Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2019

First Page

1

Last Page

7

Abstract

The idea of asking a student to practice a skill first occurred to me when I was tutoring a student with an essay where I noticed that the student consistently missed opportunities to include sensory imagery. Within that session, I explained sensory imagery and asked the student to practice applying it. The success I felt after watching the student improve during this session motivated me to try it in many more. I’ve found that this technique works best when a student feels unsure about what to work on with a tutor. The tutor can then go through the student’s work and assignment description with the student, watching for a repeated skill within the student’s writing that would benefit from practice. Once they identify a skill, the tutor can explain the skill using examples from the web. After they feel the student understands, the tutor can ask them to practice, giving the student encouragement and space to write for a few minutes. When the student comes to a stop, they can discuss their work with the tutor, asking clarifying questions and polishing their skill even more. By the end of the session, the student will have improved their writing process and the tutor will have watched it happen, leaving both feeling satisfied by their efforts in the session.

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