Tutoring @ TJ’s

Because Pete makes the most delicious smoked turkey!

Attitude:

I will give myself a 4 for attitude. I think I have always been given my tutees a very positive attitude. Since Chinese is my first language, I can feel a strong connection with the tutees when I am tutoring them.

Encourages/ supports:

I will give myself a 3 for encourage and support. Since I have the experience of learning a second language, it helps me to think of ways to support my tutees through my past experience. However, since English and Chinese are completely different, being a native Chinese speaker, sometimes I also feel like it is not easy to think from their aspects. Meanwhile, I didn’t take Chinese class at Rollins, so there are times when I am not sure about how to support them.

Processing Time:

I give myself a 2 for processing time. I didn’t do well on processing time, because I always have the feeling that in a language course, if you don’t know something then you don’t know it. No matter how much time I give my tutees, they still wouldn’t be able to pronounce a word if they simply just don’t know it. However, think about it the other way, I might add pressure to my tutees by doing this, which might cause them to forget something that they really know about. As a result, processing time is definitely something I need to work on.

Scaffolding:

I will give myself a 3 for scaffolding. I have been working with my tutees to break down the complicated characters into simple characters that they know. I would break down complicated sentence structures and compare them with other structures, so that it would become easier to memorize and understand.

I have met lots of good tutees, who were really dedicated and prepared for the tutoring session. Most of my clients came for help on pronunciation, so how much effect they put into study became very obvious once they open their mouth. My good tutees would ask me questions about how to identify similar pronunciations and if they felt uncertain about a sentence, they would ask me to give them an example. I am very happy about their positive learning experience. Meanwhile, I think being able to keep up with this attitude will be beneficial for them.

Most of my tutees are good; however, some tutees are unprepared and are here just because it is a required tutor session. In the paragraph they were supposed to read, they didn’t try to find any pronunciations even though they didn’t know how to pronounce the word. They would ask me to read pretty much the whole paragraph and they would just follow me. Since I knew they wouldn’t remember anything after the tutor session, I slowed down the speed and looked for the pronunciation in the back of the book with them instead of telling them directly.

I am going to evaluate myself on 4 different categories: attendance, attitude, encourages/supports, and verifies knowledge

Attendence

For attendance, I give myself a 4. I am always on time and I have never missed an appointment–even when I wasn’t feeling well, and really really really didn’t want to go. I even went when I had an appointment with someone I really didn’t like, and didn’t particularly want to tutor.

Attitude

I give myself a 3 in this particular category. While I like tutoring and have a generally positive attitude, sometimes when I don’t like my client I am less positive. While I try really hard to control this, after someone is late or rude to me it gets realllllly difficult. I also get distracted sometimes because there can be so much noise at TJs–it makes it really hard to focus on what I am reading.

Encourages/Supports

My lowest category is encourages/supports with a 2. Even though I might really like the paper I’m reading, I usually only tell the client how to make it better. I need to remember that encouraging the student, and making them feel good about their work is an integral part of the tutoring process–the last thing I want to do is discourage someone.

Verifies Knowledge

I am a 3 in this category. While I usually ask my clients questions such as, “how do you use a semi-colon?” when I see that they aren’t using it correctly sometimes I just tell them and move on. I do this for time purposes. You can’t check understanding all the time (at least not with writing), particularly in 30 minute appointments. However, I usually do this.

I think the UNC Greensboro assessment is useful in many ways. For myself, in the category of processing I’d be between a 2 and 3. Sometimes I’m more patient than others in giving them the time to process their thoughts. I would say, most of the session I give the students adequate processing time, but with some problems or at sometimes I am too quick to jump to helping them with the answer. In the category of scaffolding I would give myself a 4 because I feel like in math, many problems require that you break it down into steps, especially in calculus. Modeling is similar for that in math as well. Graphs are associated with most everything and many times I can’t remember the exact way to do it or I learned it differently then the book or prof taught it so I encourage them to go back to their books(which they have often never looked at) and read examples in the section and we work through them. I don’t think they like it when I have them use their text book, they just want the information from me. In the category of ‘verifies knowledge’ I would have to give myself a 2. I try to check many times but I find it hard when they have so many different, unrelated questions to get to in 30 min. And often I think they humor me saying they understand and try to mimic their way through a problem. I’d say about half of the time I catch the fact that they are faking knowing it and then I really go through it with them, but I could definitely verify their understanding more often. I think this way of assessment is useful in some ways and not in others, I think there could be a 2.5 because I feel the jump from 2 to 3 on many of the categories is a big jump. Other than that it is very thorough and might be useful for the students to use to evaluate tutors they go to more than once maybe.

I have had a really great experience tutoring this semester.  Yes, there were the “good, the bad, and the ugly,” but I think I was able to help most, if not all of my clients, and I learned many things from them as well.  Looking back over my first post, I remember many of the fears I had, but as I began tutoring, they were all eased.  With that, here is my self-evaluation.

