor knew what to say they showed confidence that the student can accomplish what they asked the student to do, i.e. smiling, relaxed body posture, and gave clear directions. However, when the tutor didn’t know what to say they lacked assurance that their student comprehended their tutoring method. The tutor began stuttering, clear their throat more, and kept readjusting they way they sat. Also incorporated in my recordings were cues from the student when they had and were out of ideas for writing when they didn’t have a draft.
What I looked for during my observations is how the tutor reacted when the student set the agenda and when the student expected the tutor to do all the work. Taken into account was the student’s educational level and understanding of the English language. These sessions were conducted through one-on-one interactions.
Data analysis: There were four sessions I observed that proved to be the most significant. Two of which consisted of apprehensive ESL students, one named “Jasmine.” The other two presented students who knew how they wanted to revise a nearly completed essay. One of these confident students was named “Mary.”
When I observed if the tutor and Mary started off in the right direction, her confidence set the pace of the session. At the initial interaction, the control was attributed to whoever presented greater confidence, in this case Mary, a senior. When she brought in a finalized paper seeking advisement to fine-tune it, she set the agenda by stating what she had completed at the point and what she wanted to further develop. The findings in the session relate to the student’s confidence. My findings showed some parallels to Charles Greenwoods results in Teacher-Versus Peer-Mediated Instruction: An Ecobehavioral Analysis of Achievement Outcomes. “The results of this investigation confirmed with minor exception that peer tutoring, compared to instructional procedures typically developed by teachers, produced superior weekly achievement affects,” Greenwood, Teacher-Versus 536). Even though Mary was an older student and knew what she want to work on she still needed that extra help from a tutor because her professor was not completely clear on the requirements of the paper. With aid from the tutor she made it clear that she knew what she was talking about and how she wanted the tutor to proceed in helping her make a good paper better. In this case, the student was focused on making sure the paper was cohesive. Throughout the session, the paper was in front of both Mary and the tutor the entire time. While the tutor read it through Mary moved very little. She sat there intently and did not fidget nearly as much as students who had less confidence or ill-prepared.
For example, an ESL student who does not have a lucid comprehension of the English language, much in the same way Weigel and Nelson take into account numerous factors of the ESL student, I emphasize two relevant factors: the tutee’s oral proficiency and the tutor’s background and training. The student’s confidence might be undermined if they do not recognize the true role of the tutor.
“Tutors, because they function in a non-evaluative, supportive environment, offer writers the opportunity to write, think, and talk with someone who through this collaborative talk and questioning helps the writer use language to develop ideas, to test possibilities, to re-see and rethink in the light of feedback from the tutor,” (Harris Chap 10, Writing Center).
This is important because in order for a student to allow the tutor to help, the student cannot look at the tutor as a professor.
Since Jasmine had such a hard time understanding was the tutor was trying to tell her, her face turned red and she became warm as she took off her light jacket she was wearing. Also, Jasmine’s voice was barely audible when asking or answering a question. The tutor showed similar signs of discomfort because she was a tutor in training and could not use the methods that she learned in class. In the tutor’s case, she repeated questions to Jasmine that remained unanswered, took deep heavy breaths often, and paused to collect her thoughts when she was at a loss for what to say. Again, lower confidence affected the tutor’s voice as it remained monotone and littered with stuttering.
The volume of the student’s voice correlates with the amount of confidence they present. When a confident student speaks, they speak with a louder volume. It also determines the student’s comprehension of a question, confidence in their paper, and how well the tutor thinks they are guiding the student in the right direction. This confidence is reassuring to the tutor because they know, or at least appear to know what they are talking about. However, the tutor can easily recognize when the student is ill prepared for a session when the tutee speaks in an uncertain or attenuated voice. This may result from a lack of confidence in their paper or that they didn’t completely comprehend their teacher’s assignment. Muriel Harris investigated this dilemma in her essay, Why Writers Need Writing Tutors. “Students’ difficulties in understanding teacher comments are partly a difference in vocabulary, but there is also a problem of students’ perception of teacher intent behind the comments,” (Harris, Why 38). She continued, “They (students) skip down to the grade and wander into the writing center assuming that the teacher didn’t like their writing,” (Harris, Why 38). In my observations the students who were confident did not take into consideration their teacher’s opinion on how they write. Whether it was because they knew how to write or because they were upperclassmen and knew not to think that way, the more confident student knows what they want to do before entering the writing center. However, the underclassmen were the students that constantly put the blame on their professors for not explaining the assignment fully, and as a result, not allowing them to complete a well written paper.
Realizing this insecurity, the tutor assessed the situation to better understand why the student felt as unsure about the assignment as they did. The tutor presented having control when the student had a basic understanding of the assignment, hadn’t started working on their paper, and when the tutee is an ESL student. In the case of an ESL student the tutor must acknowledge the student’s comprehension of the English language.
“It follows from this problem of different languages that students often don’t understand their assignments…Misunderstanding the assignment happens with such astonishing regularity that we ought more properly to view it as part of the educational process—learning the language of academic communities, learning how to understand that language, and learning our to act on that understanding,” (Harris, Why 39).
The previously mentioned three factors give the tutor the ability to show authority because they were in complete control of the session. For example, in asking questions, understanding the student’s complications, and when helping an ESL student, the better comprehension of speaking and understanding the language. In the latter example, the tutor’s authority expands from them having the title of tutor to having more control over the language in general because there were native English speakers. The students reacted to this by adhering to any and all of the tutor’s comments and suggestions.
A combination of factors contributes to a successful tutoring session. (1) Even though it is the tutor’s job to guide them, students must come prepared to discuss their assignments fully and with the intent of expanding on the ideas they bring. (2) Tutors should recognize the level of education of their students, as to either intensity the session for senior who’s about to graduate or simplify the discussion or a nervous freshman. From my observations, the tutors seemed to have more confidence only when they were in control and the student was self-assured in their paper. However, when the students were apprehensive, their feelings were transferred to the tutor because the bulk of the work was landing on the tutor’s shoulders.
discussion
In the session with the ESL student, it was clear that Jasmine had difficulties understanding the language, so the tutor felt limited in terms of what could have been done to improve the paper. There was equal apprehension present in both subjects. An important case study conducted by Weigle and Nelson, exams the novice tutors identity crisis in a situation as confining as the one previously mentioned. In their case, “Its primary purpose is to provide a better understanding of how novice tutors construct/negotiate their identities as tutors in a specific setting,” (Weigle, Nelson. Novice Tutors 205). ESL students aside, the general consensus among students is that writing centers are frightening because asking for help can be daunting—especially for students whose first language is not English. Therefore, if writing centers were promoted more students could have a better understanding of what is expected of them during a session. This may result in students better preparing themselves for writing an essay and when they visit a writing center they won’t be as hesitant about asking for help.
