Observation One

The Writing Center is available to assist students in becoming better, more efficient writers. There are several tutors available giving students the opportunity to have an hour long session with a writing professional. As part of my Teaching Writing course, we are required to observe the tutoring sessions because eventually, we will be tutoring students.
My observation was a great experience. The tutor was very relaxed and personable, making the student feel comfortable. The student was very well-prepared and had hand- written a draft of the assignment that is due next week. The tutor began the session by asking the student to explain the assignment to make sure the student was clear on the objective of the essay. After the objective of the assignment was clearly determined, the tutor read the essay. When the tutor discussed the written work with the student, there was a primary focus on the content and questions were asked to gain clarity on some of the things the student discussed during the essay.
The tutor made sure to give praise when necessary but did not cheerlead. Although the essay had some grammatical errors, the tutor did not focus on them until the structure of the essay, including the thesis was properly stated. When the tutor began to correct the grammatical errors, special attention was given to helping the student learn to correct any grammatical errors independently. The tutor even took the time to create a list that the student could use as a point of reference when editing the piece.
I thought the session was a success and I look forward to observing another tutor in the near future.