Even though the name of the class was Tutoring Writing, it still came as a shock when Dr. Wells announced that everyone would have to tutor in the University Writing Center. I have always seen my introverted personality as a handicap that I needed to overcome. This self-perception was only reinforced at the thought of tutoring other students in the UWC.
What I learned through this experience, however, was that my introverted personality correlates well with essential methods of tutoring.
In a tutoring session, it is invaluable to listen more and talk less. The introvert can more easily fulfill the role of the listener because he or she is likely to do this in everyday situations. It is easy to point out all of the mistakes in a student’s essay. What is more difficult is getting the student to open up and begin talking about the thought process that went into the writing of their paper.
An essential function of a tutor is to teach the student how to find their recurring mistakes and learn how to fix them in the future. The student will more easily be able to self-correct if the tutor acts as a guide to lead them through the mistakes rather than fixing them for the student.
One of the first things a tutor-in-training learns is that higher-order concerns should be addressed before lower-order concerns. An example of a higher-order concern would be the thesis of the paper. A lower-order concern would be issues such as spelling and punctuation.
An introvert who tends to put more thought in before speaking can process the overarching ideas of the paper before addressing the smaller issues. It can be very difficult to push grammatical errors aside to focus on the overall content and organization of an essay. However, this becomes a little easier for an introvert who is accustomed to analyzing more thoroughly before making a judgment.
Most students who go to the UWC feel nervous about their tutoring session. Exposing one’s written work to criticism can make anyone feel vulnerable, but an introvert will be able to mindfully approach each session in a way that caters to the insecurities of the student.
An introverted tutor has the ability to relate to these feelings of insecurity because it is likely he or she has felt the same way in the past. The tutor can steer the tutoring session in a positive direction by offering constructive feedback to the student in a way that is sensitive to the student’s apprehension.
Jessica Robbins is a tutor for UAB Student-Athlete Support Services. She also considers her personality more introverted than extroverted, yet it has not kept her from becoming a successful tutor for the last eight months. She had similar concerns as myself when she first began her tutoring job.
When I asked Jessica if she was intimidated when she first began tutoring student-athletes she responded, “Most definitely. I was scared that I would freeze up and explain something in a totally ineffective way to a student. I was also worried that because my students are athletes, they would be very overbearing and not take well to someone like me who tends to be more quiet and not as outgoing.”
Eight months later Jessica is much more confident in her tutoring abilities. She is able to acknowledge the fact that her introverted personality is actually very beneficial in tutoring sessions.
Jessica recognizes the importance of placing all of the focus on her student-athletes, admitting “It is easy for me to focus on them because as an introvert, I naturally do not like for the attention to be on me.”
The most difficult aspect of tutoring for Jessica is being assertive when the student-athlete is unresponsive. I can attest to the fact that being assertive is one of the things I have struggled with most throughout my life.
Those who are extroverted are likely more comfortable with being assertive, and there are obviously many other strengths that characterize an extrovert. However, tutoring sessions are great opportunities for introverts to practice honing those communication skills innate to extroverts.
The introvert is more than capable of being a successful tutor and possesses several attributes which offer significant value in tutoring sessions.
By emphasizing the positive qualities of introverts, I am hoping that all personality types, whether introverted, extroverted or somewhere in between, will be inspired to change the way they think about their own personality in relation to tutoring.
