tutor training schedule - wordpress.com · 12:35-12:40 mentor/mentee responsibilities-jenn announce...

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Tutor Training Schedule 12-12:35 Introductions- Dr B Who are the administrative staff? Who are the tutors name, program, year, what excites you about this opportunity to tutor? Dr. B.'s talk should be 20 minutes max. Professional conduct/paid to learn/co-learners/metaphors/alternate models of tutoring and why we don't use them. 12:35-12:40 Mentor/Mentee responsibilities-Jenn Announce groups-put up on overhead and ask these mentors to stand and be recognized What the purpose of these mentor groups are You will get a chance to talk with your mentor groups later 12:40-12:45 Training Schedule overview-Oriana What we’re going talk about/do today 12:45-12:50 Registering for ADP-Oriana (LOOK AT TECHNICAL HANDOUT) Give them the url for the website ask them to register explain that once they do, they will be able to track their payments. tell them to approach Andrew with specific payroll questions HR says 1st paycheck will be mailed at the end of September and the rest will be direct deposit. 12:50-12:55 Dates for Other Training Days-Jenn SCHEDULING HANDOUT October 8 CVs/Virtual Studio/General issues culled from Virtual Studio posts December 3 tutoring reflection come w/ rough draft and peer tutor Mention that they will be responsible for tutor portfolio part of which will be due in Fall (CV and reflection)and part of which will be due in Spring (philosophy). Check virtual studio for details. 12:55-1:10 Tutor Schedules-Jenn SCHEDULING HANDOUT Read through this Tell them to let me know as soon as possible any changes that need to be made 1:10-1:40 WC Online - Andrew TECHNICAL HANDOUT What is it How do register and login How to check your schedule o How to tell if you are online or in the physical space How to check for your appointments o When and why to do this Missed appointments

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Page 1: Tutor Training Schedule - WordPress.com · 12:35-12:40 Mentor/Mentee responsibilities-Jenn Announce groups-put up on overhead and ask these mentors to stand and be recognized What

Tutor Training Schedule

12-12:35 Introductions- Dr B

Who are the administrative staff?

Who are the tutors – name, program, year, what excites you about this opportunity to

tutor?

Dr. B.'s talk should be 20 minutes max.

Professional conduct/paid to learn/co-learners/metaphors/alternate models of

tutoring and why we don't use them.

12:35-12:40 Mentor/Mentee responsibilities-Jenn

Announce groups-put up on overhead and ask these mentors to stand and be

recognized

What the purpose of these mentor groups are

You will get a chance to talk with your mentor groups later

12:40-12:45 Training Schedule overview-Oriana What we’re going talk about/do today

12:45-12:50 Registering for ADP-Oriana (LOOK AT TECHNICAL HANDOUT)

Give them the url for the website

ask them to register

explain that once they do, they will be able to track their payments.

tell them to approach Andrew with specific payroll questions

HR says 1st paycheck will be mailed at the end of September and the rest will be

direct deposit.

12:50-12:55 Dates for Other Training Days-Jenn SCHEDULING HANDOUT

October 8 – CVs/Virtual Studio/General issues culled from Virtual Studio posts

December 3 – tutoring reflection – come w/ rough draft and peer tutor

Mention that they will be responsible for tutor portfolio part of which will be due in

Fall (CV and reflection)and part of which will be due in Spring (philosophy). Check

virtual studio for details.

12:55-1:10 Tutor Schedules-Jenn SCHEDULING HANDOUT

Read through this

Tell them to let me know as soon as possible any changes that need to be made

1:10-1:40 WC Online - Andrew TECHNICAL HANDOUT

What is it

How do register and login

How to check your schedule

o How to tell if you are online or in the physical space

How to check for your appointments

o When and why to do this

Missed appointments

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Tutoring Reports- Oriana PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HANDOUT

o Context

o What to include

o Example

1:40-1:45 Desk Staff Responsibilities Jennifer

Names of front Desk Staff: Bianca Harrison, Courtney Nix, and Amber Thorton

Who they are and why they are working in the WS

What they do

It is possible that you will need to cover hours that these students cannot. If so, we

will hold a training session for you to familiarize you with these responsibilities.

The Studio uses a magnetic swipe reader to track personnel and students. You must

swipe your Panthercard upon your arrival to the Studio, and you must swipe out

when your shift is over. This system allows us to track your work hours for end-

year reporting

1:45-2:00 Break

2:00-3:00 Conversational Model-Jennifer HANDOUT

Read through handout and elaborate

o Encourage mentors to act as respondents

What to do (2 mins)/not to do videos (4 mins) w/ discussion

3:00-4:00 Online Tutoring-Oriana HANDOUT

Introduction/Transition from the Conversational Model and F2F discussion

Some practical distinctions between “Synchronous” and “Asynchronous” online

tutoring

Some practical distinctions between F2F and Online Tutoring based on the above

descriptions and implications for the Conversational Model

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

o What similarities and difference do you see between the two chat session

exchanges and the two videos of face-to-face sessions we watched earlier?

o How is the conversational model working in these two settings?

o How did the tutors establish (or not) a conversational tone?

o How did the tutors respond (or not) to students’ concerns regarding their

writing?

o How did the tutors avoid (or not) telling students how they should word and/or

structure their drafts?

4:00-4:15 Break

when you come back sit with your mentor/mentor groups

4:15-4:20 Take 5 mins to talk with mentor groups-introduce yourselves etc

4:20-5:20 Tutor Bio Tutoring Oriana & Jennifer

Tutor bios

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What they should contain

Students are able to access your tutor bio when scheduling

appointments online. This bio contains background information including

educational goals, teaching and tutoring experiences, as well as any

strengths or preferences you may have in regards to working with

students on certain kinds of writing.

When they are due and where they should be sent – Monday, August 23 to

[email protected].

Example: Assignment Sheet (Jennifer said she would make it, and make it good)

Mock Tutoring

Tutors tutor one another on bios for 15 mins each changing from student to tutor

and vice versa

Mentors walk around and observe

Discuss experience and observation

5:20-5:50 Virtual Studio –All –PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HANDOUT

Studio Calendar

Workshops, meetings, major conferences

Roundtables-Sept 16th

Tutor Schedules/Contact Info

Announcements

Tutor Portfolios-upload, see examples

Discussion Forum

Weekly posts

Observations

5:50-6:00 Wrap Up- Dr. Burmester

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Workin’ It: The Writing Studio Technical Guide

Accessing Payroll Info through ADP 1. Go to the following url:

https://portal.adp.com/public/index.htm

2. If you have not registered with this system yet, click “First Time Users Register” and use the Registration Pass Code USG-6775.

WC Online WCOnline is the web-based scheduling and reporting system for The Writing Studio. All Writing Studio appointments, communication with students, and

annual reporting is housed through this software.

Registering for WC Online 1. Click “Tutor Logon” at the bottom of the Writing Studio homepage.

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2. Clicking “Tutor Login” will bring you to this page:

3. Just like our students, you will need to register before you can access the scheduling system. So, click “Click here” at the bottom of the WC Online

login page.

