This was our final tutoring session, and I must admit it was a very successful one. It was from the same class in which we first tutored at. I was paired up with a young man who didn't have any of his assignment ready. He wasn't even sure what needed to be done. So luckily we discussed the assignment in class that I was aware of what needed to be done. I asked the professor for the handout and me and the student got to work. He instantly knew which topic on the sheet he wanted to do, "Religious Freedom". He seemed to have prior knowledge on the subject and an opinion already formed, so this helped a lot. I began asking him general questions about why he wanted this topic and how he felt about it. His opinion became the basis for a tentative thesis statement.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
My Second Tutoring Session
Last Monday, my class and I had the opportunity to do our second tutoring session. I want to say that I wasn't nervous because it was already the second time, but... that was about 3 weeks ago! So, going into this I did feel a bit more comfortable. What really helps is knowing what the class' assignment will be ahead of time so we all aren't going in there clueless... which is technically what the tutors in the Writing Center do, props to them. So I had a ton of questions as we were going over the assignment in our class, but I felt ready. So, we walked over to the C building and Professor JRC introduced us to the class we would be tutoring today, and explained the objectives of our class. He then partnered us up in one-on-one or two-on-one sessions. This time around I had 2 people I was working with from the start, so I introduced myself and they did as well, then I asked if I can see what they had so far. During the last session I felt as if I had to rush through the students' paper because I didn't want to keep them waiting too long, but this time I read through it calmly so I could really understand what I was reading.
The first young man I was tutoring had only his introduction done, which was pretty good, he had a thesis formed and introduced it well. He just didn't know what to write next to support it. Now, an issue I came across was that the assignment we went over in class was direct instructions from an official CATW test, this professor sort of had his own instructions for what he wanted the class to do. So, I was a little confused and asked the professor and he cleared it up for me. So the objective was that the students needed to find 3 examples to prove their thesis. The piece of writing the students had was pretty short and didn't have too many varied ideas. Whatever the young man's thesis was, I asked him what made him think that way, and with the answer he gave me I said there goes your first example.
He then used personal experience to prove his thesis, he told me without hesitation what the example was, so I told him to write it down as his first paragraph. Then, I went to help the second student.
This young man had his paper nearly done. He was on the right track and only seemed to need help figuring out a last example. I noticed he had put quotes into his essay so I recommended that he paraphrase instead, since I think the CATW wants it in the students own words. I whipped out my They Say, I Say yet again, because it always comes in handy as a guidebook. I showed the student different ways he can introduce something an author has said, but into his own words. So as he was doing that, I went to see how the first young man was doing.
He seemed to have only written 1-2 words. So I asked him what was wrong, and to tell me again what the example was. As he told me I said there you go! Just write exactly that. That's when I realized that sometimes it is better for the tutor to hold the pen and write what the tutee is saying because sometimes they freeze with the pen in their hand.
So, I found this session very very successful. I really learned a lot from it, and gained more confidence in tutoring students. The key seems to be to get on their level so they don't feel intimidated by someone around their age telling them what to do. I simply shared the knowledge I knew to assist them to write what they knew.
The first young man I was tutoring had only his introduction done, which was pretty good, he had a thesis formed and introduced it well. He just didn't know what to write next to support it. Now, an issue I came across was that the assignment we went over in class was direct instructions from an official CATW test, this professor sort of had his own instructions for what he wanted the class to do. So, I was a little confused and asked the professor and he cleared it up for me. So the objective was that the students needed to find 3 examples to prove their thesis. The piece of writing the students had was pretty short and didn't have too many varied ideas. Whatever the young man's thesis was, I asked him what made him think that way, and with the answer he gave me I said there goes your first example.
He then used personal experience to prove his thesis, he told me without hesitation what the example was, so I told him to write it down as his first paragraph. Then, I went to help the second student.
This young man had his paper nearly done. He was on the right track and only seemed to need help figuring out a last example. I noticed he had put quotes into his essay so I recommended that he paraphrase instead, since I think the CATW wants it in the students own words. I whipped out my They Say, I Say yet again, because it always comes in handy as a guidebook. I showed the student different ways he can introduce something an author has said, but into his own words. So as he was doing that, I went to see how the first young man was doing.
He seemed to have only written 1-2 words. So I asked him what was wrong, and to tell me again what the example was. As he told me I said there you go! Just write exactly that. That's when I realized that sometimes it is better for the tutor to hold the pen and write what the tutee is saying because sometimes they freeze with the pen in their hand.
