Tutoring @ TJ’s

I picked these categories to highlight because I am excellent, acceptable and down right bad at them.

modeling 3/4- When I tutor, I usually bring my notes, books and any other worksheet that helped me understand the material at the time. By doing this I have modeled that it may take more than reading the text to fully grasp a concept. Also, I am revealing to my clients that I am some amazing super-learner that can do it with her eyes closed or something. You have to work at it.

fosters independence 2- In the same way I model, I also ask my clients to find certain concepts for me in their book. This way they are getting used to using their book for all it has to give, and they are used to the time it may take in order to use their materials fully. I try to say things that congratulate them on finding the answer (in the book) by themselves. Hopefully, they will start to realize that they can open their book without me sitting next to them!

approachability 3- I try to be very welcoming! I wanna help the students feel like it’s “okay” to come to TJ’s. I also try to make them comfortable with talking and thinking out loud in front of their tutor. I tell them that it makes the whole learning process easier!  

scaffolding 1- if not worse! Anyway, I feel that I have a hard time breaking things down into little digestable pieces for my clients. Sometimes I can’t help but throw in unnecessary details that I think help but actually are just more complicating. I try to soldify certain concepts by explaining their influence in another area or class which only makes thing more confusing for them. I need to work on keeping it simple and ignore my urges to throw in extra facts! 

As i sit down to write this blog I have to go back and remember all my tutoring appointments from the last semester. The appointments that were good, great, no so great and the ones that never happened because one of us missed it…accidentally of course! Anyway, I remember my favorite appointments were with student who were well prepared and were genuinely confused about something. They had used a tutor as a last resort and only if they couldn’t figure it out on their own. My worst appointments were with those clients that were impatient and arrogant, as if  I was their servant as a tutor.  Other appointments that were right in the middle were those that weren’t as prepared as they probably would have liked but acknowledged it and were ready to achieve the goals that were set during the appointment. Those were really nice because they didn’t make me feel guilty for suggesting that they read the book!

I’m happy that we discussed the concepts of changing the language we use and being assertive, especially the first! I honestly don’t have a problem with being assertive, in fact, I think at times, I can be TOO assertive in general. It definately reflects in my tutoring sessions because sometimes I feel that I ask my questions too boldly or don’t give my clients enough time to answer or to think. After those questions that were hung I could simply look up and find a better way to pose my question, in a non offensive way.

Attitude 4- I really enjoyed tutoring this semester and I enjoy the material, biology. I feel like I was able to help students with the material because I myself understand it. I think that tutoring a subject that I enjoy helped me become more comfortable and confident with the material.

Encourage and supports 4- I really tried to be uplifting and supportive to the clients who came in for help. I would not be over supportive or enthusiastic because that might freak them out.. like think of me as the freaky biology girl, but i would smile and encourage them to keep up the good work. I think that facial expressions give off a good message without being over exuberant.

Approachability 3- I think that I was approachable and kept good eye contact. i tried to make the appointments comfortable and relaxed. I gave the client the option of where to sit, most of the time I sat on the couches. I never want the client to feel like there in the classroom again. The point of tutoring is for the client to be in a different setting where they are getting a different point of view. I tried to keep eye contact and look at them while asking constant questions to see if they knew the material or not.

Processing time 2- I think that some times I felt like I was rambling on and on about material that they were not understanding. I think that I thought that no matter how many times I explained the subject they w ould understand it. I need to work on that area of my tutoring skills. I also think that some times I did not give the client enough time to process that information before I moved onto the next topic. This is something I want to work on in order to become the best tutor that I can be!

