Case Study

My name is oop and I am a Humanities Major on a Childhood Education track

with an English concentration. I am currently in an English 220 class taught by Dr. Cooper. I

came to the course as a requirement for my interest but, I stayed in the course because I enjoy

tutoring, writing, and the class discussions. My pedagogy of education is student centered and

collaborative due to their ability to create agents of positive change which is much needed in

every era but particularly our day and age with words such as gentrification and ninety-nine

percent at home in our vocabulary. Although student centered and collaborative strategies may

seem as opposing concepts they are not. It has been my experience that students need an

exploration of the self to progress into an understanding of their fellow human beings so they

may eventually consider what can be done about the situations they find themselves in. I suppose

this is why I enjoyed James Moffett’s Active Voice (1981) so much. He allows for freedom of

expression to improve writing as shown through his student’s example “Funny Feelings” (192).

This book is chock full of ways to have students collaborate while   The social activist in me has

always enjoyed Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1976) for his appreciation of the state

of the forgotten children his writing that the injustice is here, it is real, and it needs to change. In

that same vein Jonathon Kozol’s Savage Inequalities (1992) highlights the extreme state of

oppression that a disproportionate number of our children endure as a part of their daily reality.

Tutoring writing is liberating. It creates opportunity for people that do not have the means

to develop a skill as essential to expression as writing. Tutoring offers a chance not just to better

our pieces but to better our understanding of others and their experiences in the hope of

unraveling the conundrum of life’s challenges. It is through the sharing of our lives that bridges

and alliances are formed and tutoring writing behaves as a vehicle to this end. The empowering

significance of being able to express oneself clearly, with discipline and focus, allows us to

become agents of positive change within ourselves and our communities. Freire understood that

to deny proper education to children (meaning education rich in critical thinking and freedom) is

the worst form of oppression. He writes “The banking approach to education for example will

never propose to students that they critically consider reality” (Pedagogy of the Oppressed 74).

Once we comprehend disparities in our realities we are moved to change them. I mentioned

earlier that my philosophy is entwined both in student centered principles and collaboration. My

reasoning for the first is the value I place on an individual’s ideas. Those ideas are what make us

human and to stifle them is to “dehumanize” as Freire states (Pedagogy of the Oppressed 75).

The latter portion of my pedagogy, collaboration, is vital to connecting the agents of change so

they may find fulfillment in their pursuit of equality.

Collaboration can be a powerful propellant toward understanding another perspective.

During the tutoring session we had with Professor H’s English 99 students I had an opportunity

to tutor two students who had opposing views on gentrification. Student A was a lifelong

resident of a neighborhood undergoing the change from out group space to hipster central.

Student B felt that gentrification was only natural because it “reduces crime and brings in trendy

stores”. This may be very nerdy of me but I find this exciting! Here sat two people who would

otherwise not interact sharing conversation on their opposing views and isn’t that the beginning

of everything? A conversation leaves remnants of one an others opinions almost like an

intentional de ja vu experience where they are absorbing “eye contact” and “body language”

cue’s that drive meaning from mere words (Tutoring Writing). Just as the broken banking system

of education Freire mentions “deposits” facts deprived of critiques the combination of

collaboration and student centered writing deposits a counter opinion in another wise one sided

mind.  My spliced philosophy honors the individual and the societal. Getting back to students A

and B, if you recall A is against while B is for gentrification. While A is discussing the years

spent in struggle to get the neighborhood in better shape she is emotional. It comes out in her

raised eyebrow and tone as she speaks of a “loss of culture” and “friendships” as people are

pushed out of affordable apartments. Student B is left with little defense and when she attempts

to defend it comes up weak with the “trendy store defense” because the crime portion was

already noted by student A to have been under control prior to gentrification. Although I don’t

expect every collaborative effort to end so smoothly it does make me warm and fuzzy when they

do.                

           

            If we agree that the purpose of writing is to better understand each other and life then we

Might be able to find some value in this two tiered approach to tutoring writing. The first tier

speaks to the self. The second tier speaks to community. Combining the two builds sparks of

understanding. What more can we ask for?

Case Study Peer Review Suggestions

ATTACH ALL COMMENTS YOU RECEIVE UNDER FINAL DRAFT: Papers without comments will lose 7 points off their final score; these 7 points can only be redeemed by visiting the Writing Center before the paper comes due):

What is the goal my response?

What is the goal my response?

The goal of your response is to offer the writer some positive praise and some suggestions for revision based on the assignment. It’s very important the piece addresses the assignment. If you're confused, you need to say why. If they need to expand their ideas, you need to tell which ones, and also how to do it. Their interest and focus should also make you interested. If you weren't interested, they need tell them what they could have done to make you more interested.

