If it does not work, then try something else.

I assume that we are talking about adult learners, right? Well, obviously working with individuals who are two to three times as old as me can be frustrating. Like we said in class, adult learners have gone to school in a different era; hence, they have learned things in a different way. Because I have grown-up learning how to use a computer, using Word just comes naturally to me. Most adult learners have not. Not only are they coming back to school where they have been away for so long, but they are stepping into a different technological world. So, I have found that actually showing them and letting them try to format in different ways works best.

In one of my sessions my tutee did not know how to analyze/reflect without, I guess I would say, plagiarizing. She used the thesaurus to substitute words that the author had used and kept the same idea. No, no, no! I did not know how to explain that this was very bad. I went over what plagiarizing is exactly, and she still did not understand. I knew that she was doing this because first of all she told me, and then she did not understand what she had written. I think that we all have been in the position of trying to summarize without plagiarizing. One thing that I do and can explain to my tutees is that I read a paragraph, or two or three, and then I write down the main points and ideas that I remember. This way I can remember details. If I return after I have read the entire essay (or whatever it is), then it is just too easy to rewrite the author’s sentences as my own because I have forgotten exactly what he/she said. Any other suggestions would be great.

Helping students to use quotes effectively is also frustrating. I remember learning how to do this was very hard, and it still is. Someone suggested the sandwich method (was it Claire?). I tried to teach it to a student and they may have given me this blank/confused look. Anyway, I told them using quotes is like a sandwich. The quote is the meat and your input/ideas/opinions are the bread that encompasses it. One of essays that we read stated that if a quote is taken out then the paragraph should not make complete sense. I love that because if the meat is taken out then it is not a sandwich anymore. I try to explain to students that quotes should not be strewn out over the page just to fill up space. They should be there for a purpose.