I have a hypothesis to propose about Writing Fellows sessions: No two are the same, even if they have the same people and a similar assignment. I was very happy with one change. There was a much more talkative atmosphere, and, especially at the beginning of the session, the division between my two skill/race groups broke down, and everyone talked to each other. Claudia, who had been the least communicative last time, only speaking to me about 2/3 of the way through the session, greeted me with cheerful small talk. Actually, she was much more of an active participant this time; I may have misclassified her by placing her with the less-skilled group, though she gravitated toward them. Similarly, “highly-skilled” may be a less accurate description of Sharyn than “highly-conscientious.”
John, Sharyn, and Charlie brought drafts; Claudia said she had one (which was in fact the third one she had written, demonstrating higher conscientiousness than I had originally credited her with), but had been unable to print it; Sean – my original notebook scribbler – had nothing, no draft, no thesis, and no idea what to do or how to get started. This brings up a point we haven't discussed in class – what should a writing fellow do about teasing within the group? The atmosphere of this session was far more lively than others have been, and was characterized by informality and joking. The bad news is that Claudia and Charlie were ragging on Sean for his lack of essay. Claudia used his case to justify her lack of printed copy, saying things of a well-at-least-I-did-more-than-he-did nature. Charlie took the we-who-wrote-our-papers-need-to-help-you-because-you-really-need-it tone, like a fashion makeover host. At the beginning of the session, Sean asked me about how to get started. I tried to be supportive, said it was okay, he still had time, and suggested clustering. Charlie jumped in and showed him his own notes, which used a similar strategy. The fact that Sean was willing to ask for my help in front of these peers shows considerable bravery. He went along with the joke, but he definitely seemed ashamed of not being able to produce anything. It was easier for him to talk about his problems in the beginning, but I think the teasing wore on him as it went on, because he got very quiet. Presumably feeling he had nothing to contribute to a discussion with people who had all done their papers, he left early, saying jokingly (but, I am convinced, earnestly) that he was “depressed” by his inability to start. I don't think the others were trying to be mean, but I think their comments and brash insensitivity really bothered him, though of course he didn't say so. I wish I had known what to do. I tried to sound as supportive, nonjudgmental, and encouraging as possible, and I gave the usual plug about the writing center – with added emphasis on how tutors can help with getting started. I really hope he will get individual help, because I think his case is one wherein group work is not sufficiently helpful (at least with this group).
In all, this session included far more off-topic conversation than the others. A lot of it was about the writing process in general, and I guess there is no rule saying you have to talk about the papers in order to be doing something productive. Charlie said he was considering becoming an English major, because he wanted to teach, and I talked with him about the English Ed. major. He is also thinking about Theatre, and since I am a minor, when he found out I knew about it, he had some questions. I tried to be brief (i.e. telling him who in the Theatre Dept. to contact for more info), but this felt very much like a tangent. I didn't really know how to shut down off-topic conversations, or even if I should. Perhaps the strangest part of the session came when Charlie (an exuberant person) asked me to do a monologue on the spot. I blinked a few times, decided to play along, and gave them a verse from “The Overwrought Elocutionist” to general amusement but little edification.
I guess my major questions to ponder after this session are what I should or could have done in regards to guidance toward focus and away from insensitivity.
I had a smaller group on Thursday. It included Corbin, Piera and Talia. Piera was the only one to have an actual draft. Talia had an introduction and a lot of ideas, but they were not in the form of a paper yet. Corbin had a couple ideas written down from the last session. It has bothered me from the first session that Corbin has never been remotely prepared. He feels the need to give me his excuses of needing time to write or being sick. Every visit, I try to be supportive and encouraging by saying, “It’s okay, but let’s write something now.” Now I realize that I have talked to Corbin first to get his situation out of the way to work with the students who have done their work. I guess my idea of empathy can only go so far with students like Corbin. I fail to understand the student and myself. This has turned into an unintentional rant so I will move on. Talia had some questions to begin the session. First, she wanted an antonym of dominant, as in the opposite of a domineering personality. I attempted to get the group’s opinion, stating that talking with others helps generate ideas. They used words like relaxed, laid-back and easy going. Talia was satisfied and asked another question of what she should do when writing. She said when she starts writing, more ideas come to mind and it’s difficult to continue writing. My reply was that having ideas can be both good and bad. I explained that if a new idea comes, she should write it down. She might be able to use it later. I also told her that sometimes what seem to be new ideas are the old ideas disguised by different words. Talia admitted that was a problem for her so I gave the group an explanation of revision, separating new ideas from the same and to look for similarities. Talia, herself, used the idea of grouping ideas, once everything was written down. I liked that she found her own solution during the discussion. With Piera, I asked her to read her draft to the group. Before she began, I asked her if she had any concerns, and she said she lacked a thesis statement. I told the group that it’s possible a thesis statement will already be in the paper with the writer realizing. Piera read her paper, but the thesis statement wasn’t hiding. We worked on using ideas from her paper to form one and Piera said she needed time to formalize her ideas into one. Before the end, Talia asked me about motivation when writing, what I do to start writing. Perhaps I was too frank when I said knowing the paper is due the next day helps the process. I switched the focus from me to her and asked her if a reward system would work. She said that she liked sleeping so I suggested that if she wrote for an hour, she could sleep in. Unfortunately, that idea didn’t work properly. Then I suggested simply writing everyday. Instead of an hour, I said write for ten minutes everyday. Talia said this could be useful since ten minutes is a relatively short amount of time to dedicate to writing everyday. She wanted the motivation and realized that ten minutes could turn into an hour if the time was right. By doing ten minutes of writing everyday, she could feel accomplished and have proof that she did write with her notes. I think the session went well and before they left, I suggested going to the writing center for additional help. Talia even asked for directions. I felt satisfied with the discussion, but questioned if I really did anything. Ms. Williams gave me some reassuring words before I left, saying she could see a difference in their papers. I thanked her and I am really glad to have this experience from the peer writing fellows.
