Documents for consultants
Below are descriptions of several documents written by
consultants, students, and the director. They will give you several
helpful perspectives plus tips and advice on consulting. You'll find the
following subjects covered:
- General tips and advice
- Reports of consultations written by students and their consultants
- Weekly logs and end-of-semester summaries by WRIT 095 consultants
General tips and advice
Reports of consultations written by students and their consultants
In spring term 2005,
students in Dr. Scheer's WRIT 340 came to the Writing Center for
conferences. Afterwards both they and the consultants they saw wrote up
brief descriptions of what transpired. In reading over these reports,
notice how the students' perceptions often vary from those of the
consultants.
The students were doing a series of assignments each based on a subject
they researched and wrote about during the semester. Responses are
grouped under each of the assignments:
WRIT 095
In spring term 2005, nine consultants worked with 56 WRIT
095 students. The consultants kept weekly logs of their meetings with
these students, and several wrote summaries at the end of the term
talking about what they themselves learned about consulting, working
with different kinds of students, and the teaching of writing. Below
are brief excerpts from their comments, with links to the full reports.
Summary 1"095 students are a microcosm of the larger student population: some are
conscientious, some aren't; some are highly intelligent, others you
wonder how they ever got admitted; some throw themselves into the
consultations, others make it clear it's low on their priorities. What
they have in common is weak writing skills, but their personalities,
their minds, their attitudes range from one end of the spectrum to the
other. . ."
Summary 2
"I was very fortunate to have a group of 095 students who were very
hard working and intellectually motivated. Compared to some colleagues
of mine who at times struggled with athletes, my WRIT 095 students had
writing skills that simply did not match their intellect. This made it
easier for me to deal with this population. . ."
Summary 3"My
first impression of this student was that she usually identified the
instructor as being 'weak' or 'bad' if she had received a low grade.
During our first session, she informed me that she did not like her
instructor; it was his fault that she had not understood the assigned
readings. . ."
Log 1
This consultant worked with 5-6 students during the semester, and each
of them posed a real challenge for him. Student motivation was often
not strong, and as a result he found it difficult at times to make
progress. The log is interesting for its focus on what the consultant
is learning as he works with these students.
Log 2
This consultant worked with five WRIT 095 students during the semester.
She often found herself dealing with her students’ inability to
understand assignments. Struggles with critical thinking and the
conventions of argumentation also come up frequently. One of her
students dislikes her instructor. One, ironically, is getting the best grades in his
class. Another has other commitments and often misses meetings or is
late.
