The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

More documents

Recommendations

Info

“I want my paper to be right. I don’t want to sound stupid; I want to sound intelligent.” His sense of urgency and overall demeanor told me that he most likely was feeling frustrated and discouraged about his writing. I began the conversation with, “Can you tell me what you think the most important issues are that we need to work on today in your paper?” He focused right in on grammar, “I need help with my grammar. People can’t understand what I’m trying to say a lot of the time. My sentences don’t always make sense.” I felt focusing immediately in on the specifics of his paper would not necessarily encourage him, so I said, “Well, before we start in on your paper, why don’t you tell me about the paper prompt. Then you can share with me briefly what the primary topic and ideas are in your paper.” He agreed and proceeded to give me a clear description of the paper prompt and his ideas. He talked and I listened. When he was done, I shared, “Your ideas are interesting. I like your focus. You definitely come across as intelligent when you speak. How about we work to more closely align your verbal communication with your writing. We’ll look at your paper, make a few changes here and there.” He smiled for the first time in our session. I knew we were on the right track. Upon review of his paper, I noticed many of his sentences were runons. He appeared to be trying to include too many ideas or repeating the same ideas within many of his sentences. His paragraphs lacked clarity and needed to be organized more effectively. He was determined to focus on grammar. I realized that until he could see the HOC issues in his paper for himself, he wouldn’t be receptive to my suggestions. I asked him to begin with the first paragraph and read each sentence aloud. I then followed with directive questions, What do you think the primary subject is in this sentence? What is the idea or ideas being expressed? How does this idea(s) help to support the main idea(s) in your paper? Does it seem like any words or phrases are being repeated? How do you think this sentence connects to the sentences that came before this one in the same paragraph? Does this paragraph seem to follow a logical progression when you look at the paragraph that came just before it? He soon began to see repeated issues within the structure of his sentences, often correcting each sentence as he read. He started to make bigger connections between ideas within sentences, how those sentences were organized within paragraphs, and how each paragraph was organized within his paper. Theorist, Patrick Hartwell, in his essay “Grammar, Grammars and the Teaching of Grammar,” describes this tutee’s experience, “Most students, reading their writing aloud, will correct in essence all errors of spelling, grammar, and, by intonation, punctuation, but usually without noticing that what they read departs from what they wrote” (366). This tutee did just as Hartwell described. In addition, once he felt his initial concerns over grammar were addressed, he was able to focus on HOCs. Though we were only able to cover a portion of his paper, he left that first session encouraged. The above situations are examples of tutoring sessions in which I encountered students who expressed that grammar issues were their biggest concern in their papers. By focusing in on tutees’ LOCs (when necessary), instead of ignoring those concerns and attempting to steer them directly to HOCs, we, as tutors, give tutees agency over their own writing. By viewing each tutoring session on an individual basis, letting students voice their concerns and applying techniques such as oral reading and readerresponse methods, open-ended and directive questions, constructive feedback and positive reinforcement, tutees can overcome their grammar fears and expand their perceptions. They begin to view their papers, not as separate disconnected parts, but as parts of a cohesive whole. Blending theoretical approaches and techniques, we can develop specific strategies to meet the individual needs of our tutees. And by remembering that within the writing center, we are on an equal footing with our tutees, we can act as 24
