Observation 1/24

I had the opportunity to observe a consultation for a PhD dissertation grant. I now share a similar experience with David, as the client was one the which he had previously mentioned in class.
I initially thought that it would be an overwhelming meeting, as I am only a sophomore undergrad and one of my first experiences in a consultation. However, I have come to the conclusion that writing is writing no matter what age you are or qualifications you have. This particular client was so considerate and caring that she even asked me how I was doing during the consultation. What a huge reversal in how the relationship would be normally be oriented! I should have been asking her that question! This consultation has definitely helped calm any fears of future appointments, especially those with students that have earned higher credentials than I.

Class 01/24/08

Minimalist tutoring: Making the Student Do All the Work.

I liked our debate in today's class.
I forgot to point this out in class.

“While student writings are texts, they are unlike other texts in one important way: the process is far more important than the product. Most "real world” writing has a goal beyond than the page; anything that can be done to that writing to make it more effective ought to be done. Student writing, on the other hand, has no real goal beyond getting it on the page. In the real world when you need to have something important written “perfectly.” You hire a professional writer; when a student hires a professional writer, it is a high crime called plagiarism."

Observation...

So I was pretty excited because my first observation conference was with an international student, which is one thing that I haven't had much experience with yet. i made several observations right off the bat. first, his description of the conference in the box on the appointment scheduler said that he wanted help"rivising" his essay. second, when he got there he looked extremely confused and had trouble pronouncing simple words like 'appointment" and the tutor's name (a short, easily pronounceable one) as well as forming complete sentences while he spoke. third, he had no clue what a paper was. by the end, i was very disappointed in how the whole session went. i will elaborate in class and later tonight on here i promise =]

Reading Response #3 Literacy Narrative (2/19)

Reading Response #2 (2/5)

Observations As Training: An Academonized Memoir

OBSERVATIONS AS TRAINING

An Academonized Memoir by David James Tibergien

My first experience at the writing center embodied a lot of what I expected. The client was a Freshman, a Caucasian male from the Detroit suburbs who visited the writing center as encouraged by the instructor in his WRAC course. The client was examining a magazine ad from IZOD, and he was writing a summary about the appeal of the ad, in essence he was making a rhetorical analysis.

The paper he came in with was a pretty solid framework, especially given the demands of the instructor. He fulfilled most of the criteria that the instructor sought. He has minor issues with a few sentences, coma placement, and parameterization.

I felt as though myself and the Established Writing Center Consultant were helpful in showing the client what he had done right, and how his writing stronger within the context of building better writing skills.

While the above does report my experience, it does not report what I had learned from my first observation, which encompassed what I did not expect and thus what I learned. What I had observed from my consultation is that the Established Writing Consultant sat next to the client, whereas my instinct would have been to sit across from them. I think that this was an important correction in my sensibilities, as sitting next to a person denotes a more peer-to-peer experience between consultant and client. This stands in contrast to me as the consultant sitting across from the client, which might make them (or me) feel like they are seeking legal council or financial planning advice. I feel now like sitting across from a client could result in less equalizing and thus less effective dynamic, that is if the peer to peer methods are as optimal as we would believe.

Also, the first thing the More Established Peer Consultant had done was to ask the client about the goals of their assignment. I think he could have done a better job helping the client frame his expectations more clearly, but I also consider the possibility that keeping the clients expectations pliable can be more valuable for a more a more fluid consultation.

The next thing the More Established Writing Consultant had done is asked the client to read his paper out-loud as we followed along whilst reading. In my view, reading a paper out-loud is the most helpful thing that people don't do in their writing process. In my own sessions with my own clients, I would like to seek opportunities to call attention to the helpfulness of this particular exercise. I think a lot of folks have reservations about reading out loud because they aren't comfortable expressing themselves verbally, they might lack confidence in the writing, or they might just feel silly reading out-loud to themselves. In this sense I think showing clients how to read their writing out loud is a practice that the Writing Center is in a particularly good place to promote that.

Finally, I learned why Writing Center Consultants find their work rewarding. In this particular session, the client appeared to feel as though I offered him more valuable suggestions, and he expressed authentic satisfaction and gratitude for the help he received. The writing center is user focused, the user was pleased, thus I felt the institutional goals were met and as I result I felt useful. That might be a bleak and cold way to describe my experience, but that’s about as far as my rhetorical excellence goes for today.

Woo-Hoo. My reading response...aren't you excited? I think we were supposed to reply to a post that said "reading responses" to save room on the main page but i didn't see one so i posted mine as a comment on the first one posted...just so everyone knows, that's where it is. =]