Research Project Rough Draft

This is what I have so far, it's not finished but here it is. I changed topics as you can tell compared to my research plan in the previous post.

Differences in Body Language of “Prepared” Students vs. “Uncertain” Students in Tutoring Sessions

Understanding body language is crucial to understanding communication between tutors and students in the Writing Center. Because messages are sometimes harder to convey through words, we look for clues in the way the message is presented through movements and gestures of the body to fully comprehend what the speaker is saying. Although the tutor and student communicate verbally as well, the majority of communication is conveyed through nonverbal communication. The use of words is not enough to make sure that a message is interpreted correctly. The use of body language is crucial to making the meaning of our words clear. Body Language is also connected with spoken language and a whole pattern of behavior from a person (Van Marwijk 1).
According to communications professor Albert Mehrabain, the emotional meaning of a message is expressed mostly through nonverbal communication (postures, gestures, etc.),in percentage fifty-five percent. Thirty eight percent comes from the use of paralanguage, or the use of the voice, and only seven percent is expressed through explicit verbal communication ( Holden 4).
In total I observed or conducted about six tutoring sessions. The majority of these sessions took place in a classroom setting or the Writing Center where the student and or the pair that I observed were in close proximity to each other. My notes focused mainly on postures and gestures that I observed during the session. My post observation notes consisted of potential explanations and meanings of what these actions meant.
In my observations and personal reflections, it was interesting to discover that the students’ use of body language varied depending on how “prepared” they were in coming to into a tutoring session. My notes and reflections of my observations consisted mostly of the differences in body language in tutoring sessions. While noting the difference in body language between tutor and student, I also did a comparison of body language between different students I observed. I considered some students “prepared”, and what I meant by this was that they entered the tutoring session with the materials needed to develop their work further, had a decent idea of what changes needed to be made to their paper and what would be accomplished in the session. There were also students that I considered “uncertain”. By this I meant that the student may or may not have had materials needed to further develop their work, but also did not have clear expectations of what would be accomplished during the tutoring session. These students were more likely to be dependent on the tutor guide the progression of the session versus the “prepared” students, who sometimes took complete control of the progression of the session. Because the students are unclear of where to go they look to the tutor for guidance. Thomas Newkirk discusses the roles of the student and the teacher (or tutor in this case). The teacher’s responsibility is to respond to the student, to evaluate and suggest. However, the tutor must also encourage the student to take initiative and to take control of the paper. The student’s recognizes that the teacher is a member of the educational community and looks at the tutor in a similar light. In their eyes, the tutor can come up with better material than them, putting the tutor in the position of authority (Newkirk 302-303).

Tutoring Session #1 – 10/27/08
Melody-student Carrie-tutor
Melody is a “prepared” student. She entered the tutoring session and reminded Carrie that they have met together before, in order to establish a connection/rapport with the tutor. Melody immediately went into her work, clearly stating what the objective was. She noted that this work was not an assignment for a class, but just a response to a publication she read. From this I concluded that this was a cause for which she Melody was concerned about. She read her essay in a confident dynamic voice, placing emphasis on certain parts of the essay. Her voice changed in volume while she was reading, but she remained at a level that was reasonably loud. As she read she constantly looked up at Carrie. Carrie listened intently and watched as Melody read. They kept eye contact every time Melody looked up. Throughout this session Melody did not place any part of her body between herself and Carrie, keeping interaction open with the tutor. She lead the session and did most of the talking pausing only to answer the few questions Carrie asked. They maintained eye contact throughout the entire session and Carrie gave Melody positive praise at the end of the session.

