Group Sessions

At first I was confused on what I was supposed to do when I was to observe a group session. I knew that another tutor was going to be leading the discussion, but I felt confused on how exactly I was suppose to contribute to the session. Well, I did not contribute at all because the other tutor did most of the talking. However, it was very beneficial to observe one session because I would know what to do when I had to lead group work. When it was my turn to lead group work, I was a little nervous because I knew I was going to have more than one writer. I had three writers, and they were all waiting for me to get the conversation going! I was happy because I was able to involve all three individuals. Most importantly, I was able to get them to answer each other’s questions. Since the professor didn’t leave any guidelines, we started to construct a thesis that could work with each individual. By the end of the session, they were really happy with what was done in those fifty minutes. Later in the day, I thought about how my group work differentiated with the one observed. I felt like the one I observed focused a lot on what the tutor had to say rather than the writers. As tutors, we have to be able to let power go and have writers think for themselves. They should have the power to guide the session in a way that is most beneficial to them. Group sessions do work, but it is always best to have a one-on-one session.