Hello Rollins Resource Center

This is Susie.

Peer tutoring and writing consulting at Rollins College: archived reflections

We are the peer tutoring program and the Writing Center at Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, USA.  Welcome to our archives spanning three semesters: spring and fall 2008 and spring 2009.

This space was a virtual extension of the time we spent together, face-to-face, in crash training, staff meetings, specialty group meetings and outings and in projects alone and with other tutors. We went back to using Blackboard in fall 2009, but there is interesting stuff here for new tutors and consultants to read.

Also check out our Rollins College website: http://r-net.rollins.edu/twc

VARK learning style inventory…for crash on Mon. 8/24

To all new tutors and writing consultants:

BEFORE Monday 8/24 @ 7 p.m. (when our first common training starts), go to www.vark-learn.com and take the VARK learning style inventory (called the questionnaire on the website).

When taking it, remember that you can check more than one answer. We’ll spend some time processing this information in groups on Monday night, then applying it in triads.

There are so many ways to get at how we all learn differently.   The VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write & Kinesthetic) is pretty good for being such a quick one, and since it’s on the internet, you can also recommend it to the students you work with.  We have a handout up here in TJ’s that summarizes the help sheets on the website.  Take a look at those, to see if you agree with the results of the test.

Write down your profile (I’m a V, but pretty multi-modal (using all) as well).

Here’s a sampling of items in the quick questionnaire:

(CHOOSE AS MANY AS YOU ACTUALLY LIKE OR WOULD DO)

I like websites that have:

a. interesting written descriptions, lists and explanations.

b. things I can click on, shift or try.

c. audio channels where I can hear music, radio programs or interviews.

d. interesting design and visual features.

Remember a time when you learned how to do something new. Try to avoid choosing a physical skill, eg. riding a bike. You learned best by:

a. written instructions – e.g. a manual or textbook.

b. watching a demonstration.

c. listening to somebody explaining it and asking questions.

d. diagrams and charts – visual clues.

You have to make an important speech at a conference or special occasion. You would:

a. gather many examples and stories to make the talk real and practical.

b. write out your speech and learn from reading it over several times.

c. write a few key words and practice saying your speech over and over.

d. make diagrams or get graphs to help explain things.

Training and staff meetings, first three wks, fall ’09

…..MO 8/24  First day of classes

5:30-6:30 #1 WRITING CENTER STAFF MEETING new and returning!

6:30-7:00 Pizza and drinks w/ new tutors

7:00-9:30 COMMON TRAINING pt. 1 for new tutors & writing consultants: bring your VARK scores.

…..WE 8/26

5:30-6:30 #1 TUTOR STAFF MEETING, with new and returning tutors

6:30-7:00 Sandwiches with tutors and new writing consultants.

6:30-9:30 COMMON TRAINING pt. 2  for new tutors & writing consultants.

…..TH 8/27 OR TU 9/1

between 12:30-2 (spend 30-40 mins. in this hour and a half doing the TJ’s checklist, incl. TutorTrac, any leftover paperwork, TJ’s people, places, things)

…..MO 8/31

5:30-6:30 #2 WRITING CENTER STAFF MEETING

6:30-7:00 Another bite to eat before specialty training

7:00-9:30 WRITING CENTER TRAINING for new writing consultants and

new tutors in courses w/ much writing (humanities and social sciences)

…..WE 9/2  Tutoring and writing consulting open for business

5:30-6:30 #2 TUTOR STAFF MEETING

6:30-7:00 Another bite to eat before specialty training

7-9: Foreign language specialty tutor training

…..MO 9/7  LABOR DAY!  no nothin’

5:30-6:30 #3 WRITING CENTER STAFF MEETING

…..WE 9/9

5:30-6:30 #3 TUTOR STAFF MEETING

6:30-7:00 Another bite to eat before specialty training

7-9: Quantitative specialty tutor training

Journal #3

To begin with, when observing the amount of tutoring done in the different departments, I don’t find it odd to see chemistry at the top of the list. Chemistry takes a lot of work to do well in and would therefore signify the need for more chemistry tutors. On the other hand, we see theatre and english with low amounts of tutoring. However, both of them went up in amounts for the previous academic year. This either means that students are having difficult in these course, or that we now have proper tutors that can assist clients with their needs.

