Re: Public Journal ideas

[KILBORNJ@TIGGER.STCLOUD.MSUS.EDU]

>D'Ann, here at U of M, our peer tutors enter a reading log into Daedalus
>Mail every class period first thing--then they read what everyone's written
>and have a short discussion afterwards.  Daedalus runs on a Local Area
>Network, so it's only available in the classroom.  What they write in Mail
>really helps them to first think about their own response to the
>reading/experiences they've had, then seeing others' responses helps them
>to contextualize it.  Sometimes we have lively discussions about everything
>from the contet of the reading to how poorly/well written it is to how site
>specific it is to local applications....and everything in between!
>
>I've also used an e-mail group (on a Wide Area Network) for students to
>keep a log of their experiences both observing and practicing their
>tutoring.  I hesitate to call either of these a journal, though, in the
>"traditional" sense of the word, but I think they serve some of the same
>reflective purposes--plus they help the community at large reflect on
>itself.

I've used a listserv during the tutor training group for exactly the same sorts
of purposes. I found it was really useful, though, in bolstering people's
confidence throughout the quarter. For instance, when students were getting
ready to begin tutoring and during the first week of tutoring, ninety percent
of the listserv discussion was essentially messages saying "we can do this." I
found the discussion on the listserv was much more emotionally supportive than
it tends to be in the print tutoring journal. BTW, I asked students during the
practicum to keep their own print journals -- and many said they felt more
comfortable using it as reflection space since it was more private. Many
students said they'd process the reading or class discussion or their tutoring
in their private print journal first and then move to the listserv for more
public processing. I plan to use both listserv and private print journal in the
practicum next spring -- and the public group journal is there on our front
desk for both experienced tutors and tutors-in-training to use.

Judy Kilborn