Brooks' Minimalist Tutoring is a straightforward and practical look at the Do's and Don'ts of being a successful writing center tutor. After reading North last week, most of Brooks' comments feet familiar. However, he does make several salient points.
The first is that if we edit a student's paper, we are not a tutor, but indeed, an editor. We need to make the student the primary "agent" (defined by Merriam-Webster online as "one that acts or exerts power") of his own writing. Putting the student in the role of agent is fundamentally important because if the student sits on the sidelines watching us edit his paper, he won't be getting the maximum benefit from the session.
Another important point Brooks makes is that we, as writing center tutors, have the “luxury of time” (p. 129) to communicate with our clients whereas the classroom teacher does not, and it is in this exchange of ideas that students will reap the most benefit. This is where the true learning will occur that, hopefully, will stick with the student in the future. In addition to the practicalities of how to write more effectively, Brooks adds that this is where we can give the students “support and encouragement” (p. 129). This is absolutely fundamental to helping students feel competent in their writing. If they feel overwhelmed and/or incompetent, they will seldom improve. We have to build up their self-esteem as writers if they are to become better writers.
In fact, according to Brooks (and I think he’s right on here) we should help the student feel as though his paper has value as a piece of writing and that his ideas are worth reading and thinking about (p, 130). We need to provide lots of positive feedback. Some helpful phrases include, “interesting idea,” “This section is very strong,” and “Nice use of imagery here”. Brooks offers other similar suggestions in the “Advanced Minimalist Tutoring” section. This section also includes suggestions for getting the student to talk, which I imagine will often be a challenge. My guess is that a lot of students will answer with, “I don’t know,” or “It just sounded good”. (I would love to hear what you all think about this!! How will you combat these dead-end answers??).
I like the idea of giving the student a “discrete writing task” and then walking away. This says without a doubt that it is the student’s job to do the writing, not the tutor’s. Unfortunately, we may come back to a still blank page which is either an indication of inability or unwillingness. If a student is really unable to complete the task on her own, we can scaffold it for her, perhaps by writing a sentence frame. This is a technique where we write the beginning of the sentence but let the student complete it. As an ELL teacher, I found it very useful.
On the other hand, we may have a situation of “won’t do” rather than “can’t do”. In that case, Brooks offers the “Defensive Minimalist Tutoring”. I love the suggestion to reflect students’ body language! I can’t wait to try it!
Actually, I am curious what you think of this suggestion to "I don't know." Depending on the question, the answer may be a cop-out or a genuine "I don't know". Regardless of whether the tutor knows the answer or not, I think this is where the leading questions come in.
ReplyDelete"What is the main point you are making in this paragraph?"
"I don't know."
"You told me the main topic is Neanderthals. What was your initial reason for choosing this topic?"
And then ask them about their research, what they found fascinating, and what they wanted to put in their paper about them. Eventually, they'll come around to explaining, "well, I thought it would be neat to show that Europeans actually have Neanderthal DNA." And come to find out, that's why they wrote that paragraph. This is just a sample from someone who knows very little about dealing with "I don't know" so if you have further input, please speak up. I'd like to hear from you. Does anyone else have other ideas?
Coming to think of it, though, asking about the origins of the paper and complimenting their choice of topic is what Brooks is talking about, isn't it? With giving their paper a purpose?
That definition of "agent" is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI think when we edit thing for the student, it becomes our paper. You can actually see the differences between the paper before and after. But, if we allow them to have full control, the paper actually transforms to become totally unlike the draft they came in with (at least hopefully).
I agree that it is SO important to have the students value their paper and invest in it. When they are actually interested in the paper, it becomes exceedingly more interesting to read!
There are so many good ideas already on this page, I hope this will contribute as well.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the simplest answer to an "I don't know." if it simply won't go away, is to compliment them on what it is you are asking about.
Something that I always appreciated when I came into the writing center, is when the tutor told me that they loved reading my paper because they learned so much, or the looked forward to seeing my final draft because it sounded like such an interesting idea. These compliments made all the difference to me as a student and really helped me when I felt like giving up.