In the top ten majors based on tutor activity, we see INB and BIO at the top of the list. Students typically need more help in this course due to the specificity and nature of the topics. It’s great to see that TJ’s can deliver to these students and improve their grades and study habits. However, when we look at the lowest amount on the top ten majors, we see a fairly low amount of hours being used up. This shows a significant decrease in the needs of students after the majors of INB and BIO. This shows me that these two programs are the hardest at Rollins and special attention needs to be given to these students to better accommodate them.

Riley journal 4

1. Rank these in order of importance in your work as a tutor. Say why and what aspects, specifically, are important in each area.

q People skills     2

q Content knowledge        3

1. q TJ’s systems (TutorTrac, Kronos, TJ’s 24, etc.)       6

q Creativity         4

q Communication w/faculty             5

q Knowledge about learning process             1

(So.,.

The most important in this work is knowledge about learning process because in order to teach something you must understand how the student is learning

The 2^nd most important is people skills because working with people at all requires that you be comfortable communicating with them.

The 3^rd most important is content knowledge because in order to teach something you yourself must have at least a better grasp on the subject matter than the person whom you are teaching.

The 4^th most important is creativity because every student is different and you must change you style and approach in order to be as effective as possible for that student.

The 5^th most important is is communication with faculty, because you have to understand what the teachers are trying to get across in the classroom in order to help the student in the class.

6^th is the TJ’s systems, is very important and helps organize the tutors and more efficiently help the students.

2. Rate yourself in respect to doing your job and following TJ’s systems. Why? In which areas?

Mostly undependable — Sometimes iffy — Mostly Responsible — Super worker

I felt that I followed the TJ’s systems with few problems, logging in and out and filling out my paperwork.  If I had a problem with anything I corrected it and was rarely late to an appointment and always flexible.  My post session paper work was some what weak in my notes section primarily because I wrote many of my notes on students paper in order for it to be easier to see for them.

3. How could TJ’s make your life as a tutor easier or better?

The only thing I think could make things easier is to allow tutors, with in reason, say 6 hours prior or earlier, to change/move/or cancel appointments.  The tutors are students as well and tests and projects may arise and being able to manage their own appointments easier would be convenient.

4. Briefly mention what you learned/discovered from training: crash and staff meetings

I learned how to better help others and even how to improve my own studying, asking myself questions rather than seeing a professor so that I myself understand how a process works and not merely the answer to a single problem.

5. What have you learned on the job as a tutor?

I learned that there are many hard working students that just need a little helping hand and how rewarding it can be to be a tutor, both for helping others and teaching the material to yourself.

6. If you could change one thing about these courses, what would it be?

I  felt that the courses were very effective, however I would love to see professors from each department come and speak to tutors just briefly about what they would like and/or tips on teaching.

7. If you could change one thing about TJ’s systems, what would it be?

The already mention increased availability to change of appointments for tutors, as well as keeping better track of what exactly is going on or happened at an appointment.  This would allow tutors to better prepare and TJ’s and the professors to see what problem areas are.

8. For good or ill, what two things stand out about this year/semester in tutoring?

I receive a comment card/evaluation that made my semester.  Saying that I was the best tutor that the student had had and they felt that I really could explain the subject in a way they got.

9. We are now asking tutor applicants to respond to the challenges they may (will probably, as we know) face on the job. Please answer them yourselves, now that you’ve been tutoring for at least a semester.

What would you do if… (what did you do when…)

…you didn’t know the answer? The student and I searched notes and the book and if we still couldn’t find it I suggested that they see their professor sometime.

…you realize the student did not have the background knowledge he needed to do the work?  I would ask them to read the section in the book and to feel free and ask me if they were stuck on a topic.

…the student is not prepared for the tutoring session? Again I would ask them to read the material for the session and ask me anytime they were confused on a topic.

…the student wanted you to do his/her work for you? I told them to work on it and if they got stuck I would give them hints to help them figure it out for themselves.

