The film we watched in Wednesday's class was very interesting, but in my sessions with ESL students I can't recall seeing the different structures that many of the international students described. This is probably because the students have already made a shift in their minds to write in the traditional style of an American academic essay. Obviously there are organizational and content issues just like any other writing center client's paper, but I can seem to remember any student whose paper closely resembled a completely different format. Rather, I think their content or style problems almost always came from the obvious fact that they are writing in their second language.
The other think I really liked about the video was the way that its advice was also geared towards professors rather than just writing center consultants. I especially liked Ms. Healey's belief that ESL students should be held to the same standards of meaning as NES students, but not necessarily to the same standards of grammar and mechanics.
Tony Silva's view seemed slightly different when he suggested that professors should ask themselves, "What is good enough?" and to use that benchmark for all students, and I don't know how much I agree with him there. When his idea is used in the ESL vs. NES student writing context, it seems like it would be much easier for NES students to go beyond what is simply "enough," therefore they are more likely to receive higher grades on their assignments.
However, both of these main speakers pointed out that empathy and the ability to think from different perspectives is absolutely necessary to successfully teach ESL students, and I agree that this mindset is crucial for instructors even with NES students, who may come from areas where the school systems did not prepare them well enough for college writing, or those students who grew up speaking a very strong dialect of English. If students feel less pressured to create "perfect" papers that may be beyond their grasp because of grammar and mechanics, then they will come in to the writing center with more HOCs than LOCs, and writing consultants will be able to move beyond the often repetitive and frustrating practice of proofreading.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Blog #6
The readings for Wednesday's class, both the article and the chapter from Ryan's book, focused on how to and how not to handle specific situations as a tutor. The article was specifically focusing on how to handle a situation with an ESL or ELL writer. The article stressed what to mention and what not to mention. It also talked about what aspects of the writing you should focus on and what aspects you should not focus on. The article stressed that in order for an ELL writer to be successful they do not have to write like a ENS would. The article said that minor mistakes are okay and asked the question does it have to grammatically fit into the mold that we have for a proper paper. I find this stance on the issue a little bit frusterating because I feel that an ELL will want there paper to be grammatically perfect and natural sounding because that is what they beleive their instructor will want. I feel that it is far overstepping the boundaries of the tutor to choose not to focus on grammar and other surface issues while working with an ELL writer, unless we are explicetly told not too, because it is the tutor that these ELL writers are turning to for help with the technicalities of the English language. For me it goes back to what we decided earlier this year, which is that the tutor should do his or her best to make the paper as good as it can be in the eyes of the writer. It is situational. If the writer wants to focus on grammar than that is what the tutor should focus on.
The section from Ryan's book was about how to act and how not to act in response to writers anxiety, stress, and other complications. Once again in this situation the tutor must read the writer and be able to responde accordingly. It is situational. Every session will be different and the tutor must responde as they see fit, not according to the perscribed response that they read in a textbook.
The section from Ryan's book was about how to act and how not to act in response to writers anxiety, stress, and other complications. Once again in this situation the tutor must read the writer and be able to responde accordingly. It is situational. Every session will be different and the tutor must responde as they see fit, not according to the perscribed response that they read in a textbook.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
My first co-consultation!
I feel so far behind everyone else in the class because I chose to start working at the Writing Center next semester. I just had my first co-consultation, and it was a lot of fun! It made me look forward to working in the spring semester and doing more consulting in general.
After we all sat down and introduced ourselves, the consultant asked the student if she would like to read her paper out loud or if she would prefer he do it. She had been there before, and would have read it but she thought she was coming down with a sore throat. She then pulled out 5-6 papers that she had received grades of less than she had expected because she had come to the Writing Center for assistance on all of them. She was not mad, but rather wondered why the Writing Center had not helped. We promised her we would do our best.
She told us she was an ESL student, which I would never have guessed - she spoke English like it was her native tongue. Anyway, so she knew what her problem was - grammar. The consultant and I were willing to help her improve her grammar and, as it turned out, sentence structure as well.
The consultant ran through her paper. While he read, she made quick fixes on the page, asking him if she was correcting the problem or making it worse. The worst problem I could see from my end was her comma splices/run on sentences. To help her see this problem as well, the consultant read the whole sentence aloud without pausing or breathing, for that matter. She laughed and knew that she had to change the sentence. We explained comma splices to her, and showed her how to fix them (i.e. period, semi-colon, etc.) The next one we ran across she still did not quite catch, so he went back and read it through without pausing/breathing again. This time she got it, and chose the form of punctuation she wanted to insert.
