In our class, we were required to write a script and then film a video that related to tutoring writing. We were split up into groups of three and given a time limit to begin the assignment. At first it was difficult to come up with a script that would not be the same topic as our other classmates but eventually we did. We decided to do three different scenes that would show future tutors how to deal with difficulties that they may one day encounter. The first one was Building Relationships, second was Body Language and the third was Cheerleading.
In the first scene, the tutor had to deal with a tutee that was behaving inappropriately towards her and how calm she was, instead of taking actions into her own hands. In the second scene, the tutor was to take action towards the mood of the tutee because she wasn't very attentive during the session. In the third scene, the tutee felt like the first tutor wasn't very honest towards her paper and had to ask to see another tutor because of the overly cheerleading that she was doing. After coming up with a script we rehearsed with enough time that I honestly believe the filming process went smooth without much error. We were all a little nervous at first but with the rehearsing time, it gave us a boost of confidence and we achieved our goal of filming without any difficulties.
Our goal in general was to have a script and video that will be helpful to future tutors in ENG220. Once the filming was complete, I think that our goal was met because each scene had solution to dealing with the problem presented.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Tutoring Reflection
I was extremely nervous about tutoring students in English 101 because they are about the same age range. I was also afraid to make a suggestion that they wouldn't like or feel like I wasn't fit to make that suggestion. As we walked towards the classroom, I kept telling myself that I will do fine and that I need to be confident because the student needed my help to become a better writer. Everyone was assigned to two students on the first day and they went to them. I wasn't there on the first day so I couldn't be a part of that and had to wait to be assigned to a student.
Once everyone was seated, there were no students left and one student from three different groups had to be taken away in order for me and two other classmates to have a tutee. I was prepared to have two but was satisfied to even have one to tutor. I asked my tutee what the assignment was, after reading the assignment paper I asked him what his position was. He told me that he thought that biculturalism was a strength, that this was his first draft and that it was rushed because he didn't have a lot of time. I also asked him if he could relate to the topic and if he could use himself as an example in his paper.
He wasn't too sure and I told him that he should ask his professor if he could do that because a first hand experience could be a great example to his paper, other than the sources that he already had. We read the paper together and as far as the introduction, he had a great thesis, making it clear that he found biculturalism is a strength. The beginning of his body paragraph he immediately used his source to support the strength and in the second body paragraph he used his course textbook as another example. I felt like his third body paragraph needed more because he was lacking an example to support his thesis. I made suggestions to put more detailed information and also asked him if he thought another source would help him.
He told me that he had a hard time finding his first source on CUNY+ so I told him of an artist I thought was bicultural since he did use an artist in one of his body paragraphs. I asked him if he knew anyone that was bicultural and after saying yes. I suggested to him that he can use that as an example of someone overcoming the difficulties of being bicultural and using it as a strength. After completing the paper and suggestions, I offered my assistance in other concerns that he had. He wanted me to check if he needed any grammar corrections. I felt since we were already done, I could go over it once more and only two corrections were needed to be done.
I had a good experience as a tutor and felt how it can be nerve racking but once you are calm and confident, your help can be of great assistance. Although, this was my first experience as a tutor I felt like I can be more confident in my own writing and not to be so critical towards it either.
Once everyone was seated, there were no students left and one student from three different groups had to be taken away in order for me and two other classmates to have a tutee. I was prepared to have two but was satisfied to even have one to tutor. I asked my tutee what the assignment was, after reading the assignment paper I asked him what his position was. He told me that he thought that biculturalism was a strength, that this was his first draft and that it was rushed because he didn't have a lot of time. I also asked him if he could relate to the topic and if he could use himself as an example in his paper.
He wasn't too sure and I told him that he should ask his professor if he could do that because a first hand experience could be a great example to his paper, other than the sources that he already had. We read the paper together and as far as the introduction, he had a great thesis, making it clear that he found biculturalism is a strength. The beginning of his body paragraph he immediately used his source to support the strength and in the second body paragraph he used his course textbook as another example. I felt like his third body paragraph needed more because he was lacking an example to support his thesis. I made suggestions to put more detailed information and also asked him if he thought another source would help him.
He told me that he had a hard time finding his first source on CUNY+ so I told him of an artist I thought was bicultural since he did use an artist in one of his body paragraphs. I asked him if he knew anyone that was bicultural and after saying yes. I suggested to him that he can use that as an example of someone overcoming the difficulties of being bicultural and using it as a strength. After completing the paper and suggestions, I offered my assistance in other concerns that he had. He wanted me to check if he needed any grammar corrections. I felt since we were already done, I could go over it once more and only two corrections were needed to be done.
