Interactions with your assigned professor is very different for every writing fellow. I went in expecting the professor to know exactly how I should interact and integrate into his class. However, he wanted my input on how I would like to be involved, when I could meet in class with students, and what I could take on as a writing fellow. I think going in knowing your own limits is key because I have definitely already overexerted myself in involvement with the class. It is now more difficult to pull back and set better boundaries. I would recommend that you read the syllabus carefully and make suggestions of what you would be willing to help with in the course. I would meet with the professor on more of a personal level with the first meeting and tell them about what you have going on to help establish yourself as a student first and get to know the professor and their goals for the course. This first meeting will help you evaluate what the professor’s expectations for you are. Then, in your next meeting you can properly communicate how you want to be involved based on their feedback and your schedule and comfort level. I think other fellows should establish the function of what a writing tutor is so that it could be put into the syllabus, so students are also aware of your role. Overall, I think that open communication is the best way to interact with professors. It is ok to say, “I am not sure if I can get this realistically done” or “these are my limits on hours for the week” or “I think I could be more involved in this part of class…”. I have had a really good time working with Dr. DeCoster so far. We worked together to plan out the first few assignments and how I would be involved, and our collaboration is still evolving. I believe flexibility is also key when it comes to when changes arise, but to still keep your limits on how much energy you have for this job.
I have not had a formal sit down meeting with my faculty advisor but we have had chances to talk after class and we’ve shared our thoughts about what the students are saying and what the next steps are going to be in the class. I had some trouble getting in touch with Professor Frank in the beginning of the class, so I felt a little lost starting off, but the more I talk to her the more I’m starting to understand what my specific goals are as a tutor and what things I should be focusing on in my tutoring sessions. One piece of advice I would give someone else is to get in contact with your faculty advisor early on in the semester. That way you have time to set up a meeting and have plenty of time to talk about expectations or anything else you have questions about. I wish that I had been a little more forward in the beginning because I think I would have benefited from having some clarity regarding her expectations for me prior to jumping into things. I think having an understanding of what things the students will be working on in the course is very helpful and important to know also. Another thing that I think is important to remember is that it’s okay to be more transparent and less formal with your faculty advisor. I think that I was intimidated at first because she is a professor and sometimes there can be a disconnect between student and teacher. But our job as a writing fellow is to be a bridge between the students and the teacher and I think it’s important to remember that you can talk to them like a normal person and express your thoughts or concerns. I like to think of it as being that we have the same goals and we are kind of working as a team in a sense. I appreciate when she is more transparent with me so I think she would appreciate the same from me, especially if it gives her more insight into the minds of her students.
So far I feel like my writing fellow experience is a little different from my peers in the class. I think this because they are all in English classes or classes where there are consistent papers. From what I know there is only one paper for the psych class that I am a fellow in and it hasn’t been addressed in the class that much yet. However, communicating with the teacher has been relatively easy since she is very sweet and easy to talk to. She’s almost a little too lenient because I’m never quite sure what I’m supposed to be doing. I created hours and am planning on sharing them with her to send out as the topic of the paper approaches. She didn’t give too much guideline and seemed like she’d be ok with whatever from me. I know it’s getting a little late into the semester but I think since the topic of the paper should be coming up soon I am finally going to be like hi here are my hours feel free to send them out. It’s a little stressful, since I feel a bit behind the other fellows but I think that is majorly just because there are less papers and less need for me than in other classes. My advice would be to try and stay on top of things and definitely reach out and ask questions because sometimes the directions are not always going to be straight shot clear.
I have not had a formal sit down meeting with my faculty advisor but we have had chances to talk after class and we’ve shared our thoughts about what the students are saying and what the next steps are going to be in the class. I had some trouble getting in touch with Professor Frank in the beginning of the class, so I felt a little lost starting off, but the more I talk to her the more I’m starting to understand what my specific goals are as a tutor and what things I should be focusing on in my tutoring sessions. One piece of advice I would give someone else is to get in contact with your faculty advisor early on in the semester. That way you have time to set up a meeting and have plenty of time to talk about expectations or anything else you have questions about. I wish that I had been a little more forward in the beginning because I think I would have benefited from having some clarity regarding her expectations for me prior to jumping into things. I think having an understanding of what things the students will be working on in the course is very helpful and important to know prior. Another thing that I think is important to remember is that it’s okay to be more transparent and less formal with your faculty advisor. I think that I was intimidated at first because she is a professor and sometimes there can be a disconnect between student and teacher. But our job as a writing fellow is to be a bridge between the students and the teacher and I think it’s important to remember that you can talk to them like a normal person and express your thoughts or concerns. I like to think of it as being that we have the same goals and we are kind of working as a team in a sense. I appreciate when she is more transparent with me so I think she would appreciate the same from me, especially if it gives her more insight into the minds of her students.
I wasn’t entirely sure how involved Professor Brod wanted me to be in his class. I’m often a lively participant within classes but have decided to take on the role of just a listener. Once in a while, if it seems like the students are missing something or aren’t being active participants, I will raise my hand and give an answer. Sometimes Brod specifically asks me questions, which is always a little nerve wracking. After the first round of essays, I sent Brod an email identifying trends I noticed and how the students were in the meetings, and I expect to talk to him Thursday about it. Other than that, there hasn’t been a ton of communication between us, but I think it’s mostly because Brod and I have worked together before, and there’s a level of trust there. I think if he felt I wasn’t doing something well, he would let me know.