I also bounced my verb tense ideas off of the consultant, and we advised the student together on how to best fix her paper. He focused a lot more on the content, which is something I need to work on focusing on. LOCs are just second nature to me, but I think with a little more practice that can definitely be fixed. It was a very productive session. The consultant and I worked very well together - I wish we could do co-consultations all the time! It seems like if you have a great person to collaborate with, then you will end up having a great session altogether. All in all, my first co-consultation was a really fun experience and I can't wait for my next one.
After we all sat down and introduced ourselves, the consultant asked the student if she would like to read her paper out loud or if she would prefer he do it. She had been there before, and would have read it but she thought she was coming down with a sore throat. She then pulled out 5-6 papers that she had received grades of less than she had expected because she had come to the Writing Center for assistance on all of them. She was not mad, but rather wondered why the Writing Center had not helped. We promised her we would do our best.
She told us she was an ESL student, which I would never have guessed - she spoke English like it was her native tongue. Anyway, so she knew what her problem was - grammar. The consultant and I were willing to help her improve her grammar and, as it turned out, sentence structure as well.
The consultant ran through her paper. While he read, she made quick fixes on the page, asking him if she was correcting the problem or making it worse. The worst problem I could see from my end was her comma splices/run on sentences. To help her see this problem as well, the consultant read the whole sentence aloud without pausing or breathing, for that matter. She laughed and knew that she had to change the sentence. We explained comma splices to her, and showed her how to fix them (i.e. period, semi-colon, etc.) The next one we ran across she still did not quite catch, so he went back and read it through without pausing/breathing again. This time she got it, and chose the form of punctuation she wanted to insert.
I also bounced my verb tense ideas off of the consultant, and we advised the student together on how to best fix her paper. He focused a lot more on the content, which is something I need to work on focusing on. LOCs are just second nature to me, but I think with a little more practice that can definitely be fixed. It was a very productive session. The consultant and I worked very well together - I wish we could do co-consultations all the time! It seems like if you have a great person to collaborate with, then you will end up having a great session altogether. All in all, my first co-consultation was a really fun experience and I can't wait for my next one.
ESL Writers - Great Timing
So I can't help thinking about how much I lucked out with the timing of this ESL writers information. I have not dealt with one ESL writer yet! Everyone says this is amazing to hear because there are so many ESL appointments in the Writing Center.
Anyway, I'd have to agree with Jenna. This week has definitely been a learning experience for me concerning the tutoring of ESL writers. Here are the main points I've learned:
From Writing Across Borders, I was very surprised to see that one in every 10 students are international and/or ESL students. I had no idea... The different techniques from different areas of the world were pretty cool as well - I like seeing how other people write, but I hated seeing how impolite Americans seem to foreigners. It's just sad that we are seen as unwelcoming and rude, especially in the college context.
Anyway, I'd have to agree with Jenna. This week has definitely been a learning experience for me concerning the tutoring of ESL writers. Here are the main points I've learned:
- Meaning is most important
- While reading the paper, put a sign next to an unexpected area or next to an area when you got confused about meaning
- Focus on quality of thought and content
- Explain all corrections as best you can
- Get creative! Use highlighters, sticky notes, diagrams, markers, etc.
- Sometimes you may have to be a little directive because some concepts of English just have to be memorized
- Make sure they understand what you're fixing and why
From Writing Across Borders, I was very surprised to see that one in every 10 students are international and/or ESL students. I had no idea... The different techniques from different areas of the world were pretty cool as well - I like seeing how other people write, but I hated seeing how impolite Americans seem to foreigners. It's just sad that we are seen as unwelcoming and rude, especially in the college context.
ESL thoughts
This was a pretty big learning week for me... for one, I had my first sessions on my own with ESL students - 4 in a row in fact. Then we coincidentally had these readings in class about ESL students, plus the video. I've definitely learned a lot... first of all, one thing I noticed in my sessions is that ESL students are fantastic writers. In just about every case I had this week, the student wrote better than they spoke, and wrote with great vocabulary and coherence. Their ideas were conveyed in their writing accurately, and they wrote really good papers, better than most ENL students I've seen. The only issue was grammar. I know I'm kind of kicking a dead horse there... but I suppose I thought that ESL students would have their meaning lost in the grammar-fray when writing papers, and was pleasantly surprised to see that that was not true. At least not in the few cases I saw this week. Another thing I saw was that once I corrected a few instances of a recurring grammar error, and gave them the best explanation for the correction I could muster, the ESL writers very quickly picked up on the mistake and were able to correct all of the rest of the instances of it themselves. After all this new information this week, I think I have a better understanding of ESL writers, how they write, why they write how they do, and how best to go about helping them.