As for how you should organize your response, see the directions below. Here are the specific steps:

Comment Directions (from the text Tutoring Writing)

1. Open a general statement of assessment about the piece’s relationship to the assignment. Be clear about which parts fulfill the assignment and which parts need improvement.

2. Present comments so the writer knows which problems with text are most important and which are of lesser importance.

3. Use comments primarily to call attention to strengths and weaknesses in the piece, and be clear about the precise points where they occur.

4. Don't feel obligated to do all the 'fixing.' Refrain from focusing on grammar unless it impedes your ability to understand the piece.

5. Write comments that are text-specific, and uniquely aimed at the piece and the writer.

Strategies

1. Pose at least two questions that ask for clarification or that seek other possible views or more information on the subject.

2. Let the writer know what specific lines, ideas, and stylistic touches you find pleasing.

3. When you make a specific, concrete suggestion for improvement, try couching it in a qualifier: "You might try..." or "Why don't you add..." or "Another way of writing the lead might be..."

4. If you notice a pattern of errors (incorrect use of commas, etc) comment on it in a global way at the end of the piece.

Case Study: Interesting but in need of revision

            My name is XVZ, and I am Writing and Literature major at LaGuardia Community College. As a student in Dr. Justin Rogers-Cooper’s Seminar in Teaching Writing class, I have been introduced to numerous writing techniques and teaching styles. As a private tutor, I felt I had enough knowledge to help students achieve academic greatness and while honor roll status and certificates were received, being in this class has taught me that education should be about more than just a grade. Contrary to popular belief, a number or a letter does not determine individual intelligence. My personal philosophy on pedagogy is all over the place. The best way I can answer this is to go all the way to the beginning of the semester, to the first day of class. When I walked in, everyone was busy writing about what in their opinion is the definition of “good teaching”. Zilelian and Ross were the names that immediately came to mind. Now, while I could go on about how they were amazing in their own way, I will say what they had in common: they were patient and believed in their students. They played a big role in what I believe good teaching is. Patience is definitely a key factor in good teaching; it may even surpass other contributing factors in significance. However, the idea of patience goes further than tolerating a great deal of stress and frustration from students. It also transitions into being tolerant with oneself and knowing that the obstacles are worth enduring because the outcome will be much greater. Being a patient educator means that you understand that not all students learn or grow at the same pace and that some need more encouragement than others.        

             Throughout the semester, I was able to observe tutoring sessions at the Writing Center and was privileged enough to work one-on-one with freshman students. What I learned was that all of the tutors, myself included, had one common goal and that was to help the student. Tutoring is more than just reinforcing what a teacher or professor has taught you, it’s about learning how to apply acquired knowledge to assignments and to your personal life. Tutoring should be more than helping students understand material; it’s about helping them in their entirety. This is a little idea that Moffett advocated: growth through thought development. His “…progression drama-narrative-generalization-argumentation describes not only long-range growth toward an enlarging repertory but describes also the daily abstracting we do as we convert new experience to working knowledge” (13). Each of these stages is necessary because students see the event taking place (drama), they memorize key components and share that with others (narrative), they analyze the situation (exposition), and take a stand and defend a side (argumentation). Tutors should encourage their students to think freely and to not be afraid to voice their opinions and thoughts. The idea of exercising free thought is so important because it helps develop different critical patterns in thought and it allows a person to interpret that information accordingly. Free thought allows a student to see different perspectives, something that is necessary for healthy growth, something that Moffett puts an emphasis on with the drama-narrative-generalization-argumentation model.

            During my observations at the Writing Center, one technique that was constantly practiced was Collaborative Tutoring. Donald A. McAndrew and Thomas J. Reigstad describe this technique to be the most effective during most tutorials due to the flexibility of the tutor—“the tutor encourages the writer, often with open-ended and probe-and-prompt questions, to engage in off-the-paper, exploratory talk and to expand upon underdeveloped themes in the paper” (26). All of the sessions I observed dedicated a great deal of time to talking and with good reason too.  Conversation and free talking are two strategies that were constantly being used during the Writing Center tutorials and during my own peer-to-peer sessions. Many people overlook the simplicity of talking when it comes to the academic world. This is horrible because it’s eliminating a basic form of communication in which a lot of important material and/or information can be released and used in assignments. It restricts students and denies them the fulfillment of socializing while learning. However, this was not the case at the Writing Center. Conversation overflowed the booths in which the tutorials took place; there was curiosity and excitement coming out of their mouths. It was a wonderful thing to observe and be a part of.

