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Record Keeping
for English Tutors and Advisors

Create a Hanging File Folder Writing Advice Appointment Notebook English Tutor/Advisor's Session Log On Accutrack

How to Do Session Logs

 Email Change Form
Pay Information    

CREATE A HANGING FILE FOLDER

All English Tutors and Writing Advisors can create their own hanging file folder in the file cabinet near the Office Assistant's desk.  You must write your name on it.  You can keep materials for students or your Daily Record in the file, but it is not a confidential file.
 

WRITING ADVICE APPOINTMENT NOTEBOOK

For all Writing Advisors

Writing Advisors' schedules are established at the beginning of the semester. Each time slot in the Writing Advisor's schedule is recorded in the main WA appointment notebook so that students can sign up for WA times. WAs are required to work during those assigned hours, regardless of whether or not they have a writing advice appointment scheduled. Writing advisors can be called by the office assistant to provide walk-in help for reading or writing during scheduled hours of work.

When WAs arrive at work, they should:

  • check the appointment notebook to see whom they are scheduled to work with
  • check their mailbox to see if any student has left a paper for them to review before the session

If no student is scheduled for a specific time, the WA should:

  • work on projects assigned by the Supervisor, or
  • work on their CRLA training certification.

ENGLISH TUTOR/ADVISOR'S SESSION LOG ON ACCUTRACK

For English Tutors, Semester Writing Advisors and Writing Advisors ONLY

We currently have two labs set up in SAC 1221. Students receiving tutoring in subjects other than English must log on/off in the Waiting Area.

All students using English services must log in/out with their Tutor/Writing Advisor in their booths.

After each tutoring/advising session, you must complete a Session Log on Accutrack. They enable the Program Coordinator to monitor progress and keep teachers informed. After reading and editing them, the Coordinator sends reports to teachers. Complete a Session Log report about your tutoring or WA session immediately after finishing your session with the student.

IMPORTANT!
If you are working with a student who is writing for several courses, you need to type in the correct teacher's name in the Session Log so that the report goes to the right teacher.  The Coordinator  can edit the session log from the Accutrack  data base so it will go to the correct teacher.

It is extremely important to write the topic of the paper in the Session Log so the teacher knows which paper the student worked on with you.

LOGGING IN/OUT ON ACCUTRACK

 

Students using English tutoring and writing advice services in the TIP Lab in 1221 need to log on to Accutrack with YOU at your BOOTH.

You need to watch students log in and log out.

Sometimes students may make a mistake and log in in the waiting area. If they do, you have to log them out, then log them in again at your booth.

In order to get accurate information, you should watch students log in and log out so you can see if the student picks

  1. Writing Advice during log in
  2. the correct course and teacher during log in
  3. your name from the list of tutors/writing advisors during log out

If any of the information is wrong,  please ask the student to log in again.

Entering Information for Session Logs

After the student has logged in/out correctly,  do the following:

  • Log in. 
  • On the left side of the screen you will see a "Session Log" button.
  • Click on the "Session Log" button.
  • A list of your tutoring sessions will appear.
  • Highlight the name of the student you want to write about.
  • Click on "Add/edit comments."
  • Write your report objectively without describing the student's attitude or quality of their work.
  • Click on the "Save" button to save your comments.
  • You can review or revise past reports by going to the "Filters" section located on the right side of the screen.  There you can change the "Period" so you can see "last week, "last month," or from the beginning of the semester.

The Coordinator has access to all Session Logs  from the administrative screen and can edit, change teacher's names or add students whose names do not appear in the tutor's list of sessions.

After reviewing the log for accuracy the Coordinator sends the reports to the correct teachers.

 

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH LOG IN/OUT

If you have a problem with Accutrack, please see the Lab Leader. If the Lab Leader is not available or unable to help you, you can fill out a Session Log Problem Report.

ITo see your schedule in Accutrack do the following:

 

  • Log in
  • Click "Generic Viewer"
  • Click "Show Report"
  • Check your assignments.