The generalization made from these observations is that the more confident student is also the one that had better prepared him or herself. This confidence may come from being an upperclassmen or understanding their assignment, but it was clear that they knew what they wanted to do with their paper. It can be argued that if students better prepare themselves for writing an essay (doing the research, following class guidelines, attending class), then when they need help to make a good essay better, the hard work will already be done and the student will only need guidance from a tutor to write an “A” paper.
I was limited in the sense that the amount of observations I accumulated was not large enough. My studies are a mere sample of a much larger selection. What I concluded in both Jasmine’s and my other apprehensive student’s case does not necessarily speak for all students who feel uncomfortable working within the writing center. It could be true that a student who comes to the writing center prepared, might not be have the easiest of times conveying what the tutor asks of them once they leave the session. Also, some students could be nervous, especially freshman, when first arriving at the center. This could lead the tutor (and an observer) to think that the student is unsure as how to complete their assignment—when in actuality they know exactly what to work on but have a hard time expressing it.
conclusions
What I found was that students who were upperclassmen tended to be better prepared and understood the concept and purpose of a tutoring session. My observations made it clear that these students had been to writing center before and knew what was expected from both themselves and the tutor. The students who seemed more frazzled were underclassmen and were nervous either because they needed to rush to get the paper finished or because they didn’t speak English as their first language. In either case, the confidence and anxiety of the students was attributed only to how they acted during the session. Continued research of the students I observed might result in further information that was not accumulated during the sessions, i.e. the real reasons for a student’s nervousness/confidence, how a student interacts with another tutor, and also, research into how often certain students visit the writing center.
I'm not sure if I have provided enough information that explains my logic in why I chose to select particular methods. For the methods section, is my message clear in what I observed and how I interpreted my findings? Also, is this cohesive or just jargon.
Confidence, Control, and Perceptions within a Tutoring Session
introduction
From my collection of six tutoring sessions, four of them have been incorporated in this essay. Two, which present the most significance, are discussed in detail. Through my observations I noted the distinctions of students who were unsure how to complete an essay and other students who understood their assignment and knew what they wanted to work on in their paper. I focused on the intentions of both student and tutor and attributed the control of the session to whoever expressed more confidence. The factors contributing to my data collection were who spoke more and often, vocal characteristics, body movement, and comprehension of the English language.
The significance of my findings allows students to perceive writing centers as a welcoming place to attain informative writing techniques. I argue against the misconception that tutors are as educated and intimidating as teachers and that they represent the evaluative ambience of an educated person. It is true that tutors are required to have an extensive knowledge on writing and communication, but when a student seeks a tutor to help write an essay, it is the student’s job to be able to teach subject matter unfamiliar to the tutor. In retrospect, the student is giving more information than they actually receive.
review of the literature:
Charles Greenwood and his colleagues compared the effects of instructional arrangements that varied in: teacher versus peer mediators, methods used, levels of student academic responding generated, and content taught and tested in their article Teacher-Versus Peer-Mediated Instruction: An Ecobehavioral Analysis of Achievement Outcomes. This explains that these instructional arrangements (i.e., tasks, structure, tutor position and behavior) and students' levels of academic responding were measured by the amount of confidence when the student was both prepared and underprepared for their assignment. However they did not explore the tutor’s reaction and level of confidence throughout these observations. Writing Across the Curriculum: A Guide to Developing Programs is a collection of essays that defines terms, presents helpful suggestions, and provides models for conducting tutoring sessions. This article explains students' developing independence as writers but lacks in describing the role of a tutor and their own developing independence. My observations examined the ability of a tutor from a peer’s perspective. It also presents a relationship that permits honest dialogue and openness between the two individuals. Novice Tutors and Their ESL Tutees: Three Case Studies of Tutor Roles and Perceptions of Tutorial Success is study designed to investigate the negotiation between tutors and nonnative English speaking tutees in a particular setting. Lastly, Talking in the middle: Why Writers Need Writing Tutors focuses on the tutorial function of writing centers. It describes the uniqueness of the tutor/student relationship and claims that that relationship makes knowledge about writing possible in an institutionalized setting.
methods:
Throughout my observations of identifying the relationship between control/authority and confidence I collected data using several methods. These observations were collected from the beginning of October through the end of November 2009. I identified who initiates the control and if they retain it throughout the session. This was classified by whoever spoke lucid and with certainty. I also noted what it meant to have and lack control because non-verbal and verbal cues were given from the student and tutor when either participant knew what was being asked or when they were at a loss. These cues include the amount of body movement, eye contact, and the volume of the voices of both tutor and student. These methods correlate to the amount of confidence experienced by both people during the session.
My observations were equally distributed between each person in the session. When I observed both tutor and student I noted their physical characteristics, their proximity to each other, and how often each of them spoke—both when they were confident and when they were unsure of what they were saying. Observing how loud or quite both tutor and student were throughout the session varied depending on the level of confidence of each. I sought to determine that whoever expressed the most confidence, retains the control in the session; this was done by recording who talked more and if what was said was understood by the person receiving the comments.
A significant method was the recording of verbal and non-verbal cues from both participants. For example, when the tutor knew what to say they showed confidence that the student can accomplish what they asked the student to do, i.e. smiling, relaxed body posture, and gave clear directions. However, when the tutor didn’t know what to say they lacked assurance that their student comprehended their tutoring method. The tutor began stuttering, clear their throat more, and kept readjusting they way they sat. Also incorporated in my recordings were cues from the student when they had and were out of ideas for writing when they didn’t have a draft.
What I looked for during my observations is how the tutor reacted when the student set the agenda and when the student expected the tutor to do all the work. Taken into account was the student’s educational level and understanding of the English language. These sessions were conducted through one-on-one interactions.
Data analysis: There were four sessions I observed that proved to be the most significant. Two of which consisted of apprehensive ESL students, one named “Jasmine.” The other two presented students who knew how they wanted to revise a nearly completed essay. One of these confident students was named “Mary.”
