To be quite honest, I'm surprised that they found tutors relied heavily on instruction, and were very directive. This has been my experience, too, but I am not an experienced tutor (or, at least, it's been a while since I tutored regularly). The theory I've read on tutoring in previous coursework did seem to want us to focus more on the Socratic method, but it's frankly impossible and useless in a 25 minute session. It's a relief to me that I'm not completely out of line with the degree to which I've been directive with my students.

Of course, as I gain experience, my tutoring methodology will likely change to some extent--and it will change as my students become more familiar with me. One of my students seems overwhelmed and confused a lot of the time when I ask her questions, which is in consistent with what they discuss regarding the power difference, and the student writers' expectations as they enter conferences with older, more educated writing experts. My other student (L2) gets shy and embarrassed, and has a hard time articulating his ideas.

I'm a little bit confused by what they mean by "pumping questions." Did they explain it and I just overlooked it? Is this a common term I should be aware of?

A motivational strategy I learned from my mother includes identifying a sentence that is really good, and explaining what's good about it. I'd like to focus on using more motivational strategies, because I suspect I'd be hard-pressed to reach 6 per 10 minutes of conference. I'd also like to focus on finding a smooth way to transition into closing the conference, because that's something I've been struggling with.

I hate everything about writing. ;) The best part is when you're just checking for typos! I think getting started is the absolute hardest, and I have a love-hate relationship with revising. I don't know my students well enough to say what their strengths and weaknesses are yet.

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