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Operation: Observe Space
After my first tutoring session observation, I can’t help but compare the process to a spaceflight; A journey that eventually leads to a “moon-landing.” My initial observations are like that of an astronaut who studies Space before going there. It began as such:
When the tutee arrived, I wasn’t sure whether I should join the tutor and the tutee or if I should observe from afar. It’s quite interesting to see the way a tutor can understand the direction of the session based on their first interaction with the student. That initial interaction caused me to make the determination to observe the session from a neighboring table. From the moment when the tutee sat down, to the tutor greeting them, and to asking what the student would like to work on, both the tutor and I could feel the uncertainty the student had regarding their assignment.
Reduced-Gravity (Vomit Comet) Preparation
I admired the way the tutor was inquisitive to gain both an understanding of the assignment, as well as to understand where in the process the student needs help with and what their specific concern is. The first action the tutor took was moving her chair from the opposite side of the table to next to the tutee, in order to close the gap between the tutee and them in order to create a more personable and comfortable experience. The tutor asked what the student’s current knowledge is relating to the topic, “do you know and are you comfortable with, what each of the rhetorical appeals mean?” This is a particularly interesting starting point because it sets up the role of a tutor as being beyond an “editor,” as Jeff Brooks might state. A tutor is not solely there to help a student with their assignment, but to guide them in understanding specific concepts and key terms related to their topic as well.
The tutor questioned what the Professor’s expectations are and if they had any examples of what those expectations looked like. After the tutor became familiar with the assignment guidelines/instructions, professor expectations, and the background knowledge of the student, they then asked what the student specifically needs help with. It wasn’t until the end that I asked the tutor what the reason was for the student scheduling the appointment and what it is that they worked on during the session. I was able to gather through the context of conversation what it was that they were working on, which was to create an outline, beginning with the introduction and establishing the main idea and a thesis statement.
Blast-Off
The student was analyzing a Sports Authority sign, through the application of the rhetorical appeals. They seemed to have an idea of what they wanted to focus on, so the tutor began to ask questions circulating around the tutee’s ideas to encourage their own brainstorming process. The student discussed how the sign was red and that the color of the sign was their central focus, prompting the tutor to ask: “What do you think the purpose of them using the color red is?” That question ignited the student’s inner spacecraft and just-about sent it off into Space. The tutee had a sufficient amount of things to say regarding that question and from that point on, they were asking their own questions and answering them even before the tutor could. It wasn’t long before the tutee needed a fuel refill.
This pause prompted the tutor to ask more questions such as the tense the student wanted their paper to be in since Sports Authority permanently closed making it difficult for them to remain consistent. When the tutor asked, “What did he say about your previous thesis statements,” hoping to analyze feedback from previous assignments, the student remembered that they had written an introduction similar to the one they would need to write for the current assignment, in which they had gotten praise for in the past. The tutor asked to see it and guided the tutee to construct a new one using the feedback that they were given. This method is a great way to get a student to use their own resources and gives the tutor the opportunity to show them where to find that type of aid for future assignments.
Moon-Landing
The tutor took a more non-directive approach in this particular session because the tutee was guiding their self and had their own ideas, they just needed to be actuated in order to organize and to pour them out on the paper. Allowing the student to both ask and answer questions related to their assignment encouraged them to utilize their ideas trapped deep within them and to apply those ideas to their own writing. Since the tutor and tutee felt that there were minimal instructions from the professor, it’s crucial that the student takes control and ownership of their paper and leaves the session with a direction that they’re comfortable with. This concept stems from the idea of “authority and power” discussed in class and placing power into the hands of the student.
Conclusion
After the session, the tutor and I talked through understanding the session as well as what their job is after it is completed. We both noted that the student seemed to have a direction as well as their own ideas already, despite the student not recognizing that they did. This prompted the tutor to use a non-directive approach in order to encourage the student and make them feel secure in their ideas and to indirectly motivate the student to extend upon them further. This reminds me of Jeff Brook’s idea relating to minimalist tutoring techniques, that you (the tutor):
“Can use your keen intelligence and fine critical sense to help the student without directing the paper. As always, the main goal is to keep the student active and involved in the paper”
(Brooks 131). The tutor did a great job in recognizing the approach they needed to take in order to guide the student in a positive direction and to allow them to build upon their skills within the tutoring session that they can then apply to future assignments.
Works Cited
Brooks, Jeff. “Minimalist Tutoring: Making the Student Do All the Work.” The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors, by Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood, Bedford/St. Martins, 2011.