When I observed if the tutor and Mary started off in the right direction, her confidence set the pace of the session. At the initial interaction, the control was attributed to whoever presented greater confidence, in this case Mary, a senior. When she brought in a finalized paper seeking advisement to fine-tune it, she set the agenda by stating what she had completed at the point and what she wanted to further develop. The findings in the session relate to the student’s confidence. My findings showed some parallels to Charles Greenwoods results in Teacher-Versus Peer-Mediated Instruction: An Ecobehavioral Analysis of Achievement Outcomes. “The results of this investigation confirmed with minor exception that peer tutoring, compared to instructional procedures typically developed by teachers, produced superior weekly achievement affects,” Greenwood, Teacher-Versus 536). Even though Mary was an older student and knew what she want to work on she still needed that extra help from a tutor because her professor was not completely clear on the requirements of the paper. With aid from the tutor she made it clear that she knew what she was talking about and how she wanted the tutor to proceed in helping her make a good paper better. In this case, the student was focused on making sure the paper was cohesive. Throughout the session, the paper was in front of both Mary and the tutor the entire time. While the tutor read it through Mary moved very little. She sat there intently and did not fidget nearly as much as students who had less confidence or ill-prepared.
For example, an ESL student who does not have a lucid comprehension of the English language, much in the same way Weigel and Nelson take into account numerous factors of the ESL student, I emphasize two relevant factors: the tutee’s oral proficiency and the tutor’s background and training. The student’s confidence might be undermined if they do not recognize the true role of the tutor.
“Tutors, because they function in a non-evaluative, supportive environment, offer writers the opportunity to write, think, and talk with someone who through this collaborative talk and questioning helps the writer use language to develop ideas, to test possibilities, to re-see and rethink in the light of feedback from the tutor,” (Harris Chap 10, Writing Center).
This is important because in order for a student to allow the tutor to help, the student cannot look at the tutor as a professor.
Since Jasmine had such a hard time understanding was the tutor was trying to tell her, her face turned red and she became warm as she took off her light jacket she was wearing. Also, Jasmine’s voice was barely audible when asking or answering a question. The tutor showed similar signs of discomfort because she was a tutor in training and could not use the methods that she learned in class. In the tutor’s case, she repeated questions to Jasmine that remained unanswered, took deep heavy breaths often, and paused to collect her thoughts when she was at a loss for what to say. Again, lower confidence affected the tutor’s voice as it remained monotone and littered with stuttering.
The volume of the student’s voice correlates with the amount of confidence they present. When a confident student speaks, they speak with a louder volume. It also determines the student’s comprehension of a question, confidence in their paper, and how well the tutor thinks they are guiding the student in the right direction. This confidence is reassuring to the tutor because they know, or at least appear to know what they are talking about. However, the tutor can easily recognize when the student is ill prepared for a session when the tutee speaks in an uncertain or attenuated voice. This may result from a lack of confidence in their paper or that they didn’t completely comprehend their teacher’s assignment. Muriel Harris investigated this dilemma in her essay, Why Writers Need Writing Tutors. “Students’ difficulties in understanding teacher comments are partly a difference in vocabulary, but there is also a problem of students’ perception of teacher intent behind the comments,” (Harris, Why 38). She continued, “They (students) skip down to the grade and wander into the writing center assuming that the teacher didn’t like their writing,” (Harris, Why 38). In my observations the students who were confident did not take into consideration their teacher’s opinion on how they write. Whether it was because they knew how to write or because they were upperclassmen and knew not to think that way, the more confident student knows what they want to do before entering the writing center. However, the underclassmen were the students that constantly put the blame on their professors for not explaining the assignment fully, and as a result, not allowing them to complete a well written paper.
Realizing this insecurity, the tutor assessed the situation to better understand why the student felt as unsure about the assignment as they did. The tutor presented having control when the student had a basic understanding of the assignment, hadn’t started working on their paper, and when the tutee is an ESL student. In the case of an ESL student the tutor must acknowledge the student’s comprehension of the English language.
“It follows from this problem of different languages that students often don’t understand their assignments…Misunderstanding the assignment happens with such astonishing regularity that we ought more properly to view it as part of the educational process—learning the language of academic communities, learning how to understand that language, and learning our to act on that understanding,” (Harris, Why 39).
The previously mentioned three factors give the tutor the ability to show authority because they were in complete control of the session. For example, in asking questions, understanding the student’s complications, and when helping an ESL student, the better comprehension of speaking and understanding the language. In the latter example, the tutor’s authority expands from them having the title of tutor to having more control over the language in general because there were native English speakers. The students reacted to this by adhering to any and all of the tutor’s comments and suggestions.
A combination of factors contributes to a successful tutoring session. (1) Even though it is the tutor’s job to guide them, students must come prepared to discuss their assignments fully and with the intent of expanding on the ideas they bring. (2) Tutors should recognize the level of education of their students, as to either intensity the session for senior who’s about to graduate or simplify the discussion or a nervous freshman. From my observations, the tutors seemed to have more confidence only when they were in control and the student was self-assured in their paper. However, when the students were apprehensive, their feelings were transferred to the tutor because the bulk of the work was landing on the tutor’s shoulders.
discussion
In the session with the ESL student, it was clear that Jasmine had difficulties understanding the language, so the tutor felt limited in terms of what could have been done to improve the paper. There was equal apprehension present in both subjects. An important case study conducted by Weigle and Nelson, exams the novice tutors identity crisis in a situation as confining as the one previously mentioned. In their case, “Its primary purpose is to provide a better understanding of how novice tutors construct/negotiate their identities as tutors in a specific setting,” (Weigle, Nelson. Novice Tutors 205). ESL students aside, the general consensus among students is that writing centers are frightening because asking for help can be daunting—especially for students whose first language is not English. Therefore, if writing centers were promoted more students could have a better understanding of what is expected of them during a session. This may result in students better preparing themselves for writing an essay and when they visit a writing center they won’t be as hesitant about asking for help.
The generalization made from these observations is that the more confident student is also the one that had better prepared him or herself. This confidence may come from being an upperclassmen or understanding their assignment, but it was clear that they knew what they wanted to do with their paper. It can be argued that if students better prepare themselves for writing an essay (doing the research, following class guidelines, attending class), then when they need help to make a good essay better, the hard work will already be done and the student will only need guidance from a tutor to write an “A” paper.
