Tutoring @ TJ’s

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.