9 of our veteran tutors will be presenting at CAPTA. Please read their abstracts below and wish them the best of luck next Friday! More detailed information about CAPTA Connects is available on the CAPTA website.
Tutoring the Tutor:
Activities to Prepare First-Year Tutors
Marcus B. (Grade
11), Niki P. (Grade 12), and Patrick V. (Grade 11)
Herndon High School,
Herndon, Virginia
In our presentation, we are looking to explore
different in-class activities that can prepare new tutors for the writing
center. Each of us will go into detail about one exercise that we thought have
impacted us to better our tutoring and ourselves personally. As second-year tutors, we’ve
found that activities that incorporate creativity, focus, and interactivity
gave us deeper insight into the field of peer tutoring. By the end of the
presentation, participants will be able to take home these exercises and
hopefully use them in their writing center’s tutoring preparation. [60 min]
Plot to Page and Back Again: Connecting
Tutoring and Creative Writing
Sofia C. (Grade 11)
Herndon High School,
Herndon, Virginia
The audience will examine the link between
tutoring and personal work, particularly creative writing, and a discuss how to
strengthen that link. This presentation covers the benefits of working on
personal projects, proposes curriculum in a class format that promotes personal work, and
helps tutors apply skills from tutoring to constructive self-criticism. Focus
will be given to topics like structure and planning of potential projects and
assignments. Participants will receive materials including an organizer for
plotting use of tutoring techniques and suggestions for curriculum. The
presentation will include advice on how individuals can begin and improve their
own creative projects. [25 min]
Tossing the Salad: How a
Mentorship Program Can Increase Diversity in the Writing Center
Jaiden C. (Grade
12)
Herndon High School,
Herndon, Virginia
In this presentation we will introduce a mentorship
program that strives to incorporate a diverse and passionate group of tutors
into the Writing Center. We will cover how and why diversity is of monumental
importance in any writing center and how this program will help reflect the
growing range of students and ideas that seem to bloom more beautifully each
year. This program will help students of all English levels become a part of
the Writing Center. [25 min]
A
Breath of Fresh Air: How Writing Center Atmospheres Create a Stronger
Connection between Tutors and Tutees
Emma G. (Grade 12)
Herndon High School, Herndon, Virginia
The
perfect writing center atmosphere will be defined through discussions with
fellow tutors. Tutors will share what adds to their writing center atmosphere,
and all will determine what it takes to achieve the best atmosphere for a
writing center. A third year tutor will lead a conversation about the many
aspects that the writing center must pay attention to in order to secure an
inviting atmosphere. The attendees will leave feeling certain of what
contributes to a writing center atmosphere and what they can do for their
center to achieve a friendly and approachable writing center. [25 min]
Creative Connections: A Club
to Ignite Lifelong Writing Passion
Emily G. (Grade 11)
and Lindsey R. (Grade 11)
Herndon High School,
Herndon, Virginia
This presentation will examine the importance in
connecting tutees to sustained creative writing interest. We will provide a
model for a program where “unconnected” students are invited to develop their
talent with the help highly qualified tutors. This way, students who love
writing for pleasure can finally enter a warm, collaborative community of
like-minded peers, and focus solely on creative pieces rather than academic
ones. By offering an in-depth explanation of the program and how to best
implement it, along with demonstrating the creative nature of our monthly
meetings with an example writing prompt, we will thoroughly describe how to
establish this creative connection. [60 min]
Stretching to the Greatest
Lengths
Jessie W. (Grade
11)
Herndon High School,
Herndon, Virginia
Tutors may be looking for solutions to common problems
in the Writing Center, focusing on growing the number of tutees who come on
their own. Tutors join the Writing Center for the love of writing and their
confidence in the abilities they possess. If these tutors are left to tutor
once every couple of weeks, the reasoning for joining the Writing Center is
lost. Creating a Writing Center that can grow in the number tutees served while
growing in tutors is the ultimate goal in any tutoring environment. Participants
will receive ideas for monthly activities and ideas for how to set up tutoring
in the cafeteria and the library. Participants will also have the chance to
discuss the ways they have accommodated a growing population of tutors in their
school. [10 min]