5 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 6”
Interactions with your assigned professor is very different for every writing fellow. I went in expecting the professor to know exactly how I should interact and integrate into his class. However, he wanted my input on how I would like to be involved, when I could meet in class with students, and what I could take on as a writing fellow. I think going in knowing your own limits is key because I have definitely already overexerted myself in involvement with the class. It is now more difficult to pull back and set better boundaries. I would recommend that you read the syllabus carefully and make suggestions of what you would be willing to help with in the course. I would meet with the professor on more of a personal level with the first meeting and tell them about what you have going on to help establish yourself as a student first and get to know the professor and their goals for the course. This first meeting will help you evaluate what the professor’s expectations for you are. Then, in your next meeting you can properly communicate how you want to be involved based on their feedback and your schedule and comfort level. I think other fellows should establish the function of what a writing tutor is so that it could be put into the syllabus, so students are also aware of your role. Overall, I think that open communication is the best way to interact with professors. It is ok to say, “I am not sure if I can get this realistically done” or “these are my limits on hours for the week” or “I think I could be more involved in this part of class…”. I have had a really good time working with Dr. DeCoster so far. We worked together to plan out the first few assignments and how I would be involved, and our collaboration is still evolving. I believe flexibility is also key when it comes to when changes arise, but to still keep your limits on how much energy you have for this job.
I have not had a formal sit down meeting with my faculty advisor but we have had chances to talk after class and we’ve shared our thoughts about what the students are saying and what the next steps are going to be in the class. I had some trouble getting in touch with Professor Frank in the beginning of the class, so I felt a little lost starting off, but the more I talk to her the more I’m starting to understand what my specific goals are as a tutor and what things I should be focusing on in my tutoring sessions. One piece of advice I would give someone else is to get in contact with your faculty advisor early on in the semester. That way you have time to set up a meeting and have plenty of time to talk about expectations or anything else you have questions about. I wish that I had been a little more forward in the beginning because I think I would have benefited from having some clarity regarding her expectations for me prior to jumping into things. I think having an understanding of what things the students will be working on in the course is very helpful and important to know also. Another thing that I think is important to remember is that it’s okay to be more transparent and less formal with your faculty advisor. I think that I was intimidated at first because she is a professor and sometimes there can be a disconnect between student and teacher. But our job as a writing fellow is to be a bridge between the students and the teacher and I think it’s important to remember that you can talk to them like a normal person and express your thoughts or concerns. I like to think of it as being that we have the same goals and we are kind of working as a team in a sense. I appreciate when she is more transparent with me so I think she would appreciate the same from me, especially if it gives her more insight into the minds of her students.
So far I feel like my writing fellow experience is a little different from my peers in the class. I think this because they are all in English classes or classes where there are consistent papers. From what I know there is only one paper for the psych class that I am a fellow in and it hasn’t been addressed in the class that much yet. However, communicating with the teacher has been relatively easy since she is very sweet and easy to talk to. She’s almost a little too lenient because I’m never quite sure what I’m supposed to be doing. I created hours and am planning on sharing them with her to send out as the topic of the paper approaches. She didn’t give too much guideline and seemed like she’d be ok with whatever from me. I know it’s getting a little late into the semester but I think since the topic of the paper should be coming up soon I am finally going to be like hi here are my hours feel free to send them out. It’s a little stressful, since I feel a bit behind the other fellows but I think that is majorly just because there are less papers and less need for me than in other classes. My advice would be to try and stay on top of things and definitely reach out and ask questions because sometimes the directions are not always going to be straight shot clear.
I have not had a formal sit down meeting with my faculty advisor but we have had chances to talk after class and we’ve shared our thoughts about what the students are saying and what the next steps are going to be in the class. I had some trouble getting in touch with Professor Frank in the beginning of the class, so I felt a little lost starting off, but the more I talk to her the more I’m starting to understand what my specific goals are as a tutor and what things I should be focusing on in my tutoring sessions. One piece of advice I would give someone else is to get in contact with your faculty advisor early on in the semester. That way you have time to set up a meeting and have plenty of time to talk about expectations or anything else you have questions about. I wish that I had been a little more forward in the beginning because I think I would have benefited from having some clarity regarding her expectations for me prior to jumping into things. I think having an understanding of what things the students will be working on in the course is very helpful and important to know prior. Another thing that I think is important to remember is that it’s okay to be more transparent and less formal with your faculty advisor. I think that I was intimidated at first because she is a professor and sometimes there can be a disconnect between student and teacher. But our job as a writing fellow is to be a bridge between the students and the teacher and I think it’s important to remember that you can talk to them like a normal person and express your thoughts or concerns. I like to think of it as being that we have the same goals and we are kind of working as a team in a sense. I appreciate when she is more transparent with me so I think she would appreciate the same from me, especially if it gives her more insight into the minds of her students.
I wasn’t entirely sure how involved Professor Brod wanted me to be in his class. I’m often a lively participant within classes but have decided to take on the role of just a listener. Once in a while, if it seems like the students are missing something or aren’t being active participants, I will raise my hand and give an answer. Sometimes Brod specifically asks me questions, which is always a little nerve wracking. After the first round of essays, I sent Brod an email identifying trends I noticed and how the students were in the meetings, and I expect to talk to him Thursday about it. Other than that, there hasn’t been a ton of communication between us, but I think it’s mostly because Brod and I have worked together before, and there’s a level of trust there. I think if he felt I wasn’t doing something well, he would let me know.