Another thing I wanted to say was to respond to Mike's post. I think he made a very interesting point when he said that we don't cite sources just to give credit, but to enhance learning. That's absolutely an important part of citing, and I think a lot of people forget that sometimes. Granted, not too many of us read a peer's paper and then copy their works cited page so that they can have a little bit of weekend reading... but in the academic community as a whole, citing does enhance learning, and allows us to utilize resources we might not have found on our own, enabling us to do our own research and learn even more.
Another thing I wanted to say was to respond to Mike's post. I think he made a very interesting point when he said that we don't cite sources just to give credit, but to enhance learning. That's absolutely an important part of citing, and I think a lot of people forget that sometimes. Granted, not too many of us read a peer's paper and then copy their works cited page so that they can have a little bit of weekend reading... but in the academic community as a whole, citing does enhance learning, and allows us to utilize resources we might not have found on our own, enabling us to do our own research and learn even more.
Citation
I thought that the video we viewed yesterday was quite interesting. In particular, I was interested to see the strange diagram in the textbook in the film. This was a diagram that tried to visually depict thought processes across different cultures. The English thought process was just a straight line while the Asian language thought process was a spiral moving form the outside to the center, and the rest were various kinds of zig zags. It seemed pretty ridiculous, but I'd like to know how they came about it.
Moving on though, I had a few problems with the film. In particular, I had an issue with the woman who discussed the different opinions on Citation. She explained that in China, where the society is more community based, they do not consider plagiarism to be as big of an issue. On the other hand, in America where our society is more centered on the individual, we treat it more seriously. This is true, I think, but it does not really speak to the true importance of citation. Yes, we are more individualistic and are concerned with not stealing other people's property (whether physical or intellectual), but that is not why citation is done. We cite, and this is true of all of western civilization I think, because it promotes the growth of knowledge. In history and english classes I have taken, history specifically, citations are not made to give credit where credit is due (although that is indeed an issue), rather it is done so that other readers may verify that what the writer is claiming is true and to use those sources to expand upon that interpretation or to offer a new one.
It is always important to consider other cultures and the fact that our way is not the only way. The differences in citation are not important in the sense of differing ideas on what is stealing and what is sharing. The difference are important, however, to whatever extent they affect knowledge in general, in that context, I consider things like citation to be an issue on which there should be little compromise.
Moving on though, I had a few problems with the film. In particular, I had an issue with the woman who discussed the different opinions on Citation. She explained that in China, where the society is more community based, they do not consider plagiarism to be as big of an issue. On the other hand, in America where our society is more centered on the individual, we treat it more seriously. This is true, I think, but it does not really speak to the true importance of citation. Yes, we are more individualistic and are concerned with not stealing other people's property (whether physical or intellectual), but that is not why citation is done. We cite, and this is true of all of western civilization I think, because it promotes the growth of knowledge. In history and english classes I have taken, history specifically, citations are not made to give credit where credit is due (although that is indeed an issue), rather it is done so that other readers may verify that what the writer is claiming is true and to use those sources to expand upon that interpretation or to offer a new one.
It is always important to consider other cultures and the fact that our way is not the only way. The differences in citation are not important in the sense of differing ideas on what is stealing and what is sharing. The difference are important, however, to whatever extent they affect knowledge in general, in that context, I consider things like citation to be an issue on which there should be little compromise.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Leading a Session 4+5
Yesterday I had a session that was equal parts frustrating and discouraging. I was frustrated by what felt like a lack of accomplishment by the end of the session. I feel like after all the time I spent working with the student, I didn’t do anything to help the student improve as a writer. It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. It seemed like every time I tried engaging the student, she shrugged off whatever I had to say. When I tried addressing sections of the text where I was having difficulty understanding her meaning, she would explain herself verbally. When I suggested that she incorporate those explanations into her text, she didn’t see the point. In her mind, what she had written was the same as what she had said aloud. It didn’t matter if I said a reader might not understand her message, given the way it was presented. There were serious issues with her argumentation and I just couldn’t get her to see that. The only things she changed were mechanical mistakes, which I tried not to dwell on.