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4. Please use your student.gsu.edu Panthermail address when registering for

the system.

Using WC Online

1. This is the first thing you’ll see when you log in to WC Online. This screen is the main interface for the Writing Studio.

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2. When you click the shaded box that indicates an appointment on the

schedule, you’ll see this screen. If the student followed instructions, you’ll see the student’s instructor, course, and a description of what he or she

wants to work on during the session.

3. You can also view previous tutor session reports if the student has been to the studio before by clicking “View Existing Forms.”

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To create a tutor report, click “Add New” and type your report into the

“Notes and Comments” section.

4. Missed Appointments

If a student is more than 5 minutes late to a session, you can cancel their appointment by

checking the box next to “Was the appointment missed?”

Students will receive an automated email alerting them to their missed appointment if

you mark them as missed in the schedule system.

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The Virtual Studio The Virtual Studio, which can be accessed through the Writing Studio website, is the closed-access intranet for Studio employees. On the Virtual

Studio, you will find several different resources: Studio Calendar

Tutor Schedules

Announcements

Tutor Portfolios

Discussion Forum

Logging onto the Virtual Studio

1. Access the Virtual Studio by clicking on the “Tutors” tab of the main Writing Studio website. Then, click the “Virtual Studio (for tutors only) link.

2. On the next page, click “Go to the Virtual Studio.”

3. Clicking on “Go to the Virtual Studio” will bring you to this dialog box:

4. Your login information for the Virtual Studio is already registered in the

system based on the information you provided to us.

o User Name: Firstname.Lastname (for example, John.Smith)

o Password: 1234

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Network Access and Computers Tutors have access to two desktop computers and several laptop computers for Studio-related tasks. The desktop computer at the front desk should

always be reserved for administrative tasks. The other desktop behind the front desk is reserved for tutor reports. Laptops can be checked out for

Studio business as well.

These computers are not for personal use, so please do not check non-GSU

email on these computers, and do not download any attachments or files from the web.

Login information for Laptops

UserID: engwst PW: write

(Please select “workstation only” in Novell login dialog box)

Login information for Desktops Userid: Engtws

PW: coffee (Please make sure these computers are logged on to the network.)

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Scheduling

Scheduling Explanation

The Writing Studio opens August 30th. We will be open for 13 weeks in the Fall semester

(this number takes into account our closing during the first week of classes, Thanksgiving

break, and finals week). In addition to today’s workshop, we have schedule 2 mandatory

training workshops at the midpoint and end of the semester. To ensure that we are

accounting for the amount of hours for which you are being paid, we will remove the hours

devoted to these training sessions from your tutoring schedule accordingly. Thus you are

being compensated for attending these training sessions.

Mandatory Training Workshops

Beginning: August 17th 12:00-6:00pm

Midpoint: October 1st 12:00-2:00pm (location TBA)

End of the Semester: December 3rd 12:00-2:00pm (location TBA)

Those working 10 hours a week

You will be tutoring in the Writing Studio for 9 hours a week over the course of 10 weeks. In

addition, you will be scheduled to tutor for 10 hours a week over the course of 3 weeks. The

schedule you have received will remain consistent over the course of those 10 weeks. We

have already selected the 3 weeks of the semester that you will be tutoring 10 hours

instead of 9, particularly keeping in mind those who are taking comprehensive exams this

semester. It is your responsibility to check the online schedule and keep a record of your tutoring schedule for the Fall semester.

Sibongile Lynch: MA 10 hrs a week

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday 3:00-5:00pm (4hrs)

Online Space: Friday 10:00am-3:00pm (5hrs)

Extra Hours (physical space): Wednesday October 6th 5:00-6:00pm

Wednesday October 20th 5:00-6:00pm

Wednesday October 27th 5:00-6:00pm

Mary Mason: MA 10 hrs a week

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday 10:00am-12:30 (5 hrs)

Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-3:30 (4 hrs)

Extra Hours: Tuesday September 7th 6:00-7:00pm

Tuesday September 21st 6:00-7:00pm

Tuesday October 5th 6:00-7:00pm

Lelania Ottoboni: MA 10 hrs a week

Physical Space: Tuesday and Thursday 12:00-2:30pm (5hrs)

Online Space: Tuesday and Thursday: 7:00-9:00pm (4hrs)

Extra Hours (physical space): Wednesday September 8th 6:00-7:00pm

Wednesday September 22nd 6:00-7:00pm

Wednesday October 6th 6:00-7:00pm

Shana Latimer: MA 10 hrs a week

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday: 10:00-1:00pm (6 hrs)

Online Space: Saturday 1:00-4:00pm (3 hrs)

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Extra Hours (online space): Saturday October 16th 4:00-5:00pm

Saturday October 23rd 4:00-5:00pm

Saturday October 30th 4:00-5:00pm

Casey McCormick: MA 10 hrs a week

Physical Space: Tuesday: 3:00-6:00pm (3 hrs) Thursday: 3:00-5:00pm (2 hrs)

Online Space: Mondays and Wednesdays: 2:00-4:00pm (4 hrs)

Extra Hours (physical space): Tuesday October 12th 6:00-7:00pm

Tuesday October 19th 6:00-7:00pm

Tuesday October 26th 6:00-7:00pm

Sarah Dyne: MA 10 hrs a week

Physical Space: Mondays and Wednesdays: 2:00-5:00 (6 hrs)

Tuesday: 12:00-3:00pm (3 hrs)

Extra Hours: Thursday September 23rd 10:00-11:00am

Thursday October 14th 10:00-11:00am

Thursday October 28th 10:00-11:00am

Tristan Towne: MA 10 hrs a week

Physical Space: Tuesday 3:30-4:30 (1hr) Thursday 11:00am-3:00pm (4hrs)

Online Space: Mondays and Wednesdays 7:00pm-9:00pm (4 hrs)

Extra Hours: Thursday September 13th 3:00-4:00

Thursday September 27th 3:00-4:00

Thursday October 14th 3:00-4:00

Those working 5 hours a week

You will be tutoring in the writing studio for 4 hours a week over the course of 10 weeks. In

addition, you will be scheduled to tutor for 5 hours a week over the course of 3 weeks. The

schedule you have received will remain consistent over the course of those 10 weeks. We

have already selected the 3 weeks of the semester that you will be tutoring 5 hours instead

of 4, particularly keeping in mind those who are taking comprehensive exams in the coming

Fall. It is your responsibility to check the online schedule and keep a record of your tutoring schedule for the Fall semester.

