Tutoring @ TJ’s

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.

Aside from an occasional belligerent (good word Skylar) client, most of the student’s I’ve tutored represent “the good”. Especially at this point in the semester, pretty much all of my clients are repeat clients (is this bad?) so they have figured out how to maximize their time in an appointment. Students come with specific questions about examples in the book or homework problems that they got stuck on - one girl even makes a list of homework questions and the exact steps where she messed up/got stuck, everything is marked in the book with post-it notes, etc. I like this and students like it because we get through appointments more quickly and painlessly, and we don’t waste time going through unnecessary concepts or even trying to prioritize their goals - they already have that figured out.This tends to throw me off when students are not prepared, though. (more…)

Recruiting is starting…and besides me and your professors asking students to tutor, you all can talk it up with your classmates. You guys know what being up here really involves. Be thinking of which of your fellow students would be good up here. Who would appreciate more opportunities to learn? …more insight into both the course content and the learning process that you all have developed while working at TJ’s?

The biggest obstacle I have experienced in following these steps is the time constraint. Aside from the fact that we only book one hour sessions, students come in with a specific assignment or goal and want to get it done and get out as quickly as possible. This mentality is not very conducive to a process of laying out a plan and sticking to it. That being said, each of the four steps are typically addressed during sessions, just not in such a structured manner. (more…)

I don’t know.

But I can’t wait to find out!

Honestly, I’m a little scared of what this has in store for me. The only experience I have under my belt is with special needs students. I have been working with my little brother, who has been in special education throughout his entire public education career, get through his K-12 years; aside from that, the only other tutoring on my resume has been with a down syndrome boy in high school. I anticipate a whole new set of expectations and strategies for meeting these.

At the same time, though, I learned a lot about patience, different learning styles, and my own learning styles through my little experience. I expect to continue learning about myself and how to work with others in my time at TJ’s.

I also expect this to be very rewarding. I spend my time here with math majors who just get this stuff naturally. Once I figure out how to make it more understandable to people who are maybe not as quantitatively-oriented, I’m sure it will be fun to see that light bulb click on.

…..because I simply like to tutor other students. Another reason is that the atmosphere in TJ’s is always very inviting. Everybody is so nice and caring. My personal gain at TJ’s is very important too. Since I am an international student I am able to enhance my language skills and also refine or deepen my cultural awareness. I tutor now the 4th semester and I added to MAT 103 also ECON courses, so tutoring will always be something different. That is another great thing about tutoring. Tutors can change their schedule and make it more exciting. I am very happy to be able to tutor another semester and I look forward to work with many different students. Cu you guys