TE302 – Group 8
Tutoring Plan:
Goals:
I intend to attempt to accomplish the following things with my student:
Assist with outstanding assignments.
Essentially to catch the student up with the rest of the class.
Explain major ideas of the course they are in.
In order to make sure that the student will be able to continue with his or her education in the subject matter after my tutoring
Motivate (or increase the motivation of) the student.
Inspire the student to be willing to work with the material after my tutoring
Assist with current classroom activity
Be there one on one with the student such that they can ask questions during class
Connect classroom ideas with examples from my own life and theirs
Show how the subject at hand is relevant in my life, how it helped me get where I am, and how the student can achieve similar
Establishing a connection:
Initially, I plan to introduce myself, and let the student learn a little about me while I learn about him. I intend to explain what my goals in life are, and ask about what the student has in mind for his or her future, this could be a chance to identify different goals over different period of time. By doing this I hope to not only be able to give advice, if applicable, but also use that information to achieve one of my goals, namely, to motivate them by drawing examples from their fields of interest. Althouth this might be an unrealistic goal in the short time that we have, if I can think of a few examples of how the subject is used in their fields of interest, I could help spark some interest. I will also explain to the student what my role in class is, such that i will be a tutor for them. I will also honestly deal with them and state that I am going to document the sessions and ask them how they would like to be known. This, perhaps, will help the student relate to me, as we both have things expected of us. In any case, i hope to act as a resource that students can use as a guide for anything thing in which they are troubled and need a little more help during normal classroom activity. This, I hope, will help establish friendly relations between us, since I am not only assist the student, but also let them know that they are helping me. Another way to establish a connection with a student by mentioning something I noticed about the student: something he is wearing, something he said to you walking in the classroom, or even something that he said to another student before class. This small connection, showing that you care about something within their life and can relate to them on a personal level, can possibly get them to open up and ask you for help if they like you because of this.
Pre-Assessment:
I intend to ask the teacher what she would like me to help the student with. Since she has worked with him or her for the entire year, as well as communicating with other teachers, she will have the experience and background information that will outweigh my own abilities to assess the student in the time allotted. Once I have a few general ideas on what the student needs, I would also ask the student what s/he needs to work on. I will ask the student not only what they need to do, but what they can’t do or would like to be able to do. This can help me identify things such as failure syndrome or apathy. If a student lists several things they can’t do, asking them “why not?” would be a great way to deal directly with motivation issues. If they list several things they would like to be able to do, I now have the opportunity to help them set goals and understand that learning is gradual, not sudden. In the same sense, a lack of answers could be a sign of apathy problems as a student does not care to learn anything. If you could determine this, we could set up some students with a contract with certain incentives. Examples of such would be that the students homework be brought in, completed and correct to a point where you know that the student tried, (This will vary based off where the student is in the class, as some students may be aiming for Bs while other students are aiming for C-s) in exchange for some small incentive to be decided upon by the two of you, such as being able to miss a medium sized assignment at the end of the year if enough points are earned. Given an answer, I could attempt to answer the student’s questions directly, and whatever questions or lack of background knowledge that becomes evident. After that, assuming that the teacher’s needs haven’t been addressed (or if I do not receive a satisfactory answer from the student), I will directly deal with what the teacher wanted me to deal with. This won’t always be the case, as some students may not open up to a tutor after 8 total hours, however it could be a sign of something to have the permanent teacher to look out for, or discuss the idea of a incentive program with the student’s permanent teacher.
Strategies for Assisting Students:
I must first make sure the student understands the concepts behind each problem. For example, if the question deals with an economic idea, such as income, profit, or cost, I must first explain that to the student in a manner that will be easy to digest. Then I will help the student walk through the first problem, identifying the needed steps to get to the conclusion, and how to recheck their answer to make sure the answer makes sense in the context of the problem. I then check to see that the student can show me how to complete the problem, given the concept of compensation and being able to duplicate the process. If the problem is abstract, or a mere ‘plug and chug’ problem, I can help motivate them by relating the problem to something the student will recognize as useful. This, I hope, will inspire the student, since they will have ‘instant gratification’ and will know how the material applies to their life.
Ongoing Assessments:
There are three ways in which I can make sure the progress of the student is consistent. After I explain how to do the problem, I can ask the student to repeat, in his or her own words, the technique I just described to them. Once any ambiguities are corrected, I can then keep an eye on how the student deals with the remaining problems of the same type. I can offer hints and other prods of help, but will slowly reduce the scaffolding until they are doing the problem on his or her own. If s/he gets that problem correct, that would be the second way to determine that my strategy is, at least partially, working. My final way to determine that my strategy is working is to ask the student to reproduce the strategy the next time I work with him or her. This will force the student to recall the strategy, and hopefully, cause it to stay more permanently in his or her mind, as is stated with the idea that if you can teach a subject, you know it. If the student can reproduce the strategy to you correctly, then they have learned it. Depending on how much of the process they have reproduced, you can see how much of the material that the student is understanding. I would also ask the student to see what changes have been taking place in how they work, think, or act, and seek out their thoughts on it. Despite the fact that they might approve or disapprove of those changes, I would seek to understand their argument and direct them onto increasingly efficient way of understanding the subject at hand and working inside the classroom in general.
