Blog Post #7 (Ian)

The first time I worked as a writing fellow I provided both written and oral feedback. After receiving a draft from students I'd jot down some notes, shoot them an email, and then we would meet at a coffee shop to go over my comments together. I liked this approach because (as the readings suggest) I think both approaches have their advantages and limitations. When providing written/online feedback, I like that I'm forced to distill my feedback into 2-3 main morsels, which I think is easier for students to digest emotionally and (candidly) more helpful than the accumulation of many little notes over the course of an in-person session. The problem with this approach is that I can't check to see if my student is actually grasping what I'm trying to convey, or perhaps even resistant to my feedback. Selfishly, I also find that written feedback is much more time-consuming, so while I sometimes think it might be of higher quality than the verbal feedback I provide, I also know I can work more quickly and efficiently out loud. To add to this last point, I also appreciate the personal/social dimensions of in-person tutoring. Writing is a hard and vulnerable thing to do, and I am keenly aware of how difficult it can be to receive critical feedback. In person, at least, I can engage with these issues directly, even if it means thinking and editing on the fly.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 4, 2019 at 10:32 PM


    Online tutoring always seems to be lacking. It seems that nothing can take the place of the effectiveness of face-to-face tutoring. Online tutoring equates to students looking up specific areas that they struggle with in a grammar book or online source. However, I appreciate that Ian acknowledged resistance. When you are tutoring online there can be a lack of student resistance because it is essentially a one-way conversation. However, I would venture to guess that any student that resists face-to face instruction is bound to resist online tutoring as well. The only difference is that tutors do not have to deal with a student resisting if they are tutoring online.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joseph JalinskyMarch 5, 2019 at 7:51 AM

    I hadn't thought of online tutoring as an avenue where the tutor can more carefully decide what aspects of a writing assignment needs the most work (i.e., triage). Sometimes with an in-person session it takes me awhile to figure out what I think are the most important global issues to address and in a 30 min session this can be frustrating. I am starting to come around to online tutoring as an effective tool but it is also important to recognize its limitations.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post #8 (Ian)

Interesting take on that timeless grudge match been academic and creative nonfiction, but cringed at Goedde's frequent use of what I'll call The Other B-Word, which raised its own separate set of questions for me about how we (as tutors) shape the way our students write about racism... Though the use of this word felt central to Loraine's story - and was further complicated by Loraine's own Mexican-American heritage - it was also impossible for me to imagine Goedde parroting it with the same zeal if, say, this had been a story about Loraine using the N-word, or any number of other xenophobic slurs. Not sure if others reacted similarly, but felt noteworthy given the particular necessity (and thorniness) of having students write about race at a place as overwhelmingly white as the University of Iowa. As for comparing this nonfiction case study to the more academic studies we've previously consulted, I feel like the pros and cons basically mirror those raised by Goed
Read more

Blog Post #1

Reading: The University of Iowa Writing Center Tutor’s Guide Question: The University of Iowa Writing Center Tutor’s Guide starts stating the most important goal the Writing Center, “to develop strong writers with positive attitudes toward writing.” I clearly see how through the Writing Center’s writing practices students can grow in confidence to write. Are there any specific practices addressing that vital part of the WC goal of developing positive attitudes toward writing? Reading: The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, Chapter 1 & 2 Given that a student’s version of what transpires in a classroom “may be incomplete or even inaccurate (Ryan & Zimmerelli, 2016, 3), how professional and even ethical is to facilitate and somehow promote procedures for registering a complaint (4)?
Read more

JJ 7

I have yet to begin online/asynchronous tutoring but my initial impression (prior to the readings this week) was that the non face-to-face methods is an ersatz tutoring style. I was partially convinced by the readings that there are advantages in a more distanced approach to tutoring that are lacking with in-person sessions. Specifically, there is an element of anonymity associated with online tutoring that I can see appealing to students that may not be confident or are embarrassed about their writing, especially students that are more introverted and non-confrontational. As a tutor, asynchronous tutoring would give me the time to really digest the writing and carefully formulate a response. Sometimes after an in-person session I think back about better ways I could have phrased a certain point but by then, too late. A major take-away from the readings is that I will formulate my responses through the comment feature and rarely using track changes, if at all. I believe that carefully
Read more