3rd leading session/ outside observation

Last week I had my third leading session and it was also my first time working with graduate students. I worked with two students who were working on a final paper, a collaboration of 16-20 pages. The students had only began the first part of their paper, a rough 6 pages. I was a little nervous when I began looking at their paper, but I concentrated on the orginization and clarity of their work. It was a little difficult for me because I wanted to see what the rest of their paper would be. It did take the full hour to go over what they had brought. They seemed relieved at the end of the session but stressed out at the same time. One of the students was a little older with a family at home and seemed stressed out about meeting up with the other girl. They were each taking turns writing sections and then trying to mold them together into one long paper. I showed them how to use googledocs, which I find to be an easier way to collaborate, and they both seemed interested in using the site.

A few weeks ago I observed at the BBC library. I had never been inside this library before and it did take me a few minutes to find where to go. I did like the environment at the BBC library, but I think I may prefer the hectic pace at the main Library or the awesome location of Bessey Hall in relation to my apartment and my classes. The observation was somewhat shorter than what I am used to, maybe only twenty minutes. A student brought in a three page paper for his IAH class. He read it out loud for the consultant finding a couple grammatical error. The student did not have a very strong thesis for his paper. The consultant had him rewrite it by looking at the overall content of his paper. He asked him what exactly he wanted to state in his thesis and gave the student time to write a different one. There was also an area where the student forgot to cite his information. The organization of the content was written well. The student left a few minutes early so he could make it to his next class on time. He seemed happy with what they had worked on, and the consultant suggested making another appointment if he wanted to before the final draft was due.