I had a good experience as a tutor and felt how it can be nerve racking but once you are calm and confident, your help can be of great assistance. Although, this was my first experience as a tutor I felt like I can be more confident in my own writing and not to be so critical towards it either.
Fourth Observation
My last observation was done on the same day. I was a bit more excited about this one because the tutor had to assist with two writer's and that is something that I had to really learn from since I was suppose to be doing the same for class. The tutor introduced himself then me to both writers and explained why I was present during their session. They both seemed comfortable and quickly began the session. He started with the female student which was ready with her paper out on the table. "What can I help you with?" he asked, looking at both of them then putting his main focus on the female writer. She told him that she needed help with her thesis. He read into the introduction and it was clear that she did need help. As he continued with the paper, he asked her questions about what her topic was about and what she can look into so that she can tell the reader what she wanted to. She took note of this and he asked her to think about it as he went to focus on the male writer.
The second writer told the tutor that he was revising his paper because the professor thought that it was too long and need to shorten it. The tutor read his introduction and told him that it was "too wordy", pointing to the sentences that he may want to take out. The writer explained to the tutor why he had those sentences in there but understood why he shouldn't have it. He also asked the tutor if he could keep some of the sentences that were suggested to be deleted and delete the ones that the tutor told him to keep. The tutor asked him why and when the writer explained, they both agreed. Overall, the paper was very informational and just needed some sentences to be taken out because there was some repetition that did not need to be there. This helped the writer to go from 2 and a half pages to just 2 which is what he and the professor were aiming for.
While the second writer and tutor were working together, the first writer looked confused and bored because she took out her phone. When the tutor was done with him and he left, the tutor apologized and asked her if she knew what she needed to do. She of course told him no. He explained to her that she needed and was a must for her to do more research on the topic because she did not have enough evidence to support her paper. He gave her a list of questions that can help her focus on the main idea of her paper and she noted them. She had a better understanding and the session came to an end but before he let her go he told her that she can come back to him once she has more on her paper so that they can revise it before she submits it to the professor.
This session wasn't really teacher-centered because he allowed the students to speak as well as making their own choices with his suggestions. I think he could've gave the first writer more time if he knew how to handle the session better knowing that he had two writers to assist.
The second writer told the tutor that he was revising his paper because the professor thought that it was too long and need to shorten it. The tutor read his introduction and told him that it was "too wordy", pointing to the sentences that he may want to take out. The writer explained to the tutor why he had those sentences in there but understood why he shouldn't have it. He also asked the tutor if he could keep some of the sentences that were suggested to be deleted and delete the ones that the tutor told him to keep. The tutor asked him why and when the writer explained, they both agreed. Overall, the paper was very informational and just needed some sentences to be taken out because there was some repetition that did not need to be there. This helped the writer to go from 2 and a half pages to just 2 which is what he and the professor were aiming for.
While the second writer and tutor were working together, the first writer looked confused and bored because she took out her phone. When the tutor was done with him and he left, the tutor apologized and asked her if she knew what she needed to do. She of course told him no. He explained to her that she needed and was a must for her to do more research on the topic because she did not have enough evidence to support her paper. He gave her a list of questions that can help her focus on the main idea of her paper and she noted them. She had a better understanding and the session came to an end but before he let her go he told her that she can come back to him once she has more on her paper so that they can revise it before she submits it to the professor.
This session wasn't really teacher-centered because he allowed the students to speak as well as making their own choices with his suggestions. I think he could've gave the first writer more time if he knew how to handle the session better knowing that he had two writers to assist.