Overall she didn’t seem invested in the session or in making any sort of improvements. I’m afraid to say that after a while, I responded to her lack of enthusiasm with a pretty unenthusiastic approach myself. It’s difficult to be motivated when you’re working with someone who doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. When your every effort is met with a shrug or a grunt, or at best, a “Well what am I supposed to write?” you get worn down quickly. I walked away from the session feeling doubtful about my abilities as a consultant. I want to be able to reach through that apathy and get the student excited about their writing, or at least get them to care.
After yesterday’s experience, my session today was exactly what I needed to restore my confidence. My client today was the same one that I had such a positive experience with last week. At the start of the session, she informed me that she had received a 100% on the previous assignment, which made me feel like I made a difference. This time she brought in another paper that she had submitted and had received corrections on. Since we had worked together before, we dove right into this assignment. The client had clearly been thinking about the teacher’s corrections and had plenty of conceptual questions to ask me. It was refreshing to have a student actually want to discuss the reasoning behind their writing, rather than expecting me to simply grammar-check their text.
Having previously established rapport, it was easy to work with this student. Instead of following a set pattern like I sometimes do, we moved back and forth in the paper, addressing the issues she thought were the most pressing. Her concerns directed the flow of the session, and I think that worked well. She left with plenty of ideas for her paper, and I felt better about my skills as a consultant. These last two sessions stand out in such stark contrast to one another, I’m forced to conclude that sometimes, despite your best intentions, sessions won’t go as smoothly as you’d like. Other times you luck out, and get a student who makes consulting truly rewarding.
Overall she didn’t seem invested in the session or in making any sort of improvements. I’m afraid to say that after a while, I responded to her lack of enthusiasm with a pretty unenthusiastic approach myself. It’s difficult to be motivated when you’re working with someone who doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. When your every effort is met with a shrug or a grunt, or at best, a “Well what am I supposed to write?” you get worn down quickly. I walked away from the session feeling doubtful about my abilities as a consultant. I want to be able to reach through that apathy and get the student excited about their writing, or at least get them to care.
After yesterday’s experience, my session today was exactly what I needed to restore my confidence. My client today was the same one that I had such a positive experience with last week. At the start of the session, she informed me that she had received a 100% on the previous assignment, which made me feel like I made a difference. This time she brought in another paper that she had submitted and had received corrections on. Since we had worked together before, we dove right into this assignment. The client had clearly been thinking about the teacher’s corrections and had plenty of conceptual questions to ask me. It was refreshing to have a student actually want to discuss the reasoning behind their writing, rather than expecting me to simply grammar-check their text.
Having previously established rapport, it was easy to work with this student. Instead of following a set pattern like I sometimes do, we moved back and forth in the paper, addressing the issues she thought were the most pressing. Her concerns directed the flow of the session, and I think that worked well. She left with plenty of ideas for her paper, and I felt better about my skills as a consultant. These last two sessions stand out in such stark contrast to one another, I’m forced to conclude that sometimes, despite your best intentions, sessions won’t go as smoothly as you’d like. Other times you luck out, and get a student who makes consulting truly rewarding.
Leading a Session #3
(The following is an observation that I typed up last week but forgot to post.)
Today I had an experience that I considered a good example of what an ideal consulting session should be like. The client and I both arrived early and immediately got down to business. The assignment in question was a paper she had previously submitted and the teacher had returned, offering her a chance to make corrections. As we went over the assignment sheet, I noticed how closely the student had paid attention to the requirements, which doesn't always happen. Furthermore, she had taken all of her teacher’s comments into consideration when making her revisions. Overall, she made my job as the consultant much easier by thinking critically about what was being expected of her.
As we progressed, the student was attentive and courteous. She remained actively engaged throughout the session. When I asked questions about her ideas or development, rather than shrugging them off, she really thought about them. We were able to have a meaningful dialogue with plenty of give-and-take. To my delight, the way the session unfolded allowed me to focus almost exclusively on Higher Order Concerns. I sometimes get caught up on mechanics, which I realize is a problem, but in this case, I was able to see beyond those issues. Together we looked over the presentation and development of her ideas, to see if they fully addressed the professor's expectations.