Tutoring Session #2 - 11/19/08
Sarah-student Roger-tutor
Sarah is another “prepared” student. She came to the session with a draft of her work and an idea of what needed to be accomplished in the session. However in this session, Sarah remained closed to Roger at times. By closed I mean that she often blocked open communication between them by keeping her arm between them limiting open interaction and communication with Roger. This could be because she was nervous. However, Roger would also block open communication by crossing his arms in front of him and moving away from Sarah, particularly after asking a question. A majority of the session consisted of Roger trying to build rapport with Sarah, and he succeeded many times in getting her more relaxed. Particularly after they share a laugh she would remove the body part blocking open communication between them for a while, but would eventually close up again. Nevertheless Roger would keep prodding for more examples to add to her work and give helpful suggestions. In the end, although she may have been shy or nervous, she accomplished much progress with her work and was happy with the session.
In my own tutoring experience, I encountered “prepared” students and “uncertain” students. What I noticed was that “uncertain” students were more closed and often blocked open communication with me. Perhaps this was because they were nervous, or did not have the materials they needed, or needed to change their entire paper. When there was an uncertainty about what was going to be done to the paper and in the session, the student’s body often did not have open communication with mine and they would not maintain eye contact. The body language of “prepared” students and “uncertain” students I tutored were dramatically different in terms of attentiveness, and overall communication with me.

WHAT IM LEARNING IN MY SESSIONS SO FAR..

Research Plan

Research Plan

Statement of purpose
In my research project, I hope to show/discover how taking up space and using space during a tutoring session affects tutoring female students.

By observing their body language and use of personal space when interacting with the tutor, I hope to show how this affects tutoring.


Detailed statement of your research question
How do spatial differences between tutor and female students affect tutoring?
What role does personal space play in tutoring sessions with female students?
What roles do cultural differences play?If any?

List information needed/Questions you might want to explore:
-background information on why spatial difference is important during interaction
-How spatial difference can affect a tutoring session
-information on how females take up/use personal space while interacting
-what certain actions can mean in order to draw some conclusions
-what gestures are they using?
-try to determine why they move away/come closer?
-data from observing tutoring sessions
-what spatial differences can mean in different cultures?
-what role do cultural differences play?
-Does spatial difference affect the effectiveness of tutoring sessions?How?

Preliminary list of sources:
These are a few sources that I have found I will definitely be looking for more information pertaining to my topic.

Gender Differences in Communication." The Ladies Room. 21 Aug. 2003. 6 Nov.
2008 .

This website gives information on the differences in body language between males and females. It gives a list of differences in body language, speech patterns, facial expressions and behaviors. It also gives a helpful list of links that relate to the subject.


Holden, Scott. Tutoring Communication:Verbal and Nonverbal Interpersonal
Gestures and Techniques. 22 Apr. 2005. 9 Nov. 2008
.

This article talks about the different types of interpersonal communication and gives examples of types of nonverbal and verbal communication found in writing center conferences. It also gives explanations on what these actions mean.


Magwood, Jamerson. Tapping Into the Gender Communication Gap. 11 Nov.
2008 .

This paper talks about the differences in body language between males and females. More importantly, it describes body language during interaction between tutor and student. At the end of the article it gives 4 examples of tutoring sessions.

Rester, Carolyn H. The Effects Of Sex and Content on Students' Interpretation of Teachers' High Immediacy Messages. Louisiana State University. 11 Nov. 2008.

This dissertation gives information on how messages are received in interactions. It gives information on different message interpretations based on gender. (see page 24-29).

Plan for Gathering Information
I will have to find more sources and find more information to become more familiar with my topic. Then I will collect data from my observations and figure out what they mean. My information will rely heavily on my observations. The feedback form that is filled out by the student after the session could also be relevant.

Blog 14-Tutoring Sessions on 10/27-"First 5 Minutes"

In the session that I observed on Monday the first five minutes were different from the ones Newkirk suggested. The introduction of student and tutor went very quickly. Then they went straight into the paper. Unlike the examples Newkirk used, the student led this session. I suppose the agenda was set by the student. However, I was unsure about what the goal of the session was because the student was very confident about her paper and did not want to change anything. I don't know if this makes the session contradictory to Newkirk's examples.