            At one point I was able to work with two students from Professor Hendrickson’s English 101 class at two different times during the semester. One student was quiet and seemed to lack interest in both the tutorial and her assignment. After reading her essay, I decided to ask her questions to further enhance her argument. Indifference shone through whenever I asked her a question regarding her topic. She repeated a variation of the same answer to every question I proposed. When asking questions didn’t go well, I decided to assign a focused free writing, McAndrew and Reigstad see this particular exercise as beneficial because it “…[focuses] on a portion of the draft that needs development…” (46). However, she did not take to the exercise. Ultimately, what I ended up doing was taking notes on things she had repeated with more emphasis throughout the session and gave that to her so she could work from it.  The second student was the complete opposite of the first. As I read over the material he had with him I could tell it was of interest to him. I presented him with a bunch of questions that he could answer throughout his paper to further solidify his argument because all he had was a basic outline of what he wanted his essay to look like. We spent about half hour brainstorming and playing off of our ideas as they came into recognition (48)— McAndrew and Reigstad categorized this notion as “playing your thoughts”, and while no stage or role play was necessary for this technique, the student was satisfied with the amount of work that was achieved. I thoroughly enjoyed tutoring him because I liked the amount of energy he had when it came to discussing his main idea. His enthusiasm made it that much more enjoyable.

            During the final peer tutoring session with Professor Alexander’s class, I was fortunate enough to work with a student that was as equally animated about his topic as the second student in Professor Hendrickson’s class. This student was entirely receptive and willing to take whatever feedback I gave him into consideration. While asking him about what some of his concerns in writing are, he confided in me that he had habit of writing what others wanted to read even if he didn’t personally agree with what he was arguing. Another concern for him was making his writing personal. He had attended law school in Brazil and was taught a certain way of writing, it was impersonal and formal. This reminded me of something Regina Foehr said in her tribute to James Moffett, “in academia, we too often take ourselves too seriously…[and we] fear reprisal if we explore the unconventional or write what we really believe” (6). Students are often scared of voyaging into controversial topics or representing them in writing due to the criticism they will receive. While there is safety in tradition, there is innovation in being able to discuss and appropriately correspond to issues that might be considered taboo. The notion of being able to think outside the box is something Moffett advocated. My response to him was to make writing, when necessary, as personal as possible. I encouraged him discuss his ideas freely and to always have enough evidence to prove his point.

There’s this stigma that surrounds tutoring. It says that if a student needs to be tutored it’s because they’re not meeting standard requirements and if they’re not meeting those requirements it’s because they’re not smart enough to. It took me years to realize that this is not true. I first saw this a few years ago when I first began tutoring children. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that these same children who had a deep understanding of their surroundings were encouraged to seek tutoring. For a long time I didn’t what I was doing with them that their overall performance in school had increased but the children were happy, as were the parents, therefore, I was happy. It wasn’t until around the holiday season that I finally understood what it was that set me aside from their teachers. One of my tutees had written me a lovely message inside of a Christmas card, in a nutshell; she thanked me for being patient with her and for always believing in her. If I had to narrow my philosophy on pedagogy down, it would be that: be patient and believe in your students. There are obviously a lot of other important factors that contribute to effective teaching, but on a more personal level, I believe patience and having confidence in your students is necessary. I want to make a difference in someone’s life just as Ms. Zilelian and Mr. Ross have made in mine. I want to be the reason why someone did not give up. 

Case Study: Interesting

My name is XYZ and I am a Humanities Major on a Childhood Education track

with an English concentration. I am currently in an English 220 class taught by Dr. Cooper. I

came to the course as a requirement for my interest but, I stayed in the course because I enjoy

tutoring, writing, and the class discussions. My pedagogy of education is student centered and

collaborative due to their ability to create agents of positive change which is much needed in

every era but particularly our day and age with words such as gentrification and ninety-nine

percent at home in our vocabulary. Although student centered and collaborative strategies may

seem as opposing concepts they are not. It has been my experience that students need an

exploration of the self to progress into an understanding of their fellow human beings so they

may eventually consider what can be done about the situations they find themselves in. I suppose

this is why I enjoyed James Moffett’s Active Voice (1981) so much. He allows for freedom of

expression to improve writing as shown through his student’s example “Funny Feelings” (192).

This book is chock full of ways to have students collaborate while   The social activist in me has

always enjoyed Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1976) for his appreciation of the state

of the forgotten children his writing that the injustice is here, it is real, and it needs to change. In

that same vein Jonathon Kozol’s Savage Inequalities (1992) highlights the extreme state of

oppression that a disproportionate number of our children endure as a part of their daily reality.