By the time the session started to wind down, we had made significant changes to the paper. More importantly, I think the student changed her way of thinking. Through our discussion, she saw how the structure and flow of an argument affects its effectiveness. Our session took almost the full hour, but the student was so pleased with the experience that she took the last few minutes to make another appointment with me next week. After such a rewarding session, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to working with her again.
Today I had an experience that I considered a good example of what an ideal consulting session should be like. The client and I both arrived early and immediately got down to business. The assignment in question was a paper she had previously submitted and the teacher had returned, offering her a chance to make corrections. As we went over the assignment sheet, I noticed how closely the student had paid attention to the requirements, which doesn't always happen. Furthermore, she had taken all of her teacher’s comments into consideration when making her revisions. Overall, she made my job as the consultant much easier by thinking critically about what was being expected of her.
As we progressed, the student was attentive and courteous. She remained actively engaged throughout the session. When I asked questions about her ideas or development, rather than shrugging them off, she really thought about them. We were able to have a meaningful dialogue with plenty of give-and-take. To my delight, the way the session unfolded allowed me to focus almost exclusively on Higher Order Concerns. I sometimes get caught up on mechanics, which I realize is a problem, but in this case, I was able to see beyond those issues. Together we looked over the presentation and development of her ideas, to see if they fully addressed the professor's expectations.
By the time the session started to wind down, we had made significant changes to the paper. More importantly, I think the student changed her way of thinking. Through our discussion, she saw how the structure and flow of an argument affects its effectiveness. Our session took almost the full hour, but the student was so pleased with the experience that she took the last few minutes to make another appointment with me next week. After such a rewarding session, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to working with her again.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Leading a Session #2???
I have lead for more than two session at this point... but I'm not good at blogging so here is one of my more recent sessions. This one was more fresh in my mind because it was more negative then positive.
When I started the session I did the usual... "have you been to the writing..." and that's about where I was cut off. They replied with, " I just a another set of eyes to look at this... you know edit" I then said... "well we don't really edit papers, we work on papers collaboratively..." They said, " Yea sure..."
This kind of talk continued... The person was eating an orange while working on the paper and seemed to be somewhere else entirely. When I would give feedback or suggestions... it was always "huh...why?"... and then I would have to either find a documented source or ask Dianna about something. That aspect I was fine with, I understood that this person wanted to be 100% sure about. It was a respect issue or maybe even a tone issue, that I didn't care for.
The session ended quickly and I thought little progress was made, probably because they refused some of the techniques that I suggested, or maybe other reasons.
This session taught me that a persons attitude can seriously effect my will to consultant and the effectiveness.
When I started the session I did the usual... "have you been to the writing..." and that's about where I was cut off. They replied with, " I just a another set of eyes to look at this... you know edit" I then said... "well we don't really edit papers, we work on papers collaboratively..." They said, " Yea sure..."
This kind of talk continued... The person was eating an orange while working on the paper and seemed to be somewhere else entirely. When I would give feedback or suggestions... it was always "huh...why?"... and then I would have to either find a documented source or ask Dianna about something. That aspect I was fine with, I understood that this person wanted to be 100% sure about. It was a respect issue or maybe even a tone issue, that I didn't care for.
The session ended quickly and I thought little progress was made, probably because they refused some of the techniques that I suggested, or maybe other reasons.
This session taught me that a persons attitude can seriously effect my will to consultant and the effectiveness.
Library Observation
When I first saw the library WC that was a big visual difference. The WC in Bessey is closed environment with more comforts, for both the client and consultant. In Bessey there is water, coffee, tea, and candy. In the Library there is only the tyranny of Sparty's and 8 dollar candy bars.
On a more serious note the sessions and feel of the library are very different. There is more of a panicky feel, for whatever reason. The sessions are different because there isn't a copier and you have to share the paper with the client. And the 30 minuet sessions are very short... almost half the time of a session at Bessey!
The session I obsereved was of an ESL student wanting to work on grammer. The consulatant begun the session as normal asking the client to read the paper aloud. As the client read the paper aloud, the consultant would stop when grammer was incorrect and try and give the best explantion of the problem. As time continued when the clinet saw a series of mistakes he would devoute some time to figure out a way to explain it to the client. The consultant was not able to finish the whole paper, but I thought given the time constraint and the length of the paper, they gave them a great stragey for the rest of the paper.