Newkirk's ideas can be realistic in certain situations. Not all students will be as willing and open to talk about their writing. Especially if they dont even want to be there. His ideas could work if the tutor has become familiar with the student's work in a session and the student openly tells the tutor what he/she thinks can be changed. Using skill, the tutor can then concentrate on adressing the student's concerns. Then that becomes the agenda. As far as this happening in the first five minutes, that can be a little idealistic. Comfort levels for interaction will vary. Some students take a bit longer to grow comfortable with a tutor they are meeting for the first time. In the examples Newkirk uses, they are meeting with their professor who they have had classes with and one teacher-student conference already.

Blog 13- Critique of "The First Five MInutes: Setting the Agenda in Writing Conferences" by Thomas Newkirk

In Thomas Newkirk’s essay “The First Five Minutes: Setting the Agenda in a Writing Conference,” he discusses the importance of having an agenda understood by both the teacher and the student in writing conferences. He uses a dialogue from three writing conferences between students and their composition teachers to illustrate how each conference either fails or accomplishes this goal. Then he explains each outcome using specific examples from the conference

Each conference is given a title and an introductory paragraph giving background information on the student’s paper. This is followed by a dialogue of the conference and then a thorough explanation by Newkirk about why the conference works or does not work. Newkirk uses specific parts of the dialogue to show where the teacher attempted to set up an agenda. In two of the conferences, the students are unaware or confused about the teacher’s intent for the conference and as a result have an unsuccessful conference. Newkirk uses specific things said by the student and then draws on it by giving insight about why the student might have said those things

The form that Newkirk uses to explain these conferences creates a model for successful conferences. His detailed explanations of each conference work as an example to tutors or teachers who strive to have meaningful meetings with their students. Using the conferences (both successful and unsuccessful) as examples becomes beneficial for the reader of the essay.

Blog 12

During our first tutoring session down in the CAS, I was the tutor, Angela was the student and Nick was the observer. Before our session began, Nick explained thoroughly what his objectives were for observing our session. He gave examples on how our identity would be protected and gave us the permission forms to sign. He was very friendly.

During our session, Nick observed quietly and did not interrupt or disrupt our session in any way. I felt comfortable and wasn't really bothered by him being there. Angela and I have known each other since high school, so we are very comfortable with each other. From knowing Nick from class, I was familiar with him. Perhaps this is why we were comfortable during the session.

Nick took a lot of notes on our body language. When I asked him about his notes, he mentioned that in his notes he wrote down that I would lead the session sometimes. I was a little frustrated about this because I am trying not to do it as much, but I'm glad he noted it because it made me aware that I still have to work on that.

For my observations, I plan on using my laptop for notetaking. I want to observe body language, tome of voice, gestures by the student and the tutor.(Later adding head notes).

BLOG 11-Possible Research Topics

Ok, truthfully, I'm still not sure what I want to do my research project on or what my research question is. These are possible ideas, though I'm not sure if I'm going to use any of them yet.

1.For students coming to the writing center, how important is it to become a better writer vs. just getting a good grade? In an ideal world, the answer to this would be all students want to become better writers, but that is not the case. I would be interesting to see what other
motives students have for coming to the writing center.

2. I took a look at Nick's blog stating writing center assumptions and noticed one said something about everyone sharing the same world view. Students coming to the writing center come from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and they're not all going to share the same views. How do these cultural differences affect tutoring different students and their writing?

3. On Nick's list, there was also a point stating that an assumption was that guys are more likely to get annoyed and leave and women are more likely to stay and be more active in finishing the session. What role does gender difference play in tutroring students?

Again these are just possible topic ideas. Hopefully as we talk about the research project more I will able to focus on one research topic and form my question.

BLOG 10

(sorry this is being posted late)

I think I would like to learn more about tutoring students with learning disabilities or handicaps. Since I plan on teaching young children, tutoring children with those qualities is especially interesting. However, tutoring peer to peer with a student who also has these qualities makes for an equally edifying experience. Also in tutoring these students, which tutoring approach would be most beneficial?