Laura Johnson: MA 5 hrs a week

Physical Space: Wednesday 11:00am-1:00pm (2 hrs)

Online Space: Sunday 7:00pm-9:00pm (2 hrs)

Extra Hours (physical space): Wednesday September 8th 1:00-2:00pm

Wednesday October 13th 1:00-2:00pm

Wednesday October 20th 1:00-2:00pm

Ashleigh Whelan: MA 5 hrs a week

Physical Space: Tuesday 10am-12:00 (2 hrs)

Online Space: Tuesday 8:00pm-10:00pm (2hrs)

Extra Hours (physical space): Tuesday October 12th 12:00-1:00pm

Tuesday October 19th 12:00-1:00pm

Tuesday October 26th 12:00-1:00pm

William Taft: MA 5 hrs a week

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday 2:00-4:00pm (4 hrs)

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Extra Hours: Wednesday, September 8th 1:00-2:00pm

Wednesday October 13th 1:00-2:00pm

Wednesday November 3rd 1:00-2:00pm

Owen Cantrell: MA 5 hrs a week

Physical Space: Tuesday and Thursday 10:00am-12:00 (4 hrs)

Extra Hours: Tuesday October 12th 2:30-3:30pm

Tuesday October 19th 2:30-3:30pm

Tuesday October 26th 2:30-3:30pm

Shane McGowan: MA 5 hrs a week

Physical Space: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-4:00 (4 hrs)

Extra Hours: Thursday September 16th 4:00-5:00pm

Thursday September 30th 4:00-5:00pm

Thursday October 14th 4:00-5:00pm

Marcia Bost: PhD 5 hrs

Physical Space: Monday 2:00-4:00 (2hrs) Tuesday 10:00am-12:00pm (2hrs)

Extra Hours: Monday October 11th 1:00-2:00pm

Monday October 18th 1:00-2:00pm

Monday October 25th 1:00-2:00pm

Roslyn Smith: PhD 5 hrs

Physical Space: Tuesday: 5:00-7:00pm (2 hrs) Wednesday 5:00-7:00pm (2hrs)

Extra Hours: Tuesday October 12th 4:00-5:00pm

Tuesday October 19th 4:00-5:00pm

Tuesday October 26th 4:00-5:00pm

Sara Smith: PhD 5 hrs

Physical Space: Wednesday 10:00am-12:00 (2 hrs)

Online Space: Friday 9:00-11:00am (2 hrs)

Extra Hours (online space): Friday October 8th 11:00-12:00

Friday October 15th 11:00-12:00

Friday October 22nd 11:00-12:00

Professionalization

Those assigned to the writing studio for professionalization will be required to

tutor for 10 out of the 13 weeks we are open in the Fall semester. You will be

scheduled to tutor for 4 hours a week for those 10 weeks. The schedule you have received

will remain consistent over the course of those 10 weeks. We have already selected the 3

weeks of the semester that you will not be tutoring, particularly keeping in mind those who

are taking comprehensive exams in the coming Fall. It is your responsibility to check the online schedule a keep a record of the weeks that you are not scheduled to tutor in the Fall.

Hank Backer

Physical Space: Tuesday 12:00-2:00pm (2 hrs)

Wednesday 5:00-7:00pm (2 hrs)

Weeks Off: September 6th-10th; September 20th-24th; October 4th-8th

Laura Beasley

Physical Space: Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-5:00pm (4 hrs)

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Weeks Off: September 13th-17th; September 27th-October 1st; October 11th-15th

Jennifer Brown

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday: 3:00-5:00pm (4 hrs)

Weeks Off: September 6th-10th; September 27th-October 1st; October 11th-15th

Robin Kemp

Online Space: Monday and Wednesday 2:30-4:30pm (4 hrs)

Weeks Off: August 30th – September 3rd; October 10th-16th; October 17th-23rd

Melanie McDougald

Physical Space: Mondays and Wednesdays: 12:30-2:30 (4 hrs)

Weeks Off: September 6th-10th; October 24th-31st; October 31st –November 6th

Mark Michaelson

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday 12:00-2:00pm (4 hrs)

Weeks Off: September 6th-10th; September 20th-24th; October 4th -8th

Walt Foreman

Physical Space: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00-3:00 (4 hrs)

Weeks Off: August 30th –September 3rd; September 20th-24th;October 4th-8th

Danielle Tillman

Physical Space: Wednesday 4:00-6:00pm (2 hrs)

Online Space: Wednesday 8:00am-10:00am (2 hrs)

Weeks Off: August 30th-September 3rd; September 13th-17th; October 4th-8th

Andrew Davis

Online Space: Fridays: 8:00am-12 (4 hrs)

Weeks Off: August 30th-September 3rd; September 13th-17th; September 27th-October 1st

Jennifer Forsthoefel

Physical Space: Tuesday: 5:00-7:00pm (2 hrs) Thursday: 10:00am-11:00am (1 hr)

Online Space: Thursday 9:00am-10:00am (1 hr)

Admin: Tuesday 11:30-2:30 (3 hrs) Thursday 11:00am-1:00pm (2hrs)

Weeks Off: September 20th-24th; October 11th-15th; October 25th-31st

Oriana Gatta

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:00pm (2 hrs)

Online Space: Friday 11:00am-1:00 (2 hrs)

Admin: Monday 10:00am-1:00 (3 hrs) Wednesday 10:00am-12:00 (2 hrs)

Weeks Off: September 6th -10th; October 17th -23rd; October 24th-31st

Kara Eidsvik

Physical Space: Monday and Wednesday 1:00-3:00pm (4 hrs)

Weeks Off: September 6th-10th; September 20th-24th; October 11th-15th

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Rescheduling Should you not be able to making the hours that you are scheduled to work for any reason

(sickness, doctors appointments, etc) it is your responsibility to notify the Writing Studio

about your unavailability as soon as possible by both phone and email.

Email: [email protected]

Phone Number for the Writing Studio: 404-413-5840

Jennifer’s phone number: 850-545-5913

Oriana’s phone number: 404-519-4584

If necessary, you should find someone to cover the tutoring appointments you have

scheduled should it not be possible to reschedule these appointments with someone

currently working. The emails and phone numbers of every tutor will be available on the

Virtual Studio. In addition, we ask that you explain to the Writing Studio your absence and

the administrators know when you plan to make up for the hours you have missed as soon

as possible. You may do this either by exchanging hours with another tutor or adding

additional hours to the schedule. We want to make sure everyone is working the number of

hours allotted to them and we would like to count on your participation in making sure this

happens.

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The Writing Studio: Professional Development

Card-Swiping While not directly related to your professional development as tutors, making sure that you

swipe your card at the front desk before and after your shift will give us some of the

quantitative data we need to make our yearly case for a better budget.

Tutor Reports Context of Reports

Tutor reports have three major goals: 1) to document particular issues writers may have

and what approaches tutors used to deal with these issues, 2) to document the work and

progress of writers, and 3) to document the work and development of tutors.

As such, there are three different audiences for your reports. 1) They are read by other

tutors before their sessions with students to get a sense of what the student has previously

worked on and how the tutor might be able to help. 2) We also encourage you to read your

own reports periodically to reflect on your tutoring approach and process. 3) Jennifer, Dr.

B., and Oriana also read the reports to get a general sense of what is going on during the

tutoring sessions and if there are any recurring student and/or tutoring issues we need to

address as a part of our ongoing professional development.

Given the context of the reports, it's important that the content of your reports be both

honest and professional.

What to Include

The general nature of the assignment.

The students’ specific concerns regarding the draft (or lack of one).

