✓ Reflect on the emerging Writing Mentor practice
✓ Reflect on the emerging Writing Mentor practice
Even though “we will learn when we are ready to learn, not before,” as Cooper et al. (2000) point out, I believe that effective educators use thoughtful pedagogical approaches to inspire their students to learn when it is necessary. For example, the instructor for the calculus course I enrolled in during my first semester at ASU was proactive and approachable — which ultimately made me want to learn calculus despite my disinterest in math. As a Writing Mentor, I strived to offer mindful and effective writing support by considering the needs of the students I assisted in ENG 102: First-Year Composition. Therefore, I used mindfulness as a tool to enable collaboration and my English proficiency as a tool to enable effective insight-driven writing assistance.
As Dr. Linda Brodkey suggests in “Writing on the Bias,” “[learning] how to write follows from wanting to write [...]” — a key insight that summarizes my understanding of knowledge acquisition (Brodkey). Since a desire to learn often precedes learning, I made an effort to instill the desire to learn in the students I assisted by presenting myself in a friendly yet scholarly manner through course announcements on Canvas — a learning management system that allows students to access essential course information and submit assignments. Additionally, I graded and provided meaningful feedback on discussion and peer review assignments within two days of the student deadlines. All the while, I made attempts to enable student success by hosting revision workshops and encouraging the students to reach out to me or the course instructor for writing support. Ultimately, I maintained a pleasant and professional demeanor to promote student participation, engagement, and success.
In my first announcement to the students in ENG 102: First-Year Composition, I introduced myself as the Writing Mentor for the course, described my role, shared ways in which I would provide writing support, and told the students a little about my personal and academic background. My goal was to establish my credibility as a Writing Mentor, develop rapport with the students, and establish myself as a resource to help students succeed in the course and grow as writers.
“Hello! My name is Peter, and I will be serving as your Writing Mentor throughout your ENG 102: First-Year Composition experience. Essentially, I am a course-embedded peer tutor who will extend writing support by providing feedback on some of your course assignments and answering questions you may have about the course and assignment expectations. I will also be hosting writing labs and revision workshops in the relatively near future, to provide personalized writing support via synchronous and asynchronous means. Details on my upcoming writing labs and revision workshops will be coming soon. Ultimately, I am a resource to help you succeed in this course and grow as a writer. I view my role as relying on both my English competency and my interpersonal skills. I would consider myself proficient in both domains and would hope that you view me as an approachable, accessible, and reliable form of support.” — excerpt from my Introduction from your Writing Mentor announcement (ENG 102)