Any other challenging situations come to mind? What did you/would you do? I think each department sees various problems that are characteristic of their department, I would suggest that biology tutors reread along side the courses they tutor and that chem tutors get material from the professors to practice problems.

10. If you have been another sort of peer educator (peer mentor, RA, LEAD team, etc), what in that training would you like to see in tutor training? …what in our training would you like to see in that training?

I haven’t been but I feel the basic topics such as teaching the student how to help themselves and not just helping them would be good.

Riley Journal 3

Seeing as the majority of my appointments were in chemistry I focused primarily on chemistry statistics.  The chemistry department has seen a raise in appointments, as this is a challenging department, and many feel that the department strives to become more and more challenging.  Few of my appointments labeled the exact meeting material, something which I both appreciated when the students labeled and feel would be an added important statistic for both the tutors and the professors.  I think that if the material were better kept track of it would be seen that enantiomers, reactions and spectrophotometry were the primary problem areas.  I found it odd that I got so many appointments not surrounding tests, quizzes or assignments, suggesting that student made more appointments based on wanting the comprehend the material better and not just cram for something.

I had many repeat students who chose me whenever I had a tutoring session that fit their time.  I had some students that preferred me for either bio or chem and others for the other subject.  I also experienced “hot spots” in my schedule where I would go a week with one appointment and then have a week where all my hours were full or even where students asked me to tutor them after hours on top of my usual time.  These hot spots occurred sometimes during tests but many times just during times that coincide with difficult lectures in class.

Riley Journal 2

I scored an ESFP on Mytype Personality.  “People-oriented and fun-loving, they make things more fun for others by their enjoyment. Living for the moment, they love new experiences. They dislike theory and impersonal analysis. Interested in serving others. Likely to be the center of attention in social situations. Well-developed common sense and practical ability.”  Much of this I agree with, I like being around people and strive to help others, a path that has led me to tutoring and also on my goal of becoming a doctor.  As for the rest, I do prefer having things explained to me in a way that I understand and can apply else where not just memorizing useless formulas, and I would also agree that I make practical decisions and have good common sense.

As a biology major I think this makes sense.  Biology is much more hands on a practical, you can relate it easily to things around you.  The department is very laid back and not quite as calculating as other science departments and professors like my advisor Dr. Stephenson is very outgoing and loves what he does.  As a tutor I have had all types, from very extroverted to very introverted students and I always try and play to their comfort level.  I may not make introverted students read out loud or explain things as much if they are uncomfortable where as extroverts I may have completely tell me everything they know about a topic and see if it clicks for them.

Riley Journal 1

As a science major and a biology and chemistry tutor I identify primarily with Aimee.  I frequently came across frantic students who although they knew a topic just couldn’t quite grasp it and therefore worked themselves up about.  The student Aimee had was  most likely stressed do to an up coming quiz or test that they felt unprepared or felt like they were drowning in new material. I have seen many clients like this, coming in a throwing a bunch of handout and notes and books on the desk and combing through almost out of breath trying to find what they wanted to go over, or those students that came with a list of hundreds of questions.  The problem was they expected me to just tell them the answer to each and move on.  I really liked and can relate with the phrase from Aimee, “They “struggle,”, I give them a “clue,” they get it, then they struggle some more, and so it goes,” I used this same approach, as we were taught at TJ’s, of countering the students question with a simpler question that leads them on the right track.  Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time.  Also as a science tutor I frequently see students come in speaking in only numbers and figures and one way to help them slow down and also understand what they are themselves are doing is to ask them not what a number is but how they got that number.  Aimee did this by asking “What are you getting those numbers for?”  I feel that questioning the student in order to get them to come upon the answer themselves is a tactic that TJ’s has taught me, and that both I and apparently Aimee have used to great success.