The concerns/issues addressed during the session. It often happens that students have

more concerns than can humanly be addressed during the session, in which case the

tutor encourages the student to prioritize her concerns and suggest working on lower-

order concerns during another session.

How these concerns/issues were addressed by the tutor.

How the student responded to the approach(es) the tutor used to address the student’s

concerns

What, if any, plan was made between the student and tutor regarding future visits

and/or strategies to apply outside of the tutoring session.

Some reflection on how the tutor felt the session went, e.g. whether it went well or

whether there was something the tutor could have done to improve the session, as well

as what the tutor learned that could be applied to future sessions.

For Example

The student was working on the revised version of a narrative essay and wanted feedback

on her lack of transitions and comma usage. We worked through the two major gaps I

noticed, with the student revising on the spot and asking for further feedback. I also pointed

out one of the misplaced commas, explained why it was misplaced and suggested she comb

through the rest of the essay with that in mind. Overall, a great session!

Another Example

The student came in to discuss a 2-paragraph thesis statement for a history paper she was

working on. She came with her professor's comments, and we made an effort to specifically

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work on things mentioned in those comments. We talked about how to avoid direct

quotations in her thesis, as he advised, as well as ways in which she could elaborate to

further clarify her argument.

Observations and Virtual Studio Posts Over the course of the first three weeks that the Writing Studio is open (before September

17th), new tutors should observe a session that a seasoned tutor is conducting and post on

the Virtual Studio blog some reflections on their observations. You may eavesdrop from a

close by location or sit at the table where the session is taking place, but be careful not to

overwhelm the student. Make sure the student is aware that the session is being observed

for training purposes prior to the start of the session.

In addition, once a week over the course of the first 3 weeks that the Writing Studio is

open, mentors will be posting discussion topics and reflections to the Virtual Studio.

Mentees are required to respond to these discussion topics by Friday at midnight. Mentors

are encouraged to remind mentees of this task.

After the first three weeks (starting September 20th), mentees are asked to post once a

week about their own tutoring experiences, sparking conversation and discussion that the

mentors will respond to. These will also be due every Friday by midnight.

Finally, at some point in the Fall semester, we would like for everyone to schedule at least

one appointment to be tutored by another tutor in the Writing Studio. You may work on any

writing project in this tutorial, such as an assignment sheet, a CV, teaching/tutoring

reflection or philosophy, or a paper you are working on for a class. This appointment can be

face-to-face or online, can be with you mentor, another experienced tutor, or with one of

the new tutors in the Writing Studio. You should reflect on this tutoring experience as one of

your Virtual Studio posts. We hope this will give you all the opportunity to learn from having

the “student experience” in the Writing Studio, encouraging you to reflect on your tutorial

strategies as well as improve your own writing in the process.

Sample Posts

Anxiety of Influence:

Hi all,

A student yesterday was working on a really cool paper about a food's presence in their

life. It was mostly a narrative but the teacher wanted a thesis, though it didn't matter

where the thesis was per se. SO the student asked, can I put it as the first sentence? To

which I said, SURE. But in the back of my mind I kept wondering, "OH what if the teacher

disagrees with that." I've had that conundrum several times. What if the advice I'm giving

the teacher considers wrong? I know in the end its the student's paper, not mine but when

they ask for advice, I sometimes worry about saying something their teacher doesn't agree

with? Am I crazy? Does anyone else experience this?

Response 1

I sure do. I had a student yesterday that was worried about her thesis statement. She was

afraid her statement wasn't strong enough. We talked about how she could change it, but I

also reassured her that it was fine. She was so worried that her instructor may not approve

of her thesis statement, I finally suggested that she go to office hours and let him give her

some feedback.

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Response 2

I know exactly what you mean. It really is like therapy. All we can do is hold up a mirror to

the students, to let them know how we view their work. I'm going to put a mental Post-it on

my brain to remind myself to ask the students, "Well, what do you think? Do you like where

that sentence goes?"

Response 3

I usually tell students who want to know what their teacher will think to meet up w/ their

instructor.

Response 4

I’ve wrestled with this issue as well. For me the big problem is when the student brings no

written record of the assignment. Absent the teacher’s version of what’s expected, I must

rely on the student’s understanding of it. So, far everything has worked out. But I wonder,

can I be sued for malpractice? I find myself beginning comments to students with a proviso

similar to another’s post: “now, be sure to check with your teacher to be absolutely sure

what she wants.”

Summary

August 30th- September 17th

New Tutors

Observe a session by an experienced tutor and post a reflection on the Virtual

Studio

Respond Mentor’s weekly posts by Fridays at Midnight

Mentors

Post reflections from your tutoring experience once a week by Mondays at

midnight and encourage responses from your mentees September

September 18th-December 3rd

New Tutors

Post weekly reflections of your tutoring experiences by Friday at Midnight

Mentors

Respond to your mentees weekly posts

All Tutors

Participate in at least one tutorial session and post a reflection on the Virtual

Studio

Tutor Portfolios Much like the teaching portfolios GTAs and faculty are expected to submit as part of their

continued professional development, your tutoring portfolio will give you the space to reflect

on your tutoring practices and the pedagogical perspectives that inform them. Further,

writing centers exist in many colleges and universities, and Writing Center studies is a

substantial growing area of scholarly work. If Writing Center work is an interest of yours,

having a tutor portfolio will help you both in the job search and in framing your position in

Writing Center research.

For the Fall semester portion of your tutor portfolio, please upload the following to the

Virtual Studio by December 15, 2010:

1. An updated curriculum vita.

2. A tutoring reflection essay (3-5 pages), which provides a narrative of your experiences

in the Writing Studio for Fall semester, and gives a sense of what you are doing in your

tutorials and your sense of growth and development professionally as a tutor, including

areas you've identified for yourself to work on improving or experimenting with, and what

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you believe your successes have been (consider using your weekly Virtual Studio posts and

your observations to guide your reflection).

More on Tutoring Reflections

The Tutor Reflection provides the opportunity for you to think about your best tutorials, the

methods you've found most successful, and when you've felt happy and satisfied with being

a tutor, whether for a face-to-face session or an online one. Additionally, the written

reflection can help you explore areas you feel less satisfied with and that you specifically

want to identify as areas for growth and exploring. You can puzzle through sessions that

seemed less successful or satisfying and consider why things didn't go well and what you

might like to change or new questions these session raise for you in terms of teaching.

Ultimately, the tutoring reflection essay helps you tell a story about your teaching practices

for a single semester, and then you may use that narrative to craft your theoretical and

philosophical identity for future teaching philosophy statements.

For the Spring semester portion of your tutor portfolio, please upload the following to the

Virtual Studio by December 15, 2010:

1. An updated curriculum vita (if anything has changed from the Fall semester).

2. A tutoring philosophy statement (no more than 2 pages), which may include both

narrative and scholarly citations and gives a portrait of who you are as a tutor based on

your beliefs, practices, and how you are influenced by the theories or models of other

scholars and teachers.