Tutoring writing is liberating. It creates opportunity for people that do not have the means

to develop a skill as essential to expression as writing. Tutoring offers a chance not just to better

our pieces but to better our understanding of others and their experiences in the hope of

unraveling the conundrum of life’s challenges. It is through the sharing of our lives that bridges

and alliances are formed and tutoring writing behaves as a vehicle to this end. The empowering

significance of being able to express oneself clearly, with discipline and focus, allows us to

become agents of positive change within ourselves and our communities. Freire understood that

to deny proper education to children (meaning education rich in critical thinking and freedom) is

the worst form of oppression. He writes “The banking approach to education for example will

never propose to students that they critically consider reality” (Pedagogy of the Oppressed 74).

Once we comprehend disparities in our realities we are moved to change them. I mentioned

earlier that my philosophy is entwined both in student centered principles and collaboration. My

reasoning for the first is the value I place on an individual’s ideas. Those ideas are what make us

human and to stifle them is to “dehumanize” as Freire states (Pedagogy of the Oppressed 75).

The latter portion of my pedagogy, collaboration, is vital to connecting the agents of change so

they may find fulfillment in their pursuit of equality.

Collaboration can be a powerful propellant toward understanding another perspective.

During the tutoring session we had with Professor H’s English 99 students I had an opportunity

to tutor two students who had opposing views on gentrification. Student A was a lifelong

resident of a neighborhood undergoing the change from out group space to hipster central.

Student B felt that gentrification was only natural because it “reduces crime and brings in trendy

stores”. This may be very nerdy of me but I find this exciting! Here sat two people who would

otherwise not interact sharing conversation on their opposing views and isn’t that the beginning

of everything? A conversation leaves remnants of one an others opinions almost like an

intentional de ja vu experience where they are absorbing “eye contact” and “body language”

cue’s that drive meaning from mere words (Tutoring Writing). Just as the broken banking system

of education Freire mentions “deposits” facts deprived of critiques the combination of

collaboration and student centered writing deposits a counter opinion in another wise one sided

mind.  My spliced philosophy honors the individual and the societal. Getting back to students A

and B, if you recall A is against while B is for gentrification. While A is discussing the years

spent in struggle to get the neighborhood in better shape she is emotional. It comes out in her

raised eyebrow and tone as she speaks of a “loss of culture” and “friendships” as people are

pushed out of affordable apartments. Student B is left with little defense and when she attempts

to defend it comes up weak with the “trendy store defense” because the crime portion was

already noted by student A to have been under control prior to gentrification. Although I don’t

expect every collaborative effort to end so smoothly it does make me warm and fuzzy when they

do.                

           

            If we agree that the purpose of writing is to better understand each other and life then we

Might be able to find some value in this two tiered approach to tutoring writing. The first tier

speaks to the self. The second tier speaks to community. Combining the two builds sparks of

understanding. What more can we ask for?

Case Study Grading Grid

ENG 220: Case Study Grading Grid

Name:

1. Thesis: Thesis present in introduction; addresses pedagogical strategies; introduces major themes of essay; refers to pedagogical philosophy (20%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

2. Session observations:  paragraphs support thesis with topic sentence claims; adequate summary of tutoring experience; reader can follow the sequence of claims to summary to textual introduction  describes in detail tutoring sessions; clear details of sessions present; observations explained with clear reasoning; (30%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

3. Session Analysis: strategies and evaluation present in thesis; strategies and evaluation present in topic sentences; links tutor observations to course concepts; cites course texts; paraphrases relevant concepts from texts; strategic solutions offered to problems noted; supporting paragraphs refer to course texts; texts are introduced for readers; texts are adequately cited; direct quotes are explained; evidence is evaluated for meaning;  paragraphs connect and explain claims; paragraphs interpret evidence; paragraphs connect texts and claims to other texts and claims; paragraphs address meaning and importance of thesis in supporting paragraphs;   (30%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

4. Conclusion: contextualizes analysis within student’s pedagogical philosophy; provides original insight and unique discussion; demonstrates ambition and intellectual power; conclusion takes reader in new directions; paraphrases relevant concepts from texts;  (20%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

Peer Review (+/- 5 points): YES/NO

Grade:

Comment:

Case Study: Template

Case Study Template

Introduce yourself – one strategy %5w’s, 1 H

Transition to thesis:

My pedagogical philosophy focuses on student-centered tutoring, and specifically the strategy of talk and writing. I also emphasize the role of writer’s block in composition, and how the recursive stage process model could work to break through – including the use of free writing, clustering, conversation, and returning to the text for ideas. Overall, I believe these writing tutoring strategies support my conviction that education must do more than provide grades, facts, and certificates for employment; I believe that in light of the world’s pressing problems, education must also encourage students to think for themselves and to empower themselves to shape reality. I will demonstrate my ideas here using course texts such as _ and ___, and also explain them through my own experiences tutoring students here at LaGuardia.

