blog 11:

During Dr. Chandlers and Lauras tutoring session, i took notes on their body language more then the language because i think i will be doing my final paper on body language. i will definantly have to pay more attention to the indirect gestures but they are so common i dont noticed them; like the nodding. i noticed that at first Dr. was very withdrawn, hand on chin, shoulders in, didnt want to answer questions, but with a little guidence and more direct questions opened up and was more responsive. dr. chandler was eager to look at the computer and books rather than come up with answers on her own. laura gestured with downward hands at first, then started gesturing palm up. over all, i think i have to look at how language changed the gestures and body language. i was paying attention so much to the gestures rather then the tone that changed the session.

classnotes 10/26

posture-
open/ closed
interested disconnect

relaxed tense
discomfort uncomfortable
confidence uncertain
comfort nervous

gestures-
can be distravting
for emphasis
touching
nodding

distance-
indication of engagement
intention

eye contact-
facial expression-

direct-
talked most
# of turns
talks the longest
questions
you" statements
silence



indirect-



student behavior-
how much student talks

Blog 9/ 10:

ideas for a research topic

(first of all- does anyone know how to edit blogs after you post them???)

i would like to do my research paper on the body language of tutor and student, how they interact and relate to each other, their communication
or another interesting topic would be communication or methods between tutor and a freshman, tutor and upperclassmen

Blog 9:

During a first tutoring session, a tutor has to decide what method would be best in tutoring a student. I would probably sit side by side and go over the syllabus and the assignment, ask questions, and ask what the student wants to work on. I would come up with a goal with the student, whether it is to write the first paragraph, a thesis, or just work on citations. If the student doesnt know what hes doing, it would be a little harder, but i would have to figure out if the students being lazy, or truly does not understand. Different questions would help me figure out the students skill level and would give me a path of how to tutor that student.
if a student just does not want to do the paper, i would have to figure out a motivation for them, to get a passing on a paper, or to graduate etc. Overall, i think collaboration would be the best, most students should know how to write, they just need guidance and correction.

Blog 8:

My checklist:
opening
was the student comfortable with the tutor?
did the tutor ask questions to let the student open up?
is the tutor prepared?
is the student prepared?


does the tutor/ student understand the assignment?
was there a syllabus or assignment sheet available, or did the student just tell the tutor the assignment?
did the student ask questions?
did the tutor guide the student?
did the tutor ask the appropriate questions?
did the student understand the questions?
did the tutor have to restate the question different ways?
did the tutor allow the student to speak?
did the student allow the tutor to speak?

body language
what was the body language of the tutor?/ the student?
did the body language change through out the session?
was there eye contact?
were both parties comfortable?

what method did the tutor use?
did the student work well with the method?
did the tutor have to explain things a different way or try new methods?
who talked? more/less
understand eachother?
did the tutor allow the student to do own work?
did the tutor direct the student to other sources?

closing
is the student now able to do work?
will there be another tutoring session?
was the student comfortable with session/ tutor?
does the student have better understanding of assignment?
was the tutor able to help correct students mistakes?
did the student learn anything?
how was the body language at the end of the session?

Blog 7:

When I took notes on the tutoring session, the thing i noticed the most was the communication and body language between tutor and student. Both were leaning into each other and making eye contact. They asked intelligent questions and were eager to help each other out. I also noticed that they went through the syllabus, and made sure they understood the assignment. My notes are very scattered, because i would be writing something down, and then realize something else that was going on and start writing about that.

Blog 6:

Wow, so heres something else that ive been thinking about. There are many different models a tutor can use to coach someone. Because every one has a different learning style, it is important for the tutor to be flexiable, understanding, and patient with their student. Some students might just be lazy, and the tutor just has to encourage them to write and motivate them by relating the work to something that interests them. Other student might just really not understand the material, and the tutor has to allow them to think, and also ask the right questions. Sometimes the tutor will just have to sit and guide the student in the process to write a strong paper.

Blog 5: similar to blog 4

In my tutoring session, we looked at the syllabus to make sure we got the assignment right. Then talked about the main points of the essay and analyzed it. Lundsford essay was somewhat disorganized, but Ryan helped me get through all that confusion. It seemed that the tutor and student spoke about the same amount, and both were understanding eachother. :)

Blog 4:

In my tutoring session I worked with Ryan to write Lunsfords essay. It was a fun session, mostly because we acted as difficult students who had no idea what they were doing. We didnt have problems because we were able to answer each others questions. We looked online at the syllabus, then talked about the main ideas for the paper. Lundsfords essay has alot of ideas, some of them not clearly defined so there are a lot of different ideas of what is important. I picked 3, and then wrote about those because they were the most important to me.

Blog 3:

My writing center philosophy:

My writing center philosophy is that the tutor should be willing and able to help and assist the student in the best way possible. The student should be willing and able to learn. Most importantly, the student should be focused and prepared to be tutored. Alot of students go to a writing center because a teacher forces them to or because it is a class requirement, a student should go to a writing center because they want to, or they realize that they have to.
A tutor should be trained in tutoring and able to assist the student in their needs. The tutor has to be able to listen to the student, so patience is very important. A tutor should also be trained with a lot of different individuals, such as disabled, ESL, or someone of a different education background. It is important that the tutor recognizes the education level of the student by asking the right questions that are not too difficult for the student, or expecting too much from the student.
The writing director should be able to guide the tutors and answer their question. Also, to handle difficult situations or difficult students.

Blog 2:

Andrea Lundsfords main points:
garret house- the knowledge is in the student
store house centers- the knowledge is in the center and is transferred to the student
collaboration- exchange of knowledge and ideas between tutor and student
collaboration aids in learning abstractions
finding problems
helps applying knowledge to other things
critical thinking
higher achievement- student to please tutor, tutor to please writing center
excellence in community
engages whole student in thinking, reading, writing, applying

collaboration is helping the student and tutor with their work simultaneously

Blog 1:

Im writing my blogs again because i want to make sure i have solid notes for my final project and not have to reread all the chapters.

A writing center is a place for students to come and learn how to write. Not only they can come up with ideas for a strong paper, but be tutored in the process of writing, so that eventually they can write by themselves. It is also a place for the student to learn to fix their mistakes, and also do some critical thinking. Tutors have many different ways of helping students. However, they should not give false praise (cheerleading), go through a paper and correct all the errors themselves, or give the student all the ideas, and defiantly NOT write the paper, or alot of the paper, for the student. A tutor should work side by side their student, not as a teacher or someone of authority. It is the students paper, not the tutors. Asking constructive questions leads to critical thinking and the answers the tutor wants. Tutor does not need to be a expert, just needs to ask the correct questions.

10.14.09 class notes

Pure Tutoring:

active participation from writers
too much tutor talk- dependency
tutor not expert
socratic questions

10.7.09 class notes

minimalist tutoring: generally high ability students
student should do all the work
student has materials
sit beside student, not in front of
body language- student close to paper
be about honest about students responsibilities

take into consideration:
ability
gender
culture native languafe
learning disability
style: personality

ask questions, why did they come? what grade do they want? what is the teacher like?

Check list for tutoring:
- think about your effectiveness- coach effectively in session
- students response/ satisfaction
- what you did/ what student worked on/ what they learned
- coaching strategies
- what worked/ what didn't work
- general information about session- time, place, person

blog- make checklist