A critical part of our work with students and families are the reports we write and send to parents in the days following a tutorial session. Our “writeups” benefit students and families and inform our work in the following ways:
Information for parents
Session reports allow parents to learn what the student accomplished in session: pre-writing activities, drafting, revising, rehearsing a speech or reviewing for an upcoming quiz. We also include how a student approached a task, what difficulties they may have encountered and any interventions we used to help a student work through a challenge area.
Notes for the student
In session, we sometimes scribe the students’ ideas as they speak or write down a few key ideas to help them articulate their thoughts and organize the overall structure of their paper. For many writers, the act of speaking before writing can be a valuable way to move the writing process forward rather than solely composing on a keyboard.
Reminders for the tutor
Our session notes provide us with a quick reminder of what students accomplished on long-term projects between sessions, so we can continue to help students move these larger assignments forward in a timely manner.
Pattern recognition for the tutor
As a coach, periodically reviewing session notes allows us to look at our students’ performance in session to seek out patterns that demonstrate their strengths or to note consistent challenge areas.
Tracking progress
Session reports provide us with a written record of students’ quantitative and qualitative growth. At the beginning of each session, we ask students how they performed on prior assignments and note teacher feedback. We make sure to ask the student how they felt about their grade, even if they did not perform as well as they had hoped. We also look for and talk to students about qualitative changes, like whether they felt less stressed during a presentation because they had prepared in advance with us and before the day of the assessment.