More on Tutoring Philosophies

Usually, a philosophy statement is no more than two pages, and while it may include

anecdotes, generally it focuses not so much on what you have done, but on what you hope

to do and how you position yourself within the field and professional conversations about

teaching practices. Also, the philosophy statement may use metaphor or analogy in

describing yourself as a teacher and how you envision the role of yourself and the student.

If you are doing a teaching portfolio, the same statement for classroom teaching can be

used with an additional paragraph or two that addresses your one-on-one teaching of

writing.

Uploading Documents

If you need assistance uploading your portfolio, please ask Andrew, Oriana, or Jennifer to

help you. Also, the reason we are posting them online is so everyone can view them to both

see models of these genres, to see the breadth of experiences and styles in writing about

teaching and tutoring, and to respond to each other and receive feedback from your peers.

So when you have spare time between tutorials or during any of your shifts, please read the

posted portfolio pieces and write your reactions to the authors. Dr. B will view the portfolios

throughout the Spring semester and will email feedback to you individually before

Maymester. For those of you who are doing teaching portfolios, feel free to post yours on our Portfolio page for feedback. These posted portfolios will be educational for new graduate

students as well as for our current staff.

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Roundtables Continuing the tradition of conversation and social space for graduate assistants to explore

their professional experiences and interests, Dr. Burmester and the rest of the

administrative staff will host Friday “Roundtables” off-campus. Attendance is optional, but

everyone is welcome to come and talk to each other about courses, writing, tutoring,

administrative aspects of the Studio and/or the graduate school experience, and otherwise

enjoy some coffee and spontaneous talk. The first will be September 24th from 6:00-

8:00pm. We will let you know the location of this gathering in the coming weeks. Check the

Virtual Studio calendar for dates and locations.

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Working with Student Writing:

Conversation, Collaboration, Improvisation

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing”

Dale Carnegie

The Basics: Local and Global Responses to Writing

Global response asks you to examine the writing as a whole and the elements that effect

the overall communication of the writer’s ideas. That is, global comments reflect elements

such as the thesis/focus, organization, audience, purpose, organization, and development.

These are also referred to as Higher Order Concerns,

Local response looks at the details of the writing, such as sentence structure, paragraph

coherency, and diction. These are also referred to as Lower Order Concerns.

Proofreading and Line-editing are the final steps a writer takes before presenting his or

her work to the audience. This entails examining writing for general grammatical and

mechanical errors such punctuation and spelling. These are sentence level rhetorical

approaches used by writers after accomplishing the final stages of content revision. These

are also included in Lower Order Concerns.

According to Ross MacDonald, author of The Master Tutor (1994), a tutor is “Someone who

enters into a teaching and learning relationship with another” (6), which involves

experimenting with communication strategies and using reciprocal talking and listening to

create new knowledge and find new ideas for the writer to explore and develop. Both parties

in the tutorial take on the alternating roles of teaching and learning.

The Conversational Model

Directive vs. Non-directive or Informative- vs. Inquiry-based tutoring

Instructional: the tutor identifies errors in the student’s paper and fixes them for the

student with little explanation for the choices in revision that are made

Minimalist: entails very little interaction between the tutor and the actual paper that she is

working with. Instead, the tutor answers student questions and concerns about writing

while providing minimal textual input

Socratic: involves a tutor that neither directly addresses the students’ papers and nor

directly answers the students’ questions. Instead, the tutor constructs leading questions to

guide students to their own recognition of the weaknesses in their writing and how best to

remedy those weaknesses

Conversational: prompts the tutor to use a combination of all of these methods, focusing

on cultivating the conversation with the student in order to facilitate her writing. Avoiding

purely directive instruction, although implementing a directive method when necessary, the

conversational model of tutoring is a less formulaic and more organic approach to tutoring.

This method relies on the tutor to determine the appropriate level of directive and non-

directive techniques to serve individual student’s needs

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According to Ross MacDonald, author of The Master Tutor (1994), a tutor is “Someone who

enters into a teaching and learning relationship with another” (6), which involves

experimenting with communication strategies and using reciprocal talking and listening to

create new knowledge and find new ideas for the writer to explore and develop. Both parties

in the tutorial take on the alternating roles of teaching and learning.

Working with Student Writing

Often you will have students come to the Writing Studio with papers that teachers have

already commented on. Students often ask us to decipher these comments and explain how

to account for the concerns that instructors have recognized. Tutors are encouraged to

explain to students that their instructors are the best source for explaining in detail the

feedback they have provided on the paper. However, do your best to brainstorm with

students about how best to address the feedback or how to clearly ask their instructors

questions about comments that are unclear. In doing this, please be as diplomatic as

possible, avoiding any temptation to criticize the instructor in the process of clarifying the

comments on the students' papers.

Related to this, we ask that you refrain from writing on student papers in tutorial sessions.

Instead, allow the students to make notes on their own papers if they would like reminders

of the feedback you have collaborated on. However, should students be brainstorming or

trying to clarify a major focus of their papers, you are encouraged to take notes for the

student on a separate piece of paper that they can refer to later of you think this will be

helpful. Again, your own instincts are appropriate to count on in tutorial sessions, but it is

important that we do not re-appropriate students writing and make it our own in the

tutoring session, and avoiding writing on our students' papers can do just that.

Vitamin P

Several research studies have revealed that students desire to revise papers that they like,

and that other readers like, so positive feedback and a solid dose of praise can be far more

effective than criticism at times, especially early in the writing process and before final

editing—not false or empty praise, but really pointing out what works in the text and how

strengths can be expanded to the full text.

Respond as a Reader, Not an Expert

Ask questions and give your reactions to specific aspects or features of the student’s ideas

or text. For example, instead of evaluating (“This sentence doesn’t make sense.”) you are

responding (“I find this sentence confusing. What did you mean?” Or “What were you trying

to communicate here?” Or “What do you want your audience to think or feel after reading

this sentence?” Or, turn the paper over and say “What do you most want to say? Just tell

me and then we can compare it to what you wrote.”)

Improvisation

Improvisation is an important technique we rely on as tutors to address student concerns in

tutorials. We ask that you resist the urge to come to every session with a set plan on how to

address specific students or specific problems in their writing. Instead, allow yourself to get

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to know the student to understand how best to serve her specific needs. Then, rely on your

instincts to implement appropriate pedagogical strategies in the tutorial session. Think

about multiple ways to communicate your feedback, using the variety of tools available in

the writing studio, to best communicate to each individual student appropriately. You may

read the student's paper aloud, have the student read the paper aloud, or read the paper

together silently, whatever suits both of you in a way that encourages the most

collaboration on how best to improve the writing.

Time Constraints

Although improvisation is an important technique to cultivate as a tutor, remember that you

are under time constraints in each session. Session will be 25mins long for undergraduates

and 50 mins long for graduate students. Consider ways in which you are using this time

most efficiently and productively. Often spending a few mins to get to know the student

prior to discussion and ending the session by constructing a plan of action are effective

ways of tarting and finishing a session, but we encourage you to find what is comfortable for

you in this regard. In addition, encourage students to return to the writing studio for future

visits, as we have found this is more effective in improving the overall quality of the

students' writing than a single visit may be.

