Kathryn and I started off by discussing last week’s mentor meeting. We collaborated on how the meeting went and conversed about the subtopics that came up. We then talked about Kathryn’s sessions this week and how they went. She has also encountered the Writing & Rhetoric II group (working on their creativity papers). This week, Kathryn had a student that wanted to do a “silent” brainstorming. For example, she would ask a question for them to talk about, however, he would just write down what she asked (he was planning on answering when he got home). She figured that this was his learning style – although she was concerned that he was going to get home and not have the right length (4 pages) or not know the answers to the questions. I assured Kathryn that these were good concerns; however, she could have collaborated with him on each question or asked him to give a brief answer and write down ideas to expand on later. Kathryn did say that she tried to get him to talk, but he just kept saying “No, I think I got enough material to go on.” I think Kathryn handled this well – every student has a different learning style and this was his. She did very well!
I observed Kathryn a few times last semester, so I know her tutoring style – I do plan on doing an end of the semester observation, just to see how she has improved.
-KC
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Hi Kendra,
ReplyDeleteAnother nice posting. It's always good to see progress in your mentoring w/Kathryn..."Silent Brainstorming" is a term and concept that I'm not familiar with and it does seem that Kathryn did her best under the circumstances. Some uncertainty remains in my attempt to understand this session. Is this another sneaky attempt for the student to not work on writing or is "silent brainstorming" a genuine writing exercise? My confusion stems in part from having experiences of working w/students who preferred activities such as brainstorming, outlining, freewriting etc. before doing the bulk of the actual writing by themselves. For them, such sessions are productive and have often resulted in good, solid writing--but it is crucial to understand that collaboration DID TAKE PLACE. That said, I think Kathryn's handling of this situation was gracious and sensible as well. The concern about the student's possible lack of material was much the same--sometimes, though we must just leave them to their own devices...Curious indeed...
Steve
Hey Kendra,
ReplyDeleteI share Steve's concerns that Silent Brainstorming is just a way for the student to fill a session without completing any work, especially when they refuse to elaborate on their answers or thoughts. While you do not want to dictate a method of learning to a student I think that you as a tutor have a responsibility to push your writers as far as they can go. I would have asked the writer how they benefited from silent brainstorming as opposed to a vigorous discussion or mapping. If they provided a compelling reason I may comply with their wishes but my gut tells me that I would have applied a bit more pressure in that session.
While I'm not trying to cast aspersions onto anyone here, it does seem like Kathryn was doing the bulk of the work in the session by providing the questions. We are expected to offer questions in sessions as tutors, but we also need to receive input from the writer. How else are we supposed to judge their progress or the quality of their writing?
It's a difficult situation. As tutors we often don't want to take too much control in a session or unintentionally bully the writer, but there are times when we need to be the authority figure. We can command respect and performance without removing ourselves from the "peer" category.
If it were me and a writer refused to discuss some of their answers after we practiced Silent Brainstorming for half of the session I might have told the writer, "I need to see where you're going with this" or even pointed out that I had directed a good portion of their paper with my questions and suggested that hearing their reactions and responses was vital to making sure that they were taking my questions further on their own. I don't think we need to wear kid gloves with writers all the time - they can handle a few pointed questions and it is their responsibility to contribute to the content of a session. We can always remind them of that.