I had some really awesome experiences tutoring this past semester. I really feel like I was able to help students with their studies and gave them the confidence to succeed on tests and quizzes and study habits.  I had a frequent client that gave me good feedback on how I was helping him.  He made appointments before all tests and before his exams.  I think that I really did help him which makes me feel great! Most people think tutroing isn’t hard, but it is because it has to do a lot with personality clicking.  In order for your advice as a tutor to impact the client, your personalities have to understood by each other or else the client will just sit there adn nod their head while the tutor struggles to explain the subject matter.  During a few sessions, I felt like I was not getting across my point to the client.  That makes the session frustrating because because the tutor knows when the client isn’t understanding what in the world your saying.  i only had one bad experience during a tutor session.  It started off badly because I hadn’t checked my schedule past 1oclock that day so i thought I was off for the night, but at 8:05 I received a phone call notifying me that I had an appointment.  I was so embarrassed because i would never not show up for anything so when I got there 15 minutes late, my client was kind of ticked at me..oopppss…. So I finally got situated, and asked the client what we would be working on that night. he explained to me that he had a lab report due the next day and had a few questions about his paper.  So he opened his lab top and began asking me editing type questions.  he was a little rude and chauvinistic in his words but I blew it off thinking it was just an arrogant type of personality.. whatever haha.  I gave him editing advice and then he wanted me to start looking things up for him online and actually do his project for him.   i explained to him that it was not my job to do that for him and that it was a waste of our tutoring time for me to Google search the entire time.  I didn’t think think this was unreasonable but apparently he did because he complained about me.  i guess he was just anxious and on a time crunch with his lab report to get it done because it was due the next day and he still had a lot of work to do on it, therefore he wanted me to the things he was having a hard time doing.  I guess i would consider this experience an ugly one.   All in all I love tutoring and ca not wait for next semester. 

I have been asked countless times how I find the time to tutor and why I do it. And the answer always is that I find the time becuase I like it. I think that tutoring at TJs has been one of the most rewarding things I have done at Rollins. It is great to take a student who seems to be so unsure in what they are doing in class and get them to the point where they really don’t need you anymore. The point where I know I have done a good job is when my clients become tutors themselves. They then learn what a rewarding experience it truly is…as corny as that sounds.

But, I think it has helped me as much as I have helped others. I am more confident in my knowledge now and am not so hesitant to help out others. I know how to approach and explain a problem in a more clear manner. These are lessons that I can use everyday!

I was looking over this handout that was with all of my TJ’s stuff and realized that becoming a successful science student and tutor are interrelated. I am currently a tutor for Organic Chem, which I took over a year ago. I am not a chem major but I continue to tutor for this course because I found it fun and interesting. It’s funny becuase coming into college I was told that this would be the worst class I would ever take and that it was impossible to pass. But, I found that the right teaching and learning style could actually get you an A. The first point I think is the most important….motivate yourself to study. Or motivate yourself period. One of the hardest things to do is to pick up the book and simply read it or motivate yourself to go to class and participate in it…not just sit there and stare off into space.

It seems like such a simple concept but I think to get it across to clients what you have to do is relate to them. Looking at my science background you would not have pegged me to be one that would do well in organic…I disliked gen chem, I have a hard time grasping concepts, and I tend to memorize instead of apply. But, with this course I learned that I could understand concepts and learn them well enough for examination. Sure it took me longer than other people, but now I’m one of the tutors. So, organic or those other classes that one dreads could be the best class one takes, depending on your attitude and effort.

To just start out I am going to put up by scores for each category:

attendance=3

attitude=4

approachability=3

fosters independence=3/4

encourages/supports=3

processing time=3

active learning=3

verifies knowledge=3/4

modeling=3

learning skills=3

scaffolding=4

Like Aimee, I am going to focus in depth on few categories.

Attitude: I know that I am an upbeat person and usually am quite cheerful. But I have found that the number of clients that come to me are usually fed up with or overwhelmed by their coursework. Becuase of this, I am positive and interested, but a great part of it is also empathy. If you have shared the professor, then it is usually fun to throw in a small tidbit that shows you know how they feel and that you’ve been in the same place. That way the client does not feel so alienated. I usually wait until the end of the session and while we are all packing up to move up front I do a little small talk. This could be about future plans, current stresses of the week or even a current movie. Just so that the client relaxes a little and sees you as a student as well.

