Motivational Scaffolding a terminology that I haven’t heard
of until this article. What I understood of
it is that it is where they use the linguistics of the tutor to the tutee in order to build a rapport with the student
that will encourage the student to become a better writer. They use politeness,
analyzing, identifying and basically a
kind of customization with the student that in turns help to build confidence
within the student. Motivation is the drive that encourages us to do most of
the things that aren’t innate in our lives. Whether it is intrinsic or
extrinsic motivation, it is the motivation in itself, some type of reason that we do the things that we
do. When a student comes into the writing center the extrinsic motivation may
be what got them to come to the writing center, but, what keeps them coming
back, could be a matter of who the tutor makes the tutee feel.
I always go back to my experiences, because, for the most
part, they have all been so very positive. It is what kept me coming back to
the writing center. My first tutor session at Kean University was a classmate.
While she wasn’t so skilled in the paper I was writing, she sat with me and
tried to help me figure it out. I then came back again. I met John, my famous happy tutor, at this point and he became
the ideological ideal of what a perfect tutor
was. He was patient, inspiring, motivating, encouraging, humorous and
intelligent. I met several other tutors
that I would also enjoy Kathrine and Holly, who also painted a critical picture for me. I had gotten so
accustomed to John; I was a bit worried
that the other tutors would not have been as thorough or as comforting as he
was. As indicated in the article, as you come more frequently, you build a
rapport with the tutor that is inviting. Sitting there I can collaborate with the tutor, and while the deadlines aren’t written in stone, you hate to disappoint
them, so that intrinsic motivation kicks in.
Of course, linguistically matters.
You don’t want to hear negative connotation directed to your papers on a
constant basis. Who wants to constantly go to the doctor if all you hear is
negativity. It is discouraging. An example
was some of the earlier articles we read in this class where they would say,
the writing center was for those who were horrible writers, or for people with
serious problems. I think if I heard some of the things that were said about the writing center before, it would have been discouraging. Also,
if the tutor only points out errors or issues with the paper, would I want to
come back? I would, but I am always looking for ways to improve. I do believe
it would be discouraging. It is the old saying it isn’t what you say but how
you say it that makes a difference. Make a
negative into a neutral and try to be positive as much as possible. But,
be honest. A paper with a lot of grammatical
errors, (I know the writing center isn’t a fix it shop; it was just the easiest
thing to gravitate towards). I see you have a few comma splices, I am going to
help you with a few and leave you with a pamphlet to help you with the rest.
I am not going to do it for them, but I would turn my focus then on the paper
itself and leave the grammar alone. I am
not going to say.. this is some horrible crap. I then would say if possible, I
like how your body compliments your thesis accordingly. Positivity as much as possible.
I like your saying, "Positivity as much as possible." While we don't necessarily want to give "false positive" praise to the students, we do want to notify them of their strengths in their papers and not let the situation turn into one similar to that of the "demoralized writer." Thus, as you said, we should "make a negative into a neutral" - we don't want to be mean, but we can to be constructive. Sometimes it is tricky to be tactful in how we word our criticisms, but we need to be honest and empowering as we do it, or else it could seriously hinder a student from coming back and continuing their relationship with the writing center.
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