Kedeshia’s Case Study
Tutoring can be a challenging
concept. It takes practice and background knowledge in order to be an effective
tutor. I was granted the opportunity to experience this complex task. I had to undergo
four hours of observation in the writing center. I also did a lot of studying
before I started. Such studies in included McAndrew, D and Registad, T,
practical guide called Tutoring Writing, which is a layout of tutoring tips and
strategies. As the saying goes, 'It's easier said than done'; the hands-on
experience had a different point of view than me reading what to do. After
tutoring for four sessions, I believe that tutoring is an on-going development
for the tutee and the tutor. I call this symmetrical learning (Kedeshia); it
allows both sides to improve on their reading, writing and critical thinking
skills. As a tutor, it’s expected that they’re more advanced and knowledgeable
than the writer. However, I believe that the less a tutor knows, the more
likely the writer becomes an expert. It’s like a reversed learning; the writer
explains to the tutor their knowledge on what’s need in the paper, while the tutor
makes a note of the tutees thoughts and asses these thoughts on paper.
I started my first live tutoring
without being nervous or having an anxiety attack as I expected. The students
were working on practice CATW’s. Their prompt was about an article on The Matrix. The session started a bit
rough because the student could not explain what the essay was about. He proceeds
to ask his professor, who came over to our seat and explained what the
assignment was. Once I had an understanding, I read his introduction and
started off by asking, "What is the main topic here?", because he did
not introduce the article, yet he added quotes. I reminded him that he must
always explain his quotes to avoid plagiarism. I read the rest of his paper and
he had great topic sentences with supporting details, but when I gathered the
topic sentences, I realized it did not correspond with what he believed to be
the main topic. I used the Oral Composing strategy, “This exercise helps the
writer shape relevant ideas, phrases, and sentences that can be incorporated
into the draft where development is thin” (McAndrew 46). We engaged in
conversation as he tried to explain what he believes to be important in the
text. He had good quotes but needed to change his main topic in which he was
able to figure out. The student refused to take out a sheet of paper or write
notes, despite the numerous attempts I had made. It was difficult not being
able to have these notes down because he ended up asking the same questions on
sections we already evaluated. I asked him about an outline and encourage that
we create one but he insist that he has it already and wanted to move on to the
next subject at hand. I believe that we could've had more done if he was not
editing on the blog itself. By me concentrating on everything the student was
saying to me, helped me to give better feedback on his paper. The positive part
of the assignment is the communication that I encountered. The student was
talkative which led me to figure out what strategy best suits him and it
helped. The student improved his fragments into his own words as well as adding
relevant thoughts to develop his paper. The session was productive but could've
been improved as far as time management since I only had one student; the other
student did not do any assignments. In the notes of Liberating Inner
Speech, quotes, “Think of nothing things. Think of wind” (Moffett 305),
having a clear mind allows the writer to elaborate their ideas.
I went into my second 'Live'
tutoring session with more confidence. Unlike the first session, I was able to
tutor two students who had to continue practicing with CATW prompts. The first
student's blog was on The Matrix as
well. She had the proper structure of what is required from the assignment such
as the main topic, a reflection and evidence to support their opinion, but
needed a brief summary. She did not explain what the article was about nor did
she write the title. She provided me with paper and asked if we can take notes
because she felt like there was going to be many mistakes once I mentioned
"grammar". What made it difficult for me to read her paper was her
grammar. There was a language barrier with her paper but she was able to
explain what she meant as I asked her to read the sentence(s) through
Collaborative tutoring (McAndrew 26) I talked about her paper and went of topic
and talked about her personal experience that was to be included in her paper.
I was able to get some understanding but asked her to reread the entire paper
for grammar and fragments in which I call an Interim-activity (kedeshia), while
I assist the other student. The second student I tutored had two papers for me
to review but I explained that I only had time for one. One paper was about The Matrix and the other was about Fast
food and advertising. She started with the paper that needed more improvements.
She explained that both papers have been reviewed but she wants to work on a
final draft. The paper was well written and did not need too many corrections.
She had problems with run-on sentences, she had too many commas. She had strong
evidence which helped wrapped up her conclusion. I asked her to reread her
paper to correct her run-on and make sure she wrote what she expected to say.
