RAPPORT
Issue 5 (August 2020)
where the student reported feeling ‘feeling
a bit lost as to what approach to take.’
The Tutor reported that:
I explained briefly the principles
behind the tool and asked him to
work with me to draw a balance
wheel of the elements in his life and
invited him to map out where he felt
he was. Together we explored how
he could take positive actions or
seek support from university services
(which I could signpost) or his own
support networks, relating to the
elements where the wheel was out of
balance. He engaged well with this
tool and it allowed us to have a wideranging
discussion which covered a
number of issues that were affecting
his well-being.
On reflection, the Tutor commented that:
This certainly felt like a fresh
approach to discussing problems
and allowed the tutee to explore
areas of his life and to disclose
information if he wished to. My role
was to provide the tool and to prompt
with questions. Also, this is a tool
that can be returned to on a later
occasion to see if the balance has
changed and what has affected it.
Finally, while the reliance on a tool which
requires the student to come up with
strategies might prove problematic in
contexts where some services were not
available, the balance wheel nevertheless
‘provided a new focus for the meetings, as
an alternative to either the structure of the
tutorial record sheets or unstructured
conversation.’ It may be noted however,
that the language here is of exploration
and prompting as opposed to a specific
focus upon task and performance.
A third illustration (Portfolio 20, CS 4)
foregrounds a shift – in the tutors’ terms
- toward a ‘mentoring approach.’
However, it should perhaps be noted that
the approach taken might equally be
termed a coaching approach by Wisker
and colleagues, offering some
confirmation as to the differing ways in
which terms are being used. What can be
said is that a change of approach to
working with students away from direct
advising is explicitly highlighted.
Reflecting upon her own experience, the
Tutor writes:
Having recently attended some staff
CPD on Action Learning Sets I
realised that I needed to amend my
approach to dealings with this
student but also my mentoring
approach as a whole. I was providing
too much advice, instead of
developing the student’s knowledge
and skills to be able to find solutions
themselves independently. I was the
easy option! I needed to provide
opportunities for this student to
develop a more independent
approach to problem solving but also
to improve my ability to develop
students in the future. The Action
Learning workshop made me realise
… I needed to help them with
personal reflection and that
promoting personal responsibility /
ownership is key.
Note the shift from an advisory or even
coaching approach in the next extract. In
relation to developing work with a specific
student, the Tutor reported:
it was evident that the student was
worried about a particular
assignment and meeting the
deadline. This became the issue that
was discussed. Previously I would
have taken control and formulated a
plan / targets to ensure the student
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