Well, this is it. We’re all officially on the schedule for next week, ready to take consultations. I’m nervous and excited. I can’t wait to get the first one under my belt--I feel like, no matter how that one goes, at least after the first one, I’ll have confirmation that I can do it, even if I don’t do it well at first.
A couple things are making me feel better going into this week. Last week in class, we talked about dealing with unfamiliar subjects, and I had a bit of an epiphany. It’s a pretty obvious concept, and it’s been said before in 303, but like most moments of clarity for me, it didn’t hit me until later. Every consultation is based on some of the same guiding principles. The way you talk to an engineering student is based on the same ideas as how you talk to an English major. Some of the same thoughts apply to a consultation with an ELL student as apply a native speaker. A similar mindset is needed for a reluctant student as is needed for a talkative student. All of them come back to our go-to strategies: asking probing, engaging, open-ended questions, being an active listener, and trying to leave a student empowered as a writer.
Of course, this is tempered by the fact that every consultation is different. So, the degree to which certain strategies will work is going to differ in every circumstance, and the ways we employ our strategies will look wildly different. But ultimately, we’re still just going back to those guiding ideas of conversation. That helps me feel more prepared for consultations next week--I might not be equipped to “tutor” an ELL student in language acquisition, and I might not be ready to talk about quantum physics, but I am prepared to listen actively, ask engaging questions, and talk about writing.
The other thing that has me feeling more confident has been watching other consultants. They’re always willing to ask questions, especially during email consultations when it’s not keeping someone waiting. I think watching--and often participating--in this group support has driven home to me that we don’t consult in a vacuum necessarily. When a consultant has a rough experience, they have a supportive and edifying audience that will help them build new strategies for other situations. Even if we’re not asking questions during a consultation, we’re having debrief sessions and keeping the conversation going about our “craft.” This attitude relieves the pressure of having to be “an expert” because everyone else is, or of having to muddle through consultations in a silo.
My strategy going into my first consultation (which, let’s be honest, may just be out the window if I’m nervous and not thinking about it) is going to be pretty simple. I want to make sure not to blow past the pre-textual stage, because I think my consultation style will be based a lot on casual relating--AND because I think starting with the “how are yous” will take the edge off my nervousness and get me started. I want to make sure and ask those open-ended questions at the beginning that will help me figure out where to try and focus the consultation, and make sure I’m setting an agenda with the student. Then I want to move into the meat of the discussion. At this point, it’ll be important for me to watch how much I’m talking in relation to how much the student is talking--I know I have a tendency to talk too much, or to only be formulating my response while someone else is talking instead of actively listening. Finally, I want to make sure I wrap up the consultation smoothly, by keeping an eye on the clock somewhat and writing helpful notes on the orange sheet to send with them. Throughout, I really want to focus on encouraging the writer, and taking an active interest in what they’re working on.
Here goes!
Well, there you go, Emily. I'm pretty sure you don't need me anymore. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right--we absolutely have some guiding principles that shape our approach. The rest is about fine tuning the kinds of questions we ask. The challenge is, though, that we need to have faith in this approach. That's a bit trickier than it sounds. In my 201 class I have them read an essay about the difference between choking and panicking (side note: choking is better than panicking...). Our ideal interactions with writers wouldn't involve either choking or panicking. However, when we're faced with a challenging session, our instincts will often press us towards choking or panicking. We need to back off of that instinct--we need to revert back to the training, back to our guiding principles. This is so much easier said than done. Remembering that, though, can definitely prevent panicking.
This week we'll be discussing some guiding principles about working with multilingual writers. I think you'll find that everything we've already discussed applies. A writer is a writer is a writer. Yep and yep.
Here's to a heckuva first week on the schedule!
mk