I was limited in the sense that the amount of observations I accumulated was not large enough. My studies are a mere sample of a much larger selection. What I concluded in both Jasmine’s and my other apprehensive student’s case does not necessarily speak for all students who feel uncomfortable working within the writing center. It could be true that a student who comes to the writing center prepared, might not be have the easiest of times conveying what the tutor asks of them once they leave the session. Also, some students could be nervous, especially freshman, when first arriving at the center. This could lead the tutor (and an observer) to think that the student is unsure as how to complete their assignment—when in actuality they know exactly what to work on but have a hard time expressing it.
conclusions
What I found was that students who were upperclassmen tended to be better prepared and understood the concept and purpose of a tutoring session. My observations made it clear that these students had been to writing center before and knew what was expected from both themselves and the tutor. The students who seemed more frazzled were underclassmen and were nervous either because they needed to rush to get the paper finished or because they didn’t speak English as their first language. In either case, the confidence and anxiety of the students was attributed only to how they acted during the session. Continued research of the students I observed might result in further information that was not accumulated during the sessions, i.e. the real reasons for a student’s nervousness/confidence, how a student interacts with another tutor, and also, research into how often certain students visit the writing center.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Data Analysis con't (blog 20)
Data analysis: There were four sessions I observed that proved to be the most significant. Two of which consisted of apprehensive ESL students, one named “Jasmine.” The other two presented students who knew how they wanted to revise a nearly completed essay. One of these confident students was named “Mary.”
When I observed if the tutor and Mary started off in the right direction, her confidence set the pace of the session. At the initial interaction, the control was attributed to whoever presented greater confidence, in this case Mary, a senior. When she brought in a finalized paper seeking advisement to fine-tune it, she set the agenda by stating what she had completed at the point and what she wanted to further develop. The findings in the session relate to the student’s confidence. My findings showed some parallels to Charles Greenwoods results in Teacher-Versus Peer-Mediated Instruction: An Ecobehavioral Analysis of Achievement Outcomes. “The results of this investigation confirmed with minor exception that peer tutoring, compared to instructional procedures typically developed by teachers, produced superior weekly achievement affects,” Greenwood, Teacher-Versus 536). Even though Mary was an older student and knew what she want to work on she still needed that extra help from a tutor because her professor was not completely clear on the requirements of the paper. With aid from the tutor she made it clear that she knew what she was talking about and how she wanted the tutor to proceed in helping her make a good paper better. In this case, the student was focused on making sure the paper was cohesive. Throughout the session, the paper was in front of both Mary and the tutor the entire time. While the tutor read it through Mary moved very little. She sat there intently and did not fidget nearly as much as students who had less confidence or ill-prepared.
For example, an ESL student who does not have a lucid comprehension of the English language, much in the same way Weigel and Nelson take into account numerous factors of the ESL student, I emphasize two relevant factors: the tutee’s oral proficiency and the tutor’s background and training. The student’s confidence might be undermined if they do not recognize the true role of the tutor.
“Tutors, because they function in a non-evaluative, supportive environment, offer writers the opportunity to write, think, and talk with someone who through this collaborative talk and questioning helps the writer use language to develop ideas, to test possibilities, to re-see and rethink in the light of feedback from the tutor,” (Harris Chap 10, Writing Center).
This is important because in order for a student to allow the tutor to help, the student cannot look at the tutor as a professor.
It was clear that Jasmine had difficulties understanding the language, so the tutor felt limited in terms of what could have been done to improve the paper. There was equal apprehension present in both subjects. Since Jasmine had such a hard time understanding was the tutor was trying to tell her, her face turned red and she became warm as she took off her light jacket she was wearing. An important case study conducted by Weigle and Nelson, exam the novice tutors identity crisis in a situation as confining as the one previously mentioned. In their case, “Its primary purpose is to provide a better understanding of how novice tutors construct/negotiate their identities as tutors in a specific setting.,” (Weigle, Nelson Novie Tutors 205).
Also, Jasmine’s voice was barely audible when asking or answering a question. The tutor showed similar signs of discomfort because she was a tutor in training and could not use the methods that she learned in class. In the tutor’s case, she repeated questions to Jasmine that remained unanswered, took deep heavy breaths often, and paused to collect her thoughts when she was at a loss for what to say. Again, lower confidence affected the tutor’s voice as it remained monotone and littered with stuttering.
The volume of the student’s voice correlates with the amount of confidence they present. When a confident student speaks, they speak with a louder volume. It also determines the student’s comprehension of a question, confidence in their paper, and how well the tutor thinks they are guiding the student in the right direction. This confidence is reassuring to the tutor because they know, or at least appear to know what they are talking about. However, the tutor can easily recognize when the student is ill prepared for a session when the tutee speaks in an uncertain or attenuated voice. This may result from a lack of confidence in their paper or that they didn’t completely comprehend their teacher’s assignment. Muriel Harris investigated this dilemma in her essay, Why Writers Need Writing Tutors. “Students’ difficulties in understanding teacher comments are partly a difference in vocabulary, but there is also a problem of students’ perception of teacher intent behind the comments,” (Harris, Why 38). She continued, “They (students) skip down to the grade and wander into the writing center assuming that the teacher didn’t like their writing,” (Harris, Why 38). In my observations the students who were confident did not take into consideration their teacher’s opinion on how they write. Whether it was because they knew how to write or because they were upperclassmen and knew not to think that way, the more confident student knows what they want to do before entering the writing center. However, the underclassmen were the students that constantly put the blame on their professors for not explaining the assignment fully, and as a result, not allowing them to complete a well written paper.
Realizing this insecurity, the tutor assessed the situation to better understand why the student felt as unsure about the assignment as they did. The tutor presented having control when the student had a basic understanding of the assignment, hadn’t started working on their paper, and when the tutee is an ESL student. In the case of an ESL student the tutor must acknowledge the student’s comprehension of the English language.
“It follows from this problem of different languages that students often don’t understand their assignments…Misunderstanding the assignment happens with such astonishing regularity that we ought more properly to view it as part of the educational process—learning the language of academic communities, learning how to understand that language, and learning our to act on that understanding,” (Harris, Why 39).
The previously mentioned three factors give the tutor the ability to show authority because they were in complete control of the session. For example, in asking questions, understanding the student’s complications, and when helping an ESL student, the better comprehension of speaking and understanding the language. In the latter example, the tutor’s authority expands from them having the title of tutor to having more control over the language in general because there were native English speakers. The students reacted to this by adhering to any and all of the tutor’s comments and suggestions.
A combination of factors contributes to a successful tutoring session. (1) Even though it is the tutor’s job to guide them, students must come prepared to discuss their assignments fully and with the intent of expanding on the ideas they bring. (2) Tutors should recognize the level of education of their students, as to either intensity the session for senior who’s about to graduate or simplify the discussion or a nervous freshman. From my observations, the tutors seemed to have more confidence only when they were in control and the student was self-assured in their paper. However, when the students were apprehensive, their feelings were transferred to the tutor because the bulk of the work was landing on the tutor’s shoulders.
When I observed if the tutor and Mary started off in the right direction, her confidence set the pace of the session. At the initial interaction, the control was attributed to whoever presented greater confidence, in this case Mary, a senior. When she brought in a finalized paper seeking advisement to fine-tune it, she set the agenda by stating what she had completed at the point and what she wanted to further develop. The findings in the session relate to the student’s confidence. My findings showed some parallels to Charles Greenwoods results in Teacher-Versus Peer-Mediated Instruction: An Ecobehavioral Analysis of Achievement Outcomes. “The results of this investigation confirmed with minor exception that peer tutoring, compared to instructional procedures typically developed by teachers, produced superior weekly achievement affects,” Greenwood, Teacher-Versus 536). Even though Mary was an older student and knew what she want to work on she still needed that extra help from a tutor because her professor was not completely clear on the requirements of the paper. With aid from the tutor she made it clear that she knew what she was talking about and how she wanted the tutor to proceed in helping her make a good paper better. In this case, the student was focused on making sure the paper was cohesive. Throughout the session, the paper was in front of both Mary and the tutor the entire time. While the tutor read it through Mary moved very little. She sat there intently and did not fidget nearly as much as students who had less confidence or ill-prepared.
For example, an ESL student who does not have a lucid comprehension of the English language, much in the same way Weigel and Nelson take into account numerous factors of the ESL student, I emphasize two relevant factors: the tutee’s oral proficiency and the tutor’s background and training. The student’s confidence might be undermined if they do not recognize the true role of the tutor.
“Tutors, because they function in a non-evaluative, supportive environment, offer writers the opportunity to write, think, and talk with someone who through this collaborative talk and questioning helps the writer use language to develop ideas, to test possibilities, to re-see and rethink in the light of feedback from the tutor,” (Harris Chap 10, Writing Center).
This is important because in order for a student to allow the tutor to help, the student cannot look at the tutor as a professor.
It was clear that Jasmine had difficulties understanding the language, so the tutor felt limited in terms of what could have been done to improve the paper. There was equal apprehension present in both subjects. Since Jasmine had such a hard time understanding was the tutor was trying to tell her, her face turned red and she became warm as she took off her light jacket she was wearing. An important case study conducted by Weigle and Nelson, exam the novice tutors identity crisis in a situation as confining as the one previously mentioned. In their case, “Its primary purpose is to provide a better understanding of how novice tutors construct/negotiate their identities as tutors in a specific setting.,” (Weigle, Nelson Novie Tutors 205).
Also, Jasmine’s voice was barely audible when asking or answering a question. The tutor showed similar signs of discomfort because she was a tutor in training and could not use the methods that she learned in class. In the tutor’s case, she repeated questions to Jasmine that remained unanswered, took deep heavy breaths often, and paused to collect her thoughts when she was at a loss for what to say. Again, lower confidence affected the tutor’s voice as it remained monotone and littered with stuttering.
The volume of the student’s voice correlates with the amount of confidence they present. When a confident student speaks, they speak with a louder volume. It also determines the student’s comprehension of a question, confidence in their paper, and how well the tutor thinks they are guiding the student in the right direction. This confidence is reassuring to the tutor because they know, or at least appear to know what they are talking about. However, the tutor can easily recognize when the student is ill prepared for a session when the tutee speaks in an uncertain or attenuated voice. This may result from a lack of confidence in their paper or that they didn’t completely comprehend their teacher’s assignment. Muriel Harris investigated this dilemma in her essay, Why Writers Need Writing Tutors. “Students’ difficulties in understanding teacher comments are partly a difference in vocabulary, but there is also a problem of students’ perception of teacher intent behind the comments,” (Harris, Why 38). She continued, “They (students) skip down to the grade and wander into the writing center assuming that the teacher didn’t like their writing,” (Harris, Why 38). In my observations the students who were confident did not take into consideration their teacher’s opinion on how they write. Whether it was because they knew how to write or because they were upperclassmen and knew not to think that way, the more confident student knows what they want to do before entering the writing center. However, the underclassmen were the students that constantly put the blame on their professors for not explaining the assignment fully, and as a result, not allowing them to complete a well written paper.
Realizing this insecurity, the tutor assessed the situation to better understand why the student felt as unsure about the assignment as they did. The tutor presented having control when the student had a basic understanding of the assignment, hadn’t started working on their paper, and when the tutee is an ESL student. In the case of an ESL student the tutor must acknowledge the student’s comprehension of the English language.
“It follows from this problem of different languages that students often don’t understand their assignments…Misunderstanding the assignment happens with such astonishing regularity that we ought more properly to view it as part of the educational process—learning the language of academic communities, learning how to understand that language, and learning our to act on that understanding,” (Harris, Why 39).
The previously mentioned three factors give the tutor the ability to show authority because they were in complete control of the session. For example, in asking questions, understanding the student’s complications, and when helping an ESL student, the better comprehension of speaking and understanding the language. In the latter example, the tutor’s authority expands from them having the title of tutor to having more control over the language in general because there were native English speakers. The students reacted to this by adhering to any and all of the tutor’s comments and suggestions.
A combination of factors contributes to a successful tutoring session. (1) Even though it is the tutor’s job to guide them, students must come prepared to discuss their assignments fully and with the intent of expanding on the ideas they bring. (2) Tutors should recognize the level of education of their students, as to either intensity the session for senior who’s about to graduate or simplify the discussion or a nervous freshman. From my observations, the tutors seemed to have more confidence only when they were in control and the student was self-assured in their paper. However, when the students were apprehensive, their feelings were transferred to the tutor because the bulk of the work was landing on the tutor’s shoulders.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
So far...(blog 19)
review of the literature:
• Teacher- versus peer-mediated instruction: an ecobehavioral analysis of achievement outcomes. In three experiments, they compared the effects of instructional arrangements that varied in: teacher versus peer mediators, methods used, levels of student academic responding generated, and content taught and tested. Instructional arrangements (i.e., tasks, structure, teacher position, teacher behavior) and students' levels of academic responding were measured by an observation system, which served as an index of the independent variables.
