Madeline

“Reflecting on our move from our library offices to remote workspaces because of the pandemic, we see growth in our competencies. We’ve also noted the impacts that such speedy service transitions, urgent technical skill development, and disparities in access have had (Giaimo, 2020), impacts that were perhaps invisible to us during our transition.” – CWCA proposal

figurines on a wooden floor

Owl, tadpole, Ganesh, St. Therese, heart

After taking a one-year leave of absence from my job as the CAC coordinator, I returned in July 2020 when the pandemic was raging. Unable to go into my office in the Learning Commons, I pivoted immediately to working in a cobbled-together home office. There, I negotiated the online world of written feedback and meetings with students and colleagues in Zoom and Microsoft Teams. I felt physically safe at home, but disconnected from my team and the students, bereft of the nourishing give and take of tutoring face to face. Therefore, I surrounded myself with meaningful talismans. Owl for wisdom, tadpole for growth mindset, Lord Ganesh for removal of obstacles, St. Therese of the Little Flower for faith and compassion gather around the foundation: heart. I would never have brought these little objects I’ve collected over the years to adorn my office at the university, but at home, they keep my steady as I  negotiate new technologies, new expectations, and new ways of tutoring and being a team member. They remind me to keep people-centred values in place when technology, miscommunication, and silences threaten to throw me off balance.

Teaching strategies

Working at home during the pandemic, I provided feedback to students on their writing. One strategy I developed was to gather a svelte toolbox of the best resources I knew so I could hyperlink to relevant material in my written feedback—something I rarely did when meeting students in person and in Zoom. As we all know, resources are not created equal, so I’ve curated some that are warm, human-centred, humorous, and inviting. When you provide written feedback on your students’ papers, are there hyperlinks to valuable, accessible resources, either on the content of the paper or the form, that will help your students grow? When you make and use a toolbox of hyperlinks to your favourite resources, you contribute to your their learning in one quick copy + paste move.

Three tools in my toolbox

Although Wordvice is a for-profit editing service, their video and handout on transitions is great. It explains transitions in plain language that students find easy to understand and Kevin’s silly song engages audiences. Grammar Bytes has excellent handouts with humorous examples and quizzes to deepen understanding of many different grammar problems. And, finally, I rely on our own three-minute videos hosted by real tutors to explain how to plan an essay, write strong sentences and paragraphs, and many other writing challenges.

 

head and shoulders of a woman

Madeline Walker

I am currently an English as an Additional Language specialist at Centre for Academic Communication, where I was the co-ordinator from 2016 to 2021. I have a Ph.D. in English and experience teaching academic and technical writing. I love to write poetry, short stories, and novels.