This session was MUCH better than the last. I could not believe that this was the same group because they were so different this time. Maybe it was because they actually had drafts, and last time they were in the prewriting/ brainstorming stage. Maybe they were just in a better mood this time. I’m not exactly sure about what provoked the change, but I’m glad that they were more engaged. I asked them to read their papers out loud to the group. Most had more than one copy, which was nice because we could all see the paper as the writer read. Student A decided that she wanted to read first. She is a good writer and she feels confident about her abilities, so she had no problem volunteering to go first. She read the complete draft, but I did stop her occasionally to ask some leading questions. The two boys identified her thesis and how the other paragraphs support the thesis. She also had a well developed conclusion, but her essay didn’t meet the length requirement. Student B had some suggestions for her, but Student C, who is the weaker writer in the group, didn’t say anything at all. Student B read his paper aloud, but I also stopped him occasionally to ask questions and start a discussion. He had a clear thesis, which Student A pointed out, and he also had a good argument. Student A gave several compliments and suggestions, but Student C was still being very quiet. I tried to get him to be more involved, but I believe that he lacked confidence and felt uncomfortable speaking around the stronger writers. After Student B read his draft, the group decided that it was organized and everything seemed to support the thesis. However, he didn’t have a conclusion at all. He admitted that he just stopped writing after he reached the minimum length. Student C was very reluctant and hesitant about reading his paper aloud. I assured him that we are a team and that we will all help him. As he was reading, Student B immediately noticed that he had too much plot summary. He was summarizing instead of analyzing. Student A also noticed that his thesis was too broad and it didn’t really state his purpose. After the plot summary, he did make some valid points. They suggested that he take out the plot and expand on his points to make his argument stronger. I believe that the two stronger writers gave him good suggestions about his draft. I didn’t have to say a whole lot because the two stronger writers were so helpful. I was pleased with their enthusiasm. After everyone read their paper, I asked them what they planned to do to revise. It seemed as if everyone had a plan to improve their draft. However, I believe that this session will not only help improve their papers, but it will help them become better writers as well. I was thrilled with the outcome of this session.
This last Writing Fellows session was nothing but exhilarating. I must admit that I said very little during the session, which I felt comfortable to do. After one member of the group would read his/her paper, the other members would then break into conversation—commenting on and questioning about the higher order of concerns. The members of the group were the ones to ask the leading questions such as “could you have elaborated more on this fact and that fact in order to develop your argument?” I could tell that the members of my group were now comfortable enough with the revision stage (including knowing the correct revision techniques) enabling them to branch out and become the conductors of their peer review. The way I began the session was asking each member to make a quick statement about their chosen paper topic and argument (since they were the ones to choose the topic during our last session). This helped refresh my memory as well as made each writer verbalize on his/her general argument. That way when he/she read his/her paper, he/she might be able to tell if what they said at the beginning of the session was congruent with what they had written in their paper. Unfortunately Ms. T was absent for this session. But the group still worked well with Ms. S, Mr. D, and Ms. J. Ms. S read her paper aloud, and in doing so she found (as she read) a few statements that were contradictory and she found a few redundant statements. The group offered her some good feedback according to those two issues. Her evidence was excellent and well supported. She had not completed her conclusion, therefore towards the end of the session she jotted down a few sentences that would help conclude her argument. Mr. D read his paper next. He had already stated that he was unsure of the amount of evidence he could find in the texts to use to support his argument. After reading through his paper, Ms. J asked about his conclusion. Mr. D posed a few questions in his conclusion that he could actually use to answer in the body of his paper and find evidence for in his texts. Ms. J had hinted at this and truly helped Mr. D with his problem. Ms J then read her paper. Her body and conclusion was solid, however her thesis was not congruent with what she had said at the beginning of the session. Ms. T suggested that Ms J try and put down in words what she had said at the beginning of the session. When Ms J did this, she had then found a strong thesis that fit her arguments and her conclusion nicely. Again, I felt that this session went very well. I made a few comments, asked only a few questions, and did very few explanations, but for the most part my group took the reigns. I was happy to see this progression take place!
This final session was a blast and a breeze! Yes, I had the same students that were in previous sessions, but I think that we had all come to know each other and trust each other better making it easier to express our opinions.
For our ice breaker this week, I decided that each person would try to give a brief description of their paper’s topic and tell how they are approaching their papers differently. They enjoyed this thoroughly because all were able to expound on topics due to the brain storming in the last session. I think that session was very effective now that I am able to see the “fruits of our labor.” Also, I was able to take better notes this class session because the students were so engaged in their papers and topics.
