Time, Space, Continuum

So what I have gotten out of this (LPP) thing is people learn in social ways and you kinda have to be in the right time and space for it. Example being if I wanted to learn how to cook I should be in a kitchen not on my couch watching a cooking show that talks about cooking. And I am definitely not going to be a world class chef unless I spent the rest of my life learning food and become French somehow overnight. Learning and cooking are things that are going to happen over time and the more you do them the more you start to immerse yourself into that situation. To tie my internship with what I am trying to understand through reading is that internships are there to create the space for immersing students into writing, in a social way. My internships are very balanced is the best word to use  they are not super formal, but they are also not by all means a free for all. It works in a space of the classroom but the mentor sets the class up like a movie theater with a semi circle surrounding the screen. The projector and white board are used often. The projector being used the most to communicate information. While the whiteboard is used mostly to respond or work in smaller groups.

Because we don’t sit in rows of desk it opens the floor for discussion. I think that had we been in rows facing the front the group would feel more formal and treat the group as if it were a class instead of a group of people working together to talk about writing. The fact that all the people in the room can see each other opens the floor up for questions and real discussion without having to be constantly prompted to speak or be asked questions.

My mentor comes to the group looking the part of the balance she holds within the group. She comes to class dressed well yet casual so she does not take on the approach of being a teacher more a mentor. She is in my opinion portraying that she is not far from the students just a bit more experienced and can offer ideas based on that experience. I think the best thing she does with the group is this even distribution of give and take. She gives an agenda yet at the same time the agenda is subject to changed based on what the students need more time on or are struggling through.  The students are very vocal on what their needs are and how much time they need. My mentor really sets up the group to have time to really dive into what they are learning in class and give points on how to do blogs, that by the time they are writing their blogs they have so much to write about it just flows. Providing this give and take shows the culture discussion and socialization because the students feel as if the mentor is their peer and they can just be part of a group that are helping one another understand, creating a time and space to help write their blogs.