If I could invent a project and money was not an issue, I would establish a center that offered different approaches to tutoring.Using highly trained tutors, I would give students the option to choose whether they would like to receive minimalist tutoring or collaborative tutoring. The facility would also offer different tutoring environments, like one-on-one tutoring cublicles, or open rooms with tables where multiple sessions are taking place at the same time. Using a survey at the end of tutoring sessions, we would be able to see what the students think. I think it would be interesting to see which approach becomes more favored and what the students learn when they leave the center.

MINIMALIST TUTORING

Oh man...I must say, honestly I am not a huge fan of minimalist tutoring.
However, I'm all for student centered tutoring, but I sometimes feel as if minimalist tutoring would make the student feel isolated, though this is not the case with all students.

In my tutoring session with nick, when I was the student being tutored I felt lost. We later figured out that this was because minimalist tutoring works best when the student understands the assignment completely (which I did not). However, he did a great job keeping me in charge of the tutoring session by asking me questions trying to figure out where I wanted to go with my paper. When it was my turn to tutor Nick, I found it challenging to let the student do most of the talking (I like to talk!), but it was helpful because it forces the student to really take a look at the work theyve done and they are able to point out what/where needs work themselves.

This fits in with my style of tutoring because I like to keep my sessions student centered. Though it is a bit challenging, I think with a bit of practice I should be able to use minimalist tutoring effectively.

Using minimalisat tutoring will change based on how the student understands the assignment. Some students may not know exactly what to write. In this situation the student may need helpful hints from the tutor to be able to begin the assignment. (hints like taking a look at the syllabus, suggesting OWL Purdue to understand different essays, etc.)

Although I definitely need to practice minimalist tutoring more, I do understand how beneficial and effective it is for the student to receive this type of tutoring.

Blog 8-Tutoring Checklist

My Tutoring Checklist

-Greet students/ be friendly to build rapport with student
-Try to get them to relax, if they are nervous
-Observe student's body language, as well as staying aware of my own
-Address student's paper and ask what they would like to accomplish in the session
-Have the student take notes on the changes they will make to the paper- don't leave without doing writing!
-Be aware that sutdents learn differently
-Be aware of the student's uncertainties and help them overcome them
-Be helpful and encouraging, but don't do all the work for the student
-Ask questions to keep student motivated and keep the session on track (Also a good way to see if you and the student are on the same page)
-Give helpful resources, if needed (OWL Purdue,etc.)
-Have student tell me what they feel they have accomplished during the session.
-Suggest scheduling another appointment
-Understand that I will do the best I can with every student, that's all I can do.
-Dont' be discouraged and be so hard on myself if a session doesn't go perfectly

How to make the session work:

1. Building rapport with the student and helping them feel comfortable during the session is very important. They must feel comfortable and view you as a peer helping them. Because, thats what it is peer tutoring! I want to stay away from being the "authoritative figure" in my sessions.

2. Keep the session student-centered. Different students will have different learning styles. I believe letting the student take charge of the session will help address how they learn most effectively.

3.Listen to questions and concerns of the student. Give helpful feedback on how they can solve their own problem. It is important that the student understand that THEY are the ones improving their paper. This will help empower them to look at themselves as becoming better writers and create a positive atmosphere for the session.

4. Wrap up at the end of the session to make sure the student feels as if they accomplished something during the session. Schedule another appointment if necessary.

I'm sure these guidelines will change depending on how the student is. Tutoring sessions are unpredictable. There are no set plans, we just have to be prepared for anything. :)

Blog 7-Effective tutoring

Effective features of tutoring?

There are so many aspects that can be looked at as effective features of tutoring. To me, communication between the student and the tutor is one of the most important. It is imperative that the writer and student speak to each other frequently and that each person listens. The tutor must be a good listener in order to address what the student thinks are issues in their paper, and vice versa, the student must listen to suggestions given by the tutor (or at least consider them) in order to improve the paper.

It is also important that the tutor build rapport with the student, in order to break through that uncomfortable wall between tutor and student. Most of the time, student will look at you as if you are the authoritative figure who leads the session (in one aspect, sometimes you are...inevitably you have to begin the sessions for less motivated students). So, it is important that the student feel comfortable with you, so that they may interact openly and share their ideas with you.

