Tutor Cycle Steps:
I like the structure of the Master Tutor’s 12 steps, but it’s often hard to structure appointments as some students come in unprepared and I end up explaining 8 different things at different points during the session and not maintaining a clear focus through the session. So I feel that the steps don’t accommodate for tangents and side tracks that build on previous information, and makes it seem that deviating from a single focus is a bad thing. However, I find that, depending on the situation, exploring tangents and making sure that all different related topics are clearly understood, is beneficial in seeing the big picture for courses such as Politics. For instance, say a student just had a problem with understanding the realist perspective in International Relations, if the tutor and client were to go off on a tangent on, for instance war and power, and the historical basis of realism, and alternative perspectives to realism, I think that would be more beneficial to the student in understanding the role of realism as a whole, in the international arena, as opposed to just providing facts on the one perspective.
Step 4- Identify Thought Processes of Student: I think it’s pretty obvious that it’s hard to get inside the student’s head and figure out their thought processes. However, I find that it helps to ask the client to explain their thought process, and how they arrived at a particular conclusion. It also helps to work through some things, so to have a joint thought process, to figure out where it is that the client gets stuck.
Step 5- Set an Agenda:This is kind of what I was talking about earlier. I love the idea of being entirely focused and organized; however, even if the student has one particular concern, it’s really easy to uncover other areas that they don’t completely understand and be tempted to clarify those areas of confusion as well. I think it depends on a cost-benefit analysis of the individual situation and determining whether the client would most benefit from a clearly defined, specific agenda, or just an exploration of a core topic and related topics to achieve a better view of the big picture. Still, I try to implement this stem and set an agenda, even if I don’t always stick to it.
Step 6- Address the Task: This aspect is intrinsic in tutoring–as the focus of the tutoring session is established and the client asks his or her questions, I plan my approach to the problem. Basically, as soon as we’ve established what we want to cover, I go through that information systematically, asking the client questions or working through problems to make sure they’re following. The only problem I run into occasionally is the client has no background information on the topic, so I end up lecturing, and in these situations, in order to make sure the client is learning something, I ask them to implement the information somehow, for instance, by asking them to flow chart the information the whiteboard.
Steps 7 & 8- Have the Client Summarize the Content and Process: I think this step is interesting because it not only serves to the client by allowing them to cement their learning by reiterating the information they have gained, but also is a way for tutors to gauge their success in that particular appointment. I ask clients to summarize information at the end of the session, and listening to them, I realize any shortcomings I may have as a tutor, for instance I realize that maybe I should stay more focused, or maybe I ought to incorporate more application of information and not just lecture, into future sessions.
