While I haven’t met with any specific tutee one on one yet, I am meeting with them today after class, which I’m excited for. But within class I would say that the students who participate have a firm grasp on the reading which pleases me because the class I’ve been placed within is lively with discussion most of the time. Part of it is the way Professor Brod phrases his questions, but I’ve noticed the students engaging within them themselves- they’re critical thinkers, which makes me proud.
As for reading and drafting, I’ve looked briefly at the various drafts that students have been sending me over the last three days, and they all have a good balance of opinion and claim, which is something even I struggle to get a handle of. I want to look back on the notes I’ve taken within this class and Brod’s while also reflecting on what I learned in my trauma education course, everyone has a different way of learning, and I can’t wait to unlock that part of their genius alongside them. I think that study habits are important, which most of the class seemed to be stuck on in a discussion we had the other day, so I do want to emphasize the need for an appropriate environment to study in and that they’re able to refer to the handouts that Brod has given in class and the outlines for the paper.
In the one meeting I have had with a student, I noticed that she employs close reading strategies. She had portions of text underlined and had notes written in the margins, showing that she was reading the source thoughtfully and had a decent grasp of analysis on it before she started writing. This decent grasp of the source material helped make giving feedback on her writing easier, because she had a strong foundation for us to build off of, and it made our tutoring session go very smoothly. These close reading skills are thing that Prof. Tuttle is trying to encourage and build during lecture, and I can tell that at least some of the students are taking it to heart. One strategy I liked was modeling close reading for the tutee, and showing them how to apply the strategies that they have probably already heard of. It’s one thing to be told over and over how to improve your reading skills, but the mental block of genuinely not understanding the material can make applying these strategies easier said than done. I believe that a genuine demonstration of these strategies might help overcome this mental block and improve upon their close reading skills. From the examples, I am definitely guilty of telling my analysis and treating it as fact, but not in a malicious or self-centered way. I like to think I’m doing it in a way of starting the conversation of analysis, like I’m opening the door for other analysis, too. Seeing this example play out, however, I now know that it can be confusing and disheartening for a student with less experience to have me dominate the conversation like that, especially if they are feeling insecure about their close reading skills. This behavior is now something that I am aware of, and I will correct for future tutoring sessions.
I have yet to meet with a tutee so I am unfamiliar with any of their reading strategies. However, I do know my own strategies! When I am reading for academic purposes, I read very closely. I always take notes in my notebook and separate my pages by writing the header down. I use four different colored markers that each serve a purpose. One is for the tile, one for the headers, one for the definitions, and one for general information. Color coding helps me categorize the information that I am reading and organize my thoughts. I am a big believer in rereading sections so I will often reread a paragraph multiple times. It is important I understand something to the best I can before I move on. If I am confused, I might read it quietly to myself which often helps. My relationship between reading and drafting is positive. I am a big fan of drafting so I take it very seriously. My biggest strategy is reading out loud. Sometimes I need to hear the words I wrote out loud before I can move on. I do this by only reading a chunk at a time, and then revising the chunk before I move on to the next. The strategies mentioned in the chapter are things that I mostly do. However, I had never heard of the acronym SQ3R which stands for survey, question, read, recite, and review. I think this strategy does a really good job of providing different ways to break down a text. I can definitely see myself suggesting this tip to students who might need it. The examples in the chapter are really interesting. It reminds me of what my past teachers were like. They have an answer to the meaning of a text and are trying to get you to interpret the words without specifically telling you what it means. I have had teachers use guiding questions like the chapter shows that have helped me get on the right track. This strategy encourages the student to think critically and learn to understand the text on their own. It’s important to help lead students without doing it for them.
As of right now, I still have not had any tutees from my course. As we get closer to the due date of the first paper, I will start to see students come in. We briefly discussed in class today what makes a good and a bad source for an academic paper. The students who shared in class were able to answer those questions while also providing examples of sources that may not be appropriate to use in an essay. I do think that some of the students in the class already have a strong idea of what they want to write for the essay. However, my perspective on the entirety of the class is limited since I have not met with any of them, and only a few spoke in class.
In the past, I’ve used a variety of the strategies laid out in the beginning of Chapter 8. I find that the most helpful are to take notes, and to break sentences down into manageable parts
I do think that something I’ll have to make sure to balance is respecting the prior student-to-tutor line. For ARC190, I am primarily expected to assist students in developing their writing skills, rather than acting as a research assistant. For the majority of my work here at UNE, I typically write either long research papers or short discussion posts. I will have to make sure I do not stray away from my original purpose as the writing fellow in ARC190.