While it is important that the student somewhat control the session in order to accomplish what the student intends to, I believe it is also important to encourage the student to want to accomplish more. However, if they are content with what they do in the session, then you must be supportive and encourage them to come back for another session to look at the end product.

Looking back on my tutoring session, I would say that I need take more notes during the session so that I do not get lost while exchanging ideas with my student. I would like to spend more time building rapport with my student to ensure open communication. Also, I would like to remember to be less teacher like,also without becoming an "editor" (as per Jeff Brook's essay). I want my sessions to remain student centered, but not to the extent that Brooks dicusses. I almost feel like he kind of isolates the student.

Most importantly, for effective tutoring it is important that we somewhat "expect the unexpected". There are no set rules and outlines to follow when it comes to tutoring sessions. Each student is different, so tutors must not be discouraged easily, instead be patient and do our best as tutors to make sure the student feels they accomplished something in the writing center. Be it becoming a better writer (what we hope for most!), or just improving the paper this time...

Blog 6-Writing Center Philosophy part two

Looking back on my first writing center philosophy in a previous blog, I still hold the same opinion on what my writing center philosophy is. I still feel it is very important to work together in accomplishing the task at hand. "Burkean Parlor Center" style, I guess. I believe that learning is achieved through an exchange of information between two parties, not simply passed from one to the other, or one "bringing it out" of an individual.

In our first mock tutoring session, I had the opportunity to tutor a peer for the first time. it was interesting, exciting, and a bit nerve-wracking to see what kind of tutor I would be. Observing my own style, I still stand by the tutor and student working off of each other's feedback. I feel it is most useful to the student if they direct how far and how much they want to accomplish in the session, and it is also helpful for tutors like me who sometimes have trouble keeping the session from becoming teacher centered. As a tutor it is very valuable for me to hear a student's feedback and point of view. I hope to use their feedback as the drving point in my sessions, because the way I look at it, I can't help the student get to where they want to be if they dont help me understand where they want to be. They have to be able to communicate with me where they want the paper to go, and I will help them get it there, and hopefully, help them become a better writer in the process, or at least give them some encouragement and some type of an example to help them next time.

So, I stand by my previous philosophy...tutor and student working together.

Blog 4- Mock Tutoring Session

Last Monday we conducted a mock tutoring session in which one classmate was the tutor and one was the student. I had the role of the tutor. Using conversation, the student and I discussed the assignment, and we broke down what it was that the assignment asked her to write. The student already had an idea of what she wanted to write about as a main topic, so we focused on building supporting ideas. This was a bit challenging, so we went back through the text and the student began to list inportant points that she felt would be relevant to the piece she was writing. This became quite challenging for me, because as we drew on more ideas, I lost track of thoughts and needed to stop the session and ask the student "wait a minute, what was the main topic again and how do these points relate?". (not a very good tutoring moment for me, I admit!)

As we continued with the session, we did a sort of mapping and organized how her essay would look, what each paragraph would be about, and when we reached the conclusion, like the Reigstad reading suggested, I encouraged the reader to somehow bring it all together. Bring all the points together that she discussed into the last paragraph.

Then she made a web of the points she wanted to discuss in her paper and I made suggestions on where I thought she should give more detail, where the reader might want to know more.

Overall, I was very lucky my student Erin responded well to feedback and was very interactive and gave me feedback as well. The student was motivated in accomplishing something in the session. Collaboration was more challenging than I thought and it was hard for me to not be so "teacher-like" and keep the session student centered or use a collaboration between student and tutor.

Blog 3-Writing Center Philosophy

Based on class discussion, how I view knowledge is a combination of both what we know already, and what we are trying to learn/ being taught, because the information we are being taught, eventually becomes knowledge we know already...so it forms a cycle of some sort, but the two are definitely connected.

To me, it is important that the student and tutor, work together during each session. "Collaboration" so to speak. It is important that there is an understanding that the success of each tutoring session relies on the student and tutor building off of each other's energy and feedback. With both parties intearcting together, and staying engaged in accomplishing the task, the efficiency of each session increases.

