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Directive vs. Non-Directive
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Directive vs. Non-Directive Tutoring
First-Year Writing SI Program, GSU
Directive vs. Non-Directive
What are the differences?
Directive vs. Non-Directive
Definitions
• "More student knowledge, less tutor knowledge = more non-directive methods.
• Less student knowledge, more tutor knowledge = more directive methods" (Carino)
Non-Directive Tutoring
Non-Directive Tutoring
Tutor/SI facilitates discussion and ideas during a sessions, helping the student or students to discover and expand on ideas they already have.
-Modified from North Seattle Community College Online Tutor Training
Directive Tutoring
Directive Tutoring
Tutor/SI takes on a teacher or professor-like role during tutoring sessions. They speak as an authority on the topic and advise students on what to do.
-Modified from North Seattle Community College Online Tutor Training
Comparisons
Directive
Non-Directive
- Tutor tells the student what they should focus on during the session.
- The tutor imparts knowledge to the student.
- Tutor explains or tells the student what they should think about a given topic.
- Tutor is an authority on the subject matter.
- Student tells the tutor what they want to focus on during the session.
- The tutor draws knowledge out of the student.
- Tutor asks open ended questions to help the student discover what he thinks about a given topic.
- Tutor and student are equals.
North Seattle Community College Online Tutor Training
Benefits of Directive Tutoring
Directive Methods
"Directive tutoring displays rhetorical processes in action. When a tutor redrafts problematic
portions of a text for a student, the changes usually strengthen the disciplinary argument and
improve the connection to current conversation in the discipline. . . . Thus, directive tutoring
provides interpretive options for students when none seem available, and it unmasks the system
of argumentation at work within a discipline" (Burns and Shamoon qtd. in Truesdell).
Methods
UCD Academic Assistance &Tutoring: Directive Questioning Techniques
Example
- Show students a model for how to craft their essays.
- " once writers are shown how to do something, they will be able to express themselves more effectively because they better understand the discourse expectations" (Truesdell).
Benefits of Non-Directive Tutoring
Non-Directive Methods
"Proponents of minimalist tutoring argue that open-ended, non-directive questions are the best way to engage the student because they encourage a conversational session that will help writers become masters of normal discourse" (Truesdell).
Direction in Non-Directive Tutoring
Directions in Non-Directive Tutoring
- Concentrate on the successes of the paper, no the failures. Point out what the student did right!
- Ask "leading" questions. For example, instead of saying, "This is unclear," say, "What did you mean by this statement?"
- If possible, give the student a small writing task during your session, then step away as they complete this task.
Body Language
Body Language
1.) Sit beside the student. This shows you are not "in charge," and that you are working WITH them.
2.) Keep the paper in front of the student, allowing them to be physically closer to their essay.
3.) Try to avoid writing on the student's paper.
4.) Have the student read the paper out loud to you.
(Brooks)
Combining Directive and Non-Directive Methods
Combinations
"[I]nstead of conducting either a directive or non-directive session, tutors should feel comfortable conducting a session that is uses both in a complementary manner" (Truesdell).
Works Cited
Brooks, Jeff. "Minimalist Tutoring: Making A Student Do All The Work." The Writing Lab Newsletter, vol. 15, no. 6, 1991, http://ucwbling.chicagolandwritingcenters.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Jeff-Brooks-Minimalist-Tutoring-Making-the-Student-Do-All-the-Work.pdf. Accessed 30 October 2018.
Carino, Peter. "Power and Authority in Peer Tutoring." Center Will Hold, edited by Pemberton, Michael A. and Joyce Kinkead, University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press, 2003, pp. 96 - 113.
"Directive vs. Non Directive Tutoring." North Seattle Community College Online Tutor Training, https://facweb.northseattle.edu/dtarker/training/module3p3.htm. Accessed 30 October 2018.
Truesdell, Tom. "Not Choosing Sides: Using Directive and Non-Directive Methodology in a Writing Session." WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, February 2007, http://ucwbling.chicagolandwritingcenters.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Tom-Truesdell-Not-Choosing-Sides.pdf. Accessed 1 November 2018.
"Effective use of directive questioning techniques while discussing an essay with a student." YouTube, uploaded by UCD Academic Assistance &Tutoring - Writing, 13 June 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPAlJ7mPxiE.