I gave the group the choice of reading each paper aloud or switching. No one was decisive so we read aloud. I continued with my method from before of which while the student read the other members would listen and write down observations that could be turned into the reader. This allowed the reader to take home important information to help develop their ideas and papers. Also, after each read the students would explain their opinions of the paper.
Student One: This student had a mess of a paper. There was no structure and her ideas were very spread out. Much of the time the paper was very generalized and contained no supporting details from her text of analysis. The students picked up on this without even seeing the page long paragraph! I was so proud!
Student Two: This was a student who surprised me in her language and verbiage. She also had great transitions and I used her as a positive example of transitions. The only problem she had was the flow from quotations to her own dialogue and many of the students gave examples to help her.
Student Three: This student has been notorious for off topic papers, but today was better. He was able to pay attention to the whole groups opinions because the trust was established within our group. I also found that he had three or four thesis statements within his paper that gave him options for his paper. He was overjoyed to know that he had created a thesis that was usable.
Student Four: This student came without a paper. So, we worked on his outline with the group. He was angry that he still had to work without a paper. Also, the students helped him create a thesis.
Student Five: This is one of the students that I thought would have a great paper, and he did. The students were amazed at his work and took many examples from his essay to put in their works. Not quotes or ideas, but HOC parts.
I was pleased with this session and I was sad to know that I won’t sit with these great people again. Yet, I told them all to come to the Writing Center for more help so hopefully they will become fabulous writers!
This writing session did not go as well as I had originally hoped. I was being very optimistic going into my fourth session with this group that they would be able to tell me what they needed to work on and we could go from there and let them do most of the talking. As soon as I walked into the room though, I could tell this probably wasn't going to work because I heard one of my group members say that he had written his draft thirty minutes before class. Despite hearing this, I still tried to do my original plan. I asked them what they wanted to work on and all I got were blank stares. So then I asked for them to tell me about their papers which resulted in silence. Finally someone started talking, but unfortunately it was the boy who wrote his draft in thirty minutes. It wasn't even a full draft and he admitted he didn't know what he was saying in half of it because he didn't understand the poem. I asked him what poem it was and he couldn't remember the name. But then the worst part came. He confessed to not having even read the poem. What am I supposed to do with a person like this? All I could think of was to tell him to read the poem. Another boy didn't have any form of draft. This happens to be the same person who didn't have a draft the last time either. The remaining four people in the group were off to a pretty good start. We worked on thesis statements and having supporting details. I did this by having them exchange papers and leave comments and then we discussed them aloud. My plan to give the writing fellows all the power was not working during the discussion. The group did not want to talk, and when they did, they always looked for my approval. All of their statements were followed with "don't you think?" and "do you agree?" This makes me wonder if maybe I was too directive with them during the other sessions because they didn't know what to do when I let them do most of the talking. But then again, only during the first session were they really talkative. I've always felt like if I didn't talk no one would. It's not like I haven't given them the opportunity to talk. I left this session very discouraged. I don't feel like I helped these people at all. Every session seemed to get progressively worse. I know that people tend to slack off towards the end of the semester, and maybe it can be attributed to that, but I really don't feel like I did much of anything for my group. I just don't know what went wrong.
This peer writing session went relatively well. Ironically, the girl who left last time at the beginning of the session was the one with the best draft, in my opinion. That was a pleasant surprise. On the other end of the spectrum, I had another girl that I think should be in a remedial english course. So...I experienced alot in my session. I first asked the group if they would rather read the papers aloud or read silently and make written comments. They preferred the latter, so that is what we did. I also read the papers, but did not offer feedback immediately. I just wanted to have an idea where each person was in their writing process, as well as understand what their papers were about. After the group exchanged papers, we verbalized our comments to each other. This gave the writer a chance to ask for clarification and it also allowed me to hear the feedback and make sure it was constructive. I was pleasantly surprised with the feedback given. The group noticed problems with lack of focus, summary, support in the form of evidence, etc. Like I said before, the girl that left at the beginning of my last session had a great draft. It went off on a couple of tangents, but her thesis was solid and she had plenty of evidence. One of the other girls really concerned me. Her paper was one of the worst I have ever seen. It was really hard to give her any feedback at all,because I did not know where to start. She didn't even have complete sentences. I decided to encourage all of the group to come to the writing center, and I gave the one girl as much advise as I could. I encouraged her to make a plan about what she wanted to write about, and what points she needed in her paper to support her topic. Also, I went to her teacher after the session and explained my concerns. The teacher agreed with me and said she had noticed similar problems. She said she would meet with the girl about her paper, and she thanked me for telling her my concerns. Overall, it was a good session, I just wish I could have helped the one girl more...but I didn't know where to start.
Okay well my last session had some unexpected curveballs and for a few moments, I scrambled in my mind to figure out the right decision. Here's what happened: Two of my students were absent, but the two who were there were great because I had a fantastic rapport with them. But before we left, one of the groups got divided up, so I grabbed one of the extra students and headed down to the study room in Howard.
