What’s “OK” and “not OK” in Tutoring Student Writing?
Please keep in mind the Learning Center philosophy here at Skyline College:
“Through a close collaboration between faculty, tutors, and students, the Learning Center empowers students to be responsible,
active learners.”
This means that we guide students to do their own work so that they can build their skills in independent writing and editing.
OK
Make every moment a teachable moment.
Not OK
Make every moment a Tutor-in-Charge moment.
Tutoring involves active questioning, but occasionally
it involves direct explanation. Explanation is OK so
long as it does not take the focus away from the
student and place it upon the tutor.
Ask q’s of the student to get him/her engaged, and
follow explanations with tasks for the student to
demonstrate learning. The tutor should be the
“Guide on the Side,” not the “Sage on the Stage.”
Listen to yourself; monitor how much you speak,
and encourage the student to do much of the
talking. Limit “Tutor Talk.”
The student already perceives the tutor as more
capable in the subject matter than him/herself.
Don’t reinforce this by making the tutoring session
All About You.
Work to constantly put the student in the position of
discovering and making changes to his/her writing.
Keep thrusting the student into the “do-er” position
and avoid dominating the session.
Ask yourself; how much am I speaking and doing?
How much is the student speaking and doing?
Example:
Student: Can you point out my grammar errors for me?
Tutor: What errors does your teacher typically mark on
your papers? Hmm…I might see one here. Can you
read this sentence and tell me where there might be
an error? Good…do you know how to fix it? Let me
write an example on scratch paper for you. Now, you
try it!
Example:
Student: Can you point out my grammar errors for
me?
Tutor: Sure. You’re missing a comma right here (mark)
and I’ll add these S’s that you left off of your verbs. I’m
not sure what you’re saying in this sentence; I would
say it like this…there, that sounds better. I can see an
error here, and I’m not sure how to explain it to you, so
I’ll just fix it.
OK
Write notes on scratch paper; give examples; give
lists; give suggestions.
Not OK
Write on the student’s paper; make corrections; add
word endings where they are missing; mark errors as
you see them.
Students often need something concrete to take
away with them after tutoring. A list of “marching
orders,” or tasks for the student to accomplish
before the next session, helps the student feel
supported even after s/he leaves your table.
Concrete examples on paper can be worth an hour
of “Tutor Talk” because the student can take it
away with him/her.
Example:
Tutor: OK, Fred, this has been a very good session,
and I want you to keep track of the things you need to
do to improve your paper. I’ve been taking notes on
your paper, so now I’ll turn these notes into a list of
things for you to work on. After you’ve worked on
them, come to see me again.
Writing on the student’s paper encourages passivity
and discourages independence. It robs the student
of the opportunity to learn by doing.
True, it takes longer to talk the student through
making his/her own corrections, but the student
remains engaged and retains more from the
experience when he/she has to do the writing.
OK
Make templates, graphic organizers, maps, or “forms”
to make the process more concrete and achievable for
students.
Not OK
Keep everything theoretical and abstract, existing only
in discussion.
Again, concrete concepts are key. Writing is already
an intangible process; the more you can do to
make it solid and real, the better the student will be
able to progress.
Using graphic organizers helps students “concretize”
concepts, and it engages the student by having
him/her fill in blanks on the “form.”
Tutoring is not a psychoanalytic session; this is not a
“talking cure.” Sure, discussion is important, but if it
never moves to actual writing and action on the
part of the student, the student walks away unsure
of what was achieved in the session.
If the student doesn’t have a clear task upon leaving,
the chance that the writing will improve diminishes.
Example:
Tutor: This bubble map represents your paper. I want
you to fill in the bubbles with your own ideas. Let’s
start here; what’s your thesis?
Example:
Tutor: You have such interesting ideas! I could talk
about this all day, but my shift is over now. So, work
on that some more, OK? Good luck!
Example:
Tutor: (silence while writing on paper) There, I’m done.
Now go make those changes to your paper.
OK
When the student is lacking vocabulary or
expressions, it is OK to supply several possible words
or phrases in a teachable way.
What is a “teachable way?” It is a way in which the
student truly learns the word or phrase that s/he
lacks.
Try offering several options and having the student
choose; then encourage the student to test out the
new word/phrase in a sample sentence.
Example:
Student: I don’t know how to say this; it’s sort of like
“not wanting” or “afraid,” but none of those words work.
Tutor: Well, “not wanting” sounds like “unwilling.” Is
that what you want to say? Or you could use the word
“reticent” or “hesitant.” Which one sounds best to you?
Student: Can you tell me how I would use the word
“reticent?”
Tutor: Sure, here’s an example...
Not OK
When a student is lacking vocabulary or expressions,
it is not OK to just provide the words in a way that
promotes passivity.
What is “passivity” in tutoring? It is the lack of
engagement of a student in a tutorial process.
Passivity occurs when the student isn’t tasked with
having to do anything with the information and is
just waiting for the tutor to supply the answer.
OK
Use questions to get the student to come up his/her
own answers.
The great thing about questions is that they provoke
answers.
Leading questions are great in tutoring because they
help the student to follow a path while gaining
confidence. They also train the student to ask
those same questions of him/herself.
Not OK
Give answers without engaging the student.
Example:
Student: So, what should I put in my thesis?
Tutor: Well, what do you want to say about the article
you read?
Student: That there are benefits to learning a foreign
language.
Tutor: What are those benefits?
Example:
Student: So, what should I put in my thesis?
Tutor: Well, it sounds like you want to talk about the
benefits of learning a foreign language, so you should
give these three reasons…
Example:
Tutor: Don’t say “not wanting.” Use the word
“unwilling” instead. It sounds better.
Student: (silence)
Students often come to the tutoring session in a
passive mode, and it’s our job to get them into an
active one. Providing answers without engaging in
dialog encourages passivity.
Engagement is key to learning.
OK
Talk about grammar; make student aware of
grammar’s importance, and make student know that
any existing grammar errors need to be addressed.
The English department at Skyline College is
adamant about tutors working with grammar in
tutoring sessions. However, not everyone is
competent in talking about grammar errors and
how to fix them.
If you are not comfortable discussing grammar, you
still need to let the student know about any
grammar issues that exist in the paper, and then
refer him/her to a tutor with grammar expertise.
Not OK
Ignore grammar entirely; focus only on content and
reading.
Example:
Tutor: You’ve made some really important strides in
the development of your paper, but there are a lot of
grammar issues. I can explain the sentence joining
stuff, but there are some ESL errors here that are
outside of my area. I’m going to refer to you to the ESL
specialist. You really need to spend some time with
her and work on improving your paper, OK?
Example:
Tutor: You’ve made some really important strides in
the development of your paper. I think you’re going to
be fine now.
Student: What about grammar?
Tutor: Well, your ideas are more important. Just check
your sentences before you turn it in. See you later!
Some college depts feel that grammar not as
important as content. The prevailing philosophy at
Skyline College is that grammar may be secondary
in order of focus, but is not secondary in
importance. Grammar is vital to clarity and
understandability.
Ignoring grammar gives the student the false
impression that grammar does not matter, when in
fact, grammar will matter when students attempt to
move on or transfer to classes that demand higher
quality of writing.