Observation of North pre-writing session

During this session, I observed to of my classmates as one prepared to write an essay and another coached her.

The body language-

Tim , the coach, and Talisha, the student, sat close together, almost facing each other. They made eye-contact during the session. As Talisha talked, Tim leaned in sometimes and sat back at others. Both he and Talisha nodded their heads when they seemed to reach a point of agreement or understanding. Talisha took notes during much of the session.

Language-
Talisha took the initiative by explaining the part of the text she planned on summarizing for her focused response. Tim then asked her to explain the process she would use to create her summary. This promted Talisha to refer back to the passage and to explain her individual points. She then added that she would re-read the text to make sure that she had a thorough understanding of the passage. After re-reading the passage, she explained her main points again.
At this point Talisha jotted down notes.

Tim then asked Talisha to explain the main points of the reaction she planned to write. Talisha said that she'd focus on the benefits of strong tutor/teacher relationships. Tim asked Talisha to share an experience from her own life that she could use to elucidate her example. Talisha seemed to exhibit a high level of interest as she told of her personal experience in a writing lab. She spoke more quickly than before while telling this story and used her hands to express herself. After she finished, Tim promted her to write down the example so that she could possibly use it later.

Tim then asked Talisha to verbally explain the connection between the passage she planned to summarize and her own reaction. Talisha attempted to explain but said that she would re-read the passage again to get a deeper understanding of the piece. The session then ended.


I believe that the non-verbal cues and the verbal cues are of equal importance. Non-verbal cues, such as head-nodded, titled heads, body language/positioning can all indicate someone's interest, understanding, connection. They can let the coach (and student) know when he/she is or is not being understood. From paying attention to these cues, the coach can learn when to keep going down a particular track or when to try something new. Coaches should pay special attention to non-verbal cues becuase they can be more honest than verbal communication. Sometimes a student may say they understand, even when they don't, in an attempt to spare the coach's feelings or to get the session over with.

However, I noticed that I focused mainly on the verbal exchange as I took notes. I think this was because I am not used to focusing consciously on people's body language. I will try to be more aware of non-verbal communication next time.

I think that this observation can be helpful to me in several ways. One, it can help me (as a coach) to be more in tune with a student. If I can read body language, I can more accurately assess a student's needs throughout the session. Observing sessions and taking notes also affords the opportunity to see questioning strategies that I can use in sessions. I can see other people's styles and learn from them.