So I'm not sure if I'll have much to say about my first experience shadowing the Writing Center considering my writing consultant did not have an appointment during the hour I was there! However, the consultant I was to be shadowing kindly offered to just talk to me about the writing center and it's basic functions. First, Jessie mentioned a few procedural points, like the important of the worksheet that the student fills out when they arrive so that the report can be done as accurately as possible. She also showed me the rack of handouts readily available to both consultants and consulantees that are basically print-outs from the Richmond Writers Web website.
As far as some insight that Jessie offered about the session itself, she strongly emphasized the tactic of getting the other person to do a lot of the talking. Having a draft of the paper to review prior to the session makes a huge difference but nevertheless, asking many questions opens up the gates for the student to then work on correcting structure, argument, clarity, or whatever other issue they have sought the help of the Writing Center for. She explained how this strategy gets the person to talk about their paper the way they want to talk about it, thus helping them clarify their ideas they way they want them clarified. The main point I got out of this was that discussing the topic in a conservational tone rather then in an "academic bullshit" tone, really helps the other student get alot out of the session.
The brief conversation really gave me a strong foundation for some other things to be aware of when there is an actually consultation to observe.
Mara, What were some of the tactics that Jessie said she uses to probe the student? How does she get a quiet or shy student to talk for most of the time? Also, did you talk about proofreading/fixing grammar errors with her at all?
ReplyDeleteI hope you have an appointment to observe next time!!
I think that getting the person to do a lot of talking is such a great suggestion. Getting the person to even think about how he or she feels about a subject and even things that relate to it can only help to person to better understand the ideas he or she wants to convey. Talking through things is the best way to understand REALLLY what you mean and how you feel
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