Tutoring Journal on Data

The tutoring data from 2005-2006 shows the majority of students coming in for tutoring need help in psychology. I know I most certainly would need help in psychology too! In addition, most assignments are due within a week which I found surprising. My experience as a tutor has been that the majority of clients come in for some last minute assistance and expect me to give them the answers rather than help. To see the majority of students coming in a week ahead of time is encouraging and showing responsibility on their part. It will be interesting to see what this year’s data reveals.
I also see that 44% of students come to tutoring for help studying for a test. This does not surprise me as a substantial number of my clients came to me before an exam for a general review or to prepare a study guide. Something else that did surprise me was that 30% and the majority of writing consultations were for the middle of the draft. Personally, the middle of the draft flows the easiest whereas the final touches and early states are the most difficult.
I also noticed that more students attended tutoring in the fall rather than the spring for a combined total of 1740 hours! I would have expected the opposite as students not performing up to their expectations in the fall sought out help in the spring. This is not the case and is quite interesting. Either way, I am glad to see that students are utilizing all that TJ’s has to offer.

Tutoring Journal on Personality

To little surprise, I am an ENTJ personality type meaning I am a moderately expressed extravert, moderately expressed intuitive, moderately expressed thinking, and slightly expressed judging personality. First off, I can hardly imagine anyone more extraverted than I and I would greatly enjoy meeting said person. My moderately expressed intuitive and thinking side is probably what landed me in a tutoring position while my slightly expressed judging trait explains some of the decisions, both good and bad, that I have made.
I expected to see a greater level of expression in my thinking personality as my success in economics could be contributed to this personality trait. Nonetheless, I must be doing something right. Although presentations do stir butterflies in my stomach I greatly enjoy doing them and now realize this is my extroverted side coming through. A good friend of mine once said I enjoy figuring things out and he could use this test as evidence of such. My thinking personality and intuition undoubtedly make me the person I am today.
I wish this test would have given me a patience score and believe I may be on the lower end of the spectrum. Through tutoring, I have learned I see the world in a certain way and would much rather spend my time in agreement with someone rather than constantly repeating my beliefs, which is typical in some tutoring sessions. Now, I can easily see how personality types affect social interactions and are key in choosing the clients/tutors one “clicks” with.

Ryan Webb — Journal #3

What is interesting? Expected? Strange? What data can be explained by professors teaching the courses? By tutors tutoring them? By students taking them?

Examining the data on the poster in TJ’s I see some very interesting facts about how tutoring here at Rollins has grown over the past few years. There are significant increases in most if not all categories for tutors gaining more hours.

It is expected for there to be the most tutoring hours for the natural sciences such as chemistry and biology for these are typically viewed as the hardest majors here at Rollins. I find it strange, however, that a large number of people are coming in this year when they do not have any assignment due. This tells me that many students really are trying to get ahead on their work and learn the material, a very positive sign for TJ’s and tutors everywhere.

The proportion of professors who require a visit reflects the beliefs of the teacher that is in charge of that course so some of that data can explain how many professors require that their students use TJ’s. Tutors that tutor certain classes are reflected in the graph that represents how often students in certain majors go to tutors. The Spanish tutors had a significant number of hours even though the major is relatively small, this shows how useful students find these tutors.

What do you notice? Repeats? Less/more demand than you expected? Students who see only you or who see more than one tutor for the course? What else?

For individual students that I have tutored in Economics I have seen one student in particular have quite a few repeat tutoring sessions with me. Examining the printout I can see that he has also utilized the other tutors when I was not available for the same course (hopefully our teachings are consistent!). In general there has been much less demand for tutoring than I expected at the beginning of the semester. Perhaps it is because my hours are out of wack and that will be something that I could think about changing in future semesters.

Justin Wright, Journal 4

Justin Wright – Organic Chemistry

Self-appraisal at the end of the first semester of tutoring (final journal for TPJ 107)

1.  Rank these in order of importance in your work as a tutor.  Say why and what aspects, specifically, are important in each area.

1. Content Knowledge – This is the most important for me, since the better I know what I’m talking about, the more different ways I can explain it. Sometimes one explanation just doesn’t click for a client, so I will try another one until they say “ohhhh! Now it makes sense!”

2. Creativity – Sometimes clients run out of practice problems and ask me to make them some on the spot. This requires some creativity to make some decent problems that are helpful. Also, sometimes I make up examples to explain concepts, which requires me to improvise a little.