1. Processing Time:  I think that I would give myself a 3 in processing time.  I just had a session and I recall a moment when I interrupted my client.  I know that we talked about this extensively during our training, so it is definitely something of which I am conscious.  However, in our culture, periods of silence are seen as bad or awkward, and it is hard to overcome that.  I would not say I do it very often, but I have found myself doing so.  It is one area in which I will definitely try to improve myself. 
2. Scaffolding:  I would honestly have to rate myself a 4 in this category, because I consistently help my clients break down difficult concepts.  With many of my clients, they come in with lots of information but are not sure what it all means.  I love helping them break it down and re-categorizing things, and help them make study materials in doing so. 
3. Approachability:  I think that this is one of the most important areas.  With that, I feel that it is one area that I should always be conscious of and work on improving.  I would have to rate myself a 3 in this category. 
4. Fostering independence:  I have a major problem with the explanations under each of the numbers in this category.  They all 4, 3, and 2 cite allowing the client to set the pace of the session.  While I agree that the client needs to be comfortable with the pace, I fully believe that it is the responsibility of the tutor to determine the structure so that the most can be accomplished in the session.  However, I do like the idea of providing a setting where the student can take risks, is comfortable, and can choose topics for the session.  It is really hard for me to categorize myself based on the descriptions they give.  However, I have had clients who I have “weaned off” my services and are now doing well on their own using the study skills I taught them, so I do feel that I foster independence effectively.  Additionally, I always ask my clients what they want to talk about and structure the session based off of their information.  On just a general scale, exclusive from the evaluation form, I would give myself a 3.

FYI: I’ve revised the new tutors’ last journal (#4), and for any veteran tutor (for TJ’s 24). Here’s the description (copied from the JOURNALS page in the tabs at the top of the blog).

4. final self-evaluation: I’m asking you to use the UNC Greensboro “Tutor Assessment Rubric and Evaluation Form,” the product of three of their years of institutional assessment. It’s a very thorough instrument for student clients to evaluate their tutoring sessions…in nine categories of learning outcomes linked to their mission and goals. New tutors, and others who want TJ’s 24 hours, please CHOOSE FOUR of the categories to assess yourself along the spectrum (4: exemplary; 3:accomplished; 2: developing, 1:beginning). Do this on the blog. Be honest, both in assessing yourself, but also in evaluating the worth to you of this or that category. I want to see how this works for us to assess ourselves, and potentially for students to assess us, as the UNC-G folks use it.

You can access this on the UNC website: (and in our sidebar on the blog) http://success.uncg.edu/lac/tutoring/SSC%20Tutor%20Evaluation.pdf

THE GOOD
For me, the best appointments are with motivated clients who want my help. It is always really nice when you can help someone improve their writing, teach them about punctuation, help them figure out how to write a thesis, or help them learn to solve economics problems. I like helping people do well; especially when they have the capability to do well, but simply have had teachers that were unable to relay information in an effective manner.

THE BAD

I hate when I get appointments with students whose whole reason for being there is because they have to. These sessions are usually not as productive as when the client cares because the student is not interested in what I have to say, and expects me to just fix their mistakes for them while they sit idly in their chair, staring off into space. I particularly detest when I am reading a paper aloud so that they can hear their mistakes, and they do not pay any attention to me–I’m not reading this aloud for my health people! Some would say that an alternative to this would be to have the client read the paper, but then I don’t catch as many mistakes.

THE UGLY

I don’t think there really is an ugly. (more…)

So, I have been helping a repeat client for weeks now work through the grammar in their essays. I try not to automatically correct it for them like some mechanical proofreader. Instead, I ask why they used a certain tense or phrase. If we are reviewing an assignment the professor returned, it goes by fairly smoothly. Only, this student brings in assignment to be turned in and up until recently, I did not know they were not allowed to bring in essays that had not been reviewed by the professor. The thought didn’t occur to my gullible mind and now, I feel kind of used, which is okay if you’re providing a service, but it’s the kind of used that makes you feel cheated. Like someone lied or wasn’t totally honest. Anyway, this was the bad part of tutoring. It turns out that the student uses a translation service online and then comes in to correct the grammar : ( I should have spoken in more detail with the professor. (more…)

The Good:

The GOOD in any tutor session comes from a positive learning experience for the client which has been fostered by a tutor who knows what he/she is doing. I’d say we’re all pretty good at this because we’ve taken and mastered the courses and the clients are motivated enough to make appointments and therefore motivated enough to engage in the positive learning experience. I’ve, thus far, had no bad or ugly in my tutor sessions because every client I’ve had has been very prepared and known what they want to improve or work on. And to me, intent is the most crucial trait of a good tutor session. That is, the client has the intent to learn and to accept the way I present my help. That’s not to say that it’s my way or no way, but that just as there are different learning styles there are also different teaching styles, and so long as there aren’t any huge differences between the two we can meld them to fulfill the intent. My best clients are usually repeat customers who want to keep improving upon similar skills–in this case exam study. I’ve found that I’m really able to help in this area because there are certain tricks to learning the information for the INB exams. It’s very helpful when you have a good textbook to teach with because when that’s the case the only thing you have to do is help them learn to use the book in the best way and let them start learning on their own with your help along the way…rather than be the book yourself.

