Tutoring Notes

Lesson 1
What is a Tutor?
A tutor can be any of the following: They can be a guide, helper, counselor, teacher, listener, friend, motivator, and more. Tutoring is much more personal than in classroom because it requires the tutor to put some of their style into their work.
Patience is an excellent quality in tutors!
Sensitivity will help you pick up a student’s problems and help you understand them to be able to work them out.
To guide your students in learning a good amount of knowledge in the subject would be necessary.
Some tutees enjoy tutors who are flexible with their tutoring style. Tutors should ask questions to find out how their tutee is faring. If some help is needed both should be able to discuss the problem and solve it together.
Some goals tutors should aim for is to actively reinforce the tutee’s confidence with structured activities. Assigning problems for the tutee to work on and guiding them will increase their independence. Not only will students become more independent, if successful, tutees will become more motivated in learning more of the subject matter.
Lesson 2
In the first meeting, discuss expectations with your tutee. A contract is established orally for both the tutor and tutee to attend regularly, come prepared, to listen, and to be open to any suggestions. Humor and dialogue will help draw your students out of their passive mode.
Dialogue can help reduce a student’s reluctance and may determine their basic skills.
On the first session is it important to create a rapport with your tutee. Asking yes or no questions will be of minimal help. You can create rapport by listening, being open, and patience.
Overview
Tutor should discuss mutual expectations such as policies and responsibilities.
Encourage student to continue to talk to you to get over their reluctance.
Creating Rapport by listening, patience, and openness will help you go for a long way with your tutee.
Lesson 3
The Tutorial Plan is the outline of work and it can be either written or verbal. This can help the tutor pace the meetings while helping the student understand their tasks. A Plan can help identify areas that cause difficulty so tutors can help the students understand what they need to know.
Some tutors review the course syllabus and draw from past experiences with previous tutees or when they visited a tutor.
If possible, attending tutee’s lectures and receiving the same handouts to work them out ahead can help you grasp a better understanding to assist the student.
The tutor should measure the student’s learning skills and note taking skills. Perhaps to help them improve in either of those areas. Also, their field of study should be taken into account as well as their expectation of grades. The study environment should be looked at as well.
Meet the teacher periodically to figure out their student’s expectations, emphasis, and schedule.
You must always remain flexible to the student’s needs.
Lesson 4
Two tutorial strategies are known as the Socratic Method and Diagnosis.
Diagnosis is a quiz in the first session.
Quiz in each session is optional, but it allows the tutor to observe how each tutee approaches the quiz. After the diagnosis, provide some feedback to the student in areas they can improve. For example, you can point out a pattern in their mistakes leading the tutee to independently correct them.
The Socratic Method is a series of questions that leads students on a guide to understand an idea or concept. Allow time for students to think about the answer. As the session continues you can reuse the Socratic Method to test the students’ comprehension on the material. By using this method, the tutor is allowing the student to expand their understanding of the subject rather than just memorizing them.
Avoid lecturing as a way of explaining new ideas. Instead, use the Socratic Method to make the students think about past concepts and to apply them to the new material.
You can expand on the Socratic Method by asking “what if?” questions or using analogies from common experiences.

Lesson 5
Diagnoses methods such as quizzes, tests, and the Socratic Method won’t give you clues about the student’s real interest in the subject matter. That is why careful observation is important. These are some things to look for.
Facial expressions can give you the message if a student’s lost, not paying attention, or has completely lost interest during the session.
Body language clues can reveal if a student is nervous or anxious.
Enthusiasm will also show if the student has a keen interest.
Don’t get caught up enough to forget to look at the tutee’s expressions.
Also remember that as a tutor, you’re also seen by other students. Be careful not to send off any bad messages with your facial expressions, body language, and enthusiasm.

