Journal 6
Journal 6
On Tuesday, I met with the ENGL 121 student and we started preparing for her next major assignment. We reviewed what went well and what didn't last time, and then we looked forward to prepare for our next meeting. On Friday, I met with my other ENGL 121 student. We went over time management strategies, some grammar, and started revising some of her discussion posts. I assisted two new students for half an hour each, both of which I helped revise rough drafts for.
Summary: I've enjoyed forming a foundation with my ENGL 121 students, and I have enjoyed fostering connections with each new student I've met even if they're brief. I am starting to get a better grasp of the different skill levels I should expect from each student and how I can best assist them as individuals. I am also increasingly exposed to different subjects and their professors. The sheer variety of assignments is not something I initially expected, but it is something I am becoming better versed in.
Challenges: My regular Fridays ENGL 121 student expressed concerns over falling behind and her struggles with stress. As a regular form of support, I hope that I can give her some measure of confidence and calm in her routine, but I also tried to encourage her to reach out to her professors and to campus resources. Since I plan on becoming a college professor in the future, student anxieties are something I will have to become familiar with, but I was a little shaken and concerned for her. It is not easy to be unable to provide them the help they need, and to only be able to direct them elsewhere, but sometimes directing students to their other resources is the best course of action. I did find myself thinking about what I could have said or done differently afterwards, but I tried to look forwards instead towards our next session. We did go over relaxation techniques, how to schedule in self-care, and how to reach out to her professors to let them know her concerns and struggles, and I also tried my best to reinforce how normal her struggles are and how she should not feel alone or isolated in her difficulties, but I think if next week she continues to feel overwhelmed, I should help her book a counseling appointment.
Ideas or theories: So far, my initial goal of gaining a broader variety of experiences in tutoring has made advancements. Not only have I helped students from all sorts of different skill levels, I've also assisted students in countless course subjects for different kinds of assignments. One thing that this experience has reinforced in me is the understanding of how important English skills are. While they might seem relevant only for completing writing assignments, reading skills have continued to play a role in all sorts of college expectations. Ranging from understanding the instructions in the WPJ to understanding what exactly an assignment is asking for, English skills play a central role in many of the students' ability to succeed in their courses. This also suggests to me that, to some extent, some professors also need a little bit of work in their own English skills to clarify their assignment guidelines. While advanced students might quickly pick up on the expectations associated with their respective assignments, I have had several students who struggled to understand exactly what an assignment was asking for and struggled to even get started. Even I struggled with understanding some essay prompts, though I was lacking significant context. For greater equity amongst a larger group of students, clearer assignment details might be one overlooked area in college.
As college has moved increasingly online, I've seen an increased access to online tutoring as seen in the URWC and its Zoom tutoring. Now, files can be shared through the campus Center's email instantaneously. Appointments are also booked online as well as in-person. We also depend on digital logs to keep track of what we covered with our ENGL 121 students, when I work, and to recap what I learned across the week (as in this portfolio). Generative AI has had a stronger impact on the student side rather than the work side. I have noticed a few students coming in with generated work that they did not likely produce. While it has, thankfully, been a very low amount, and I obviously have no guarantee whether they did or did not use generative AI, I am fairly sure that they were at least not the producers of their work. As this is only what I'm seeing from people actively coming to seek help in their writing, I am likely only seeing the very tip of the larger problem in the college campus as a whole. At the moment, the major impacts are likely to be less need for my assistance (in terms of students actively seeking help in the URWC when they can get feedback from generative chatbots), a greater discrepancy between what was produced and what the student actually understands about their writing, and in some instances a greater reliance on another technological innovation in providing feedback. To expand on that point, in the future, generative AI might actually be an expected tool for a tutor to use. It could help brainstorm ideas, point out errors in writing more quickly, or even provide examples of whatever content we're covering. Right now, the best preparation is an open mind. I'm trying to go into this with the perspective that I know nothing until it is proven, and that what I do know is liable to change at any moment. This way, I can hopefully stay on my feet during the changing times.