Blog Post #7

 One of the frustrations with asynchronous tutoring (discussed in the Bedford) that I encounter regularly is the gap between question and response; for example, my students have a paper due tonight and I am sure at least one will try to have me review a draft at the last minute. What I have found is that the students who come into drop-in hours to discuss their drafts are more likely to communicate any issues they have with the course, as well as questions that they didn't know how to ask in the draft. I have to carefully craft my responses to ensure that there is no misunderstanding. However, having the distance of digital send-and-respond also has its downsides. I am certainly guilty of accidentally saying "This looks good" and regretting it in the next minute, which as our reading reminds us may lead the student to assume a particular grade. Also, my students seem reluctant to come in to go over work in person, which I imagine is due to both schedule conflicts and insecurity about discussing their writing. In these regards, having some space to step back and come up with better wording to get my point across is helpful, as is giving the student some space to relax. I also have less time to formulate responses to ensure a lack of misunderstanding, plus students may also misunderstand something in in-person tutoring and not mention it.

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