On a more serious note the sessions and feel of the library are very different. There is more of a panicky feel, for whatever reason. The sessions are different because there isn't a copier and you have to share the paper with the client. And the 30 minuet sessions are very short... almost half the time of a session at Bessey!
The session I obsereved was of an ESL student wanting to work on grammer. The consulatant begun the session as normal asking the client to read the paper aloud. As the client read the paper aloud, the consultant would stop when grammer was incorrect and try and give the best explantion of the problem. As time continued when the clinet saw a series of mistakes he would devoute some time to figure out a way to explain it to the client. The consultant was not able to finish the whole paper, but I thought given the time constraint and the length of the paper, they gave them a great stragey for the rest of the paper.
Leading a Session - #4
The second session I led today was more co-leading, but it was the first session I've done with a non-ESL student and with a non-academic piece of writing. The piece was actually for a creative non-fiction class.
The consultant I worked with let me lead the session, but also added her own input and pointed out areas she had questions about. The client read the paper out loud and then we went back to make corrections. The other consultant and I first pointed out the strengths of her essay before moving to corrections. These corrections were to clarify both her language and her content, and she was very receptive to them. Most times I didn't specifically say what to do, but drew her attention to a certain area and explained what I thought didn't work so she could draw her own conclusions. If it was a difficult problem to explain, I made general suggestions about what needed to change and let her create the wording on her own.
The other consultant said that she thought my input was very helpful, so I was glad to have made a difference today :)
The consultant I worked with let me lead the session, but also added her own input and pointed out areas she had questions about. The client read the paper out loud and then we went back to make corrections. The other consultant and I first pointed out the strengths of her essay before moving to corrections. These corrections were to clarify both her language and her content, and she was very receptive to them. Most times I didn't specifically say what to do, but drew her attention to a certain area and explained what I thought didn't work so she could draw her own conclusions. If it was a difficult problem to explain, I made general suggestions about what needed to change and let her create the wording on her own.
The other consultant said that she thought my input was very helpful, so I was glad to have made a difference today :)
Leading a Session - #3
The first session I led today was with an ESL student who had a response paper to a podcast he had to listen to for his ISS class. He had actually already asked a friend to go over the paper for him, so he had a copy with lots of corrections already marked. He also had his own updated version on his computer, which is what he primarily worked on and where he made corrections. I had the student read the paper aloud, and we stopped for corrections as we went along. The consultant I worked with today didn't actually step in at all during this session except to agree with me once or twice, and to clarify one thing I brought up about the paper's formatting.
This student was not as good of an English speaker as many of the other ESL students I worked with, but he easily understood the corrections I pointed out. Since it has been mentioned that ESL students often do not understand the use of articles, I especially made sure to explain why "the" or "a" was needed. I tried to explain most of the corrections I pointed out, by pointing out differing verb tenses or subjects that did not match their verbs. There were also places where I did not understand what he was trying to say, so I tried to help him clarify his writing as best I could. Sometimes he was able to articulate out loud what he was trying to write, and I had him write that down.
I'm afraid I might have been too directive in changing what he wrote, but he was an ESL student, so he genuinely didn't know a lot of the errors he made, whereas a native speaker probably would have been better able to figure it out with less help. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to ask my shadowing consultant what she thought of my methods since she had to leave us during the last few minutes of the session to work the reception desk and I had to leave as soon as my second session was through.
This student was not as good of an English speaker as many of the other ESL students I worked with, but he easily understood the corrections I pointed out. Since it has been mentioned that ESL students often do not understand the use of articles, I especially made sure to explain why "the" or "a" was needed. I tried to explain most of the corrections I pointed out, by pointing out differing verb tenses or subjects that did not match their verbs. There were also places where I did not understand what he was trying to say, so I tried to help him clarify his writing as best I could. Sometimes he was able to articulate out loud what he was trying to write, and I had him write that down.
I'm afraid I might have been too directive in changing what he wrote, but he was an ESL student, so he genuinely didn't know a lot of the errors he made, whereas a native speaker probably would have been better able to figure it out with less help. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to ask my shadowing consultant what she thought of my methods since she had to leave us during the last few minutes of the session to work the reception desk and I had to leave as soon as my second session was through.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Satellite Observation(s)
I observed a few sessions at the library a week and a half ago, and I also led three sessions in the same day (this post will focus on the former).
