RAPPORT ISSUE 5 | Page 56

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 55