Fosters independence: This is an issue that I have had a hard time with during my time as a tutor. I always seem to get one to two clients that come on a regular basis. At first I thought it was necessary to walk them through problem sets and verify work. But, soon the clients came to depend upon me too much and I realized that I was talking and writing too much–it was like they were back in class. So now I make a point to speak less and set up questions and concepts so that the client talks them out and decides how the session goes.

Active Learning: Science is all about finding main concepts and details, and using all the information in an appropriate manner. So, I now have a system that works almost every time. Once the client is settled I ask them why they are here that day and what problems we are going to tackle. Once they have stated the chapters or concepts they have trouble with, I ask them to explain to me what they know about each of them. Usually they know more than they think they do and it’s a nice surprise for the both of us. Or if the basic concept is wrong or more complicated than it has to be, then I work to clarify it. Once that’s set, we usually work on a problem together than reinforces the concept we reviewed.

Attitude and Approachability (4) - Sometimes when tutoring gen. bio. you can see the student’s frustration with “why is there so much material and most of it is really boring.” I’ve felt that way too about some of the material. So when tutoring I always try to strongly encourage the student to think positively about all of this and focus on things like learning how to study and master the large amount of material and also try to relate these things to everyday life. You can use examples of things that you read about in the news and show how gen. bio. stuff does relate and try to generate more interest in the material. Also, I feel like I keep a relaxed friendly attitude when tutoring and try to get the point across that I am just a student as well and that we can get through the difficult parts of the material together.

Active learning (3) - I try consistently ask and repeat questions that will help the student really understand the material. I encourage them to say it out loud and work through it so they have the confidence in themselves for the test. Sometimes I feel like I do over-explain and the student kinda goes “what did you say”  I like to go over the details by re-reading them in the text and then discussing that along with the broad concept.

Verifies Knowledge (4) - I make sure that the student can critically think about the material and answer questions that lead to discussion of the material. Depending on how well the student knows the material I also quickly quiz them on topics that we talked about before or from the text in between different items on the agenda. Sometimes I feel like I ask too many open ended questions but I’ve realized that that’s not really a bad thing as long as it becomes clear and the students understands that topic.

Modeling (3) - This is something that I am doing more and more even if I really don’t need to look up a certain topic, I will go through with the student and use the index and other sources to make sure we have all the necessary details for that topic. I’ll say “let’s make sure we convered everything for (x) and make sure we’re not missing anything important” As we do this I encourage them to do the same when they read and study. Sometimes I forget to stress this but it’s definately something that is important to share with the students and encourage.

Processing, Scaffolding, and attendance are some of my weaknesses that I will focus on for next year to be a more complete tutor.

I’ve seen a good variety of students come for tutoring. Things that definately make a tutoring session good are the student AND the tutor being prepared. I had one session where I basically sat back as the student would tell me everything she knew about a topic. I didn’t even get a chance to write anything down on the form because she said so much, so fast. We had a really good biology conversation (nerd alert) because she knew the material so well and I could tie all of that in and help her connect all these different topics. It was good to hear her say that she felt much more confident for the test and we went over some test taking strategies since it was the first test. The student was thinking critically and organizing the material in her head and I just provided positive reinforcement. Other tutor sessions aren’t so easy when one person is not prepared. Sometimes you just have to say to them that they need to read the material before there can be any kind of discussion about it. When there’s that silence after you ask a question and you can tell they have no idea what you’re talking about all you can do is say ok, let’s look in the text where they talk about that and then after reading it we can discuss it and make sure we understand it. Sometimes it helps when they read it aloud and then I ask questions because right there they have practiced looking something up, reading about it, and then trying to understand it. What made me nervous the first couple times I tutored was what I would do if they asked me a question and I had no idea what they were talking about. I realized though that it happens and it’s actually a good learning opportunity for the student if handled correctly. I always bring other biology textbooks so we can look things up together. That’s really important in studying because you can stare at the text forever and not get it, but sometimes a different approach or another source will lead you to that ‘ah hah’ moment. I also ask the student before the session what they want to go over more specifically so I can make sure I am up to speed on those topics. Also I make sure we’ve talked about their learning style so the session is effective and geared towards how they learn. Some of the things I do now when tutoring are using other sources (internet, textbooks) to look up more information on topics we are discussing to show them how important that is when studying. Also I have them explain to me the concepts and think about why you would do some bio. technique or how does that topic relate to (x) etc. I haven’t had any ugly tutoring sessions but some definately had more uneasy moments than others. I’ve learned a lot from the ‘tougher’ sessions and will be that much more prepared next year.