Supporting

As I mentioned, my pedagogical philosophy focuses on student-centered tutoring, and specifically the strategy of talk and writing. I developed this in practice during my live tutoring sessions with Prof H’s class of 101 students. I encountered a student named Goggile who was having problems developing his thesis on deportation. (DETAILS: tutoring). I decided to use my talk and writing strategy, including the use of asking questions (DETIALS: tutoring). This was effective. As Mcandrew and Reigstad write, “xjxjkdkdfdkjfdfd” (fljdfd). To me, I found that dkfjdkjfdkfdk. The work I did with Goggile was meaningful in the context of my career goals because dfldklfdd. To me, the work we did together is important because dlkjdflkdlfd. As friere writes, “dfljdfjkdflkjd” (dfdd). Although wouldn’t say lkjdflkdfjkd , which Friere does, I would say that dfljkdfkdfjdlkfd because dfdljkdfdklfd.

Conclusion – extended philosophy – career reflection – merging of personal goals with optimism about your education – why why why why why

Case Study: Competent

Case Study

            Collaborative learning has become an important method that I want to continue practicing. I am a student at LaGuardia community college, majoring in Childhood Education. I’m focusing on working towards becoming an English teacher for elementary school children. This is extremely significant to me because not only do I love to read and write, it can take you further career wise and success in professions that require excellent writing. During the last six weeks, I have been reading and developing my tutoring skills using particular text as well as other readings that made this process smoother. Tutoring Writing by Donald A. McAndrew and Thomas J. Reigstad, Active Voice, Integrity in the Teaching Writing of writing and Writing, Inner speech and Meditation by James Moffett have all been great readings and left a major impact on my development. They helped me keep in my mind the value of a writer’s and the steps to being good assistance to their progress in their writing skills. I believe that in tutoring, the writer’s voice should be a part of the decisions made to any changes on their piece.

            Tutoring in general is very useful for students that need that extra help or push in a certain subject matter. Tutoring writing is for students that want to gain or develop their skills and also get some encouragement to write what they thought would not be fit in their paper. Tutoring in some sense is like professional advice that can or cannot be put into the writer’s piece. It matters a great deal to many of the students that seek this help because they want and need to become better writer’s. Like I said, it brings a great feeling of accomplishment when their piece has received an outstanding grade and good comments from their teachers after they’ve revised.

            When tutoring, we should be able to encourage the writer to be confident in their piece regardless of the “red marks” made by the professor. To have a successful session, the writer should have most of their concerns met and questions answered that will enable them to proceed with their revision. In other words, the writer should walk out of the session knowing more than what they did when they first walked in. Collaborative tutoring allows the tutor and writer to equally give their ideas to the questions that are being asked. The tutor gets an idea of how the writer began their process of their paper and also identifies the problems that need attention. As a tutor you should be aware of our “cheerleading”, “positive stroking is good. But tutors should not use praise to sugarcoat the truth” (17). We must give attention to the writer, their piece and acknowledge the effort that they put in trying something different when they are in session. A writer is very sensitive and knows when a tutor is being false towards their piece. They will not take this lightly because it is important that they get the best help in order to gain the skills that they are lacking when composing.

            My tutoring session consisted of some of these theories in order for me to have a positive outcome. The assignment asked for the students to portray bicultural as a strength or weakness in today’s world. They were to use supportive evidence in the argument that is chosen CUNY+ for at least two articles and cite them in their paper. Their textbook was a must in their paper in order to receive credit for supportive evidence. Before sitting down I introduced myself to my tutee and asked him for his name. As we sat down, I asked him what the assignment was and he handed me a hardcopy of it then I asked him what his position was and why. He told me that he thought it is strength because of the hardships people that are bicultural overcome. He handed me his paper, informing me that it was his first draft and that it was rushed. Together we read through the introduction and I quickly made note of the thesis. As we continued to read, I stopped at every point that he made and the evidence that he used.

In the last body paragraph, he used a friend as an example of someone that has overcome obstacles to being bicultural. I asked him if he can relate to the topic and he began to talk about himself, where he came from and his education here as well as his origin. “Most of all, keeping inner speech as the matrix of all writing keeps teaching of writing centered on authentic writing” (234). I felt like he was a perfect primary example to his assignment. He wouldn’t have to cite from an article, the use of his own thoughts would be an asset to his paper. He wasn’t really sure if he was allowed to use himself and that was a problem. I told him that he should ask his professor if he could do so, that way he does not put in an example that may not be allowed. “Writers should feel welcome to explore their own ideas and find their own ways to express them, without unwelcomed intrusions from the tutor.” (19). I didn’t want to make changes or many suggestions because I wanted him to alter his paper. Instead, I questioned him on whether he felt he needed to add more evidence and where, if he would like my help on and what I know of the subject, which lead us to speak about an artist I knew that was bicultural. I suggested for him to do some more research on famous people that are bicultural.