Grammar

Often when students come into the writing studio they claim they would like to work on

grammar. This is often because students do not have the vocabulary to explain the higher

order concerns that are more impactful on the clarity of their writing than grammar may be.

However, if grammar is something that needs to be addressed in a student paper, we

encourage you to keep in mind that, above all, we hope to teach students strategies for the

future to detect these errors in their own papers instead of relying on the writing studio to

edit their papers and fix these errors for them. Therefore using the handbooks both present

in the writing studio and available online is a helpful way to show students how they can

remember to implement grammar correction in their own writing for future papers. This

then encourages our main goal to assist students in becoming better writers, not just to be

facilitators for better writing.

Assignment Sheets

We try to emphasize to our students in every venue available to us the importance of

bringing their assignment sheets to tutorials . We encourage you to look at these

assignment sheets and discuss their contents with the students that you work with in order

to make sure that you both are clear on the instructor's expectations for the piece of writing

that the students are working on. However, often times students forget to bring these

assignment sheets or, unfortunately, have not been provided one by the instructor in the

first place. If this is the case, ask careful questions to get as much information as possible

from the students about their understanding of the assignment.

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Hard Copy vs. Electronic Copies of Student Papers in Face to Face

Tutoring

Students are asked to bring in a hard copy of their assignment and assignment sheet, but

often bring their jump drives or an electronic copy of these documents to display on their

computers. If students bring an electronic copy of their papers, it is at your discretion

whether you would like to read it in that format, as we understand many tutors find it

difficult to tutor while a student makes changes to their papers on a laptop computer. While

we encourage you to still hold the session, you may tell the student that you would prefer to

have a conversation about their writing more generally instead of about the actual

document they have written. Encourage these students to being a physical copy of their

paper for future visits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Observation of Two Tutorials~~~~~~~~~~~

"Writing Tutoring--The Wrong Way"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWs1JkpLmQI

"Writing Tutoring--The Right Way"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqVb_JTOVaU

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Bibliography

Boquet, Elizabeth H. “’Our Little Secret’: A History of Writing Centers, Pre- to Post-Open

Admissions.” College, Composition, and Communication. 50.3 (1999): 463-482.

Bruffe, Kenneth A. “Collaborative Learning and the ‘Conversation of Mankind.’” College

English 46 (1984): 635-52

------------------. Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the

Authority of Knowledge. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 1993.

Carino, Peter. “Theorizing Writing Centers: An Uneasy Task.” Dialogue: A Journal for Writing

Specialists 2.1 (1995): 23-37.

-----------------. "Power and Authority in Peer Tutoring." The Center Will Hold: Critical

Perspectives on Writing Center Scholarship. Ed. Michael A. Pemberton and Joyce

Kinkead. Logan: Utah S U P, 2003. 96-113.

Ede, Lisa. “Writing as a Social Process: A Theoretical Foundation for Writing Centers?” The

Writing Center Journal 9.2 (1989): 3-13.

Gardner, Phillip and William Ramsey. “The Polyvalent Mission of Writing Centers.” The

Writing Center Journal, 25.1 (2005): 25-42.

Geller, Anne E, et al. The Everyday Writing Center: A Community of Practice. Logan: Utah

State UP, 2007.

Harris, Muriel. “Collaboration Is Not Collaboration Is Not Collaboration: Writing Center

Tutorials vs. Peer-Response Groups.” The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing Center

Theory and Practice. 1984. Ed. Robert Barnett and Jacob Blumner. Boston:

Longman, 2000. 272-87.

Hobson, Eric H. “Writing Center Pedagogy.” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Eds. Gary

Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. 165-182.

-------------. ,ed. Wiring the Writing Center. Logan: Utah State UP, 1998.

Kilborn, Judith. “Cultural Diversity in the Writing Center: Defining Ourselves and Our

Challenges.” The Writing Lab Newsletter 19.1 (1994):7-10.

Kinkead, Joyce A., and Jeanette G. Harris, eds. Writing Centers in Context: Twelve Case

Studies. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1993.

Lunsford, Andrea. “Collaboration, Control, and the Idea of the Writing Center.” The Writing

Center Journal 12.1 (1991):3-10.

Meyer, Emily, and Louise Z. Smith. The Practical Tutor. New York: Oxford UP, 1987.

North, Stephen M. “The Idea of a Writing Center.” College English 46.5 (1984): 433-46.

-----------------. “Revisiting the Idea of the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal.

15.1 (1994): 7-19.

Shamoon, Linda K. and Deborah H. Burns. “A Critique of Pure Tutoring.” The Writing Center

Journal 15.2 (1995): 134-51.

Trimbur, John. “Peer Tutoring: A Contradiction in Terms.” The Writing Center Journal 7.2

(1987): 21-8.

Straub Richard, and Ronald F. Lunsford. 12 Readers Reading: Responding to College

Student Writing. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 1995.

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Tutoring Online: An Introductory Three P’s

The Pilot Online tutoring is a recent addition to the Writing Studio. We piloted the program, under the

direction of Alice Myatt and Juliette Kitchens, during the summer of 2009, and went live, so

to speak, that fall.

The Program We currently offer online chat and email sessions, or what are often termed synchronous

and asynchronous tutoring. Here are a few practical distinctions between the two:

Synchronous online tutoring involves the tutor and student conversing with each

other in real time via a video and/or chat-enabled program. We use Microsoft Live

Messenger, which students have free access to through their student email accounts. We

will talk in more detail about this interface during the extended training for online tutors,

but for those of you who have used AIM or GChat, Messenger functions very similarly.

Students email their documents to tutors so that both the tutor and student can look at

the document at the same time during the session.

Asynchronous online tutoring involves the student-tutor exchange via email. Thus

far, this has involved students email their writing projects to an account we set up

specifically for that purpose, [email protected], and tutors reading through and

responding to these writing projects using Word’s Track Changes’ comment function. In

the instructions to students on our website, we also request that they include either an

electronic copy of their assignment sheet (or a brief description of the assignment) and

an explanation of the kind of feedback they would like to receive in their initial email.

The Practice The following are some practical distinctions between F2F and Online Tutoring based on the

above descriptions and implications for the Conversational Model:

Neither the student nor the tutor can see each other in the traditional sense during

synchronous and asynchronous sessions (as we currently have them set up in the

Studio), and the kind of information we receive and provide via non-verbal

communication (e.g. eye contact, smiling, laughing, shrugging shoulders, sweating,

etc.) isn’t available to us.

So, it can be a bit tricky when figuring out how to establish our ethos as tutors and

‘reading’ that of the students’.

Given this lack of non-verbal communication, as well as the often built-in expectation

of a quick online “chat,” engaging the writer in a conversation about her writing

rather than simply providing her with answers to her questions (which can often

evolve into proscriptive/directive commentary) is a complex task.

During synchronous sessions both students and tutors have the ability to ask

questions in real time, with the possibility of clarifying confusion regarding the

questions or their responses in short order. Since students may or may not respond

to a tutor’s asynchronous commentary on the student’s writing, there is more

pressure to be clear.

