OK. Here we go with the final blog post–the self evaluation. I’ll try to be as relativist as possible in this and truly try to critique my weaknesses and identify my strengths. I will select my top two strengths and my top two weaknesses and go from there. Also, I will numerically rate the rest of my tutoring abilities.

Top 2 Strengths:

  1. Approachability (4): I feel that this is my most dominant strength and it carries over into the rest of my abilities as a tutor. This strengths stems from the fact that the International Business majors are all very aware of one another, and they seem to be in contact more than most other majors–we have a strong unifying bond. I approach others very readily and they do the same to me; there is always a continual flow of dialog between INB majors, usually revolving around the different courses. I also truly enjoy all the courses I’ve taken and the ones that I tutor, so I always approach other students and talk with them about it. Likewise, I’m a pretty amicable guy and people don’t see any trouble coming up to me and talking with me when they need help. This also means that, much of the time, the help I give to clients isn’t during actual appointments, but in the library. I’d like to point out that I NEVER violate the Honor Code when I do this. The advice and help I give is always general, explanatory and in references to their course materials–that is, I never give specific “do this, this is the right answer” advice. I have also written a total of three e-mails to each segment of the INB 300 course (one with an attached study guide I made for the final exam–got the professor’s approval first). I have also written two total e-mails to the accounting course over the year. I have been very cordial in these e-mails and recommended that students make appointments with me–to some success. Many times, people have no reservations about contacting me through other methods than the TJs appointments; it is common that clients will contact me through facebook, my cellphone, or in-person before actually making an appointment.
  2. Active Learning (4): Whenever I am in a session or helping someone grapple with a major course concept, the process I use is much like setting the stage. That’s the most difficult part in many of these instances–there’s so much information floating around that they aren’t completely comfortable with, yet, that they are overwhelmed. What I can do is help them organize it (usually with a diagram or flow chart) and they’ll be able to more clearly see what the real nature of the problem or concept is. I usually never help beyond this point because it is just a matter of making the connection between the varying parts. It is up to them to find the final answer. I think the fact that I am more comfortable with the course concepts means that I can usually stay one-step-ahead of the client (in a good way) and that means that the process is active because I am always having them relate what they’re currently doing to the next step, process or idea. It’s never a stagnant–I do this, I get this answer, memorization–rather, it’s a continual process that takes a string of connect the dot type situations. I’m good at it, and that’s why I’m a good tutor, in this sense.

Top 2 Weaknesses:

  1. Give Praise (1.5): I don’t think this is really a necessary part of being a tutor, though someone who can do this effectively will be a better tutor than someone who cannot. I think it’s a little superfluous to give excessive praise and the real reward is self-praise for understanding a concept that will hopefully help them get an A in the class–which should be everyone’s goal. That’s not to say that I’m an —hole, but there’s usually not time to give praise in the middle of a fast paced learning session. Usually, at the end of a good session, I’ll reassure a client by saying, “you’re gonna nail this if you keep working on understanding (x).” I think that’s better than saying, “oh, you’re such a good learner, hip-hip-hooray.” But who knows, maybe I could incorporate a little of Pavlov’s theory into tutoring and give them a dog-biscuit every time that they make an important link in concepts or get an answer right.
  2. Scaffolding (.5): I don’t really even know what this means. It could mean something kind of like “support” or a way to start the learning? I figure that scaffolding is for architecture majors, and since Rollins doesn’t have any of those…to my limited knowledge…it can’t be that important. However, the idea of lending support is important–which fosters the learning environment. I don’t know if that would be considered one of my strengths either–maybe even a weakness. I’m a pretty straight forward tutor in helping someone get a concept, though I do find I contextualize A LOT whenever I’m doing my version of a mini-lecture. I think that’s kind of like scaffolding, which supports the main idea of what we’re talking about. YES!

TJ’s has definitely been a good, positive learning experience for me, and I look forward to my return next semester…tal vez como ensenador de espanol, tambien…vamos a ver.

Attendance: 3

Attitude: 3

Foster Independence: 3.5

Allow for Processing Time: 2.5

Verifying Knowledge: 3


Modeling: 4


Learning Skills:3.5

Best of luck to everyone getting ready for summer. May it be prosperous and educational.

Love,

Buck Snyder