The guy we picked up was obviously an intellectual. From a short conversation with him, I could tell that he either really cared about the class, enjoyed reading, or both. So I have my group ready and I told recapped the plan with switching the papers one spot to the left and playing the "expert" game. My major curveball came when we found out that only one of the three had a paper. The new guy I got wrote his, but couldn't find it and the third guy didn't have it and didn't really start it. So what do I do with three guys and one paper? I paused for a moment, running down all my optinos, playing scenarios through my mind. This is where improvisation is so good, but so risky. It allows for unlimited freedom, but if you can't think fast, you can wind up freezing. I felt myself freeze, but I shook it off, knowing that I had a good group of students and we didn't build the comfort of dynamics by sticking to structured plans.
So I decided that if these guys don't get anything out of this session, I at least want the guy without a paper to have something to build on. So we focused on him. I got the two guys tell us their opinion about the works that the student chose to do. Once I got the conversation going, it really took off without me. The new guy was definitely a talker and the other student is as consistent as they come. He always has good ideas and opinions. We recapped the brainstorming session that we had and after a while, he picked up on where he wanted to go. After I made sure that he had some ideas about where to take it, I moved on to the new guy.
I grilled him about what he did with his paper. He was very verbose in his response, lol, but his paper sounded complex, well-structured, and thoughtful. So, satisfied that he was fine, I decided to get the group to pick the lone paper apart. We took a long time with it. I read each paragraph and asked them to tell me what they took from what they heard. Basically I was looking for them to pull out each main point, get their opinion on how the thesis sounded, etc. All the basics. Once again, they came through and they thoroughly analyzed the paper. The author seemed to appreciate it and, honestly, I think they just enjoy the chance to sound like the teacher when they are talking about other papers, lol.
So we were wrapping up when one of my two usuals popped up and said that he was looking for us everywhere. He went to the class and then to our usual spot in the library. He put his stuff in hsi car because he thought we left, but he remembered that we might be in Howard. So I said that he could go to the Adult Resource Center down the hall and print it out. He went, but he was gone for a while, so I decided to let the guys go and I would handle him in a one on one consultation. I went in and he was gone. Later I headed to the Writing Center and he popped in saying that they didn't have a working printer, but he printed at the library and came to the Writing Center to ask for me. He was really eager to get cracking on his paper, so I asked Danielle if I could do the consultation alone.
This consultation was the best one I have been a part of because it happened the way we all want them to go. He had his paper, but he told me that he was really just rambling and couldn't find a path to follow. I had paid attention to his opinions and input during the brainstorming session and I knew the thesis statement he was looking for...he was basically circling around it though. I asked him to tell me what interested him in the two pieces that he chose and while he did, I scanned his paper and verified that my inclination was correct. He told me all of his thoughts and they all centered on talking about how the two main characters from both stories interacted with the secondary characters. I wanted him to find that next step, to answer that "why" question. I asked him which of the characters he would try and compare and contrast. He answered, but I saw a better pair, so I asked him to throw out some characteristics of the characters and I charted them for him. When he was done I showed him the organized list of everything he said and I asked him the same question as before. He studied the list, took a pen and circled some of the works, drew arrows, etc. Then he was like OHH! What if I did Dee and Pete? I said I dunno, what kind of paper would you do with them? He said, "well even though Dee is kind of a bad person and Pete is kind of good, they are both trying to figure out who they are. So maybe I could show how they interact with everyone and how that shows their search for identity." I smiled and nodded and said that that sounded like a really good paper. He said man did you already know that? I smiled and shrugged and said that I was proud that he had gotten so much accomplished and he said that he was excited to get to work on the paper.
It made me feel really good because I know that he is not an english major and this stuff doesn't necessarily come easy to him. But he has an analytical mind and I was able to come up with a way to direct him in a way that was hands off. I felt happy that he was so eager to explore what he could do. I didn't care if he liked the stories or not; I was just happy that he was showing so much effort in his writing. I feel happy that I had a great group of guys to work with and they assured me that they would make the Writing Center one of their options for their future papers.
This writing fellows session was my best yet. One of the girls in my group wasn't there, so we "borrowed" two students from another group. These new students were so talkative and creative, which was So nice for a change. Also, the student that has previously been in my group felt much more comfortable and she was more outgoing this time. We had a little icebreaker at the beginning (since I was not familiar with the new students) and we talked about what types of writing they do outside of class. One student was a poet, and one was a playwright-very entertaining. All three of the students had drafts with them. I had them switch papers around and read them silently; I also asked them to write on the back of their papers what key elements they noticed in each others' papers. One student had a very developed paper, and she only needed help with her conclusion. The others in the group were very quick to throw around ideas, instead of making me do all of the work! Imagine that. Another student had a thorough paper, but she struggled with making her paper too much of a personal essay and not enough about analyzation. The two new members of our group had really great suggestions about how to analyze a text; they also had suggestions about bringing in her personal experience, as well as properly disecting the texts. The final student's paper was the least developed of the three, but his ideas were the most impressive. He obviously had a grasp on the the short stories that he was comparing. We went around the group and gave him ideas that might help him organize his thoughts, and he was appreciative. Overall, this was a great session; I invited them all to come to the Writing Center for any further feedback they might need.
