I stumbled upon another article by Muriel Harris in Google scholars addressing the most effective techniques a writing tutor can employ. The article, "The Roles a Tutor Plays: Effective Tutoring Techniques" categorizes the tutor as a coach, a commentator, and a counselor. Naturally the section the tutor as a counselor stood out most to me because it is precisely the direction I am going in for my final project. Harris writes that tutors "need to look at the student as a person, to offer advice, to be aware of outside interference which may be hindering learning, to search for ways to establish a successful working relationship," (64). Often the inability to communicate the words onto the page are manifested from internal barriers. Whether it be writer's block or something stressful going on in the student's life, it is important to establish a comfortable enough environment for the tutee. After all, the whole reason (in a lot of cases) they are seeing a consultant in the first place is because they are having trouble with a certain aspect of their writing. I'm a firm believer however that that problem or insecurity can be rooted in an emotional or stress aspect of their life.
This leads me to the question of how we find the balance of facilitative and friendly relationship. In my first blog paper I explored the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing a facilitative versus directive role in a session. I have now established that the facilitator is the most ideal role to assume, but now I am faced with another role to choose from: the counselor. Harris puts it perfectly:
"We need to remind ourselves as tutors that we must be concerned with students and all of their human complexities in order to find ways to bring about improvement in a subject or skill," and keeping that in mind, "we should not assume that what worked for one student will automatically work for the next one," (65).
Humans are indeed complex beings, and college students are among the most complex. We are constantly rivaling our school life with our personal life on an everyday basis. As a tutor, it is important that we are respectful of any problems writer's are having because it may just be they had an off day, are stressed out, or are genuinely just having trouble with the assignment. Regardless, we should possess the capabilities of helping a student with not only concerns about their writing but their concerns regarding the class and school in general.
Click HERE to view the article
Emma I agree that there needs to be somewhat of rapport between the tutor and writer in order to provide a sense of levity to the consultation. If tensions are high and the writer is uncomfortable then he or she will not be able to express herself or himself freely. I shadowed in the athletic study hall and every time the writer was a fellow athlete that I knew and since I already had an established relationship with them then it was easier to consult. I know barriers often have to be broken before the consultation can begin which detracts from the overall experience and I am glad that you are further exploring this topic
ReplyDeleteEmma-
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting how you are combining our social and emotional lives to writing in this post. I feel like that has to be right; sometimes it is just impossible to find your flow as a writer. Sometimes you're just feeling a bit off and as a result, your paper is just total crap! This is a really interesting connection that you make in this post and I think it would be an interesting idea to keep exploring! Thanks for the food for thought! My brain was feeling hungry!