 

HOW TO WRITE SESSION LOGS

Because Tutor/Advisor's Reports are sent to teachers if students are working on papers that will be graded, Tutors/WAs must write neutral reports describing the session so that the reports do not influence the instructor's opinion of the student, either in a good way or negative way. All mechanics of English should be followed including correct punctuation, spelling and capitalization.

The tutor/writing advisor should use phrases like:

  • I showed
  • I suggested
  • I gave handouts
  • I gave feedback
  • I pointed out
  • We discussed
  • We worked on

The tutor/writing advisor needs to AVOID the use of adjectives like:

  • good
  • confused
  • wonderful
  • bad
  • lousy
  • weak

Good Session Logs:

Comments:

Topic of paper: Deaf Schools. Worked with Comet on improving form and structure in her paper. We discussed several key areas:  introduction, conclusion, thesis statement, topic meaning, use of first, second, and third person, cohesiveness, etc.

Comments:

Topic of paper: Deaf Education. I explained the difference between a summary and a research/term paper. Reviewed outline for the paper. Showed an example of an APA style paper. Gave her a copy of our APA guidelines. She will work on a draft this evening and see me briefly tomorrow.

Comments:

Topic of paper: Graphic Design Biography
We discussed the grammar and clarity of Comet's paper, focusing on idea development and use of articles.

Comments:

Topic of Session: Vocabulary

We discussed the vocabulary concepts, and English idioms in the history and government books Comet has been reading.

Comments:

Topic of paper: "The Joy Luck Club"
We discussed the topic development in Comet's PowerPoint presentation and how to expand on her ideas to meet class requirements

Comments:

Topic of paper: Sing Language in Guam.

I explained the purpose of an outline, then we "jot listed" ideas for the paper content. From there, the student organized the info into an outline.

Bad Session Logs:

Comments:

Topic of paper: Deaf Culture
The student wasn't too open to my advice. She argued with me when I explained that she needed to provide page numbers with her facts so that her instructor could look them up. She disagreed with me, yet persistently told me that she needed to follow the standards. (Report is opinionated and negative.)

Comments:

The student was confused and did not pay attention. The student refused to admit that she plagiarized a few sentences.
(No topic of paper and describes student in a negative way.)

Comments:

The student wrote a great paper. I was impressed. (No topic of paper and opinionated.)

Comments:

We discussed the outline and the objectives required to complete it. The student was unclear on the outline and did not know her teacher's expectations. I advised her to check with MLA and APA guidelines for further examples. (No topic of paper and opinionated.)

Comments:

Topic of paper: A Comparative Approach to Religion from 1500 -1800
We worked on her History 111 research paper. Her paper is due in two weeks, and she is showing responsibility in planning ahead. (Opinionated.)

Comments:

Discussion and feedback was given on the methods of research involved in creating a research paper. Grammar will be focused on later this week and next. Good student. (No topic of paper and opinionated.)

Comments:

We focused on the grammar and clarity in her summary. (This report does not identify the topic of the paper, so it can cause the teacher to be confused.)

Remember: DO NOT EDIT Students' Papers. You need to explain and suggest, but not edit.

SENDING EMAIL TO STUDENTS
Tutor/Advisor Responsibilities: If a student misses the first session or any subsequent sessions, the tutor/advisor should send an
e-mail to the student with a cc to the Supervisor.
 

Example:
TO: student.name@gallaudet.edu
CC: Supervisor's Name
SUBJECT: Tutorial Session Attendance
Hi [student's name],
I am concerned that you missed your first tutoring/advising session. Are you still interested in tutoring? If so, please let me know as soon as possible.  If you miss a total of three (3) tutoring sessions, we will have to cancel your tutorial assignment.
[Tutor/Advisor's name]


If the student doesn't reply by e-mail and doesn't show up for the next session, the tutor/advisor fills out an add/drop/change form and gives it to the Office Assistant. The scheduler will ask the student if he/she wants to reapply or to drop.

ADD/DROP/CHANGE FORM

If a student misses three tutorial sessions, The tutor/advisor should contact the Coordinator if there is a special situation, or just fill out an add/drop/change form.

Record Keeping for pay for information about Record Keeping related to pay, click here.
 

 

Updated March 20, 2003
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