About this series: WIP TAs reflect on coaching writing and learning to support writers across disciplines.

By Zoey Traynelis

I typically try not to focus too hard on progress. That might be shocking to some people considering my role as a student and a teacher, but it's true. Too often we get bogged down with the idea that there is some absolute timeline and look to our work.

This emphasis on constant improvement can be discouraging to students and frankly, it's unrealistic. It assumes that there is a standard ideal to learning and thinking that students must adhere to in order to succeed. No! Each learner is different, some may love writing while others abhor it. Some are more confident than others. This doesn’t mean that writing can’t be for everybody, it just means that everyone might get something different out of their writing process.

This semester I am coaching a History of American Material Culture class, so naturally we are looking and thinking about things. There is an exercise we use called slow-looking. This requires sitting with an object or art piece for an extended period of time and . . . looking at it. We do this in an attempt to better understand the material. You then write down your process of looking. What did you see? What shape is it, what color? How did you feel? Did you notice new things after looking at it longer? Did its meaning change?

I believe this is a beneficial writing exercise because the process of looking reflects the process of learning that you experience when you write. Each mind works in its own unique way and that learning process is specialized for each individual. Yes, there may be some objective truths in these objects of study, it is this big or it's made of this material. But slow-looking is completely subjective, each student sees or feels different things when they are looking and learning. One painting might seem moody to you while to me it looks romantic. This is the same with writing, thinking, and learning. If we assess our student’s writing on some predetermined standard, we rob them of their distinct process and their ability to control their own academic growth.

Progress and process might not seem too different to some people, but I think the distinction is important. Progress wants students to look to an end goal, an ideal standard of their academic self that represents success. Progress wants an A+, a final draft, a diploma and a career. Surely there is nothing wrong with wanting those things and the dopamine that comes with knowing you are done with a project. But what happens when you focus on process? Process asks what you are doing to get to where you want to be. It asks you to reflect on what you’ve done and where you’re going. It is an emphasis on learning, continuously and independently, rather than information learned.