Blog 20: More Data Analysis

Sonya (tutor) and Janice (tutee)
Janice is a graduate student. She had been a special education teacher for many years and had recently returned to school. Janice indicated that she had not written a literary paper in years. She came to the session equipped with a first draft of her essay, a copy of which she had already turned in to the professor.
Sonya asked Janice to describe the assignment. Janice leaned back in her chair, slid the paper towards Sonya and stated that in the essay she had attempted to describe the internal and external conflicts of three female protagonists and the ways in which the characters self-sacrifice to resolve the conflicts. Janice added that she wanted Sonya to see if her paper explained the thesis.
Janice’s body language indicates some level of discomfort. She smiled as she described her topic, indicating that she was proud of the thesis that she had generated. However, her gesture of pushing the paper toward the tutor may have been a hint of her lack confidence in her paper’s development of that thesis.
Sonya then leaned in and began to read the paper.
As Sonya begins to read the paper, it is clear that she has accepted the agenda as set by Janice-checking for adequate development of the thesis.
After reading, Sonya told Janice that she understood how the paper describes both the internal and external conflicts of each protagonist, but that the paper seemed to lack a discussion of the sacrifices of each character.
After stating this, Sonya turned to the section of the paper that dealt with the theme of self-sacrifice. She told Janice that in her paper, she mentions that Nora has sacrificed but does not explain how. Sonya admits that she is unfamiliar with the play that Janice references and that she cannot tell her whether or not the explanation is grounded in the play. She prompts Janice to verbally explain what the character sacrifices. Janice verbally explains, after which Sonya suggests she write down her explanation.
By admitting she is not familiar with the play, Sonya is attempting to deflect the role of expert. She wants Janice to know that she can offer no expertise in regards to subject matter.
Sonya uses the same process to get Janice to explain how the two other characters sacrifice. Sonya tells Janice that she is somewhat knowledgeable about the other two plays she references and they talk verbally for about ten minutes about each character’s sacrifice, with Sonya prompting Janice to explain and “echoing” Janice’s explanation with phrases, such as,“ So what you’re saying is…”
After the verbal exchange, Sonya said, “What you’re saying makes sense” and a prompted Janice to write her explanations onto her essay.
By using supportive language, Sonya attempts to encourage Janice, validating her thoughts. Sonya assumes the role of supportor.
An agenda switch occurred immediately after, however, with Sonya speaking up about something she noticed in Janice’s essay. “I see you’ve written that you didn’t think A Doll’s House was a tragedy. Was that part of the assignment?”
Janice replied that it was indeed part of the assignment. Then Sonya said that if it was a part of the assignment, then Janice should discuss whether or not she thought each play was a tragedy. Janice then checked her notes from class for a definition of tragedy. She read the definition aloud and she and Sonya discussed whether or not she thought each play was a tragedy.
Sonya prompted Janice to write down her thoughts.
At the close of the session, Janice asked Sonya her name again and for her writing center hours, indicating that she was satisfied with the progress of the session.