Observation

I had the opportunity to observe Natasya working with a Carter after the school holiday break. The lesson began quite casually, with the student sharing some of the writing he had done while away. Natasya used this as an opportunity to talk through his writing with him and identify ways he could make it clearer and more polished.

Rather than simply marking mistakes, she worked through the writing alongside him and encouraged him to think about how certain sentences could be improved. At different points she drew his attention to awkward phrasing, punctuation and the way some sentences flowed, then gave him the chance to rework them himself. This made the corrections feel more collaborative and helped the student understand why the changes were being made.

I also noticed that Natasya kept the discussion focused on improving the student’s overall writing rather than getting stuck on individual errors. She often used one sentence as an example and then encouraged him to apply the same idea elsewhere in his work. By the end of the lesson, the student seemed more aware of the kinds of mistakes he tends to make and how to edit his own writing more carefully. Well done!!