So, I found this session very very successful. I really learned a lot from it, and gained more confidence in tutoring students. The key seems to be to get on their level so they don't feel intimidated by someone around their age telling them what to do. I simply shared the knowledge I knew to assist them to write what they knew.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Response to videos regarding ALEC
The American Legislation Exchange Council (ALEC) is a debatable issue right now. Many education professionals are fighting back with what they feel. In the video interview of Diane Ravitch, she discusses how much has changed and what is now becoming expected in classrooms all over the US. I liked how she put everything, she is angered by the negative aspects of this change. The children are no longer a priority when it comes to their education, it's now about the larger picture of money. With the recent change in curriculum, child feel such an increased amount of stress on them. This is so unhealthy and will only lead to further issues. Why was this aspect not something to be highly considered? The supposed push for the Common Core was to prepare students for the real world. How is forcing kindergarten students to read 2nd grade level going to do that? Pushing children at such a young age, as well as enforcing such a huge change to what they have been used to, can not be positive. I also liked the last video with teachers from all over the US being interviewed. They all did not agree with these changes. There is pressure being put into teachers to make sure grades of their students are good. The job of a teacher in the Public School system seems to have changed. A teacher usually becomes a teacher because she loves making a difference and truly enjoys teaching children. Now, teachers will barely get to do that. I am almost positive there will be such a decrease in the amount of people who want to study Education or just aim to teach at public schools.
Friday, April 11, 2014
My First Tutoring Session
On Monday, our class took a trip to the English 101 class to begin one-on-one, or one-on-two tutoring sessions. It was finally time to put what we learned into action and apply it. When we walked in we were introduced to the class and randomly sat with a student. With all the information I learned to prepare me for this moment I was still nervous and forgot how to even begin. After I introduced myself, I let the student know why I was there because he seemed a little confused. I asked him if I can read his paper. While I was reading it to myself, he just sat there on his phone, and it felt like it took me forever to read it knowing he was waiting on me. After I was done, I was still a bit nervous so I took out my notes from class which was basically a check list of what our mission was.
Having this as a reference made me feel better. I first asked him why he decided to be for gentrification rather than against. He told me why and I felt the automatic need to become defensive because his opinions were different than mine. Instead I shared what I knew of the matter and in return he expanded on his points, then I told him, what you just told me is another great point to add to the paper. Having this open discussion with him, I challenged his ideas which he seemed to benefit from. He had a strong opinion and great facts but they were crammed together. I underlined his thesis which consisted of a list of reasons he was for gentrification. I told him to use each of these aspects as a form of an outline and use each one for a paragraph or even page. After we went over the whole paper, the conversation seemed to die out a little and I didn't know how to deal with it. That's when my professor saw our session was over and asked if I would work with another student who came into class late.
This student just had an outline and didn't seem to care much. I read his thesis and he was also for gentrification. His points were valid, and supported the thesis but they all seemed to be focused around the same concept of safety of the neighborhood. As we were discussing why he felt why this was most important it led to other issues he can use to prove his point. He asked me how he can incorporate a quote. That is when I whipped out my copy of 'They Say, I Say' and showed him exactly how quotes can be incorporated into the sentence. It was extremely helpful to him.
I thought overall this session was successfully for my first time tutoring. I feel like from now on I will feel a bit more comfortable. I am definitely looking forward to it!
Having this as a reference made me feel better. I first asked him why he decided to be for gentrification rather than against. He told me why and I felt the automatic need to become defensive because his opinions were different than mine. Instead I shared what I knew of the matter and in return he expanded on his points, then I told him, what you just told me is another great point to add to the paper. Having this open discussion with him, I challenged his ideas which he seemed to benefit from. He had a strong opinion and great facts but they were crammed together. I underlined his thesis which consisted of a list of reasons he was for gentrification. I told him to use each of these aspects as a form of an outline and use each one for a paragraph or even page. After we went over the whole paper, the conversation seemed to die out a little and I didn't know how to deal with it. That's when my professor saw our session was over and asked if I would work with another student who came into class late.
This student just had an outline and didn't seem to care much. I read his thesis and he was also for gentrification. His points were valid, and supported the thesis but they all seemed to be focused around the same concept of safety of the neighborhood. As we were discussing why he felt why this was most important it led to other issues he can use to prove his point. He asked me how he can incorporate a quote. That is when I whipped out my copy of 'They Say, I Say' and showed him exactly how quotes can be incorporated into the sentence. It was extremely helpful to him.
I thought overall this session was successfully for my first time tutoring. I feel like from now on I will feel a bit more comfortable. I am definitely looking forward to it!
