Blog post #4 - Bethanny

I thought the chapter "The Writers You Tutor" was very helpful, because it made me think about the language that I use around students and the conditions that students (or writers are in). The idea of not labeling a rough draft as 'good' or 'bad' and stating that it is a work in progress is very important. Usually, I also say that it is a "good start", which would imply that the project is to be continued.  I also appreciated the learning strategies that was mentioned. As tutors we tend to want to work fast, so there is the tendency to want to work on the computer. However, having the students print out the work does help even though it takes a few minutes out of the tutoring time. Another part of the chapter that I appreciated was the section that talks about the condition of writing, which I haven't given much thought. I think it would be great to always ask about the student's writing process so that we know what the student thinks about process of writing, and perhaps we can provide tips or extra help on this matter.

Comments

  1. AshlynFebruary 18, 2020 at 11:05 AM

    I'd like to second the appreciation for the section on learning strategies and styles. It's something I'm generally aware of in a classroom setting, but that I tend to completely forget about in a tutoring setting. The reminder to be mindful of how students best learn and adapt our tutoring to those needs was helpful.

    Also, since I still can't seem to figure out how to post my own thing (hopefully I'll remember to ask about that today), here's my own post:

    One almost throwaway line in the Bedford chapter got me thinking. On page 43 of my edition (I have an older one), she talks about a student who ended up becoming a tutor because helping others with their writing helped her help her own writing as well. I think this is a super valuable thing that I'm not sure how to implement in a tutoring setting. In the classroom, we have peer review and other such practices that allow students to read each other's work and help each other, and it seems to be invaluable to them (per their reviews of the process). How can we make something like that happen in the writing center? CAN we make something like that happen in the writing center? Would it be useful to have example essays, even if in a different style or what-have-you, and ask our students to read through them and comment on things that work well or could use improvement, or would that be perceived as a "waste of time"? Similarly, is there a way we could do some sort of group-tutoring thing where maybe a couple of tutors and students work together looking at each other's work? That might be beneficial to some of our students, but then maybe it'd just take away from the individual instruction that the center is all about. Thoughts?

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