Dear Mr.Eisenstadt,
My name
is , and I am currently in my final semester here at LaGuardia
Community College. I am moving on to Queens College to pursue a degree in
Secondary Education. I love to learn; and what I love more than learning itself
is to be able to help others learn. In my Seminar of Tutoring Writing, taught
by Professor Justin Rogers-Cooper, I was given the opportunity to observe four
different tutoring sessions at your writing center here on campus. I was
personally excited to be able to watch tutors give advice to students, because
it was a great opportunity to compare methods and to see which were least and
most effective. Two texts that we have studied and discussed in class are Active Voice, by James Moffett, and Tutoring Writing, by Donald A. McAndrew
and Thomas J. Reigstad. These two books introduce and define different
strategies, theories, and methods that are practiced during (but not limited
to) tutoring sessions. The methods that I noticed during my observations that I
consider to be extremely effective in any good tutoring session was
Student-Centered Tutoring, Conversation and Collaborative Tutoring. Closely
related, these strategies focus more on the needs of the student, and how a
tutor should build ideas based on the information the student provides. For the
most part, the tutors cover a great deal of subject matter through
conversation, and take initiative to move the student along the different
processes without any confusion. Even though all of
the sessions I’ve observed were very impressionable, I did notice a difference
between the levels of comfort that male tutors had versus the female tutors.
There were moments during some of the sessions that I believed the female
tutors were too timid when they needed to be constructive, and I think that
could have a negative impact on a student’s experience at the writing center.
I would like to say that the most
productive tutoring session I observed was during my third session. This tutor
was very laid back, which made the student automatically feel welcomed and
comfortable. The student chose the topic of culture in America. In short, the
student’s topic was based around a fictional character born in India, who moved
to America and had to learn to adjust to a new lifestyle without losing her
cultural roots. The tutor listened intently as the student summarized the most
important segments of the story being used, and proceeded to ask questions to
further develop the student’s thoughts. The tutor asked many reflective
questions, one in particular that I thought was very effective was “how can you
relate to the cultural differences that we deal with on a daily basis?” That
question alone helped the student write an entire paragraph based on their own
critical analysis, and to me that was very collaborative. Collaborative tutoring
is a method in which the tutor asks many questions, to further engage the
student into their topic (McAndrew and Registad 26). I found this method to be
very effective because while the tutor helped the student, most of the ideas
were being generated from the student’s perspective.
The majority of the tutors I
observed also made sure to have a constant flow throughout the tutoring
session. The tutors overall made sure to end each part of the session with a
short discussion, and moved along to a new area of the paper when it was
appropriate without having the student feel rushed or confused by the transition.
A great example of this happened during my fourth observation. The male tutor I
was observing was working with two students as opposed to just one. One of the
students being helped at the time had a 7 page draft that needed to be
reviewed. Since the student had so many pages, I wondered how the tutor would
be able to address all of the issues that were present between the two
students. The first student’s topic was psychology. I thought this was a good
opportunity for me because it was the second student I’ve seen during my
observations with this topic, and I would be able to later compare the methods that
were used by the tutors to help the students. The tutor first helped the
student with the less lengthy paper. The second student did not have much to go
by, so the tutor started the session off with conversation. The second
student’s paper was more opinion based; her topic was about her opinions on
minimum wage in America. Since the
second student’s paper was more opinion compared to the more factual requirement
of the first student’s paper, conversation was very helpful. The tutor asked
the second student questions such as “what does minimum wage mean to you? How
does it affect Americans that are below middle class? Do you get paid minimum
or know anyone that does?” The tutor then directed the student to then outline
her paper, and to make a list of the ways minimum wage can affect a person. To
me, I personally believe that conversation is the key to a successful tutoring
session. If a student and tutor can converse about their topic and about
different ways to develop and or improve a paper, that discussion can bring
forth many new ideas. By simply conversing and making relations to off topic
subjects, the tutor is able to help the student make different types of
connections, which will help them generate more ideas for their paper (McAndrew
and Registad 34).
While the student was working on
those activities, the tutor directed his attention to the psychology
assignment. He briefly had the student explain what the assignment was about,
and then jumped in to reading the paper out loud. The
tutor stopped to make questions, comments, and suggestions along the way. A
suggestion/comment that the tutor asked the student was “I like that you
defined the topic so thoroughly in the body paragraphs, but you also need to
introduce the term in your introduction so that the reader has a sense of what
this paper will be about”. That immediately made me happy because I knew from
that moment that the session would be a lot more productive as opposed to a
tutor that read silently. At the end of the session, the tutor gave mutual suggestions on how both students
can critically analyze their work and relate it to the topic. I
actually wrote a few of his tips down as a "note to self",
because certain suggestions like that can really help a student build the
foundation necessary for a successful paper. The tutor in this session
showed a great deal of Student-Centered Tutoring. He addressed both of the
students’ needs, and made sure to help them in any areas they were struggling
in. In Tutoring Writing, McAndrew and
Registad define student-centered tutoring as a “desirable” tutoring style,
because it requires work and effort mostly from the student to bring forth
their ideas (McAndrew and Registad 25).