He was satisfied with the session making notes on his paper next to each paragraph that needed some more details and adding to his conclusion. Once we completed that, he asked me if I could go over grammar errors that I may have noticed during our discussion.  We did a “read aloud” of where I noticed some fixes, in order for him to hear the few spelling errors he had in forming his sentences. “Have the writer read the piece aloud to himself. Hearing his own words often lets a writer catch incongruous word combinations or words or word endings that he has inadvertently omitted” (61). He did not have many so it was a quick run through of the paper and we had about two minutes to talk about his background relating the assignment.

Collaborative tutoring is very useful but another strategy that I would use is student-centered tutoring because it gives the writer the lead role in the session as well as being independent. “The tutor listens a great deal, especially early in the session, asks a few questions, and contributes personal recollections and associations to add to the writer’s discovery and development of the subject” (25).   It is important to let the writer be independent of their work and main ideas. Tutoring is significant to education because it gives students to opportunity to gain skills that they could not during a lesson in class. It helps them advance or “catch up” with the rest of the class, which gives them the feeling of accomplishment. It is also a positive activity for students that do not get the help that they need at home. Education is an extremely major factor to the success in an individual’s life. As educators we must have a passion for the success in pushing children forward to the careers they dream of, regardless of the difficulties we may encounter.

Works Cited:

Donald A. McAndrew and Thomas J. Reigstad. Tutoring Writing: a practical guide for conferences. Boynton/Cook, 2001. Print.

Moffett, James. Active Voice: a writing program across the curriculum. New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook, 1992. Print.

Moffett, James. “Writing, Inner Speech and Meditation.” College English. 44.3 (1982): 231-246. Print. 

Case Study: Novice

     Case Study

        My name is xxx. I’m majoring in childhood education. I am taking English 220 with professor Rogers. Throughout the session I have learned and gain knowledge about tutoring. The texts that was required for this class was Tutoring writing by Donald A. Mc Andrew and Thomas j. Reigstad, the other one is Active voice by James Moffet . I had the opportunity to observe the writing center for four hours which was the requirement for the class. On the other hand I had the chance to tutor the English 101 students.

        Tutoring can be fun but it also can be challenging at some point. I believe tutoring Is collaborative learning. The tutor and the tutee share equal amount of conversation and decisions making. In the tutoring writing it mentioned that “the relationship between tutor and the writer changes from teacher student to converser many times during the tutorial”( Mc Andrew 26). My philosophy of tutoring is your ideas and thoughts about certain topic to the student. Tutoring can be defined as sharing knowledge and expanding intelligence to other by helping them. An effective tutor gives suggestion about potential useful of resources such as websites, books, and articles. This relates to the strategies I have learned mentioned in the text tutoring writing “being an expert”. Tutor should always give back honest feedback to their tutee. ( Mc Andrew 160). I believe the more honest feedback a student gets the more effort they put writing a paper. The more advices a student get, they try not to make the same mistake again as I have observed in the writing enter.

     It was a nightmare for me when the professor told us that we are going to tutor the English 101 student. it was my first time tutoring at LaGuardia community college. I felt  so nervous and had the feeling I won’t able to do this all. I was so hesitant about what if the a student ask a question and I didn’t know the answer. Many questions was running in my mind that made me so fussy about tutoring for the first time. I was anxious about what if I made a mistake while tutoring.

  I was assigned to tutor two students at the same time. It was challenging for me because I never had tutor anybody before. I felt very uncomfortable. I asked the tutee about what was there assignment about. They had to do a research paper on biculturalism using two resources. Both students had an outline. While I was reading there outline felt sense term came in my mind because they express their feeling about the topic what they already knew. There outline also related to free writing. Tutee did a free writing biculturalism. According to tutoring writing free writing exercise was popularized by peter elbow ( 1981). I was surprised to see that in there outline the tutee had some useful information already. I give them suggestion to use their ideas from the outline in there paper. I convince them to use the library data base which they can find articles and other resources for their paper. At the end tutee told me that I was helpful. But I didn’t felt that way because I couldn’t tell them much about their topic. My tutoring experience was not that bad I thought about.

My reflection of tutoring in education is that a tutee and a tutor share there thoughts and idea with each other. While the student is with the tutor they have the chance to use the strategies felt sense. Felt sense is expressing your feeling that you have inside your body about a topic you are writing about ( pearl 365). Tutoring is using your skills and intelligence with other people. I believe Education Is the key to success in life. Without education we cannot move on in life, The higher education we have the more luxury life we live. Tutoring is all about education. To become a unique and effective tutor we have to work hard and achieve our goals.

