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.