I'm continue to work and improve my techniques in the writing center, having another walk in consultation on Tuesday that went very well. I'm starting to realize how much I am a part of the Center. If there's no one to help a walk in then hell I'm the man for the job. This particular consultation focused on the writing of a memo explaining a group's mission statement for English 202. Things were off to a little bumpy of a start because he couldn't get his computer onto the school's network but I suggested he go down to the library and get a copy. We covered a variety of topics, including getting his memo correctly formatted and then making the text more concise to follow the "to the point" style of a memo. He left the Center very pleased with his experience and I suspect he'll be in again.
So far that's been the most rewarding thing to me, knowing that I've impressed someone enough that they want to visit again. It's probably the retail associate in me because I understand that if I've provided a pleasant enough experience to guarantee return visits then I'm doing my job. Thursday afternoon I had no consultations but I did help a walk in feel welcome and helped her around her scheduling conflict by introducing her to April (I would have done it but she arrived near the end of my shift). I'm just feeling so relieved right now ever since I dropped my Linguistics 305 class. I just don't think it was something I was ready for this semester and will tackle it in the Spring. I feel like a 15 pound weight has been taken off.
The experience with Mary Ann was also positive today because it was my first brainstorming session. I had some brainstorming experience watching Tiffany help a student once but this was a completely different paper and requirements. At times I felt I was talking too much but eventually it helped coax her to start taking action and engaging herself in the conversation. I'll likely be seeing her again on Tuesday for a follow up appointment, which was a good feeling.
And now to take some time talking about the reading. I really enjoyed seeing the three case studies presented in "The First Five Minutes" It helped me to compare different approaches and more importantly the strengths and weaknesses of each. The article was actually the key priority in my mind when talking with Mary Ann. I realized that I had been rather lacking in an agenda my previous consultations and wanted this one to be different. Keeping a close eye on the clock I actually managed to get a game plan in the first five minutes and was able to cover a lot of detail in just 30 minutes, in some ways more than I ever had in my 60 minute consultations.
The Singley article on dialogue lead me to thinking about how much I'm going to be a retailer and how much I'm going to be a collaborator in the Writing Center. I know that establishing a dialogue will be key, but what if I need to push things a little for us to reach a true dialogue? I think the most important lesson to be learned is that I'll continue practicing the techniques I get from the reading and after awhile I'll start developing an arsenal to help students with their various needs. I'm having a great time and look forward to being put on the schedule.
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Ben--
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic how you were able to create an agenda with Mary Ann--and you're probably right that with a plan in hand you can often get more done in 30 minutes than in 60. I intended that activity to force you all into a dialogue with the student, and it sounds like you got there. I think it's okay that you may have talked more than she did--what's important is that she talked at all, and at some point she really began to interact with you, actively pursuing the dialogue. Good stuff.
You ask about needing to push things a little to reach a dialogue, and I think you answer your own question with your experience with Mary Ann. The more open-ended questions you pose, the more the student will have to respond in deeper ways.
I'm looking forward to reading about your first week on schedule!
mk