The Bad:

As I said earlier, I really haven’t had any bad tutor sessions or sessions with much bad in them. Yet, there are things that can be improved upon. One thing that’s more bad than good would be the environment at TJs sometimes. It can get louder than I’d like at high traffic times, and that can distract my attention and make it hard to communicate. (more…)

I have seen myself progress as a tutor over the course of the semester so much that it is horrifying. Initially, I was extremely worried that I would not have any idea what to do when a client came and that he/she would know more than I would. However, after one or two meetings, I saw myself gradually improve as a tutor into one that may be the best in the world. (more…)

I’m pretty much the best tutor in the world.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to publish that.

According to UNC Greensboro, this is how I rank as a tutor, a little more specifically..

Attendance: 3 Point deduction for rescheduling one appointment (I was on a plane); but I think I made up for it by tutoring for a week or so without a voice. I’m also flexible with my hours and have always been able to accommodate students who needed help outside of my hours.

Active Learning: 4 We said at the meeting that this wasn’t really applicable to quantitative classes or hard sciences, but I think it is easy to translate to math. Problems have a main idea (what is the goal of the problem?, what variable am I trying to solve for?, what information am I trying to get?, etc); details (given values, etc); and information to locate (what formula to use, etc). I say I am exemplary at this because I really don’t see any other way for students to learn how to solve problems. When a client doesn’t understand how to go about solving a problem, my goal is to work through it by only asking questions (sometimes I’ll cheat and explain something to them, but then I’ll add “…right?” to the end - still a question). But generally something like “What do you know already?.. What are you trying to solve for?.. What kind of function does this look like?..” is enough to get students through a problem mostly on their own.

Scaffolding: 4 Similar to active learning in terms of helping the student identify vital pieces of problems, I feel like the ability to scaffold has been the most useful skill I have acquired and subsequently mastered. I have discovered (through first- and second-hand experience) that the root of all frustration in math is having too much information to process. I try to teach through example that reading an entire problem all at once is a bad idea, and to instead interpret each new piece of information as it is presented.

A kinda cool by-product of this: students start to see connections between concepts and similarities in processes. This is always fun because they realize that they have to study/remember so much less.

So admittedly I could use some work in some places too.

I gave myself a 2 in the Learning Skills category. I know we’re not supposed to be giving out handouts like this thing says, but I recognize that an important part of our job is helping students learn study skills and providing them with recommendations for improving their understanding. I usually neglect this part of the consultation because I am not thinking about it until the end of an appointment, at which point the student is eager to leave. For awhile I always left that part of the Tutoring Notes form blank. But since we got this evaluation rubric and I began reflecting on my performance in each area, I have been working on being more diligent about this.

…And that’s why I’m the best tutor in the world.

The Bad:

I can’t stand procrastinators! Ha ha, I know, I know- I’m typing this blog at 4:38 before the staff meeting at 5:30. It seems every student has mastered the art of procrastination to some degree. I love procrastinating myself- I feel like if it weren’t for the last minute, I would never get anything done. However, when it comes to grasping the concepts taught in Biology, you simply cannot put off EVERYTHING until the day before the test and expect to make a decent grade. I feel many of the students in General Biology are just now figuring this out, but it has been difficult as a tutor to have to constantly request that my tutees read (even if it’s just a meager chunk of the chapter) almost every night.

The Good:

On a happier note, it does seem that many are improving in spreading out their learning/studying time. (more…)

I have definitely had some ups and downs tutoring. The downs have largely revolved around one client. This client got frustrated very easily and would take it out on me in a loud, degrading, and inappropriate manor. In response(the one I think the client was looking for), I backed down on trying to help the client get the information and basically chickened out. After the tutor meeting about the good, the bad, and the ugly, I was ready to try some different techniques to try and get the client to calm down, but I have not had to use it yet. The client has since been reasonably respectful, which is definitely a great thing.

The only other bad thing has been students who haven’t come prepared or expect me to teach them everything the prof wants them to know for the test. (more…)

Last week I went to the Association for the Tutoring Profession (ATP) conference in St. Louis, Missouri. In one of the fifty concurrent sessions, the tutoring folks at UNC-Greensboro shared their client evaluation form. It’s so detailed and interesting that I’m going to ask you all to try it out on yourselves–to pilot it, (for new tutors, as the basis for your journal #4, a self-assessment). Their three years of institutional assessment and development has brought them to this thorough instrument for student clients to evaluate their tutoring sessions…in seven categories of learning outcomes linked to their mission and goals. Very neatly connected. They also have a somewhat shorter one for tutors to give feedback to students on their developing study behaviors. We’ll go over them at our last staff meeting on Wed. 4/16 @ 5:30.