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Expectations and Questions for Monday's Tutoring Session
My expectations for my first time tutoring on Monday are pretty high. After witnessing 4 sessions at the tutoring center I feel confident in what I have learned, to apply it myself. I was concerned about not being familiar with the assignment that the tutee would be working on. In class we discussed what the assignment was and got some background information on it, so now I feel better that I have knowledge. I also was curious about referring to some of my own notes that I have taken in class to help me. I have a printed copy of They Say, I Say which is extremely helpful, I've used it as reference to some of my papers. I am sure the ENG 101 students will find this useful. Other than that, I am excited and just a little nervous.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Week 3 Observations
This week my observations were a bit different. The tutor was working with 2 students, Student A was working on a Critical Analysis Paper and Student B was working on her paper for English 101. First, the tutor read through Student A's paper while both students were just sitting there in silence for about 3-4 minutes. I thought this was a bit awkward and weird to do. Afterwards, the tutor went over the assignment page and Student A felt as if she chose a wrong question from the assignment sheet. She thought the article was a little complex and misunderstood it. The tutor briefly looked through highlighted parts of the article and gave her input as to what the article was about. Student A then realized she misinterpreted the article and knew by self-correction that she had to change the thesis statement. The tutor agreed and Student A then corrected the sentence. The tutor also gave a little of her input on the subject which helped the Student open her eyes and see things a little differently. She then asked the Student to look over the paper while she helped Student B.
Student B was patiently waiting about 10-12 minutes for her turn. She sat there and didn't do anything. The tutor read her paper and asked her minor questions about the thesis. There was slight miscommunication between the two of them due to the fact, which we realized after she left, that Student B was hard of hearing and have hearing aids in. At some points the tutor had to write words down that the student couldn't understand but she handled the situation respectively. The tutor helped the student adjust her thesis statement and then she asked if she can go.
After Student B left, the tutor went back to help Student A. They went over any changes Student A made and the tutor liked how it sounded. The student thanked her for the help and that was all.
Student B was patiently waiting about 10-12 minutes for her turn. She sat there and didn't do anything. The tutor read her paper and asked her minor questions about the thesis. There was slight miscommunication between the two of them due to the fact, which we realized after she left, that Student B was hard of hearing and have hearing aids in. At some points the tutor had to write words down that the student couldn't understand but she handled the situation respectively. The tutor helped the student adjust her thesis statement and then she asked if she can go.
After Student B left, the tutor went back to help Student A. They went over any changes Student A made and the tutor liked how it sounded. The student thanked her for the help and that was all.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Week 2 Observations
For the second week of observations I was curious to see differences in the tutoring habits. The tutor first introduced me to the student, but I had known her from my previous class last semester. She was excited to see me. We all sat down at a round table and then I observed the tutor read the assignment out loud.
The student was prepared with her article and draft. She was working on a Critical Analysis Paper for her education class. I also realized that she was working on the same assignment that I have now in my other class.
While I was observing I was also getting help from listening, that I could apply to my paper. The tutor also read the paper out loud and the student heard a mistake she made and noted it. The tutor was very enthusiastic and friendly. She complimented on a specific sentence then asked the student why? So when the student explained, she had more information to write on her paper. The tutor told her to add more examples. In the midst of this, a second student joined the session, so the tutor asked the first student a question to think about and moved over to help the second student.
The second student was very confused, he was preparing for the CATW and needed help writing a paper. He didn't have the actual assignment instructions with him so the tutor was confused. He said he needed a thesis sentence which didn't include an opinion or facts. So the tutor said, "I do not know how that is possible, I have never heard of something like that before." She helped him with what she could about the rest of the paper and told him to come back. After the tutoring session, she asked me if I had any questions for her personally about the process. We went into the office and I asked her a few questions. I want to go to this tutor myself since she was so helpful!
The student was prepared with her article and draft. She was working on a Critical Analysis Paper for her education class. I also realized that she was working on the same assignment that I have now in my other class.
While I was observing I was also getting help from listening, that I could apply to my paper. The tutor also read the paper out loud and the student heard a mistake she made and noted it. The tutor was very enthusiastic and friendly. She complimented on a specific sentence then asked the student why? So when the student explained, she had more information to write on her paper. The tutor told her to add more examples. In the midst of this, a second student joined the session, so the tutor asked the first student a question to think about and moved over to help the second student.
The second student was very confused, he was preparing for the CATW and needed help writing a paper. He didn't have the actual assignment instructions with him so the tutor was confused. He said he needed a thesis sentence which didn't include an opinion or facts. So the tutor said, "I do not know how that is possible, I have never heard of something like that before." She helped him with what she could about the rest of the paper and told him to come back. After the tutoring session, she asked me if I had any questions for her personally about the process. We went into the office and I asked her a few questions. I want to go to this tutor myself since she was so helpful!
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