Although
the sessions I observed showed great use of different tutoring techniques,
there were moments that I felt could have been improved simply by the tutors
feeling more comfortable with sharing their ideas to the students. During my
sessions I observed two male tutors, and two females. What I noticed in the
sessions with the female tutors was that they seemed shyer, and sometimes a
little reluctant when it came time to share their higher order concerns. I
observed the two females during my first two sessions, and I did note that
there were times when they were hesitant to critique a section of the students’
paper. It wasn’t until I observed the male tutors that I began to realize just
how timid the female tutors actually were. In the first tutoring session I
observed, the female tutor spent about 10 minutes of the session reading one
girl’s paper, and I honestly felt that time could have been used a lot more
productively. There was no discussion while she read; no conclusions being made
and theories being agreed upon and that was upsetting, because if I were the
student I would want to talk about my paper more than anything else. After
reading one students paper, the tutor actually seemed to be at a loss of what
advice to give, especially since there was a language barrier between the
student and tutor. Instead of reading the paper over entirely and silently, I
believe that the female tutor I was observing should have read aloud and took
pauses to add emphasis where needed and develop ideas along the way.
I
felt that they were less inclined to even "constructively"
criticize the students work. I do believe that some of the advice given by
the female tutors were more “vague”, and didn’t focus enough on development. An
example that I’d like to share with you was during my second tutoring session
when the student was clearly missing a thesis, which made the paper incomplete
and extremely disorganized. The tutor began to compliment the student on the
work they had so far. The tutor then began on thinking of ways to expand the
paper. The issue regarding the missing
thesis wasn’t addressed until later on in the session even though the thesis is
a main component of any paper. I think the female tutor I sat with almost
feared offending the student, and instead chose a route of appraisal when there
should have been critique. In Tutoring
Writing, the term
Cheerleading is explained as “empty flattery” (McAndrew and Reigstad 17).
The
male tutors, however, weren’t hesitant in regards to giving a more
professional level critique. They weren't rude but very to the point, and
I believe because they didn't sugar coat things, they had more time to work on
each area that a student needed help with (McAndrew and Reigstad 17). I will always stress that time management is essential,
especially if you're dealing with two students and you need to strategically
share the time between them. The male tutors kept the atmosphere very
relaxed. Some students get pretty nervous, but they made sure to let them
know that they were there to improve their skills, not to judge there lack
of. To me, the male tutors put more of their opinions and thoughts into the
tutoring session, and I believe those students walked away with a more clear idea
of how to improve their writing. In Moffett’s Active Voice, he states that “it’s often helpful to get advance
audience reactions while changes can still be made – Anyone can serve as a kind
of coach” (Moffett 19). The time that a tutor and student have at the writing
center is limited, so I believe that being to the point with ideas and critique
can go a long way.
As I
began planning the issue I was going to address in this letter, I wondered ‘was
this difference only apparent in the set of tutors I observed?’ I honestly
believe that females may often be more timid than males. A possible suggestion
that I can make for you to help the female tutors with their shyness could be
having tutoring workshops. Not limited to just females, but a tutoring workshop
could help new tutors learn ways to critique a student without sounding too
harsh or possibly offending someone. I would also recommend the two texts I’ve
introduced in this letter. As I stated in the introduction, the texts are very
informative, and have a lot of good tips for writers and tutors alike. Another
suggestion I could make is to have tutors share their thoughts and experiences
during their personal tutoring sessions. I learned that some of the things I
experienced while I observed personally have happened to some of my classmates.
Lastly, I would like to commend you
on the staff that you have at the Writing Center. For myself, personally I
believe you had a handful of tutors who genuinely wanted to help students to
further develop ideas to ensure a successful paper. And while I may have had a
few things to point out during my observations, that doesn’t mean they haven’t
helped to improve student’s work on a daily basis. From sharing my own experiences
along with reading the experiences that my classmates have shared, the tutors
seem to be doing a great job at helping the students here on campus. My
pedagogy of education has always revolved around addressing the needs of the
student before anything else. I strongly believe that through Collaboration,
Conversation, and Student-Centered Tutoring, tutors are able to connect with
students on a more personal level but still keep their level professionalism
appropriate. By asking many reflective questions, I conclude from my own in
class discussions that simply conversing with a student can bring forth many
useful ideas. During my time at your Writing Center the
methods I favor personally were present in each session that I observed, and I
commend you once again for the staff that you have on hand. LaGuardia Community College is made up of a
very diverse group of people from all over New York City, and it is a privilege
to myself and others to be able to have access to many tutors who are so very
eager and willing to help improve our writing. I’ve visited the writing center
personally as a student needing advice on a paper, and with finals coming
around I most likely will be on line with the hundreds of other students that
are looking for ways to improve their methods and writing strategies
Sincerely,
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