3. People Skills – Nonverbal communication is just as important as verbal communication. Sometimes a client will say they understand a concept, but they still look confused, so I will try to explain myself again rather than just assume that they got it.

4. Knowledge About Learning Process – This is especially important in chemistry, since most explanations focus on visual examples. I usually try to find out if my clients are visual or not before I explain anything, since I think this is a common source of confusion.

5. Communication with Faculty – This is important since I need to know what is due when, and what is expected of the students. I have had both organic chemistry professors before, so I already know their teaching styles.

6. TJ’s Systems – I mainly just use these to find out when my appointments are. They don’t come into play when I’m working with clients.

2.  Rate yourself in respect to doing your job and following TJ’s systems. Why?  In which areas?

1. Also I stopped giving out evaluations, but this was because I was seeing the same clients over and over, and getting the same scores from them, and it was getting to the point where they would just fill them out and give them back to me instead of putting them in the box, so I figured I was not getting honest responses anymore.  Other than that, I followed the proper procedures and made sure that work was getting done during my sessions.

3. How could TJ’s make your life as a tutor easier or better?

I was confused for a long time about what I needed to do for each appointment. I was also unsure about what I needed to do for the two TJs courses. I think it would have been helpful to have a master sheet for each course with all assignments, due dates, and staff meeting dates, and then a checklist for what I needed to do for each meeting. I know that most of this information is posted in the main room of TJs, but it took me a while to figure that out as well.

4. Briefly mention what you learned/discovered from training: crash and staff meetings

I learned that I should put clients in control when possible, and guide them through rather than lead them. I found that this prevented anyone from asking me to do work for them. Also I learned that I need to give encouragement but not make any promises – for example, not telling my clients that I know they will get an A on the test.

5. What have you learned on the job as a tutor?

I have learned that group sessions are much less productive – usually the amount of wasted time will double with each additional person. I’ve learned that everyone seems to have their own weak spot in organic chemistry. I’ve learned that sometimes one explanation is not enough – multiple perspectives are needed to accurately understand and explain some concepts. I also have learned that anyone can do well in organic chemistry as long as they have some faith in themselves.

6. If you could change one thing about these courses, what would it be?

I would make some sort of grand master list of all paperwork and assignments that need to be completed, and when exactly they are due and where they need to go. I was often confused about where to turn in certain forms like blue biweeklies, and when the journals were actually due, and things like that.

7. If you could change one thing about TJ’s systems, what would it be?

I would rather not have clients have the ability to schedule appointments after 6 am the day of. It was frustrating to find out that I had an appointment five minutes beforehand, and not be prepared since I had been in class all day. I would rather know the night before what I need to do the next day, or at least be able to check in the morning before going to class so that I could plan my day out.

8. For good or ill, what two things stand out about this year/semester in tutoring?

I liked working with my clients. I never had anyone who was unprepared, or hostile, or that did not want to work, or put me in some sort of awkward situation. All of them worked very hard and I thought that it was a pleasant and rewarding experience. One thing that bothered me was that I still felt unprepared even after training. It was not so much the tutoring aspects, but the TJs procedures just seemed very complicated at first and I was afraid I was going to forget to do something and mess up the entire system. Eventually I figured everything out, however.

9. We are now asking tutor applicants to respond to the challenges they may (will probably, as we know) face on the job.  Please answer them yourselves, now that you’ve been tutoring for at least a semester.

What would you do if… (what did you do when…)

…you didn’t know the answer?

When this happened, I would just admit that I did not know, and then suggest that we look through the textbook, or I would pull out my old notes if I knew it was not something in the book. On a few rare occasions was not able to come up with an answer even then, and I would just suggest that the client ask their professor. These were all lab-related questions that had problems related to experimental results that did not make sense.

…you realize the student did not have the background knowledge he needed to do the work?

When this happened, I just tried to briefly explain the general idea, while encouraging the client to read up on the material so that they would be familiar with it. Usually they would then ask another question on another topic, but if they did not I would ask if they wanted to work through a few practice problems and learn as we went.

…the student is not prepared for the tutoring session?