The library is a different world from Bessey Hall. Not just the needs and writing process stages of the clients but also the atmosphere—there's anxiety, there's tension, and there's a looming deadline slowly crushing souls and Word docs.
These fears are made evident in the high-strung behaviors of clients, who need to outline at least an idea or a place to start with their paper or project. The enormity of the library and the workload it implies seems to almost suffocate some students, who can't even locate a starting point in an assignment. The consultants I observed helped with strategy, optimism, and a calming exterior. Although these characteristics are important in any writing center environment, the satellite of the library is even more important of a place to exude these traits. Prompting questions — a less directive approach — guided the session toward a favorable endpoint, and it seemed success was measured in whether or not a solid direction was established and partially developed. I believed this to be a significant strength in the library consultants; even if the client had finished a paper and just needed polishing, there was always some kind of urgency or deadline. Tackling HOCs was, as the acronym implies, the number-one priority.
I soaked in these skills as much as possible and hopefully demonstrated them in my own sessions. I reveled in the practically palpable energy of this writing center satellite — I liked the people coming and going, I liked the fluidity of a paper and how it or its direction could change in an instant. Everything was malleable, everything was subject to discussion and revision, and desperation almost always seemed to transform to hope. I probably sound like a fiction writer right now, but that's how I interpret the scenarios retrospectively. I would break down each consultant's specific techniques, but 30 minutes only allows for so much of the consultant's ways to shine through. The tendencies I described were shared among them, and it seemed logical to discuss them as a whole.
I like the library.
The library is a different world from Bessey Hall. Not just the needs and writing process stages of the clients but also the atmosphere—there's anxiety, there's tension, and there's a looming deadline slowly crushing souls and Word docs.
These fears are made evident in the high-strung behaviors of clients, who need to outline at least an idea or a place to start with their paper or project. The enormity of the library and the workload it implies seems to almost suffocate some students, who can't even locate a starting point in an assignment. The consultants I observed helped with strategy, optimism, and a calming exterior. Although these characteristics are important in any writing center environment, the satellite of the library is even more important of a place to exude these traits. Prompting questions — a less directive approach — guided the session toward a favorable endpoint, and it seemed success was measured in whether or not a solid direction was established and partially developed. I believed this to be a significant strength in the library consultants; even if the client had finished a paper and just needed polishing, there was always some kind of urgency or deadline. Tackling HOCs was, as the acronym implies, the number-one priority.
I soaked in these skills as much as possible and hopefully demonstrated them in my own sessions. I reveled in the practically palpable energy of this writing center satellite — I liked the people coming and going, I liked the fluidity of a paper and how it or its direction could change in an instant. Everything was malleable, everything was subject to discussion and revision, and desperation almost always seemed to transform to hope. I probably sound like a fiction writer right now, but that's how I interpret the scenarios retrospectively. I would break down each consultant's specific techniques, but 30 minutes only allows for so much of the consultant's ways to shine through. The tendencies I described were shared among them, and it seemed logical to discuss them as a whole.
I like the library.
Weekly post
Adams' "Satellite Writing Centers" opens with an acknowledgment of a general studies-intensive university involving writing in every discipline. Writing instruction followed a fairly traditional protocol, and naturally these universities knew of and believed in the importance of good writing in any field.
I detest general studies requirements. Here's why.
You attend high school and you are required to take certain classes each year. It's not up for debate that you take math, science, reading/writing/literature, and some sort of history or government course. In college, you have applied to, been accepted at, and are paying tuition for an educational institution carefully constructed to prepare you for a professional life. If you are interested in a general studies degree, such as the one U-Mich offers, then that's fine. But universities should not require students to invest in subjects inapplicable to their field of study. If you are studying a certain subject, however, and an interdisciplinary understanding of an unrelated branch of study is pertinent to doing your job correctly, that's a different story. But I don't need to learn about kingdom/class/phylum/whatever for the TENTH TIME in my student career because it's a freakin' general requirement for every college student. It's a waste of my time, the professor's time, and my money.
With that said, I agree with the professors' beliefs in this article: Writing is important across every discipline. It's the one thing that unites us when everything else has failed. Writing Centers, therefore, warrant a place in any kind of university environment, not just land-grant colleges or general studies-intensive institutions. Writing opens up your rhetorical understand of the subject and of your environment, and those tools are invaluable.