Class Agenda 11.17

1. Blog: Notes on Tutoring for Case Study

2. Presentations

3.  Class Activity: Your Philosophy of Pedagogy

Reminder: In your Case Study, you will discuss how your own tutoring work fits into the themes of writing pedagogy we've discussed over the semester with Active Voice and Tutoring Writing (this aspect of the assignment will be similar to your 'Letter to Bert' assignment). What distinguishes your Case Study, however, will be the ways that you bring also bring your ideas about 'teaching writing' into conversation with your 'philosophy of pedagogy' --  that is, what you believe to be true purposes of both education and teaching. If teaching writing helps us to teach students to think for themselves, we must also ask: what is the value of such independent thought? What are we trying to ultimately achieve?

Activity Goal: Students will decide what ideas might incorporate from Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed into their philosophy of pedagogy reflections (these reflections will make up part of the thesis statement of your "Case Study" assignment).

Activity Description: In class we 'read closely' a couple passages from Friere, and spent some class time working through Friere's language, which can be both dense and provoking. Today we will spend some time working through more passages with two goals in mind: producing a working summary of several passages, and deciding if the ideas we find in those passages might be possible fits for own philosophy of pedagogies.

Before beginning our group work we will briefly look at one early passage in the chapter as a class. We will produce a summary together and then decide, perhaps via quick vote, whether we would accept one the ideas from the passage into our thinking. [BANKING V PROBLEM POSING, 81/79 on PDF]

First, Let's split into four small groups of about three (depending on our numbers). I will assign each group a passage for summary and interpretation. Then each group will produce a working summary that they can quickly relate back to the class. Each individual in the group will then decide on whether or not they would incorporate the summarized idea/passage into their own philosophy, either in whole or in part, while being able to say why.

Finally, time-permitting, each individual will begin to compose a paragraph that connects their thinking to Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

Group One: 74: "The truth is..." paragraph
Group Two: 78: "Education as the exercise..."
Group Three: 79: "Those truly committed..."
Group Four: 83: "In problem posing education..."
Group Five? 84: "Problem Posing education affirms..."

Revisions

Anything you revise and give me before Thanksgiving, I will give you after Thanksgiving (that Monday).

Class Agenda 11.12

1. Brief MLA lesson
2. Freire and Case Study:

Passages: narration (71); depositing (72); banking concept (72); banking, con'd (73); consciousness (74); reality is a process (75)
3. Tutoring in MB68.

Reading for Wednesday

Please read Chapter TWO

Case Study

Due Date: See syllabus
Peer Review: See syllabus

3(min)-5 double-spaced full pages (min for an A)

Assignment Goal: The goal of this assignment is for students to relate their tutoring work within the larger context of both this course and their philosophy of pedagogy.

Assignment Description: Begin your case study by introducing yourself, and then articulating your tutoring philosophy. Introduce the texts you'll be drawing upon and how they inform your main principles of tutoring. You might draw upon the texts and readings by mentioning up front the major ideas you plan to cite, who wrote them, and what texts they're from. However you decide to convey this information to the reader, you will then relate how your ideas fit into your larger philosophy of pedagogy. You will state that philosophy and then explain how your tutoring work is an extension of that philosophy.

In some ways, your thesis statement is a combination of two philosophies: your 'tutoring' philosophy (with strategies drawn from Tutoring Writing, Active Voice, Rose, Perl, etc) and your 'pedagogical' philosophy (with your ideas drawn from Robinson, Savage Inequalities, etc).

For your thesis statement, consider: what is tutoring? what does it do? why does it matter? Your answers to these questions could help you form your tutoring philosophy. You'll want to ultimately be able to explain the different principles of your philosophy to your readers.When you consider your principals of tutoring, consider what theories/strategies/texts they come from. That will give you an idea about how to connect your tutoring principals to the intellectual foundations of your larger pedagogical principals.

Develop examples of how your tutoring experience has helped you enact your philosophy. Let your work with students demonstrate and illustrate different principles of your philosophy. In each example, give details about your work with students: what were the challenges, and how did you overcome them? How did you approach your work with students? How did you find out what worked and what didn't? Supplement your discussion with regular references to course texts.

The "case study" aspect of this assignment asks you to show your tutoring principals (the foundation of your tutoring philosophy) at work in your interactions with students while tutoring.

