Week 11 (Chris)
I am particularly struck by the exploration of how to respond to self-deprecation (see pages 3-4). The student may say "I'm bad at [using the possessive] for some reason," and the tutor responds with a question (that includes an embedded suggestion): "Do you ever read it out loud to yourself?" Haen points out, rightly I think, that while this kind of response is at odds with the typical/"natural" response to self-deprecation (i.e. disagreeing and complimenting), it can be very beneficial.
Haen's work in this article is a bit jargon-y and gets lost in the weeds of a super-specific case study analysis, not to mention the argument is brief and somewhat cursory--but he readily acknowledges in his conclusions that "there is more to investigate about how tutors navigate opportunities for affiliation" (8). Still, the article brings to light some interesting questions, and I'm definitely on board with (re)thinking how we approach agreement/disagreement and what we do when students/clients share a negative position--or express something with negative affect--when we're disinclined to agree with that position or to share that affect. To me, as someone with a background working in therapeutic school environments, the notion of solidarity and connection feels much more important than correction or even instruction (!), despite the academic pedagogical context in which we work.
Article: "The Affective Dimension of Writing Center Talk: Insights from Conversation Analysis" (Mike Haen, University of Wisconsin-Madison). From WLM 42:9-10, May/June 2018, pages 2-9.
Haen's work in this article is a bit jargon-y and gets lost in the weeds of a super-specific case study analysis, not to mention the argument is brief and somewhat cursory--but he readily acknowledges in his conclusions that "there is more to investigate about how tutors navigate opportunities for affiliation" (8). Still, the article brings to light some interesting questions, and I'm definitely on board with (re)thinking how we approach agreement/disagreement and what we do when students/clients share a negative position--or express something with negative affect--when we're disinclined to agree with that position or to share that affect. To me, as someone with a background working in therapeutic school environments, the notion of solidarity and connection feels much more important than correction or even instruction (!), despite the academic pedagogical context in which we work.
Article: "The Affective Dimension of Writing Center Talk: Insights from Conversation Analysis" (Mike Haen, University of Wisconsin-Madison). From WLM 42:9-10, May/June 2018, pages 2-9.
I wonder if there's also a way to rephrase the self-deprecation.
ReplyDeleteStudent: "I'm bad at using possessives"
Tutor: "So you're practicing possessives. Tell me more about what kind of work you're doing to master that?"
It reminds me of how students see grades. They start with a 100, and with each test and paper, that 100 is subjected to lower and lower averages. I would think that writer is more like an additive process...one is working their way towards a 100, or what have you.