I have a hypothesis to propose about Writing Fellows sessions: No two are the same, even if they have the same people and a similar assignment. I was very happy with one change. There was a much more talkative atmosphere, and, especially at the beginning of the session, the division between my two skill/race groups broke down, and everyone talked to each other. Claudia, who had been the least communicative last time, only speaking to me about 2/3 of the way through the session, greeted me with cheerful small talk. Actually, she was much more of an active participant this time; I may have misclassified her by placing her with the less-skilled group, though she gravitated toward them. Similarly, “highly-skilled” may be a less accurate description of Sharyn than “highly-conscientious.”
ReplyDeleteJohn, Sharyn, and Charlie brought drafts; Claudia said she had one (which was in fact the third one she had written, demonstrating higher conscientiousness than I had originally credited her with), but had been unable to print it; Sean – my original notebook scribbler – had nothing, no draft, no thesis, and no idea what to do or how to get started. This brings up a point we haven't discussed in class – what should a writing fellow do about teasing within the group? The atmosphere of this session was far more lively than others have been, and was characterized by informality and joking. The bad news is that Claudia and Charlie were ragging on Sean for his lack of essay. Claudia used his case to justify her lack of printed copy, saying things of a well-at-least-I-did-more-than-he-did nature. Charlie took the we-who-wrote-our-papers-need-to-help-you-because-you-really-need-it tone, like a fashion makeover host. At the beginning of the session, Sean asked me about how to get started. I tried to be supportive, said it was okay, he still had time, and suggested clustering. Charlie jumped in and showed him his own notes, which used a similar strategy. The fact that Sean was willing to ask for my help in front of these peers shows considerable bravery. He went along with the joke, but he definitely seemed ashamed of not being able to produce anything. It was easier for him to talk about his problems in the beginning, but I think the teasing wore on him as it went on, because he got very quiet. Presumably feeling he had nothing to contribute to a discussion with people who had all done their papers, he left early, saying jokingly (but, I am convinced, earnestly) that he was “depressed” by his inability to start. I don't think the others were trying to be mean, but I think their comments and brash insensitivity really bothered him, though of course he didn't say so. I wish I had known what to do. I tried to sound as supportive, nonjudgmental, and encouraging as possible, and I gave the usual plug about the writing center – with added emphasis on how tutors can help with getting started. I really hope he will get individual help, because I think his case is one wherein group work is not sufficiently helpful (at least with this group).
In all, this session included far more off-topic conversation than the others. A lot of it was about the writing process in general, and I guess there is no rule saying you have to talk about the papers in order to be doing something productive. Charlie said he was considering becoming an English major, because he wanted to teach, and I talked with him about the English Ed. major. He is also thinking about Theatre, and since I am a minor, when he found out I knew about it, he had some questions. I tried to be brief (i.e. telling him who in the Theatre Dept. to contact for more info), but this felt very much like a tangent. I didn't really know how to shut down off-topic conversations, or even if I should. Perhaps the strangest part of the session came when Charlie (an exuberant person) asked me to do a monologue on the spot. I blinked a few times, decided to play along, and gave them a verse from “The Overwrought Elocutionist” to general amusement but little edification.
I guess my major questions to ponder after this session are what I should or could have done in regards to guidance toward focus and away from insensitivity.
I had a smaller group on Thursday. It included Corbin, Piera and Talia. Piera was the only one to have an actual draft. Talia had an introduction and a lot of ideas, but they were not in the form of a paper yet. Corbin had a couple ideas written down from the last session. It has bothered me from the first session that Corbin has never been remotely prepared. He feels the need to give me his excuses of needing time to write or being sick. Every visit, I try to be supportive and encouraging by saying, “It’s okay, but let’s write something now.” Now I realize that I have talked to Corbin first to get his situation out of the way to work with the students who have done their work. I guess my idea of empathy can only go so far with students like Corbin. I fail to understand the student and myself. This has turned into an unintentional rant so I will move on.
ReplyDeleteTalia had some questions to begin the session. First, she wanted an antonym of dominant, as in the opposite of a domineering personality. I attempted to get the group’s opinion, stating that talking with others helps generate ideas. They used words like relaxed, laid-back and easy going. Talia was satisfied and asked another question of what she should do when writing. She said when she starts writing, more ideas come to mind and it’s difficult to continue writing. My reply was that having ideas can be both good and bad. I explained that if a new idea comes, she should write it down. She might be able to use it later. I also told her that sometimes what seem to be new ideas are the old ideas disguised by different words. Talia admitted that was a problem for her so I gave the group an explanation of revision, separating new ideas from the same and to look for similarities. Talia, herself, used the idea of grouping ideas, once everything was written down. I liked that she found her own solution during the discussion.
With Piera, I asked her to read her draft to the group. Before she began, I asked her if she had any concerns, and she said she lacked a thesis statement. I told the group that it’s possible a thesis statement will already be in the paper with the writer realizing. Piera read her paper, but the thesis statement wasn’t hiding. We worked on using ideas from her paper to form one and Piera said she needed time to formalize her ideas into one.