Lesson 6
Active Learning requires active study habits and individual involvement.
Encourage active learning. Don’t be afraid to ask about tutee’s study habits and study environment.
Establish context in which students can relate to new meaningful information.
The tutor and students can survey the course by reviewing the syllabus, exam schedule, course concepts and vocabulary.
Try to put things in physical terms. Visualize what the students are learning.
Show recall techniques, for example visualizing the bone ligaments and structure of the lower body skeleton and feeling them to better understand their location and proper term.
Tutees should take notes. Moreover, tutors should review student’s notes to see if tutees understand the subject matter efficiently. Practice recall and mnemonics.
Flashcards are a good method to use during study sessions. Don’t hesitate to share your own tips for remembering.
To master the exams, you must read the questions carefully. Planning the answer with an outline can save time as well. Remember to remain in control no matter how prepared your tutees may seem. Also give tips to students on how to stay in control during exams.
Lesson 7
Insure visibility so that you have a clear view of a student so communicating is easy and effective. Don’t hesitate to make your notes/diagrams visible to tutees. Rearrange notes/positions to make both parties comfortable. Encourage participation by asking questions or leading a discussion. Within groups, ask a student to explain to others some of the subject matter.
Reassure quiet students. Keep both students equally in the conversation. Control the dominant students.
In large tutorial groups don’t be hesitant to take a vote. Everyone’s opinion matters and almost most of the time there is one student who knows the answer. Summarize students’ ideas to potentially draw in other students with theirs.

Lesson 8
As a tutor, you may run into a student with non-academic problems that may affect their studies.
Empathy or relating to your tutee’s situation can help.
Body language says more than any verbal communication from the tutors.
Confrontation is important because it pushes students with their work.
Don’t accept numerous excuses. Don’t tolerate irresponsibility.
Deal objectively with your students.
Don’t be afraid to refer a student to the appropriate counselor for other potential problems. Keep close contact with your tutees.
Lesson 9
Avoid student dependence. Tutor bias. You should not favor a particular one culture, behavior, etc. Students can pick that up.
Don’t impose your own values on students. Appreciate your student’s values. Do not forget to promote tolerance and foster independence within your students.
You can sometimes use bilingual languages. Act as a role model.
Lesson 10
Math and Science skills: Associate terms with things and analogies.
Simplify relationships with a picture or drawing.
Early on in sessions establish use of diagrams or drawings.
You can teach the student how to solve a problem by transforming it into a recognizable form.
Tell them to check their work and see if it makes sense by asking for an explanation or working it backwards.
Lesson 11
Create a framework by providing context and applying the theory whenever its relevance to student's lives.
Use diagrams analogies of objects from everyday life.
Get your students to work on the process not just the facts.
Ask your students to give you evidence to explain a topic. This allows you to observe their comprehension of the subject.
Many students fear exam. A practice exam helps alleviate their anxiety.
Predict the test material and what will be on the midterm.
Ally their test anxiety.
Lesson 12
Goals of teaching humanities is to provide a context their ideas can be meaningful. Create a critical perspective within your tutee.
The Socratic Method is the best strategy to get your student to understand.
Encourage time management.
A third strategy is to manage your time or help the tutee manage theirs.
Reinforce students for what they do well.
Lesson 13
As a tutor, you should help the tutee generate content.
One way to generate is through brainstorming. Urge students to write ideas down and asking leading questions.
Brainstorming might lead you to create more ideas; however, that could cause your student’s dependency to increase and their confidence to decrease.
Delay editing papers until the revising stage.
Tutors help revise drafts by encouraging talking about it.
Focus on content and stress creating content rather than grammatical errors.
Ask questions to the student about their own paper. Ignore grammar, but ask questions to clarify the meaning.
Build on your students’ strengths and reinforce them.
Lesson 14
ESL Students sometimes have trouble understanding some of our cultural behaviors.
Some communication strategies to give your students are on how body language sends a message and to slow down whenever they are speaking. Never talk down to them, but always check if they understand.
A good way to establish communication and improve your students is to have a casual talk using your body language combined with slow speech yet at the same time not talking down at them.
Writing English as a second language may be demanding. Tell them to focus on the content. Encourage them talking to you about it.
Get it down on paper, but clear and concise method.
Correct grammar during editing phase.
Ask how it sounds?
Where is the error?
What is the error?
Make the students as self-sufficient as possible!
Give positive reinforcement and encouragement.
Encourage students to read. Also give suggest on how to improve their writing.