Meanwhile, I checked with the other student and she decided to work on another
paper since she was behind. I asked for her assurance and advised her to ask me
if she had any questions. I went back to the other student and had an
opportunity to read her second paper in which she explained that she worked the
hardest on. After reading the paper, I was able to see the difference in her
writing and the effort put. It was a good paper but she still had a few run-on
sentences. These students used the Retrospective Structuring process in Sondra
Pearls’ Understanding Composing (Course Packet 33). They reread their paper to
find out what was missing and their felt senses led them to write what they
meant to say.
My third session of tutoring was a
bit challenging compared to the first two. The students were continuing their
works on CATW example. This prompt was about junk food and advertising. I
started off by asking a student if he needed help even though he already had a
tutor. He agreed for me to help. I guess he wanted a second opinion on
feedback. I reviewed his paper and commented on his good supporting details and
summary. Implied that he needed a conclusion because he did not have one
and he replied that the last tutor gave him the same information I provided him
with. Then I reviewed an absent students' paper and wrote comments on the low
order concerns. Since the student was not present, I couldn't asses the higher
order concerns as much because I couldn't understand the students' writing. My
comments were short such as compliment ting on the good ideas provided and fragments
and run-on sentences are recurring. The challenging part was when a student
that I tutored before showed up. He came prepared this time and asked if I
wanted to see the assignment sheet before I can say anything. He handed me his
paper, and before I read it, he explained why the structure was so
disorganized. I was surprised to see his paper and had to ask what happen. He admits
to coming late and falling asleep while writing. I informed him that I will see
if I can work through it despite the major errors. There were about six paragraphs
and each consisted of one run-on sentence. Some details were relevant, but many
clearly showed that he was 'babbling'. I tried to see if he could connect all
the paragraphs and came up with a concept. I created an outline. I asked him to
tell me what he would write in his introduction and took notes and the main
topic he stated. I took notes on everything he was saying and created the
structure of his paper. Based on past sessions with this student, I concluded
that he comes up with better ideas when he talks about it aloud. All he was
left with is to put his ideas into words. I developed an understanding of his
techniques to put him in comfort zone. In Kozols chapter, a student states,
“You want the teacher to know your name. The teacher asks me, ‘Are you really
in this class? ‘Yes, I’ve been here all semester, but she doesn’t know my name”
(Kozol 100). In contrary to what I experienced, the student felt out of place.
During my fourth tutoring
session, the students were tested on a CATW example. They were grade with the
same procedure that would be taken for the actual test; two people graded the
test using the CATW grading rubric sheet. I worked with two students this time.
The first student asked if I can help her with her paper. As I read her first
paragraph, I was able to tell that that was a language barrier. I was able to
understand her sentences but she used the wrong vocabulary in some cases. I
asked her to reread the sentence and tell me what she meant to say. She implies
that her native country uses different vocabulary that explains what she is
trying to say but means something else in the English language. I encountered
this problem throughout her paper. It was also a challenge speaking with her
because her English wasn't too good.
After restating her sentence a couple of times, I was able to understand
what she was saying. Most of the time, she was able to form her sentence using
the proper English language. I made a note of every sentence she needed to work
on and ask her to reread and do the same process we did on her own while I
helped the other student.
The other student was my usual
tutee. I already gave him notes through an outline we created through
"Nutshelling and teaching" (McAndrew 43). He said he used those notes
to revise what he had written the last time. I read his paper via blog and read
the improvement. He needed minimal help because he only wrote three paragraphs.
I asked if he did the practice vocabulary links that his teacher advised and he
said he did. He said it was helpful and his paper was coming along great. I
left him to finish his writing and went back to my original student. She made
progress without me and was able to rewrite a sentence on her own. Time was up
and I felt I accomplished more than what I expected the students thanked me and
I wished them luck on their test.
This experience helped me to improve on my strategies
I learned. I was able to incorporate several ideas and feedback for these
students to reflect and assess these responses to their paper. At the end of
the day, these students were using their own ideas; I just helped them turn it
into words. I believe tutoring expands ones potential in becoming a good
writer. Tutors are also exercising their critical thinking skills by going off
inferences to provide feedbacks and strategies. James Moffett states, “Making
up dialogue deals splendidly with both reasoning and fictionalizing” (46), the
interaction of the tutor and tutee is like a live dialogue as they share their
ideas. Tutoring is a dual concept which allows both the tutor and tutee teach
one another new approaches one can take to develop their academic skills.