Before the end, Talia asked me about motivation when writing, what I do to start writing. Perhaps I was too frank when I said knowing the paper is due the next day helps the process. I switched the focus from me to her and asked her if a reward system would work. She said that she liked sleeping so I suggested that if she wrote for an hour, she could sleep in. Unfortunately, that idea didn’t work properly. Then I suggested simply writing everyday. Instead of an hour, I said write for ten minutes everyday. Talia said this could be useful since ten minutes is a relatively short amount of time to dedicate to writing everyday. She wanted the motivation and realized that ten minutes could turn into an hour if the time was right. By doing ten minutes of writing everyday, she could feel accomplished and have proof that she did write with her notes.
I think the session went well and before they left, I suggested going to the writing center for additional help. Talia even asked for directions. I felt satisfied with the discussion, but questioned if I really did anything. Ms. Williams gave me some reassuring words before I left, saying she could see a difference in their papers. I thanked her and I am really glad to have this experience from the peer writing fellows.
This session was MUCH better than the last. I could not believe that this was the same group because they were so different this time. Maybe it was because they actually had drafts, and last time they were in the prewriting/ brainstorming stage. Maybe they were just in a better mood this time. I’m not exactly sure about what provoked the change, but I’m glad that they were more engaged.
ReplyDeleteI asked them to read their papers out loud to the group. Most had more than one copy, which was nice because we could all see the paper as the writer read. Student A decided that she wanted to read first. She is a good writer and she feels confident about her abilities, so she had no problem volunteering to go first. She read the complete draft, but I did stop her occasionally to ask some leading questions. The two boys identified her thesis and how the other paragraphs support the thesis. She also had a well developed conclusion, but her essay didn’t meet the length requirement. Student B had some suggestions for her, but Student C, who is the weaker writer in the group, didn’t say anything at all. Student B read his paper aloud, but I also stopped him occasionally to ask questions and start a discussion. He had a clear thesis, which Student A pointed out, and he also had a good argument. Student A gave several compliments and suggestions, but Student C was still being very quiet. I tried to get him to be more involved, but I believe that he lacked confidence and felt uncomfortable speaking around the stronger writers. After Student B read his draft, the group decided that it was organized and everything seemed to support the thesis. However, he didn’t have a conclusion at all. He admitted that he just stopped writing after he reached the minimum length.
Student C was very reluctant and hesitant about reading his paper aloud. I assured him that we are a team and that we will all help him. As he was reading, Student B immediately noticed that he had too much plot summary. He was summarizing instead of analyzing. Student A also noticed that his thesis was too broad and it didn’t really state his purpose. After the plot summary, he did make some valid points. They suggested that he take out the plot and expand on his points to make his argument stronger. I believe that the two stronger writers gave him good suggestions about his draft. I didn’t have to say a whole lot because the two stronger writers were so helpful. I was pleased with their enthusiasm.
After everyone read their paper, I asked them what they planned to do to revise. It seemed as if everyone had a plan to improve their draft. However, I believe that this session will not only help improve their papers, but it will help them become better writers as well. I was thrilled with the outcome of this session.
This last Writing Fellows session was nothing but exhilarating. I must admit that I said very little during the session, which I felt comfortable to do. After one member of the group would read his/her paper, the other members would then break into conversation—commenting on and questioning about the higher order of concerns. The members of the group were the ones to ask the leading questions such as “could you have elaborated more on this fact and that fact in order to develop your argument?” I could tell that the members of my group were now comfortable enough with the revision stage (including knowing the correct revision techniques) enabling them to branch out and become the conductors of their peer review.
ReplyDeleteThe way I began the session was asking each member to make a quick statement about their chosen paper topic and argument (since they were the ones to choose the topic during our last session). This helped refresh my memory as well as made each writer verbalize on his/her general argument. That way when he/she read his/her paper, he/she might be able to tell if what they said at the beginning of the session was congruent with what they had written in their paper.
Unfortunately Ms. T was absent for this session. But the group still worked well with Ms. S, Mr. D, and Ms. J. Ms. S read her paper aloud, and in doing so she found (as she read) a few statements that were contradictory and she found a few redundant statements. The group offered her some good feedback according to those two issues. Her evidence was excellent and well supported. She had not completed her conclusion, therefore towards the end of the session she jotted down a few sentences that would help conclude her argument. Mr. D read his paper next. He had already stated that he was unsure of the amount of evidence he could find in the texts to use to support his argument. After reading through his paper, Ms. J asked about his conclusion. Mr. D posed a few questions in his conclusion that he could actually use to answer in the body of his paper and find evidence for in his texts. Ms. J had hinted at this and truly helped Mr. D with his problem. Ms J then read her paper. Her body and conclusion was solid, however her thesis was not congruent with what she had said at the beginning of the session. Ms. T suggested that Ms J try and put down in words what she had said at the beginning of the session. When Ms J did this, she had then found a strong thesis that fit her arguments and her conclusion nicely.
Again, I felt that this session went very well. I made a few comments, asked only a few questions, and did very few explanations, but for the most part my group took the reigns. I was happy to see this progression take place!
This final session was a blast and a breeze! Yes, I had the same students that were in previous sessions, but I think that we had all come to know each other and trust each other better making it easier to express our opinions.
ReplyDeleteFor our ice breaker this week, I decided that each person would try to give a brief description of their paper’s topic and tell how they are approaching their papers differently. They enjoyed this thoroughly because all were able to expound on topics due to the brain storming in the last session. I think that session was very effective now that I am able to see the “fruits of our labor.” Also, I was able to take better notes this class session because the students were so engaged in their papers and topics.