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Mentor Responsibilities

Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in this mentoring program. In order to maintain

the high standards that you all have created because of your pedagogy and community

interaction within the Writing Studio space, we look forward to your assistance in making this

year's Writing Studio staff as successfully engaged as you have been.

As part of your mentoring responsibilities, you will be assigned 3 new tutors who will come to

you with questions and concerns about their experiences as writing tutors. While we will be

available and accessible to you as well as the rest of the staff to the best of our abilities, we rely

on you all to act as a liaison between us and your mentees so that we can be sure they are

receiving the support they need as they enter into this new and exciting experience.

Observations

Over the course of the first three weeks that the Writing Studio is open (before September 17th),

new tutors will be observing your tutoring sessions, as you are experienced tutors that they can

learn from. Mentees are then required to post on the Virtual Studio some reflections on their

observations of you. In addition, you should observe at least one of your mentees and post an

observation of that one the Virtual Studio as well. This observation of your mentee should be

done sometime during the Fall semester.

Virtual Studio Online Forum

In addition, once a week over the course of the first 3 weeks that the Writing Studio is open, you

are asked to post discussion topics and reflections to the Virtual Studio ever Monday by

midnight. These can be drawn from the observations or from other experiences you have had

while tutoring in the Writing Studio. Mentees are required to respond to these discussion topics

by Friday at midnight. Mentors are encouraged to remind mentees of this task. After the first

three weeks (starting September 20th), mentees are asked to post once a week about their own

tutoring experiences, sparking conversation and discussion that you will respond to. These posts

from the mentees will also be due every Friday by midnight and you should respond sometime in

the following week.

Roundtables

Continuing the tradition of conversation and social space for graduate assistants to explore their

professional experiences and interests, Dr. Burmester and the rest of the administrative board

will host Friday “Roundtables” off-campus. As mentors, we would appreciate your attendance

and ask that you encourage your mentors to attend as well (although attendance is not required at

the functions). We hope that these roundtables will be an opportunity for us all to gather and talk

to each other about courses, writing, tutoring, administrative aspects of the Studio and/or the

graduate school experience, and otherwise enjoy some coffee and spontaneous talk. The first will

be September 24th from 6:00-8:00pm. We will let you know the location of this gathering in the

coming weeks. Check the Virtual Studio calendar for dates and locations.

.

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Writing Studio Workshop

Assignment 1

Students are able to access your tutor bio when scheduling appointments online. This bio

contains background information including educational goals, teaching and tutoring experiences,

as well as any strengths or preferences you may have in regards to working with students on

certain kinds of writing. For your assignment, you will construct a bio of approximately 100

words that explains these elements to students.

Here are two sample bios:

Jennifer Forsthoefel has a B.A. in English and a MEd in Secondary English Education from the

University of Florida. She completed her M.A. in Literary Studies from Georgia State University

and is currently taking courses for her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition. Her research interests

include composition, popular culture, pedagogy, feminism, and writing center studies. Jennifer

has taught (and continues to teach) Engl 1101, Engl 1102, and Regent’s essay writing courses.

When not pouring over her books and student papers, Jennifer enjoys Mexican food, college

football (GO GATORS!!), and her bulldog Archimedes.

Oriana is a foreigner in a foreign land. Or at least she was during the two years she spent in

Japan teaching English in elementary and junior high schools. As a PhD student in rhetoric and

composition, she now enjoys introducing her students to the rites and rituals of college

composition and providing a critical, supportive audience to those she works within the Writing

Studio. Even before Japan or her current adventures in teaching, Oriana traveled around a bit

ideologically, moving from a bachelor's degree in English and psychology to a master's in

women's studies. The underlying connection, or compass (if you'll pardon the continued use of a

hackneyed metaphor) is her interest in the intersections between language and culture,

specifically as they relate to identity construction and individual agency. As such, she takes a

developmental approach to composition pedagogy and utilizes popular culture as a jumping off

point for discussion and analysis. In other words, her goal is to make writing appear both fun

and useful and to equip her students with the skills necessary to spread the word.

This bio should be sent to [email protected] by Monday August 23rd

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Fall 2010 Online Tutor Training

Intro and Tutor Technology Our online tutoring service started as a pilot program funded by a grant in the summer of

2009. With the grant money, we were able to purchase seven Macbook Pros for the tutors

who selected to participate in the program.

Now that we have a larger physical space staff and so many tutors interested in and capable

of taking on online tutoring, we have more online tutors than Macbook Pros. This may seem

like a real downer that you won't be receiving one of our laptops to do your online tutoring

on, but we've chosen software for the online chat session that you can access as long as

you are in front of a computer with internet access and Microsoft Word 2003 or newer.

Chat Sessions Downloading and Using Microsoft Live Messenger http://www.writingstudio.gsu.edu/personalcomp.html

Using the Microsoft Live Messenger web client in Hotmail http://www.writingstudio.gsu.edu/gsucomp.html

Scroll down to instruction #3.

Policies and Instructions for Students Regarding Chat Sessions. http://www.writingstudio.gsu.edu/online.html

The Chat Session Itself Check what the student has said about their assignment/document on WC Online before

the session begins to get a sense of where to start with the student.

Sign in to Microsoft Live Messenger using your Live ID and password.

Greet the student once she has signed into Microsoft Live Messenger through her email

and started chatting with you.

If the student has not started chatting with you by one or two minutes after the session

has started, add the student to your contact list and start chatting with her, as she may

not have read the instructions for chat sessions on the Writing Studio website.

Ask the student any additional questions necessary to understand what kind of feedback

she's looking for.

Either continue discussing the work or read through the sections the student would like

feedback on and then continue discussing the student's work with the student.

To view the student’s document, ask them to email it to your Live ID email address.

When the conversation is done make sure to suggest to the student that she save a

copy of the session by copy and pasting it into a Word document. This way she will have

a way to refer back to what was discussed during the session. Also mention to the

student that you will also be saving a copy of the session as part of the Writing Studio’s

documentation policy.

Though we encourage you to use the actual Microsoft Live Messenger program (not the

one accessible via email) for your chat sessions, you can save the chat session in one of

two ways.

Option 1

In the chat window at the top right of the menu tab, click this

button:

In the dropdown menu, click File> Save As

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Name document in the following format studentlastnameDDMMYYYY

After you have saved the conversation, go to www.dropbox.com and login using

[email protected] and coffee976 as your username and password.

Click on the folder entitled “WriteChat Transcripts FA10,” which will bring you to a

list of folders for each online tutor for the fall semester.

Click on the folder labeled with your name, and then click “Upload.”

Doing this will prompt you to choose a file you would like to upload, so please

select the file you just saved of the conversation.

If you do look at a document from the student during your session, also save and

upload that document using the same file name, plus “StudentDocument” so that

it is easy to match up the chat session and the document discussed during the

session.