Third Observation
In my third observation, the student was a lot more comfortable with me being there. There were suppose to be two tutee's and it took about 2-3 minutes for the tutor to come to the cubicle. During that time, the tutee was asking me why I was there and what I wanted to do in my future. She seemed to be a regular because she was filling me in on who the tutor was. Once the tutor was back, the tutee told the tutor right away that the professor wanted her to fix the grammar in her paper. The main focus was LOC's and the tutor began reading the writer's paper right next to her and as they encountered a grammar fix, the tutor pointed to it and explained why it needed to be fixed. Most of the grammar problems were words that were to be placed in past, present or future tense. The writer also gave a good understanding to what was wrong with the grammar and when she did not, she made up examples to help her understand why the grammar was incorrect. The tutor also made it clear and gave good comments when she had one complete page of no grammar fixing to do. After most the grammar was fixed and the writer felt like she didn't have an questions or concerns about her paper, the tutor offered more help. She asked the writer if she would like to take some worksheets home that can help her with understanding grammar better. She told her to do as much as she can and if she wanted to come back with her final paper as well as with the worksheets to get some more feedback, she is more than welcomed. This session was a lot more quicker than the other two because it was LOC's and both the tutor and writer were speaking back and forth rather than the tutor just making corrections.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Schools to Prisons Pipeline
I think that the school system takes it overboard, when dealing with minor issues that the students have. Wearing a hat in school or walking in the hall without a pass is something that can be examples of minor issues. These issues can be given steps that won't make the student feel like they are criminal's in their school. Many of the ways that a school system has shown to take steps towards a "criminal act", makes a student more angry towards the system rather than angry with themselves for doing what they did. It does not help them learn their lesson or even the opportunity to reflect on it and learn to make better decisions.
One of the videos had an arrest towards an autistic kid that had an outburst. I was more than horrified in the manner that they dealt with the situation. I am pretty sure that the student had little control in his/her feelings and putting that student in handcuffs most likely did not make them feel any calmer. If the student was endangering others, pulling him/her away from the rest could've been a more effective way to deal with their feelings and getting that student to express on why the outburst occurred. The school system should not allow police authorities to intervene in any of the wrong actions students take unless it is a fight or if the student(s) is threatening to cause harm to any of the staff and their classmates.
One of the videos had an arrest towards an autistic kid that had an outburst. I was more than horrified in the manner that they dealt with the situation. I am pretty sure that the student had little control in his/her feelings and putting that student in handcuffs most likely did not make them feel any calmer. If the student was endangering others, pulling him/her away from the rest could've been a more effective way to deal with their feelings and getting that student to express on why the outburst occurred. The school system should not allow police authorities to intervene in any of the wrong actions students take unless it is a fight or if the student(s) is threatening to cause harm to any of the staff and their classmates.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Second Observation
On the same day, I observed another tutor for the second session of the day. As he, the student and I walked to the cubicle, he introduced himself to both the student and I. The tutor then introduced me and explained to the student on the purpose of my presence. He also told the student that he had no reason to be nervous because my focus was mainly on him. The student gave the tutor a brief reason to why he made a visit to the writing center. He wanted to revise his paper in order to receive a higher grade but needed help with what the professor really wanted out of the revision. The tutor read the teachers comments that were mostly on every paragraph and then went back to the introduction. The tutor gave him feedback about working on his thesis and making a stronger argument on one main idea. There was a sense of no organization and because of that, the tutor suggested a "map". The tutor then quickly went to the office to give the student a sheet. He told the student that this map can help him organize his thoughts and also help him see what should or should not be on his paper. The tutor continues to read and whatever suggestions he has, he writes on the map instead of the paper. I think this was helpful because the student can separate the tutors and professors comments. I thought the map was a great idea towards the organization of the paper because the student had good points but were scattered in different paragraphs. It was like an outline that i usually use before writing my paper but a lot more useful since it had bullet points and questions. I can't say that I liked the session too much, the student only spoke 3 times during it. To me it honestly seemed like it was teacher-centered tutoring. The tutor was doing most of the talking although at the end of it, he did ask the student if he was okay with the suggestions and if he had any more concerns about what needed to be changed.
First Observation
Today Tuesday July 16th, was my first day of observing a tutor while they assisted other students with their papers. I felt a little uncomfortable because I know the student didn't sit to well with the fact that I was in their space. I also believed that she felt that she could not ask or state certain things since I was just there to observe. The tutor did introduce herself and me so that the student was not confused as to why I was present but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. The tutor asked the student to explain her assignment and what were the professors comments to her draft paper. After they both went through the comments, the tutor had an idea of what the professor wanted on the final paper. The tutor then began reading the introduction and gave the student positive feedback following the professors comments. The purpose of the paper was to get the students main ideas organized and give more evidence. The tutor directed her into making a stand on whether she agreed or disagreed with the author that she was citing. Her advice was to go towards what she believed in even if it meant that it was to disagree with what the author of the article was stating. She pin pointed where the student might want to add details and evidence to make her argument stronger. I enjoyed this session because the tutor did not do all of the talking, she allowed the student to also talk about what she felt needed to be fixed. At the end of the session the tutor asked the student if she had any more concerns (even though she went past her time limit) and told the student that she can come back to her for more help if needed or any other tutor in the writing center.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Pedagogy & Creativity
Good morning all,
I am a student at Laguardia and I am writing this blog because it's main ideas are education and the improvements that can be made to better educate students.