I realize that rant didn't have much to do with satellite writing centers...more soon to come!
I detest general studies requirements. Here's why.
You attend high school and you are required to take certain classes each year. It's not up for debate that you take math, science, reading/writing/literature, and some sort of history or government course. In college, you have applied to, been accepted at, and are paying tuition for an educational institution carefully constructed to prepare you for a professional life. If you are interested in a general studies degree, such as the one U-Mich offers, then that's fine. But universities should not require students to invest in subjects inapplicable to their field of study. If you are studying a certain subject, however, and an interdisciplinary understanding of an unrelated branch of study is pertinent to doing your job correctly, that's a different story. But I don't need to learn about kingdom/class/phylum/whatever for the TENTH TIME in my student career because it's a freakin' general requirement for every college student. It's a waste of my time, the professor's time, and my money.
With that said, I agree with the professors' beliefs in this article: Writing is important across every discipline. It's the one thing that unites us when everything else has failed. Writing Centers, therefore, warrant a place in any kind of university environment, not just land-grant colleges or general studies-intensive institutions. Writing opens up your rhetorical understand of the subject and of your environment, and those tools are invaluable.
I realize that rant didn't have much to do with satellite writing centers...more soon to come!
literacy narrative
So, I finally wrote my literacy narrative, and contrary to what I hoped, it didnt all become clear as I was writing. I did the best I could, but so many things in my life have influenced my literacy that it just seemed to come out completely unfocused and all over the map. Not to mention how impossible it was to cover everything that has impacted my literacy, b/c there are literally tons and tons of factors that make us who we are today, as writers and otherwise. I just know that especially after reading some of your guys' naratives, there will be things I'll want to add and elaborate on. It will be interesting to see where this all goes and how it turns out...
I guess now I'll go ahead and put out there some things I think most or all of us are concerned about... something I know from discussion in class. I'm starting to be a little freaked out about all of the things we have to do for class in the near future.. for instance, I'm bad wth technology, and the thought of making this already-complicated literacy narrative digital is just scary. Also, I really am not sure what we're supposed to be doing with the Chalmer's thing... my group got moved and I'm feeling a little lost on that... Then there's the book presentation, and the rest of my observations, and the grammar lesson... I'm sure as we do these things they'll turn out to not be a big deal, but the semester is getting pretty hectic in all my classes, and I'm getting a bit anxious about it all... hope I'm not the only one!
I guess now I'll go ahead and put out there some things I think most or all of us are concerned about... something I know from discussion in class. I'm starting to be a little freaked out about all of the things we have to do for class in the near future.. for instance, I'm bad wth technology, and the thought of making this already-complicated literacy narrative digital is just scary. Also, I really am not sure what we're supposed to be doing with the Chalmer's thing... my group got moved and I'm feeling a little lost on that... Then there's the book presentation, and the rest of my observations, and the grammar lesson... I'm sure as we do these things they'll turn out to not be a big deal, but the semester is getting pretty hectic in all my classes, and I'm getting a bit anxious about it all... hope I'm not the only one!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Blog #6
Well we finally started our literacies project. (Is there a correct way to spell the plural of literacy?) And I can only imagine how diverse all of our project are, I am sure that once we begin to work on our other parts of the project it will get even more diverse.
While working on my literacy narrative one of the aspects of it that struck me the most is the diversity of my literacy background. It seems to me that the literacies of my life are completely intertwined and interweaved to the extent that every advanced literacy, such as understanding poetry and the ability to drive a car, is completely dependent on more basic literacies, like the ability to read and follow directions. It also seems to me that not only do all of my literacies simply influence each other, but all of my literacies influence each other to the extent that I have a set of experiences and understandings that are completely different than any one else’s could be. This concept and understanding of individuality is very interesting to me, and although I had never looked at it in this light before it seems very true and accurate.
While working on my literacy narrative one of the aspects of it that struck me the most is the diversity of my literacy background. It seems to me that the literacies of my life are completely intertwined and interweaved to the extent that every advanced literacy, such as understanding poetry and the ability to drive a car, is completely dependent on more basic literacies, like the ability to read and follow directions. It also seems to me that not only do all of my literacies simply influence each other, but all of my literacies influence each other to the extent that I have a set of experiences and understandings that are completely different than any one else’s could be. This concept and understanding of individuality is very interesting to me, and although I had never looked at it in this light before it seems very true and accurate.
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