Option 2

o If you are unable to use the Microsoft Live Messenger program and just access it

through your student email account, please copy and past the chat session into a

Word document, save it to a location you’ve designated for your online tutoring files

with a file name that includes the month, day, and year of the session.

o After you have saved the conversation, go to www.dropbox.com and login using

[email protected] and coffee976 as your username and password.

o Click on the folder entitled “WriteChat Transcripts FA10,” which will bring you to a list

of folders for each online tutor for the fall semester.

o Click on the folder labeled with your name, and then click “Upload.”

o Doing this will prompt you to choose a file you would like to upload, so please select

the file you just saved of the conversation.

o If you do look at a document from the student during your session, also save and

upload that document using the same file name, plus “StudentDocument” so that it

is easy to match up the chat session and the document discussed during the session.

Email Sessions Policies and Instructions for Students Regarding Email Sessions http://www.writingstudio.gsu.edu/email.html

Checking the Online Tutoring Email Account To log in to this account:

Go to the Georgia State University website.

Click on “Email.”

Click on “Email for Employees.”

Use engcfw and reports as your username and password.

The Email Session Itself Check the [email protected] inbox to see if there have been any student

submissions.

If there has, open the email to see what the student explains about the document

they’ve sent.

If the student has explained the assignment she is working on and what kind of

feedback they would like (not proofreading or editing):

o Check your WC Online schedule to see if you have any available appointments.

o Make an appointment with yourself for the next available time, and in the comment

box, include the name of the student whose work you are responding to and that

you are responding to the students work as an email session.

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o Then, during the time you’ve allotted on WC Online, read through the student’s

submission and insert feedback using the comment function in Word’s Track

Changes.

o Save the document in a folder you’ve created specifically for email sessions, and

then email this document to the student, along with an overview of the kind of

feedback you gave in your comments.

o After this, make sure to upload the document to Dropbox following the directions

outlined above.

If the student has not explained the assignment she is working on or the kind of

feedback (not proofreading or editing) she would like, then respond to the students

email by requesting this information.

Make sure to explain that the student will not receive feedback on her submission until

she has offered this information.

Using Track Changes Open up a word document on your computer (using either a Mac or Windows operating

system).

A Day in the Life on an Online Tutor . . . Check your scheduled appointments.

Email students who have made chat appointments, reiterating what they need to do in

order to start the session.

Check the [email protected] email account for email submissions.

Respond to email submissions that do not include the required info and schedule

appointments with yourself for those submissions that have included the required

information.

Chat with students scheduled for chat appointments.

Read through and respond to email submissions that you’ve scheduled yourself to read.

If you have no chat or email sessions scheduled . . .

Log onto Drop Box, read through previous chat sessions and post responses/questions

to the Virtual Studio.

Post questions/food for thought on the Virtual Studio related to your own tutoring

experiences.

Work on your tutor portfolio.

Your Turn Pair up with another tutor and take turns playing the “student” and “tutor” and using

your tutor bios as the work being discussed.

The student should log into her student email account and add the tutor’s email to her

list of contacts.

The tutor should sign in using the downloaded Microsoft live Messenger program, and

add the student to her list of contacts using the student’s GSU (student) email address.

Make sure to save the chat session in your Dropbox folder as “Practice-Session-8-25-10”

or “Practice-Session-8-27-10.”

Your Turn, Part II

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Take about 10 minutes (shorter than the usual 30) to read through the following essay

and comment using Track Changes comment function.

Also, pretend that the student has email this to the [email protected] address and

explained that this was a rough draft of a personal narrative essay and that the

assignment was to more specifically focus on a transformative experience in her early

adult life. She’s concerned that she may not actually be telling a story but is not sure

how to break out of the five-paragraph essay format.

“How I Spent My Summer Vacation”

I spent my summer vacation in three ways: working, partying, and resting. Each one

of these ways helped me mature in different ways: mentally, physically, and

psychologically.

The most important way I spent my summer vacation was working at McDonalds. My

work consisted of three things: taking orders, cleaning up, and training new employees.

Taking orders can be broken down into three things:listening to what the customer wants to

have (like hamburgers or fries or a Diet Coke), riting down what the customer wants to

order (like a shake or Egg McMuffin or milk, whichever the case may be), and giving the

customer what it is he or she ordered, which could be any of the above.

Cleaning up was the second part of working at McDonald’s and it took three forms:

wiping the tables with a damp cloth, taking out the garbage, or brushing off the counter

with a brush and water with Joy in it, or with a towel, or with the brush with Joy and a

towel.

Training new employees was my most responsible job and it consisted of three parts:

telling them how to take orders from customers, telling them how to clean the tables with

Joy and a towel if necessary, and assisting them in preparing themselves to be one of

assistance to other new employees if there are any.

All three parts of my work matured me as it took mental quickness to catch the

orders if they were not decided and it took strength to wash the tables if they were crusty

with eggs or old Coke and it took growing mental and psychological maturity to introduce

new employees into this work.

Partying was the second way I spent my summer vacation. I partied in three

different ways: listening to records with friends, drinking beer with friends, or partying at

the beach with friends.

Listening to records with friends, three different groups were heard: R.E.M, The New

Kids on the Block, and our favorite, Bon Jovi. Mentally it improved me to follow the music.

Physically this helped too if we danced to it. And psychologically it is relaxing to hear the

three groups above when you have worked hard all week.

Drinking beer with friends was the second way of partying, which might overlap with

the first. We would drink either of three kinds of beer: Bud, Coors, or my friend brought

Shanghai beer once which the bottle smelled like cardboard inside after you were finished

drinking it all out of the bottle. Drinking these three kinds of beer helped me grow mentally

because it allowed me to relax which allowed my mind to expand and grow. In spite of what

you may think, drinking this beer helped my physically because beer has carbohydrates,

and since I am a runner (440 yds) I need carbohydrates. This is called “called carbohydrate

loading” and it is definitely recommended for people who run distances, and I run distances

to train for the 440 yards, although you did not maybe know that you have to. And the

three types of beer helped me psychologically because I am tense after a long (eight hours

with only 30 minutes off for lunch) stretch at McDonald’s, and the beer makes you relax.

The third way I spent my summer vacation was in that I rested. I rested in three

ways: I lay on my bed and listened to my records, I watch the TV, and I slept.

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When I lay on my bed and listened to records, they would be Bon Jovi, or R.E.M, or a

third group of my choice at the time. I would sometimes follow the music in my mind. I

would sometimes just have it in the background as I was thinking of things that happened

last night. I would sometimes just sleep while the music was going.

I would also rest by watching TV, either Roseanne, or Cosby, or a third program of

my choice at that particular time. I would watch the program to find the plot or to enjoy the

character development or to notice the symbolism. This last one may not sound like resting

to you, but I find relaxation in light mental strains.

My rest was accomplished in a third way by sleep. I work very hard and I party a lot

so that sleep is definitely essential for me mentally, physically, and psychologically. I sleep

in three different places: in the chair my dad sits in which I sit in when he’s not home just

watching the TV sometimes, and in my bed when I’m listening to one of the three groups

mentioned above, and in my bed at night when there is no music. This sleep helps me in

the three aspects I have already mentioned above.

I feel that this summer I spent my vacation in three ways that will definitely help me

mature mentally, physically, and psychologically. This was done through work and partying

and resting. I can strongly recommend this for everyone.