Steps 4 and 5 I usually do together. Normally I try to set some kind of agenda over what topics we will go over that day. Sometimes it’s just “let’s do chapter 5″ and sometimes it’s more specific concepts. I write those down quickly so we don’t forget to go over any and at the end can look back and re-cap those topics. With biology concepts I usually try to start a conversation about the material that begins with “what can you tell me about (x) concept.” This way I can see whether or not they’ve looked at the material and have specific questions. Once we start talking about the material, and I always have the book out with diagrams and figures to look at, we can discuss it and make sure the specifics are down and also tie it in to the more general, broad concepts. Most of the time I try help the student connect the new material to relevant material from way before to tie some things together. Step 6 - address the task goes along with all of this. With the book open to figures and diagrams we can go through them and discuss out loud what we know about the topic instead of reading it right out of the book (hopefully they’ve already done that). I try to model how to effectively use the textbook by going to the index to look up stuff we don’t know or can’t remember. Steps 7 and 8 - summarizing - i work on right after we go over a concept and also at the end of session. Looking at the agenda we wrote down at the beginning we can make sure we covered it all and had a chance to re-cap those topics.

After getting past the format of this smarthinking website with their online chat type tutoring, I realized that a lot of the things we went over in our first meeting were exemplified by the tutor. To make sure that the student understood, the tutor asked the student to explain the concepts that they just went over. Sometimes it’s easy to just say it and wait for the student to nod and say “uh huh i get it,” but then you don’t really know if they actually understand. Another good thing the tutor did was use examples that would get the student to think and apply what they are learning to a problem. The tutor was encouraging and helpful, but ultiamtely it was the student who was doing the ‘thinking’ to work through the problem.

Here are four topics I chose to talk about in depth when evaluating myself:

Processing time- I would give myself a 2 on processing time because I feel like there are a lot of times when I should have waited longer for the student to find the answer and I feel that I too quickly want to give them a hint. This is difficult because sometimes I feel like it is taking them so long to find the answer because I didn’t phrase the question in a way that was easy to understand so I feel like I need to clarify the question. It can also be frustrating because I am usually able to quickly locate the information in my own book and then have to fight the urge to point them in the right direction. One way I try to deal with this is by not looking the information up myself, but sometimes this makes it seem like I’m not paying attention or not actively involved in helping the student. Another way I try to address the situation is to maybe point out where to find the information the first time, when I realize that they’re having a problem locating information, and then we discuss more efficient methods of using the textbook so that they can find the information more quickly next time and I don’t feel like I have to jump in.  Still, I think I need to work staying patient and giving the student enough time, no matter how awkward it may seem.

Active learning- I would give myself a 3 for active learning because I do try to encourage students to find the information on their own. Also, I will often ask them to describe a figure illustrating a concept they are unsure of, which helps them realize what they do know, while illuminating gaps or misconceptions. As review, I try to get them to relate to concepts already covered. I may also use figures as review by asking them to draw their own pictures showing the same ideas we had just discussed.  Still, I sometimes do tend to lecture instead of letting them find the information, simply because there isn’t always enough time to let them search through the entire chapter to find the answer. Often in these instances, though, I have already had them look up several answers on their own and so the idea of finding the information on their own is already established.

