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Guidelines for Tutors
Introduction
/ How Peer Tutoring Works / Tutor
Training / Students' Stories / Resources
The following building blocks and guidelines
came from workshops attended by the BSU TRIO
staff.
Building
Blocks of Effective Tutoring
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Good tutoring is based
on mutual respect and trust...never on an attitude of
condescension. Curb any inclination to impress. You are there to
help.
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Use reflective
Questioning. This technique will help you with many of the other
building blocks that follow.
When you are asked a question, rephrase it, break it into parts and
reflect it back to the group or student for response. The purpose of
this is to generate discussion, get students to make connections themselves
and pull information together. It may be easy for you, a knowledgeable
tutor, to answer questions directly. However, if students reason out
the answer or put the pieces together themselves, they are far more
likely to remember:
Example
STUDENT:
I don't understand Islam. What is the Koran all about and how does
Mohammed fit into Islamic doctrine?
TUTOR:
That is a complex question. As you understand it, what are some of
the basic doctrines of Islam? We will discuss Mohammed and the
Koran after we discuss the first part of your question.
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Teach students how to
learn. Don't just solve the student's problem. Work the
concepts.
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Make sure the student
understands the problem and the associated vocabulary.
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Be understanding of
student needs. Pay attention to student reactions and learn to
"read" them.
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Tutor to the situation.
Don't go beyond the immediate need.
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Develop a sense of
empathy. Recall a class that was difficult for you and remember
that not all students find the same subjects easy to understand.
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Use different
approaches in problem
solving.
Up
Guidelines
for Tutors
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Develop a sense of
trust. Do not laugh or make fun of the student. Everyone has a
subject or class that they do better in than others.
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Tutors should make
things easy for the student to understand. Give different
examples. Think of alternative ways to explain the idea or
subject.
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Do not be afraid to
admit that you don't know something. Do not give incorrect
information to "save face."
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Ask questions that
require more than a yes or no answer. Examples: Can you tell me
why this happens? Why is it done this way? What do you think
should be done next?
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Your students should be
able to explain what they have learned to you and what they do not
understand or feel they can't learn. Ask the student to explain what
they've learned from you.
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Be a good listener
and a good role model.
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Have fun while
tutoring and learning.
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Never do the student's
homework or answer the questions for them. This does not help them
or teach them.
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Build on what the
student already knows. Simplify the process as much as possible.
Often students over-complicate the material.
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Just because they
look like kids doesn't mean that they live like children.
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Bad attitudes often
make up for the fear students feel when trying to compete in
class.
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Emphasize that mistakes
are corrected, not used as an excuse to quit.
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The only attention most
kids know is negative, and positive strokes are something they
don't understand.
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When they tell you it's
boring, they may mean they are having a hard time and would rather
turn their attention to something else. Take a short break. Up
Back
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"Have fun while tutoring and learning"
"Build on what
the student already knows..."
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