Exercise 3B

Video 1 was a little strange since it is working with a larger number of students, and I was really confused when the girl in the orange sweatshirt abruptly left the room. The instructor's face made him seem confrontational to me, but this could have been because of the video quality. He moved quickly and somewhat abruptly, and even his slap on one student's arm almost seemed rebuking. The way he was almost lurking over the students' tables seemed imposing and almost dominating, as did the fact that he was standing and always looking down at the students. Standing also allowed him to have a less restricted range of motion and make broader, faster gestures. I think I would have felt extremely rushed if I was participating in whatever group work this was. However, because they had less freedom of movement, the students seemed much more open and agreeable when they interacted with each other. They were also all at eye-level with each other, which put them all on equal ground, so to speak.

Video 2 was interesting to me, because I found it a little difficult to tell who was the consultant and who was the tutor right off the bat. I initially assumed the younger man was the consultant because he was the second one to enter the room, but the fact that both men had papers ready confused me a little. Since the older man did most of the talking at first, I continued to think he was the client since the client would be initially explaining the assignment and answering questions for the consultant. However, it eventually became clear that the older man was doing too much explaining for him to be the client. The actual client's body language clearly indicated that he wasn't too interested in the session. He was late, still eating something when he entered, his papers were disorganized, and he even answered his cell phone during the session. The consultant still seemed very patient though. He always made eye contact with the student when speaking, and his hand gestures were slight and controlled.

The UM-Flint Writing Center in Video 3 seemed very welcoming and organized. The receptionist made eye contact with the student and obviously looked up the information he needed promptly. When the consultant met the student they shook hands, and she also made eye contact while smiling, which added familiarity and openness to the session. The client and consultant had a much more interactive session than the pair in Video 2, and it was obvious that there was a progressing dialogue. This consultant was similar to the one in Video 2 in that she continued to make eye contact with the student when she wasn't looking at the paper, and she also used very controlled hand gestures that indicated her interest in the work. It almost seems strange, but I can't really think of any instances of consultants using hand gestures this frequently in the sessions I have observed in our Writing Center.