Mike Wesch

In Mike Wesch's "A Portal to Media Literacy" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4yApagnr0s, he discusses the effect of classroom size on a student's learning experience and enthusiasm for a subject. He mentions that in larger lecture halls students often ask questions such as "what do we need to know for this test?" and admit to habits such as "I facebook during most of my classes" and "my neighbor pays to be here and never shows up". This shows that there is a "crisis of significance", students in this learning environment lack interest in the material and an unhealthy focus on grades over education. He asserts, however, that in a small classroom settings with few students, pupils will ask more daring questions and become more engaged. This is significant to peer tutors because it shows that students will often learn more in a meeting held between them and one teacher figure than in a classroom full of students. This is an even greater reason to focus on the writer rather than the paper. If the student will learn more in a secluded environment when they are the subject of critique it further proves that we, as the tutor, must make a lasting impression or fail at our duties. This video inspired me to focus more on comments that will help the student overall and practice providing constructive criticism that is not only optimistic, but useful in overall improvement.