Verifies knowledge- I would give myself a 4 for verifying knowledge. I frequently ask questions related to material that we just covered, and if they are unsure, then I know we need to go over it again. I will also ask students to repeat information or concepts, whether it be asking them to explain the concept to me or asking them to draw a picture. I find this to be especially important in instances where I explained the material, rather than letting them look it up in the text. At the end of the session, I also ask students to summarize the ideas covered, and will ask them a few more review questions. I try to leave enough time so that if we do encounter a misunderstanding during this review, we can still look at the material one more time to correct any problems.

Scaffolding- I would give myself a 3 for scaffolding because I do try to show students how broad concepts break down into increasingly specific ideas. I find that usually a student’s specific question stems from a lack of broad understanding of the main concept, and so I will take them back to the more general level from which we then work down until we eventually get to the student’s original question and they are able to answer it based on what we just covered. I only rated myself with a 3, however, because I don’t always remember to break information down in this way, especially if the student seems to have a good understanding of most of the topics.

I scored myself on the other areas as follows:

Attendance- 4

Attitude- 3

Approachability- 3

Fosters independence- 3

Encourages/supports- 4

Modeling- 4

Learning skills- 4

Encourage/Support - I feel that I could use a little bit of help in this department. Sometimes I feel like my personality becomes as dry as the subject I am tutoring for. It is very easy for me to look at tutoring as me and a good friend talking about school. Sometimes I forget that the people that come in for tutoring do not know me and could be offended by the way I explain things. I am very black and white with everything and am not afraid to tell someone that they are wrong. I feel that I could use some more encouraging mannerisms and vocabulary.

Approchability - I feel than I am pretty good about this one. Anyone that comes to me has no problem asking me anything that is on their mind. I feel that this is true because of my black and white style of tutoring. If I wasn’t so straightforward, I feel that my clcients would not want to be straightforward either.

attitude - I feel that I do not need very much work in this department either. I tend to have a great attitude toward the classes that I tutor mainly because I actually like the course material and therefore find it easy to have a good attitude towards it. I think that as long as you like what you are doing, you will have a good attitude.

processing time - This is another thing that I need to work on. A lot of times I will find myself giving the client only a few seconds to grasp hard concepts or try problems. I feel that this is almost a necessity in chemistry however with all of the course material that must be covered. A lot of clients that come to see me have a lot of things on the to do list and in order to make it to every point, sacrifices have to be made. It does make the learning experience a lot more interesting, warm, and beneficial however with the extra processing time. This is a key thing for me to work on.

Overall, tutoring has been an interesting ride and I look forward to tutoring again next year. I feel that this assessment guide could be useful as well.

Over the last semester of tutoring, I have found myself in two of these categories: the good and the bad. Although a majority of the tutoring sessions that I have fall into the “good” category, there were a few sessions that crossed into the bad. There were a few reasons that these few crossed into the bad. First and foremost, it was the client that was completely unprepared and unorganized. When an unprepared and unorganized client came for a session, I would spend the majority of the hour trying to narrow down the topics into categories that were of manageable size. This was a problem because the client would get a lot less out of the session than usual because they failed to prepare. The client would in turn associate the lack of help and understanding with the tutor. I would consider this “bad.” Another reason that a tutoring session could turn for the worse has to do with my organization. On one or two occasions, I have found myself leading a client onto a tangent that more likely than not would not help them in the long run. It is important that, as a tutor, you stay on the path that you lay out at the beginning of the session lest you move into the “bad” realm.

I viewed a few of the sample tutoring exercises and I think they have some significance to them. The math exercise was of particular interest to me mainly because I understood it the best. You can tell by the way that they went from point to point that they are working off of the same principles that we here at TJs work off of. Take for instance they way that we are told to start a topic off. The problem was analyzed by the person being tutored rather than the tutor. Also, the tutor made use of being on the computer by being able to show things on the graph using graphics. Interesting things like that would make smarthinking a good idea. On the other hand, I feel that tutoring is a real personal exercise that is very difficult to do over the phone or even over the internet. There is the personality that is missing when on the computer that fails to make the person being tutored feel welcome. I feel that the atmosphere is not as sympathetic or warm. I personally would never visit a site like this or recommend it to anyone with a real problem that they do not understand.