In final part of your essay, consider some of the more philosophical discussions we've had about the context of tutoring. What are your reflections upon the role of tutoring in education? What are your broader reflections about the role of education itself? How do you see your work as a teacher within the larger trends in education we've discussed in class? And in the larger questions of pedagogical philosophy? You might allude to some of these ideas in the 'case study' paragraphs, but this is where you will develop them in full.

Assignment Rubric

ENG 101 Essay 4 Rubric

Project-specific Traits	Grade	Comments
Critical Thinking and Support (25%) Essay has a specific thesis that makes a clear argument about whether the chosen work discriminates or raises awareness about discrimination. Thesis is well-supported in the body paragraphs with analysis of sources and examples. Essay goes beyond summarizing the work and creates a thought-provoking argument about the work.
Organization (25%) Essay is organized in a logical order to maximize clarity of ideas. There are no major gaps in the logic of the essay. Essay has well-written, specific topic sentences. All of the ideas stated in the thesis are reflected in the essay. Essay has a conclusion that informs the reader of the importance of the topic.
Use and Integration of Sources (20%) Essay integrates paraphrases and quotes seamlessly and concisely. Essay uses at least two academic sources. Essay cites all quotes and paraphrases correctly using in-text and works cited citations.
Style and Language (10%) Uses academic tone; avoids slang phrases and clichés.
Grammar (10%) ·         Almost no grammatical errors.
Format (10%) ·         Follows MLA style formatting.
	Final Grade

Assignment for Wednesday

Essay 4: Argument Essay with Research

Assignment goals:

·         Write a 1200-1500 word research essay arguing that a work of popular culture (short story, novel, comic book, advertisement, T.V. show, movie, or song) either discriminates against a particular group of people, or that it works to raise awareness about a specific type of discrimination.

·         To make this argument, you must first clearly define your chosen type of discrimination, and then analyze your chosen work, looking at specific passages or scenes, to make an argument about how it either discriminates or raises awareness about discrimination.

·         You can choose to discuss the same type of discrimination that you defined for Essay 2; if you choose this option, you may re-use sources that you found for essay 2. We will also create annotated bibliographies in groups using Google docs on each type of discrimination chosen for Essay 2; this way, if you choose to write about a different type of discrimination, you will not have to start your research from scratch.

·         Even though your chosen work of popular culture may not be from an academic source, you must still site it in your works cited page. All other sources must be academic sources.

The essay should be typed in MLA format (Times New Roman 12 pt. Font, double spaced, one inch margins all around). This essay must also include at least two academic sources (one can be from your textbook) and must include a works cited page. Academic sources include library books, articles found on a library database, .gov and .edu websites. You should not use any other type of source without my approval. You must also be sure to appropriately quote, paraphrase, and cite sources to avoid plagiarism.

Failing Offenses: Essays of less than 1000 words, that do not cite academic sources, or that are more than a week late will automatically receive a failing grade—no exceptions.

Class Agenda: Letter, Assignment Review, Videos

 1. Letter to Professor: to turn in with your Letter to Bert. Counts as QUIZ.

a. Did your writing process reflect the plan you made two weeks ago? How or how not?

b. How confident are you that your essay will be excellent? What are the reasons for your answer?

c. What was most natural and what was least comfortable about the Peer Review on Monday?

d. What was the most important thing you learned from this assignment? What was the biggest challenge of the assignment?

e. Looking back, would you do anything differently next time as you wrote the paper?

f. How many Writing Center observations have you completed?

g. Did you read the texts in question for the midterm?

2. Read over the Case Study Assignment. Blog your initial thoughts by focusing on your overall ideas of education and the meaning and practices of what you consider to be good teaching.Please see the end questions at the bottom of the assignment.

3. Assignment Review

4. Midterm Review

5. Case Study and Pedagogical Philosophy: activities and discussion.

Letter to Bert Grading Grid

Letter to Bert Grading Grid: ENG 220

Name:

1. Letter format: contains polished elements of a professional letter: introduction/greeting; conclusion/expression of gratitude; personal tone mixed with professional description and analysis; letter grammatically and stylistically reflects excellent writing expectations; criticisms offered in polite, positive, generous language (20%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

2. Session observations: describes in detail Writing Center tutor sessions; clear details of sessions present; observations explained with clear reasoning; (30%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

3. Session Analysis: strategies and evaluation present in thesis; strategies and evaluation present in topic sentences; links tutor observations to course concepts; cites course texts; paraphrases relevant concepts from texts; strategic solutions offered to problems noted; (30%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

4. Critical Excellence: conclusion contextualizes analysis within student’s pedagogical philosophy; provides original insight and unique discussion; demonstrates ambition and intellectual power; (20%)

1              5              6              7              8              9              10

Peer Review (+/- 7 points): YES/NO

Grade:

Comment: