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.