The role of learner and tutor comes into play here, it gets tricky when the tutor doesn't necessarily hold all of the control in the session, because it is what we are so accustomed to from all the years we spend in the classroom setting. Teacher (in this case, tutor) centered tutoring

In order to make this the most effective, both parties must come to the session prepared to give feedback. The student must be engaged in improving a particular writing piece, and not leave all work to the tutor.They have to want to be there, otherwise efficiency goes down. The tutor must refrain from taking full control of the session. This means listening to what the student wants to do with their paper and not necessarily just pushing their ideas on the student, because of the
"authority" they hold.

Tutors will be trained to be sociable, welcoming and approaching. Not every student will willingly give feedback. Especially if they were forced to come to the session. Tutors will take time to make student feel comfortable and open to share their ideas. They must be patient, because not all students are the same, and will not all use the same strategies. Finally, it is important that tutors understand that we can only do so much to help the student...but we must do all we CAN. This is important to understand because not all sessions will leave the student bursting with new knowledge and renewed excitement to write, but that doesn't necessarily mean the tutor failed. If they feel they gave it the best of their abilility and learned knowledge useful to tutoring experience, then it was still a successful session.

Blog 2- Lunsford Summary

Here, I am describing the process I used to write my summary for Andrea Lunsford's "Collaboration, Control, and the Idea of a Writing Center".

-First I read the reading selection, highlighting parts I felt were relevant to mention in the summary. I also took notes while reading the selection, so that I could remember why I wanted to include the highlighted parts, without having to re read over and over again.
- After reading, I began typing up the summary using the highlighted sections to guide me in the order I wished to go in.
-I took the highlighted sections and organized those ideas with my notes, chronologically, to form my summary.
-Then I looked over my paper to cite the information I had taken from the article.

This reading was more difficult than the readings we have previously read in class, so I did my best trying to understand what Lunsford was trying to convey in the article. =)

Blog 1

After the class discussion, it was interesting to see how many points were similar in the reading to what the class remembered from their past. I really liked the part where it pointed out what tutoring is not, because for someone like me who has never formally tutored before it is helpful to see what I should be careful not to confuse it with. When reading the second reading assignment, there was a part where it said "The best way to describe tutoring is to do tutoring", relating it to the class discussion, we were able to describe tutoring on what we found to be effective tutoring in the past.

In the second reading, it was interesting to see the cognitive side of how a writer writes. As pointed out in the reading, when I never really thought about it, I too thought that the writing process was individualistic, but after relating what was in the reading to what I do when I have to wirte a paper for class, it showed that the three main stages are essesntially what everyone uses as a writing process. Prewriting, writing, and re writing...

It was refreshing to see that the book admits that "writing is ot a steady straight ahead activity", and realizes that because of all that is going on inside the writer's head while writing, it becomes more complex than it seems. Because writing really isn't as easy as it seems!

STUDENT- CENTERED

Reading the tutoring options, I began to think how I would want my tutoring sessions to be. After reading the three options, I decided that because it is peer to peer tutoring, "student-centered tutoring" could be a good way to go, because not only can you help identify what the writer finds a problem or what is most challenging aboout the particular piece, but it helps you discover what are the main issues with the writer, although as the book points out, it will most likely never repeat itself entirely the same.

COLLABORATIVE

In my opinion, this would be a really effective way to tutor, because it fuses both the writer and tutor's ideas and you build off each other's feedbacxk and energy. However, it's imperative that the writer becomes involved in improving the piece and not just focused on listening to what you have to say as the "expert", and to achieve this, the book emphasizes creating an effective tutoring environment.

On page 28,in "the fuziness of tutoring writing", it describes how the fuziness of tutoring writing is actually a good thing. It is described as "human", and it's a good reminder that the sessions, should not be overly serious, that it should be a helpful learning experience that is enjoyable for both the writer and tutor.

It was really helpful reading what could strengthen or weaken the environment I would want to create in my sessions and what would be the most effective way to make the most of the sessions.