In the first video, What is Pedagogy?, a very short one. Pedagogy (a Greek root word) is defined as the art of teaching children. The speaker, Dr. Sonwalker Nish gives focus on the teachers and how they view pedagogy as an educator. He also states that they need to consider how they teach a lesson plan that can make a positive impact as well as it making it stick and process in the students being taught.
In the second video, Ted Talks: Sir Ken Robinson Says Schools kill Creativity, Robinson focuses on three main ideas: evidence of human creativity, the fact that we have no idea of our future and education. He feels that every human is born creative but at some point it is either taken away or lost. "Everyone is born creative, we don't grow into it. We grow out of it or we are educated out of it." This is important because creativity is an essential part of being able to find yourself as a person and what you are capable of. Now people or even children are "frightened to be wrong" and this can hold an individual back from things that they would like to do. They don't allow themselves to take risk because of this fear and it can keep anyone from becoming a greater person.
Robinson also states that everywhere in the world the education system is about the same. They don't allow arts to be a main priority, instead teach the subjects that they think are most important for example they are placed in this order -Math, Science, Language then Arts. Education in the 19th century is in part to blame for that because the focus was to teach industrialism. The main idea was to show people how to work and only that. He also defines intelligence in three different ways -Diversity which is the different intelligences, Dynamic which is interactive and Distinct which is to discover ones talents as well as recognizing others.
I am a student at Laguardia and I am writing this blog because it's main ideas are education and the improvements that can be made to better educate students.
In the first video, What is Pedagogy?, a very short one. Pedagogy (a Greek root word) is defined as the art of teaching children. The speaker, Dr. Sonwalker Nish gives focus on the teachers and how they view pedagogy as an educator. He also states that they need to consider how they teach a lesson plan that can make a positive impact as well as it making it stick and process in the students being taught.
In the second video, Ted Talks: Sir Ken Robinson Says Schools kill Creativity, Robinson focuses on three main ideas: evidence of human creativity, the fact that we have no idea of our future and education. He feels that every human is born creative but at some point it is either taken away or lost. "Everyone is born creative, we don't grow into it. We grow out of it or we are educated out of it." This is important because creativity is an essential part of being able to find yourself as a person and what you are capable of. Now people or even children are "frightened to be wrong" and this can hold an individual back from things that they would like to do. They don't allow themselves to take risk because of this fear and it can keep anyone from becoming a greater person.
Robinson also states that everywhere in the world the education system is about the same. They don't allow arts to be a main priority, instead teach the subjects that they think are most important for example they are placed in this order -Math, Science, Language then Arts. Education in the 19th century is in part to blame for that because the focus was to teach industrialism. The main idea was to show people how to work and only that. He also defines intelligence in three different ways -Diversity which is the different intelligences, Dynamic which is interactive and Distinct which is to discover ones talents as well as recognizing others.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Writing
Hi,
My name is Marielli Hernandez. I am 23 years old and this is my last class at Laguardia Community College. I am a major in Childhood Education and focusing on English as my co-major. I am transferring to Queens College and will start at the end of August. I currently have the summer off but as soon as school begins, I start working with district 75 as a paraprofessional. I want to be an Elementary school teacher because I believe that the future lies in the hands of our students and also that it is better to get them at a younger age. I'm not saying that there isn't any hope in the older students but to me honestly seems like they are a lot more difficult to deal with and convince that school is very significant to their future. but also looking into the future to save enough money that will allow me to open a school that will have the hearing and Deaf community together.
My name is Marielli Hernandez. I am 23 years old and this is my last class at Laguardia Community College. I am a major in Childhood Education and focusing on English as my co-major. I am transferring to Queens College and will start at the end of August. I currently have the summer off but as soon as school begins, I start working with district 75 as a paraprofessional. I want to be an Elementary school teacher because I believe that the future lies in the hands of our students and also that it is better to get them at a younger age. I'm not saying that there isn't any hope in the older students but to me honestly seems like they are a lot more difficult to deal with and convince that school is very significant to their future. but also looking into the future to save enough money that will allow me to open a school that will have the hearing and Deaf community together.
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