• Writing Across the Curriculum: A Guide to Developing Programs. This collection of essays on Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) defines terms, presents helpful suggestions, and provides models for useful documents (everything from workshop evaluation forms to contracts for visiting consultants).
• Novice Tutors and Their ESL Tutees: Three Case Studies of Tutor Roles and Perceptions of Tutorial Success: This study was designed to investigate the negotiation between tutors and nonnative English speaking tutees in this particular setting.
• Talking in the middle: Why writers need writing tutors. Focuses on the tutorial function of writing centers. Describes the uniqueness of the tutorial relationship. Claims that this relationship makes possible knowledge about writing unavailable in more institutionalized settings. Analyzes extensive excerpts from student comments concerning tutorial experiences.
methods:
Throughout my observations of identifying the relationship between control/authority and confidence I collected data using several methods. I identified who initiates the control and if they retain it throughout the session, what it means to have control using non-verbal and verbal cues given from the student and tutor, the amount of body movement, as well as, the volume of the voices of both tutor and student. These methods correlate to the amount of confidence experienced by both people during the session.
Confidence is transferable from each participant; one feeds the other. My observations were equally distributed between each person in the session. When I observed both tutor and student I noted their physical characteristics, their proximity to each other, and how often each of them spoke—both when they were confident and when they were unsure of what they were saying. Observing how loud or quite both tutor and student were throughout the session varied depending on the level of confidence of each.
I sought to determine that whoever expresses the most authority, presents the most confidence. This was done by recording who talked more and if what was said was understood by the person receiving the comments.
A significant method was the recording of verbal and non verbal cues from both participants. For example, when the tutor knows what to say they show confidence that the student can accomplish what they are being asked of, i.e. smiling, relaxed body posture, and gave clear directions. However, when the tutor doesn’t know what to say they lack assurance that their student comprehended their tutoring method. Also incorporated in my recordings were cues from the student when they had and were out of ideas for writing when they didn’t have a draft.
What I looked for during my observations is how the tutor reacted when the student set the agenda and when the student expected the tutor to do all the work. Taken into account was the student’s educational level and understanding of the English language. These sessions were conducted through one-on-one interactions.
Data analysis: Two of the sessions I observed that were the most significant was one with an apprehensive ESL student (Jasmine) and another where the student wanted revision on a nearly completed essay (Mary).
When I observed if the tutor and Mary started off in the right direction, her confidence set the pace of the session. At the initial interaction, the control was attributed to whoever presented greater confidence, in this case Mary. When she brought in a finalized paper seeking advisement to fine tune it, she set the agenda by stating what she had completed at the point and what she wanted to further develop. The findings in the session relate to the student’s confidence. Mary made it clear she knew what she was talking about and how she wanted the tutor to proceed in helping her make a good paper better. In this case, the student was focused on making sure the paper was cohesive. Throughout the session, the paper was in front of both Mary and the tutor the entire time. While the tutor read it through Mary moved very little. She sat there intently and did not fidget nearly as much as students who had less confidence or ill-prepared.
For example, an ESL student who does not have a lucid comprehension of the English language, much in the same way Weigel and Nelson take into account numerous factors of the ESL student, I emphasize two relevant factors: the tutee’s oral proficiency and the tutor’s background and training.
It was clear that Jasmine had difficulties understanding the language, so the tutor felt limited in terms of what could have been done to improve the paper. There was equal apprehension present in both subjects. Since Jasmine had such a hard time understanding was the tutor was trying to tell her, her face turned red and she became warm as she took off her light jacket she was wearing. Also, Jasmine’s voice was barely audible when asking or answering a question. The tutor showed similar signs of discomfort because she was a tutor in training and could not use the methods that she learned in class. In the tutor’s case, she repeated questions to Jasmine that remained unanswered, took deep heavy breaths often, and paused to collect her thoughts when she was at a loss for what to say. Again, lower confidence effected the tutor’s voice as it remained monotone and littered with stuttering.
The volume of the student’s voice correlates with the amount of confidence they present. When a confident student speaks, they speak with a louder volume. It also determines the student’s comprehension of a question, confidence in their paper, and how well the tutor thinks they are guiding the student in the right direction. This confidence is reassuring to the tutor because they know, or at least appear to know what they are talking about. However, the tutor can easily recognize when the student is ill prepared for a session when the tutee speaks in an uncertain or attenuated voice.
Realizing this insecurity, the tutor assessed the situation to better understand why the student felt as unsure about the assignment as they did. The tutor presented having control when the student had a basic understanding of the assignment, hadn’t started working on their paper, and when the tutee is an ESL student. These three factors give the tutor the freedom the show authority and control. The tutor’s authority expands from them having the title of tutor to having more control over the language in general because there were native English speakers.
• Teacher- versus peer-mediated instruction: an ecobehavioral analysis of achievement outcomes. In three experiments, they compared the effects of instructional arrangements that varied in: teacher versus peer mediators, methods used, levels of student academic responding generated, and content taught and tested. Instructional arrangements (i.e., tasks, structure, teacher position, teacher behavior) and students' levels of academic responding were measured by an observation system, which served as an index of the independent variables.
• Writing Across the Curriculum: A Guide to Developing Programs. This collection of essays on Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) defines terms, presents helpful suggestions, and provides models for useful documents (everything from workshop evaluation forms to contracts for visiting consultants).
• Novice Tutors and Their ESL Tutees: Three Case Studies of Tutor Roles and Perceptions of Tutorial Success: This study was designed to investigate the negotiation between tutors and nonnative English speaking tutees in this particular setting.
• Talking in the middle: Why writers need writing tutors. Focuses on the tutorial function of writing centers. Describes the uniqueness of the tutorial relationship. Claims that this relationship makes possible knowledge about writing unavailable in more institutionalized settings. Analyzes extensive excerpts from student comments concerning tutorial experiences.
methods:
Throughout my observations of identifying the relationship between control/authority and confidence I collected data using several methods. I identified who initiates the control and if they retain it throughout the session, what it means to have control using non-verbal and verbal cues given from the student and tutor, the amount of body movement, as well as, the volume of the voices of both tutor and student. These methods correlate to the amount of confidence experienced by both people during the session.