mentors and sounding boards for them, giving them the opportunity to share and develop their ideas within a collaborative learning environment. WORKS CITED Bruce, Shanti and Ben Rafoth, ed. ESL Writers, A Guide for Writing Center Tutors, 2 nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., 2009. Hartwell, Patrick. “Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar.” College English 47 (February 1985): 105-27. McAndrew, Donald A. and Thomas J. Reigstad. Tutoring Writing, A Practical Guide for Conferences. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., 2001. Murphy, Christina and Steve Sherwood. The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors, 3 rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 25
Page 1 and 2: The Tutoring Book Fall 2011 Edition
Page 3 and 4: �� Diverse Students and Cont
Page 5 and 6: Helpful Strategies 5 Savannah Corti
Page 7 and 8: Draw Upon Other Tutors Experiences
Page 9 and 10: and that even the sessions that did
Page 11 and 12: What is one thing you wish you had
Page 13 and 14: eceiving tutoring. But don’t let
Page 15 and 16: helped me see that. As a result, ex
Page 17 and 18: One Time Wonders: 30 Minutes to an
Page 19 and 20: No Draft? No Problem! 19 Kathleen U
Page 21 and 22: 10-4, Little Buddy: Two Way Convos
Page 23: her paper, I noticed she hadn’t a
Page 27 and 28: �On this page, the top link leads
Page 29 and 30: Purdue OWL (http://owl.english.purd
Page 31 and 32: • Argument • Writing about Lite
Page 33 and 34: The WAC Clearinghouse (http://wac.c
Page 35 and 36: “This exercise, popularized by Pe
Page 37 and 38: active problem solving and critical
Page 39 and 40: Directive or Not? Adapting an Appro
Page 41 and 42: essay meet the page limit is no lon
Page 43 and 44: particular solution, you are still
Page 45 and 46: was to trust her own knowledge and
Page 47 and 48: Step 2: Learning to Praise Equally
Page 49 and 50: • Hand gestures. Students who are
Page 51 and 52: Despite the fact that their struggl
Page 53 and 54: Your Safari Guide to Tutoring Advan
Page 55 and 56: esources for help. And don’t be a
Page 57 and 58: the instructor is saying, but she q
Page 59 and 60: Dyslexia in the Writing Center 59 A
Page 61 and 62: thinking about it and without reali
Page 63 and 64: Conceptual Learners: Students who a
Page 65 and 66: Tutoring Hearing-Impaired Students
Page 67 and 68: Writing Tutors. Boston: Bedford/St.
Page 69 and 70: Story 3: I brought up the subject o
Page 71 and 72: try reassuring them that writing is
Page 73 and 74: Tips for Tutoring Reading 73 Kathry
Page 75 and 76:
each paragraph, and transitional se
Page 77 and 78:
Theory to Practice At our writing c
Page 79 and 80:
After each paragraph I asked her to
Page 81 and 82:
Reading Out Loud: An Effective Stra
Page 83 and 84:
discussion throughout the reading b
Page 85 and 86:
Are There Proof-reading Traps Regar
Page 87 and 88:
Labels and Misleading Assumptions:
Page 89 and 90:
A Spare Tire, Not a Windshield 89 D
Page 91 and 92:
experience on the tutoring road. I
Page 93 and 94:
While I have had many successful tu
Page 95 and 96:
that he was forced to learn five la
Page 97 and 98:
work with students who seem to spea
Page 99 and 100:
My Personal Experience with Tutorin
Page 101 and 102:
Worldview: the Continent, Asia and
Page 103 and 104:
) In case they believe to be excell
Page 105 and 106:
grammar. After free-writing, a tuto
Page 107 and 108:
which represents more than just a p
Page 109 and 110:
developed in the American Academic
Page 111 and 112:
order writing concerns will be very
Page 113 and 114:
113 Niccole Scrogins Fall 2008 Afri
Page 115 and 116:
they are unaware of the social impl
Page 117 and 118:
writer had trouble understanding yo
Page 119 and 120:
Like other immigrant groups and Nat
Page 121 and 122:
121 Katie Johnson Fall 2004 The Wri
Page 123 and 124:
One of my writers was told that in
Page 125 and 126:
It Is Ok. I Am an Expert. 125 Gordo
Page 127 and 128:
The Value of Writing Center Tutors
Page 129 and 130:
expectation of their disciplines mo
Page 131 and 132:
Tutoring for the Grade: Finding the
Page 133 and 134:
The Writing Center and the WPJ 133
Page 135 and 136:
available. Students need to make su
Page 137 and 138:
Essay #1 (60 minutes/90 minutes for
Page 139 and 140:
“Learning to write is a complex p
Page 141 and 142:
Analyzing Rhetorical Situations in
Page 143 and 144:
word choice and the attitude that r
Page 145 and 146:
Social Constructivism in Action 145
Page 147 and 148:
Social Constructivist Strategies fo
Page 149 and 150:
The Writing Center as a Bridge: A P
Page 151 and 152:
Situated Acts of Writing and Tutori
Page 153:
Kastman Breuch, Lee-Ann M. “Post
show all

The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?