Tutoring Session Observation #2

My second observation was completely different from my first. Firstly, I was invited into the lounge in which the tutors reside and met with the person whose session I was paired to observe. The tutor had already been given the student's sign-in sheet, which listed the reasons for visit to the writing center. Before going out to meet with the student, the tutor showed me the sign-in sheet and shared a joke regarding the reason the student listed, which read, "fix essay". The tutor then jokingly said to me, "this might be a long session". The student came in for help regarding an ENG 102 essay in which she did poorly. Having written "fix essay" on the sign-in sheet, the tutor asked the student to state her specific reasons as for problems with the essay. The student highlighted that she may have had misunderstood the assignment instructions because her professor identified her thesis to be non-related to the topic(s). English was the second language spoken by the student, and her communication was very difficult to understand at times whilst sitting a bit distanced.

The tutor firstly set about by reading over the assignment instructions, followed by the student's essay. She then immediately stated her understanding for the possible reasons for the professor's comments and the grade given. The tutor then asked the student if it was possible to re-do the entire essay, because she will have to fully understand what the assignment is asking before constructing a new thesis. The student was completely willing to re-do the essay as she seemed very bothered by the grade. Additionally, the tutor was very helpful, kind, and displayed great body language throughout. She was also very encouraging as the student, again seemed very troubled by the grade. The tutor then explained the essay instructions in-depth until the student fully understood. One of the biggest problems that arose was that the student had not read an assigned reading prior to the assignment being given, so she automatically found herself behind. It could have also been a reason as for her misunderstanding of the assignment instructions.

Nevertheless, the tutor recommended the student to incorporate aspects of the essay and use it in the revised draft as she found some interesting points throughout. The tutor also encouraged the student to revisit the writing center before submitting the second draft or if she encountered any problems in route. (I personally felt with English being the student's second language, the particular assignment may have been a bit too complex to grasp at first).  

Tutoring Session Observation #1

During my observation at the writing center I connected some of the theories found in, "Tutoring Writing" to the session I sat through. Both the tutor and student demonstrated "Collaborative Learning" and "Talking and Writing" theories to achieve the goal initially set out prior to the session's initiation. The student came in search of guidance as it related to his short essay 'pitch' as a tour agent for his Introduction to E-Business class. Furthermore, the student asked the tutor for specific help as it pertained to the structure of his paper as well as the vocabulary and punctuation throughout. The tutor firstly set about her job by silently reading the paper, followed by stating her initial reaction to the student. The tutor then re-read the paper along with the student to identify the main points of correction that she thought was required. They went over each sentence focusing on choice of words, punctuation, and general flow. There was good communication between the pair, with the other lengthy silent moments. Additionally, the tutor was very friendly as it pertained to helping the student with the occasional moment of laughter. Overall, I thought it was quite an interesting experience observing such a session and I look forward to another soon.