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By
Maureen Gunson
English 22/English
As an English instructor, my goal is to touch the
life of every student in my care and to inspire each one
to have confidence in his abilities. Besides the traditional
methods of teaching in the classroom, one-on-one student-teacher
conferencing is most beneficial to fulfilling my goals to
help each student to feel secure with the writing process,
to give him confidence as a writer, and to help him develop
his writing skills to produce writing that he will proud
of and that is acceptable in an academic context.
Consequently, student-teacher conferencing (time spent in
office hours or away from the classroom setting) is vital
in establishing the threads of
communication that challenges the alienation
that can develop in the classroom setting. On a one-to-one
level of evaluation a student becomes more open to asking
questions and less afraid of the classroom setting and 21A/B
Instructor peer pressure. Conferencing, most importantly,
helps to build a student-teacher partnership allowing the
student to become more trusting and progressively more able
to help himself by studying his own strengths and weaknesses.
This critiquing method allows the student time to discuss
how improvement can take place and helps the student to
think independently, critically, and innovatively.
As a part-time instructor, I have always had office hours
for my students as a means to create a positive atmosphere
of learning. I currently spend approximately 44 hours a
semester having student-teacher conferencing. With the new
paid office hour, I make it mandatory (or part of the point
system) that every student make at least one 10 minute conference
with the instructor. However, in my English 22 class, each
student has approximately 80 minutes of conference time
during the semester. In my English 21a or English 21b classes,
each student has approximately 35 minutes of conference
time during the semester.
I have noted that the confidence and grades of my students
have been enhanced by having regular office hours away from
the classroom setting, thus opening the lines of communication
and establishing a partnership for students to succeed.
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