Blog# 12 Observations and notes

Several things I've observed are tutoring strategies, the need of the student, and body language.

The Students

In my first observation, the student had a language barrier and the directive approached was used. There were vocabulary issues, where the student could not effectively communicate in English.

In my next solo observation, the student was not clear on the focus. In each paragraph, the student had issues tying in the key concepts from each paragraph to the actual thesis of the paper. The paper was written already, but she needed support to articulate her ideas on paper. The student was visibly uneasy initially, then as the session progressed-she clearly became more comfortable.

The Tutors

The tutor in my initial session was very comfortable using the directive approach. It was as if there was a commonality between the student and the writer which helped them both progress.

The tutor in this case helped the student find the right vocabulary, as well as punctuation and grammar.


In my next observation, the tutor was insecure at the beginning of the session, but she became much more comfortable as the session progressed. She used the teacher/student relationship model to draw the information out of the student. The student also read back data for the tutor to elaborate on, then give her opinion as they went along.

The tutor here also had the student read her paper, paragraph by paragraph, then the tutor asked her if she actually communicated the proper ideas. Most the time the student said no, then they went about collaborating and rephrasing.


Some things I though about focusing on for my paper:

Language barriers in the writing center

Tutoring across all disciplines

Tutoring students with language barriers in subjects other than English.


Most of my interest lies on students with language barriers, but I still haven't narrowed it down.


http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/praxis/?q=node/260

http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/praxis/?q=node/255

http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/praxis/?q=node/24

http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/praxis/?q=node/91