4 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 6”
While I haven’t met with any specific tutee one on one yet, I am meeting with them today after class, which I’m excited for. But within class I would say that the students who participate have a firm grasp on the reading which pleases me because the class I’ve been placed within is lively with discussion most of the time. Part of it is the way Professor Brod phrases his questions, but I’ve noticed the students engaging within them themselves- they’re critical thinkers, which makes me proud.
As for reading and drafting, I’ve looked briefly at the various drafts that students have been sending me over the last three days, and they all have a good balance of opinion and claim, which is something even I struggle to get a handle of. I want to look back on the notes I’ve taken within this class and Brod’s while also reflecting on what I learned in my trauma education course, everyone has a different way of learning, and I can’t wait to unlock that part of their genius alongside them. I think that study habits are important, which most of the class seemed to be stuck on in a discussion we had the other day, so I do want to emphasize the need for an appropriate environment to study in and that they’re able to refer to the handouts that Brod has given in class and the outlines for the paper.
In the one meeting I have had with a student, I noticed that she employs close reading strategies. She had portions of text underlined and had notes written in the margins, showing that she was reading the source thoughtfully and had a decent grasp of analysis on it before she started writing. This decent grasp of the source material helped make giving feedback on her writing easier, because she had a strong foundation for us to build off of, and it made our tutoring session go very smoothly. These close reading skills are thing that Prof. Tuttle is trying to encourage and build during lecture, and I can tell that at least some of the students are taking it to heart. One strategy I liked was modeling close reading for the tutee, and showing them how to apply the strategies that they have probably already heard of. It’s one thing to be told over and over how to improve your reading skills, but the mental block of genuinely not understanding the material can make applying these strategies easier said than done. I believe that a genuine demonstration of these strategies might help overcome this mental block and improve upon their close reading skills. From the examples, I am definitely guilty of telling my analysis and treating it as fact, but not in a malicious or self-centered way. I like to think I’m doing it in a way of starting the conversation of analysis, like I’m opening the door for other analysis, too. Seeing this example play out, however, I now know that it can be confusing and disheartening for a student with less experience to have me dominate the conversation like that, especially if they are feeling insecure about their close reading skills. This behavior is now something that I am aware of, and I will correct for future tutoring sessions.
I have yet to meet with a tutee so I am unfamiliar with any of their reading strategies. However, I do know my own strategies! When I am reading for academic purposes, I read very closely. I always take notes in my notebook and separate my pages by writing the header down. I use four different colored markers that each serve a purpose. One is for the tile, one for the headers, one for the definitions, and one for general information. Color coding helps me categorize the information that I am reading and organize my thoughts. I am a big believer in rereading sections so I will often reread a paragraph multiple times. It is important I understand something to the best I can before I move on. If I am confused, I might read it quietly to myself which often helps. My relationship between reading and drafting is positive. I am a big fan of drafting so I take it very seriously. My biggest strategy is reading out loud. Sometimes I need to hear the words I wrote out loud before I can move on. I do this by only reading a chunk at a time, and then revising the chunk before I move on to the next. The strategies mentioned in the chapter are things that I mostly do. However, I had never heard of the acronym SQ3R which stands for survey, question, read, recite, and review. I think this strategy does a really good job of providing different ways to break down a text. I can definitely see myself suggesting this tip to students who might need it. The examples in the chapter are really interesting. It reminds me of what my past teachers were like. They have an answer to the meaning of a text and are trying to get you to interpret the words without specifically telling you what it means. I have had teachers use guiding questions like the chapter shows that have helped me get on the right track. This strategy encourages the student to think critically and learn to understand the text on their own. It’s important to help lead students without doing it for them.
As of right now, I still have not had any tutees from my course. As we get closer to the due date of the first paper, I will start to see students come in. We briefly discussed in class today what makes a good and a bad source for an academic paper. The students who shared in class were able to answer those questions while also providing examples of sources that may not be appropriate to use in an essay. I do think that some of the students in the class already have a strong idea of what they want to write for the essay. However, my perspective on the entirety of the class is limited since I have not met with any of them, and only a few spoke in class.
In the past, I’ve used a variety of the strategies laid out in the beginning of Chapter 8. I find that the most helpful are to take notes, and to break sentences down into manageable parts
I do think that something I’ll have to make sure to balance is respecting the prior student-to-tutor line. For ARC190, I am primarily expected to assist students in developing their writing skills, rather than acting as a research assistant. For the majority of my work here at UNE, I typically write either long research papers or short discussion posts. I will have to make sure I do not stray away from my original purpose as the writing fellow in ARC190.