tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post1577660511879870932..comments2024-03-27T08:11:29.257-06:00Comments on PeerCentered: Processing and Learning GoogleClint Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671508034667904543noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-74052067446156517402013-08-26T17:55:12.506-06:002013-08-26T17:55:12.506-06:00I'd agree that sometimes the only purpose of a...I'd agree that sometimes the only purpose of a session is to process information. It's a lot like counseling in the sense that if you ask a few pointed questions, the writer will come to an understanding on his or her own. Most students have all the tools they need at their disposal; sometimes they just need to be reminded where the tools were placed. It's important to have students find the answers within themselves and for themselves, even if it happens to be something as simple and arbitrary as a Google search. <br /><br />Thank you for your insight!wiramu.wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04968671177777886998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-60054563314787812342013-05-08T10:05:25.663-06:002013-05-08T10:05:25.663-06:00Emily, I think this is a very relevant question: ...Emily, I think this is a very relevant question: What is the job of a Peer Writing Mentor? My instinct is to say, "Whatever the student needs in order to become a better writer." Of course, that will be different for every student (including non-traditional students, as Jakob points out their diversity). For some, that might be boosting confidence or self-efficacy (as Sentell's Situational Tutoring model shows); for others, it might mean developing strategies for various stages of the writing process; for others, that might mean learning technology so that more time can be spent on writing (& less on double-spacing with the Enter key)! Our University's Writing Lab website even includes a Typing Tutor website, so that students can spend less time typing their papers--and more time writing them! Marissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177274203932305386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-24573952552643268442013-05-07T13:23:35.740-06:002013-05-07T13:23:35.740-06:00Emily, I immediately recognized the type of studen...Emily, I immediately recognized the type of student you were talking about because these students seem to make up the majority of students visiting our Writing Lab. Another common characteristic of non-traditional students that I have noticed is a lack of confidence. Though they are willing to work and to learn, non-traditional students seem to have little faith in their writing abilities. This may be due in part to the hiatus they have taken from academic work. One thing I try and do with the non-traditional students that I work with is to give them a sense of their own abilities. Often as we talk, I take notes of what they say, and show them the page full of notes I have by the end of the session. I always inform them that the only writing on the page is their own ideas. Amy Richards notes in her introduction to The Confident Writer: A Norton Workbook that “[writing] Confidence increases even more when you learn how you have achieved this readability; if you know what techniques you have used well, you can employ them again to assure future successes” (Richards, 1). I see this as our main task with non-traditional students: To encourage them and to boost their confidence by showing them what they can do well, and by teaching them new techniques to master. <br /><br />Richards, Amy. The Confident Writer: A Norton Workbook. New York : Norton & Company,<br />Inc., 1985. <br />Mandi Fryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15710689385890006127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-81216752092197381892013-04-30T17:47:51.175-06:002013-04-30T17:47:51.175-06:00In working with non-traditional students, I've...In working with non-traditional students, I've found that even if they have had experience with writing and are technologically literate, writing academic papers is still a difficult task. In order to write a good paper, thinking has to be very specific, directional, and focused, and for many who haven't even thought about outlines in years, that can be a challenge. Even for those who have written regularly in the interim years, the things they were likely to be writing - business letters, memos, and a lot of emails - are approached very differently than academic writing. In "Non-traditional students in the writing center: Bridging the gap from a process oriented world to a product-oriented one," Smith discusses some of the challenges that arise for a non-traditional student in college. It's not just the grammar that matters; prewriting, drafts, and the structure of a piece of writing are all critically important, and these can be hard things to learn. What's a tutor to do? I think you're approach is good, Emily: work with the students where they are.<br /><br />Smith, Angie. "Non-traditional students in the writing center: Bridging the gap from a process oriented world to a product-oriented one." The Writing Lab Newsletter, March 2003.<br />http://writing2.richmond.edu/training/383/383restricted/smithnontrad.pdfKeturahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07876867087947767138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-28705837696770635612013-04-30T17:46:40.692-06:002013-04-30T17:46:40.692-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Keturahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07876867087947767138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-73039525158127727122013-04-29T07:11:32.546-06:002013-04-29T07:11:32.546-06:00I like the main point of your post: that the sessi...I like the main point of your post: that the session is dictated by the needs of the tutee. However, I can't help but feel that you have generalized non-traditional students. Some students will have spent their early adult life reading and writing outside of the college setting. Some of them have been using computers since the time when they were first introduced to the public. All I'm saying is, don't judge a book by its cover.Jakob Nordstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028439396489504640noreply@blogger.com