I gave the group the choice of reading each paper aloud or switching. No one was decisive so we read aloud. I continued with my method from before of which while the student read the other members would listen and write down observations that could be turned into the reader. This allowed the reader to take home important information to help develop their ideas and papers. Also, after each read the students would explain their opinions of the paper.
Student One: This student had a mess of a paper. There was no structure and her ideas were very spread out. Much of the time the paper was very generalized and contained no supporting details from her text of analysis. The students picked up on this without even seeing the page long paragraph! I was so proud!
Student Two: This was a student who surprised me in her language and verbiage. She also had great transitions and I used her as a positive example of transitions. The only problem she had was the flow from quotations to her own dialogue and many of the students gave examples to help her.
Student Three: This student has been notorious for off topic papers, but today was better. He was able to pay attention to the whole groups opinions because the trust was established within our group. I also found that he had three or four thesis statements within his paper that gave him options for his paper. He was overjoyed to know that he had created a thesis that was usable.
Student Four: This student came without a paper. So, we worked on his outline with the group. He was angry that he still had to work without a paper. Also, the students helped him create a thesis.
Student Five: This is one of the students that I thought would have a great paper, and he did. The students were amazed at his work and took many examples from his essay to put in their works. Not quotes or ideas, but HOC parts.
I was pleased with this session and I was sad to know that I won’t sit with these great people again. Yet, I told them all to come to the Writing Center for more help so hopefully they will become fabulous writers!
This writing session did not go as well as I had originally hoped. I was being very optimistic going into my fourth session with this group that they would be able to tell me what they needed to work on and we could go from there and let them do most of the talking. As soon as I walked into the room though, I could tell this probably wasn't going to work because I heard one of my group members say that he had written his draft thirty minutes before class. Despite hearing this, I still tried to do my original plan. I asked them what they wanted to work on and all I got were blank stares. So then I asked for them to tell me about their papers which resulted in silence. Finally someone started talking, but unfortunately it was the boy who wrote his draft in thirty minutes. It wasn't even a full draft and he admitted he didn't know what he was saying in half of it because he didn't understand the poem. I asked him what poem it was and he couldn't remember the name. But then the worst part came. He confessed to not having even read the poem. What am I supposed to do with a person like this? All I could think of was to tell him to read the poem. Another boy didn't have any form of draft. This happens to be the same person who didn't have a draft the last time either. The remaining four people in the group were off to a pretty good start. We worked on thesis statements and having supporting details. I did this by having them exchange papers and leave comments and then we discussed them aloud. My plan to give the writing fellows all the power was not working during the discussion. The group did not want to talk, and when they did, they always looked for my approval. All of their statements were followed with "don't you think?" and "do you agree?" This makes me wonder if maybe I was too directive with them during the other sessions because they didn't know what to do when I let them do most of the talking. But then again, only during the first session were they really talkative. I've always felt like if I didn't talk no one would. It's not like I haven't given them the opportunity to talk. I left this session very discouraged. I don't feel like I helped these people at all. Every session seemed to get progressively worse. I know that people tend to slack off towards the end of the semester, and maybe it can be attributed to that, but I really don't feel like I did much of anything for my group. I just don't know what went wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis peer writing session went relatively well. Ironically, the girl who left last time at the beginning of the session was the one with the best draft, in my opinion. That was a pleasant surprise. On the other end of the spectrum, I had another girl that I think should be in a remedial english course. So...I experienced alot in my session.
ReplyDeleteI first asked the group if they would rather read the papers aloud or read silently and make written comments. They preferred the latter, so that is what we did.
I also read the papers, but did not offer feedback immediately. I just wanted to have an idea where each person was in their writing process, as well as understand what their papers were about.
After the group exchanged papers, we verbalized our comments to each other. This gave the writer a chance to ask for clarification and it also allowed me to hear the feedback and make sure it was constructive. I was pleasantly surprised with the feedback given. The group noticed problems with lack of focus, summary, support in the form of evidence, etc.
Like I said before, the girl that left at the beginning of my last session had a great draft. It went off on a couple of tangents, but her thesis was solid and she had plenty of evidence.
One of the other girls really concerned me. Her paper was one of the worst I have ever seen. It was really hard to give her any feedback at all,because I did not know where to start. She didn't even have complete sentences. I decided to encourage all of the group to come to the writing center, and I gave the one girl as much advise as I could. I encouraged her to make a plan about what she wanted to write about, and what points she needed in her paper to support her topic. Also, I went to her teacher after the session and explained my concerns. The teacher agreed with me and said she had noticed similar problems. She said she would meet with the girl about her paper, and she thanked me for telling her my concerns.
Overall, it was a good session, I just wish I could have helped the one girl more...but I didn't know where to start.
Okay well my last session had some unexpected curveballs and for a few moments, I scrambled in my mind to figure out the right decision. Here's what happened: Two of my students were absent, but the two who were there were great because I had a fantastic rapport with them. But before we left, one of the groups got divided up, so I grabbed one of the extra students and headed down to the study room in Howard.