Confidence is transferable from each participant; one feeds the other. My observations were equally distributed between each person in the session. When I observed both tutor and student I noted their physical characteristics, their proximity to each other, and how often each of them spoke—both when they were confident and when they were unsure of what they were saying. Observing how loud or quite both tutor and student were throughout the session varied depending on the level of confidence of each.
I sought to determine that whoever expresses the most authority, presents the most confidence. This was done by recording who talked more and if what was said was understood by the person receiving the comments.
A significant method was the recording of verbal and non verbal cues from both participants. For example, when the tutor knows what to say they show confidence that the student can accomplish what they are being asked of, i.e. smiling, relaxed body posture, and gave clear directions. However, when the tutor doesn’t know what to say they lack assurance that their student comprehended their tutoring method. Also incorporated in my recordings were cues from the student when they had and were out of ideas for writing when they didn’t have a draft.
What I looked for during my observations is how the tutor reacted when the student set the agenda and when the student expected the tutor to do all the work. Taken into account was the student’s educational level and understanding of the English language. These sessions were conducted through one-on-one interactions.
Data analysis: Two of the sessions I observed that were the most significant was one with an apprehensive ESL student (Jasmine) and another where the student wanted revision on a nearly completed essay (Mary).
When I observed if the tutor and Mary started off in the right direction, her confidence set the pace of the session. At the initial interaction, the control was attributed to whoever presented greater confidence, in this case Mary. When she brought in a finalized paper seeking advisement to fine tune it, she set the agenda by stating what she had completed at the point and what she wanted to further develop. The findings in the session relate to the student’s confidence. Mary made it clear she knew what she was talking about and how she wanted the tutor to proceed in helping her make a good paper better. In this case, the student was focused on making sure the paper was cohesive. Throughout the session, the paper was in front of both Mary and the tutor the entire time. While the tutor read it through Mary moved very little. She sat there intently and did not fidget nearly as much as students who had less confidence or ill-prepared.
For example, an ESL student who does not have a lucid comprehension of the English language, much in the same way Weigel and Nelson take into account numerous factors of the ESL student, I emphasize two relevant factors: the tutee’s oral proficiency and the tutor’s background and training.
It was clear that Jasmine had difficulties understanding the language, so the tutor felt limited in terms of what could have been done to improve the paper. There was equal apprehension present in both subjects. Since Jasmine had such a hard time understanding was the tutor was trying to tell her, her face turned red and she became warm as she took off her light jacket she was wearing. Also, Jasmine’s voice was barely audible when asking or answering a question. The tutor showed similar signs of discomfort because she was a tutor in training and could not use the methods that she learned in class. In the tutor’s case, she repeated questions to Jasmine that remained unanswered, took deep heavy breaths often, and paused to collect her thoughts when she was at a loss for what to say. Again, lower confidence effected the tutor’s voice as it remained monotone and littered with stuttering.
The volume of the student’s voice correlates with the amount of confidence they present. When a confident student speaks, they speak with a louder volume. It also determines the student’s comprehension of a question, confidence in their paper, and how well the tutor thinks they are guiding the student in the right direction. This confidence is reassuring to the tutor because they know, or at least appear to know what they are talking about. However, the tutor can easily recognize when the student is ill prepared for a session when the tutee speaks in an uncertain or attenuated voice.
Realizing this insecurity, the tutor assessed the situation to better understand why the student felt as unsure about the assignment as they did. The tutor presented having control when the student had a basic understanding of the assignment, hadn’t started working on their paper, and when the tutee is an ESL student. These three factors give the tutor the freedom the show authority and control. The tutor’s authority expands from them having the title of tutor to having more control over the language in general because there were native English speakers.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Research Plan
What I have conducted through my research of articles and observing tutoring sessions so far, is the role of authority correlating with the level of confidence in both student and tutor.
My observations and research has showed me that whoever exudes more confidence takes control of the session, and the one that is more apprehensive and unsure is less commanding.
The readings that have helped me further develop my ideas are
The Writing Center and Tutoring in WAC Programs: Muriel Harris
Talking In the Middle: Why Writers Need Writing Tutors: Muriel Harris
A Community Volunteer Tutorial that Works: Marcia Invernizzi, Connie Juel, Catherine A Rosemary and
Novice Tutors and their ESL tutees: Three case studies of tutor roles and perceptions
of tutorial success: Sara Cushing Weigle, Gayle L. Nelson
Using the findings in these readings as a guide to either support or dissuade my claims, I conducted my observations by taking into account who controlled each session. I did so while referring to the methods of tutoring and the student's response that was developed in my articles.
In Muriel Harris essay The Writing Center...WAC programs she states, "Tutors, because they function in a non-evaluative, supportive environment, offer writers the opportunity to write, think, and talk with someone who through this collaborative talk and questioning helps the writer use language to develop ideas, to test possibilities, to re-see and rethink in the light of feedback from the tutor." I used this as a starting point in my observations. For example, did the tutors I observed conduct their sessions as Harris described they should? Also, did the students come into the sessions thinking that a tutor is not a professor?-- that they're not here to evaluate me?
From these initial findings I recorded the confidence in both student and tutor. When the tutor took control it was often because of the lack of confidence/comprehension of the student. When the student did emit confidence, it was when they had a nearly finished essay, and just wanted to work on fine tuning it.
My observations and research has showed me that whoever exudes more confidence takes control of the session, and the one that is more apprehensive and unsure is less commanding.
The readings that have helped me further develop my ideas are
The Writing Center and Tutoring in WAC Programs: Muriel Harris
Talking In the Middle: Why Writers Need Writing Tutors: Muriel Harris
A Community Volunteer Tutorial that Works: Marcia Invernizzi, Connie Juel, Catherine A Rosemary and
Novice Tutors and their ESL tutees: Three case studies of tutor roles and perceptions
of tutorial success: Sara Cushing Weigle, Gayle L. Nelson
Using the findings in these readings as a guide to either support or dissuade my claims, I conducted my observations by taking into account who controlled each session. I did so while referring to the methods of tutoring and the student's response that was developed in my articles.
