Ghada Seifeddine Observation #2 on the 5th of March

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When I arrived at the writing center, the tutor was alone in the writing center. I introduced myself, and we sat together and I explained what I was doing during her session. She agreed for observation, and informed me that her student was late. The student came later on, and they said brief hellos. However, what I did find a bit awkward is the fact that both tutor and student did not know the names of one another previously, especially the appointments are made online. I would personally prefer knowing my students/tutors name on any case to avoid confusions. It seemed like a first encounter from both sides, and the student then proceeded to explain what the research project was about. It was a technical one, and his professor advised him to seek the center to better his essay before submission. What was a bit off was the fact that there were no copies provided, but both managed to work on same paper, with the student reading aloud. The tutor actually took a notebook out, in case she had any notes to jot down. I found that to be interesting to do, and would probably do so if I were to tutor myself. That way, I wouldnt have to interrupt my student, but rather refer back to my notes, depending on the time and context. It is crucial that the tutor does not talk more than the student, and I believe the tutor established that indirectly, showing the student how he has room to read and think aloud. As the student read along, he started picking up mistakes along the way, while the tutor nodded, encouraging him forward. It was a calm environment at the writing center because we were the only ones there, and I assume that made the student more relaxed. Even with a positive spacing, body language and environment, I think that the pre-textual stage could have been improved. For a moment, I caught a few words that the students mentioned about his professor, saying that the professor sent him off to the writing center for revision. Basically, the professors notes were technical, as the student went on pointing them out. It seemed a very basic level of revision, and the lines between editor and tutor were blurred. The type of help needed obligated the tutor to take both roles together, for she did help him edit structural errors, but at the same time, kept pace with the concepts that were in the project. The project was not, in fact, a full essay but rather a package of outline, proposal and a bit of procedural writing. Therefore, the way the tutor handled this idea we discussed about writing center, being thought of, stereotypically, as an editing center, was not the case. She addressed questions, made the student answer for himself. She also gave him room to argument. After half the time passed, the student had a call to answer, and the tutor was relaxed about this matter, as she has been the whole session. In a minute or so, another student came in, and it happened to be that the two students are pairs working on the same project. The tutor was okay about this, leaving the students go over the essay, and ask her questions that she replied to. Sometimes, she did not answer back, but questioned instead. I found that helpful because it made them think of the concept on their own.

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Mainly, and because the session did not include an actual essay, but a final version of a technical project, the students finished what they needed to ask before due time. I would have been more interactive with them. I believe the tutor was a bit too relaxed about it. Perhaps it depends on what the students need help in. At times, the tutor did tell them to write it in one way rather than another, as the professor wrote in the correction, and they would argue back that this might not be correct. I think that if she diverged away from telling them what to write, and instead making them come up with the structural modifications themselves, this awkward encounter between tutor and student would be diminished, taking into consideration that the tutor and student are always on the same level, each learning from the other simultaneously. Sometimes, it is hard to be a tutor when the students think of you as an editor, and that is what I learned from the observation. It makes the job of a tutor harder to perform, especially when the student is pointing out the mistake and asking for a direct answer rather than anything else. I think I would have scanned the paper al-through instead of looking at each page separately with the student. It is okay to guide them through. It is true that sometimes the three stages, pre-texutal, textual and post-textual, dont work, but a tutor can try to direct his student towards thinking on his own, than laying down the answers for him. The observation was quite short, and therefore that was all I could have observed; however, in less than an hour, I learned more about the process of writing and tutoring that I will remember when I am in the tutors shoes.