ReplyDeleteThe guy we picked up was obviously an intellectual. From a short conversation with him, I could tell that he either really cared about the class, enjoyed reading, or both. So I have my group ready and I told recapped the plan with switching the papers one spot to the left and playing the "expert" game. My major curveball came when we found out that only one of the three had a paper. The new guy I got wrote his, but couldn't find it and the third guy didn't have it and didn't really start it. So what do I do with three guys and one paper? I paused for a moment, running down all my optinos, playing scenarios through my mind. This is where improvisation is so good, but so risky. It allows for unlimited freedom, but if you can't think fast, you can wind up freezing. I felt myself freeze, but I shook it off, knowing that I had a good group of students and we didn't build the comfort of dynamics by sticking to structured plans.
So I decided that if these guys don't get anything out of this session, I at least want the guy without a paper to have something to build on. So we focused on him. I got the two guys tell us their opinion about the works that the student chose to do. Once I got the conversation going, it really took off without me. The new guy was definitely a talker and the other student is as consistent as they come. He always has good ideas and opinions. We recapped the brainstorming session that we had and after a while, he picked up on where he wanted to go. After I made sure that he had some ideas about where to take it, I moved on to the new guy.
I grilled him about what he did with his paper. He was very verbose in his response, lol, but his paper sounded complex, well-structured, and thoughtful. So, satisfied that he was fine, I decided to get the group to pick the lone paper apart. We took a long time with it. I read each paragraph and asked them to tell me what they took from what they heard. Basically I was looking for them to pull out each main point, get their opinion on how the thesis sounded, etc. All the basics. Once again, they came through and they thoroughly analyzed the paper. The author seemed to appreciate it and, honestly, I think they just enjoy the chance to sound like the teacher when they are talking about other papers, lol.
So we were wrapping up when one of my two usuals popped up and said that he was looking for us everywhere. He went to the class and then to our usual spot in the library. He put his stuff in hsi car because he thought we left, but he remembered that we might be in Howard. So I said that he could go to the Adult Resource Center down the hall and print it out. He went, but he was gone for a while, so I decided to let the guys go and I would handle him in a one on one consultation. I went in and he was gone. Later I headed to the Writing Center and he popped in saying that they didn't have a working printer, but he printed at the library and came to the Writing Center to ask for me. He was really eager to get cracking on his paper, so I asked Danielle if I could do the consultation alone.
This consultation was the best one I have been a part of because it happened the way we all want them to go. He had his paper, but he told me that he was really just rambling and couldn't find a path to follow. I had paid attention to his opinions and input during the brainstorming session and I knew the thesis statement he was looking for...he was basically circling around it though. I asked him to tell me what interested him in the two pieces that he chose and while he did, I scanned his paper and verified that my inclination was correct. He told me all of his thoughts and they all centered on talking about how the two main characters from both stories interacted with the secondary characters. I wanted him to find that next step, to answer that "why" question. I asked him which of the characters he would try and compare and contrast. He answered, but I saw a better pair, so I asked him to throw out some characteristics of the characters and I charted them for him. When he was done I showed him the organized list of everything he said and I asked him the same question as before. He studied the list, took a pen and circled some of the works, drew arrows, etc. Then he was like OHH! What if I did Dee and Pete? I said I dunno, what kind of paper would you do with them? He said, "well even though Dee is kind of a bad person and Pete is kind of good, they are both trying to figure out who they are. So maybe I could show how they interact with everyone and how that shows their search for identity." I smiled and nodded and said that that sounded like a really good paper. He said man did you already know that? I smiled and shrugged and said that I was proud that he had gotten so much accomplished and he said that he was excited to get to work on the paper.
It made me feel really good because I know that he is not an english major and this stuff doesn't necessarily come easy to him. But he has an analytical mind and I was able to come up with a way to direct him in a way that was hands off. I felt happy that he was so eager to explore what he could do. I didn't care if he liked the stories or not; I was just happy that he was showing so much effort in his writing. I feel happy that I had a great group of guys to work with and they assured me that they would make the Writing Center one of their options for their future papers.
This writing fellows session was my best yet. One of the girls in my group wasn't there, so we "borrowed" two students from another group. These new students were so talkative and creative, which was So nice for a change. Also, the student that has previously been in my group felt much more comfortable and she was more outgoing this time. We had a little icebreaker at the beginning (since I was not familiar with the new students) and we talked about what types of writing they do outside of class. One student was a poet, and one was a playwright-very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteAll three of the students had drafts with them. I had them switch papers around and read them silently; I also asked them to write on the back of their papers what key elements they noticed in each others' papers. One student had a very developed paper, and she only needed help with her conclusion. The others in the group were very quick to throw around ideas, instead of making me do all of the work! Imagine that. Another student had a thorough paper, but she struggled with making her paper too much of a personal essay and not enough about analyzation. The two new members of our group had really great suggestions about how to analyze a text; they also had suggestions about bringing in her personal experience, as well as properly disecting the texts. The final student's paper was the least developed of the three, but his ideas were the most impressive. He obviously had a grasp on the the short stories that he was comparing. We went around the group and gave him ideas that might help him organize his thoughts, and he was appreciative. Overall, this was a great session; I invited them all to come to the Writing Center for any further feedback they might need.