Tag: Tutor

The Introverted Tutor: Introversion as an Asset

Nicola Larson
Nicola Larson
The Introverted Tutor: Seeing Introversion as an Asset
By Nicola Larson

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.

What Teaching Writing Taught Me

By Rebekah Kummer

two people analyzing a book
Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

Einstein said if you can’t explain a complicated concept in simple terms, you probably don’t understand it well enough yourself. This was the first thing I learned from teaching writing.

Understanding and accepting my own lack of knowledge is the necessary first step toward learning. Teaching writing taught me a lot about my own approach to writing, how much the writing process varies among student writers and the importance of being able to explain why students should care about writing.

Teaching Writing

I have tutored for two and a half years with Student Athlete Support Services and with the University Writing Center. I’ve encountered students across the spectrum of investment in writing.

Some understand that writing well is a good skill, but don’t have much desire to learn beyond a sufficient level of writing. Some abhor writing, or see it as irrelevant to themselves and their future careers. Some come to me with questions to ask their professors after realizing that they don’t know how to sound professional in an email. Some don’t see the point of taking pains to sound a certain way in an email, or in any document for that matter. How do I convince these students that writing matters?

Coming face to face with answering how and why writing is relevant to everyone has been a good lesson in understanding it myself. EH 101 can seem completely useless to a football player on scholarship who has no desire to even be in school. So I put myself in his giant shoes and think about specific situations in his life that would require writing: if he does make it to the NFL as he hopes, that contract is going to be awfully hard to decipher if he doesn’t learn to analyze texts critically the way we do in a rhetorical analysis. Plus, if those dreams are not realized, he will more than likely work at a great job that requires written communications via email, and written reports or evaluations.

Addressing complacent or disinterested students was difficult, but it was a great lesson not only in how to explain why writing matters, but also in adopting and understanding alternate perspectives.

No Right Way to Write

Having so many opportunities to see others’ thought processes and communication styles has been invaluable to me as a writer and as a person. My approach to writing is distinct to me, and may not be useful to all of my students.

While I’m an external processor and think out loud, especially in dialogue with others, many students are internal processors. As a result, I have discovered the value of silence.

Another thing I learned was the way structure—like required outlines, rough drafts or format suggestions—factors into various writing styles. Paralysis was a common accompaniment to structure—students were either paralyzed by fear of not filling structures in correctly or by the rigidity of the structure itself weighing upon them with no way to get out. So for some students, an outline was a creative block, not an organizational aid. Many, however, found comfort in structure, and used it as a foundation for their writing.

The writing process is simply not a one-size-fits-all framework, and while I still have a lot to learn, I think the lessons I’ve learned so far in teaching writing have allowed me to gain experience myself in understanding how others think, and how I can improve my own writing.