This never happened to me, but if the client did not bring anything I would send them off to go get whatever they wanted to work on. If they had not read or did not know the material at all, I would offer to go through the chapter with them, and tell them to read each paragraph and summarize it in a sentence. After we had gotten far enough through, I would ask if they wanted to do a few practice problems. Perhaps this would remind them of some earlier questions the had, or they would at least gain something from reading the chapter. I would not just tell them to leave, since this would most likely discourage them.

…the student wanted you to do his/her work for you?

I would evade this question and instead ask the client questions that would help get the work done. By changing the subject, hopefully the client would get the message that the matter is closed. If they continued to ask, I would just tell them that they need to do their own work.

Any other challenging situations come to mind?  What did you/would you do?

The situation that I dread happening is a client having some sort of emotional breakdown because of how difficult the class is. I would listen to them, but I think it would be difficult to find something to say that is encouraging yet realistic. I would try to listen to their concerns, maybe offer some advice to consider, but I would avoid trying to convince them to do anything in particular and let them decide if they want to stay in the course, etc. If they seemed like they were starting to feel better, I would then try to get back on task.

1. 10. If you have been another sort of peer educator (peer mentor, RA, LEAD team, etc), what in that training would you like to see in tutor training?    …what in our training would you like to see in that training?

I have not been in any of these roles, so I don’t really have anything to add here…

Justin Wright, Journal 3

I have seen quite a few things in the statistics that have surprised me. The most surprising is that demand seems to be higher for courses that I would not have expected. I thought that introductory level biology, chemistry, and math would have the greatest demand, but surprisingly few clients signed up for chemistry tutoring. Then again, there were more tutors for chemistry than any other department. Demand was much higher for foreign language than I expected. One of my friends who is a Spanish tutor seemed to have more appointments than I did, but last semester she only had a handful or so. I thought that I was going to be booked solid all the time for the infamous organic chemistry, but that did not really happen. I noticed that in the sciences, repeat clients were the norm. The repeat clients would either stick with only one tutor, or schedule as many appointments as possible, with different tutors so that they would be spread throughout the week. Most of my appointments (90%) were with repeat clients.  Besides demand just being generally lower than I expected, it also seemed to peak at very odd times. I would be fully booked during random weeks, but sometimes the week of a major test I would have no appointments. This suggests to me that not very many people, in chemistry anyway, are booking last minute appointments for crash studying. As far as the other subjects go, I do not know when the tests and major assignments were, so I can’t generalize this outside my course. I would summarize my finding as:

1. Clients either prefer to work with someone familiar, or schedule as many appointments as possible.

2. Demand is independent of assignments.

3. Students per tutor correlates positively with demand.

Justin Wright, Journal 2

I took the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, but since I was frustrated with it wanting me to pay to find out anything beyond the fact that I was “rational,” I went and tracked down a site where I could take the Meyers-Briggs and find my actual type. And I turned out to be a Mastermind (INTJ). This was the same as what I had gotten when I first took the test back in middle school.

According to the description on the Keirsey Temperament Sorter page, I am an uncommon type of person and highly devoted to my work. I value efficiency rather than authority, and do not feel bound to tradition. I enjoy problem solving and am restless until decisions are made. Also, I always do the research before making decisions.

All of this describes me pretty well. I’m often the last person to leave the Bush building, long after professors have gone home. I often develop my own way to solve problems if I am dissatisfied with established methods. And I’m always the one to be looking things up before I make a decisions, because I hate being uncertain about anything.

I can see that my personality type is suited to science. Masterminds like problem solving and complex systems. And they like their answers to have a firm grounding in reality. Also I can see my personality affecting my desire to go into genetic research, for the same reasons.

In my tutoring, I often get frustrated if I see that a client has a method for doing something that I think is inefficient. Often I’ll mention my own tricks that I’ve developed and see if they prefer mine better, but I try not to force them if their own method is working better for them. Also, I try to break problems down into small steps. A common question clients ask is “how would you do this problem?” I ask them the same questions I would ask if I was doing the problem on my own, so that they can take control and also see the problem from a more structured approach.