In Muriel Harris essay The Writing Center...WAC programs she states, "Tutors, because they function in a non-evaluative, supportive environment, offer writers the opportunity to write, think, and talk with someone who through this collaborative talk and questioning helps the writer use language to develop ideas, to test possibilities, to re-see and rethink in the light of feedback from the tutor." I used this as a starting point in my observations. For example, did the tutors I observed conduct their sessions as Harris described they should? Also, did the students come into the sessions thinking that a tutor is not a professor?-- that they're not here to evaluate me?
From these initial findings I recorded the confidence in both student and tutor. When the tutor took control it was often because of the lack of confidence/comprehension of the student. When the student did emit confidence, it was when they had a nearly finished essay, and just wanted to work on fine tuning it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Draft (blog 17)
Statement
To identify the factors, relating to authority, that gives students the confidence to take themselves seriously as writers?
Detailed statement of your research question
Is the tutor's authority established by the tutor's own confidence or because the student expects them to have all the answers?
-How is this confidence expressed by each?
In respect to the educational level of the student seeking advice, most students seeking help assume the tutor has most, if not all, of the answers.
List of the information you need to gather (or have gathered already)
What is most significant in authority and confidence is the language barrier. ESL students do not have a complete understanding of English and rely solely on the tutor's knowledge to help them create a better paper. They often say I don't understand the assignment, what does this mean (referring to something there professor said/wrote), in addition to not fully comprehending the tutor.
Communication is crucial to a progressive session. An example of clear communication was done by a tutor and a deaf student. What made communication effective was the tutor writing everything down that needed to be conveyed to the deaf student. Because of this form of communication there was no misinterpretation. The confidence of both tutor and student were high because every detail of the session was lucid and clear.
Initial findings:
• Does the tutor and student start off in the right direction?
• What was said by tutor—presents having control by asking how they
• Student’s response to tutor’s opening remarks—clear understanding of what the tutor is asking of them
• Level of education, gender, race/ethnicity of student—these are obvious observations
• How prepared is the student
Cues from both participants
• Cues from tutor when they know what to say—confident in their “demands”
• Cues from tutor when don’t know what to say—stuttering, apprehensive, uncertainty
• Cues from writer when they have ideas—repetitious head nodding, saying I understand, clear understanding of the assignment at hand
• Cues from writer when they are out of ideas—they say they don’t know or if they are in need of further explanation from their professor
The conversing between tutor and writer
• Writer reads their paper aloud (no draft = reading assignment aloud)
• Writer/Tutor have a balance between the amount of talking
Preliminary list of sources
The Role of Authority and the Authority of Roles in Peer Writing Tutorials.
http://library.kean.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,cpid&custid=keaninf&db=eric&AN=EJ492619&site=ehost-live
Novice Tutors and Their ESL Tutees: Three Case Studies of Tutor Roles and Perceptions of Tutorial Success
http://library.kean.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,cpid&custid=keaninf&db=eric&AN=EJ730651&site=ehost-live
Also, our textbook. Judith Powers essay on ESL students
Triangulation in the Writing Center: Tutor, Tutee, and Instructor's Percpetions of the Tutor's Role.
http://web.mit.edu/nlerner/Public/WCJ/ThonusTriangulation.pdf
Plan for gathering information
I think most of the research I have obtained thus far will contribute as the nucleus of my paper. It’s not so much “gathering information” for me now, but more of sifting through the information I have already. I have made numerous observations, though I am not saying I am done doing research, I’m continuing to research my topic and figure out the more significant pieces of the research I have so far. From there I will further observe those details in further sessions.
To identify the factors, relating to authority, that gives students the confidence to take themselves seriously as writers?
Detailed statement of your research question
Is the tutor's authority established by the tutor's own confidence or because the student expects them to have all the answers?
-How is this confidence expressed by each?
In respect to the educational level of the student seeking advice, most students seeking help assume the tutor has most, if not all, of the answers.
List of the information you need to gather (or have gathered already)
What is most significant in authority and confidence is the language barrier. ESL students do not have a complete understanding of English and rely solely on the tutor's knowledge to help them create a better paper. They often say I don't understand the assignment, what does this mean (referring to something there professor said/wrote), in addition to not fully comprehending the tutor.
Communication is crucial to a progressive session. An example of clear communication was done by a tutor and a deaf student. What made communication effective was the tutor writing everything down that needed to be conveyed to the deaf student. Because of this form of communication there was no misinterpretation. The confidence of both tutor and student were high because every detail of the session was lucid and clear.
Initial findings:
• Does the tutor and student start off in the right direction?
• What was said by tutor—presents having control by asking how they
• Student’s response to tutor’s opening remarks—clear understanding of what the tutor is asking of them
• Level of education, gender, race/ethnicity of student—these are obvious observations
• How prepared is the student
Cues from both participants
• Cues from tutor when they know what to say—confident in their “demands”
• Cues from tutor when don’t know what to say—stuttering, apprehensive, uncertainty
• Cues from writer when they have ideas—repetitious head nodding, saying I understand, clear understanding of the assignment at hand
• Cues from writer when they are out of ideas—they say they don’t know or if they are in need of further explanation from their professor
The conversing between tutor and writer
• Writer reads their paper aloud (no draft = reading assignment aloud)
• Writer/Tutor have a balance between the amount of talking
Preliminary list of sources
The Role of Authority and the Authority of Roles in Peer Writing Tutorials.
http://library.kean.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,cpid&custid=keaninf&db=eric&AN=EJ492619&site=ehost-live
Novice Tutors and Their ESL Tutees: Three Case Studies of Tutor Roles and Perceptions of Tutorial Success
http://library.kean.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,cpid&custid=keaninf&db=eric&AN=EJ730651&site=ehost-live
Also, our textbook. Judith Powers essay on ESL students
Triangulation in the Writing Center: Tutor, Tutee, and Instructor's Percpetions of the Tutor's Role.
http://web.mit.edu/nlerner/Public/WCJ/ThonusTriangulation.pdf
Plan for gathering information
I think most of the research I have obtained thus far will contribute as the nucleus of my paper. It’s not so much “gathering information” for me now, but more of sifting through the information I have already. I have made numerous observations, though I am not saying I am done doing research, I’m continuing to research my topic and figure out the more significant pieces of the research I have so far. From there I will further observe those details in further sessions.
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