Field Notes: Keeping my 8 year old tutee motivated.

When I saw the new field notes category, I couldn't help but be excited about posting something! 

What I want to share with all of you fellow tutors out there is a sure fire way to keep kids motivated while tutoring.  It has been working well for me for years.

Not only does this motivational technique work during tutoring, but it also keeps my tutee enthusiastic and on track in between tutoring sessions. 

The answer for me: charts and prizes.

Whenever I tutor my 8 year old tutee, we make sure to mark it on her chart with a little star sticker.  I carry the star stickers with me to every tutoring session, and I leave 4 charts - one for each week - with her mom.  I also leave a sheet of star stickers with my tutee's mom.

Whenever my tutee does the "in between" work (a worksheet that I leave for her to finish), her mom gives her chart another star.  She also gets a star for every book she reads in between our tutoring sessions (I tutor her in reading).  She can get up to 5 stars every week.

Then, she can "cash in" her chart for prizes at the end of the week, or collect them until she has a bunch of stars.  If my tutee has 5 stars, she can get a scented pencil, for 10 stars she can get a set of scented erasers, and so on.  Right now my tutee is saving up all of her stars in order to cash them in for a $10 gift certificate.

She has a lot of fun earning stars, and it definitely keeps her motivated to keep up with the learning!

Becca C., MN

New posting category! Stay tuned for "Field Notes"

© iprole

Hi, all, Micki here with some exciting news!

The ITA blog will now occasionally be posting something called "Field Notes."
What are "Field Notes" you ask? Good question!

Simply put, "Field Notes" will be guest posts by tutors who are working in the tutoring field.

So what qualifies as a Field Note?  Any thoughts on tutoring, great ideas, experiments that help a tutee learn, worksheet ideas, tutoring business advice, etc. will be considered for posting. 

So please don't be shy, tutors. You know you have something important to say to the tutoring community, and now is your chance to say it!

Happy tutoring, everyone, and I can't wait to read some of your field notes!

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Photo credit: © sxc.hu/iprole
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Ask Micki: Last minute cancellations

© cema

Question:  Hi Micki,

I am looking for some tutoring business advice.  I work with about a dozen steady clients right now, and for the most part the business end of things has always run smoothly.

The problem I'm having is that one of my clients has a tendency to cancel at the last minute. 

The first time I figured, "no big deal," but it has happened every other week now for the past few months.  Most times he doesn't even bother to call or email, he just doesn't show up at our tutoring appointment.  It's not only kind of frustrating, but it also makes it difficult to schedule my time.

For the record, we tutor twice per week, Tuesday and Thursday, and I have been tutoring him for about 2 months now.

Any help in getting this situation figured out would be most appreciated.

Thank you!
Julie, music tutor

Answer: Hey Julie, thanks for your question.  Last minute cancellations can definitely throw a wrench into your tutoring schedule.  Plus, unless there are some good reasons, last minute cancellations are just plain rude when no notice is given.

The first thing I would do is have a talk with your tutor.

Communication is key here - sit down and talk about what has been going on with his schedule.  Talk about the frequency of the missed tutoring sessions.  Mention that you want to help him, but your schedules don't seem to be meshing, and maybe it is time to plan the tutoring sessions differently.

Talk to your tutee about setting up alternative arrangements for when and where to meet.  Is he getting stuck in traffic and can't make the appointments?  Maybe an earlier or later time would work, or maybe the location can be moved so that it is easier to get to on those days. 

Secondly, I would talk to him about setting up a way to contact you should he need to cancel the appointment for a good reason.  Make sure he has your phone number and email address, and let him know that you would appreciate some form of notice a few hours before the session begins.

I typically request cancellation 12 hours before the tutoring appointment, as this gives me enough time to fill that time slot, and avoid spending time and gas getting to an appointment that has been canceled.  I have also found that by requesting (not demanding) half a day's notice, I have fewer cancellations.

There are also those tutors who will have their tutees sign a contract stating that any cancellations not given within a specific time frame are subject to being charged as a "no show."  The rate on a "no show" charge can be anywhere from 1/2 of the tutoring session price to the full amount.

I'm kind of on the fence about this.  Here's why: unless the cancellation issue is being repeatedly abused, charging for a "no show" takes away some of the goodwill between you and your tutee.  In other words, it can make the tutoring relationship a little tense.  Plus, there are those times when a cancellation cannot be avoided (emergency situations), and charging a tutee for those times is not good business.  This technique is definitely a last resort to be reserved for situations when a tutee is obviously abusing the cancellation policies that are in place. 

Chances are you will never need to use the "no show" charge, and the situation will be easily fixed with a schedule change or a request for a few hours advance notice. 

Good luck, and happy tutoring!

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Photo credit: © sxc.hu/cema
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Ask Micki: My tutee is really shy - what to do?

© lusi

Question: Hi, Micki, I have a minor problem with one of my tutees.

You see, I started tutoring a kid in junior high who started out really shy.  I mean, he would barely say 10 words during the entire session, and it was tough to get him to say that much. 

Fast forward a few weeks: he is still just as shy as he was when we started out with our tutoring sessions.

Any ideas on what I can do to bring him out of his shell a little? 

I definitely respect that everyone is different, and that shy is OK.  In fact, I'm a little shy myself, and think that not everyone needs to be outgoing.  I am just hoping to make him a little more comfortable during tutoring so that he can get the most out of our session.

Thanks for your help,
J.A. from IA

Answer: Hey, J.A., thanks for your question!

First of all, I applaud you for being so open minded about personality differences.  So many people are not accepting of shyness and try to force everyone to be an extrovert, so I was impressed and happy to see your accepting attitude towards shyness.  Your tutee is a lucky kid!

That being said, there are a few ways to help your tutee more actively participate in the tutoring.

First step - ask lots of questions.  Don't make them interrogation style, rapid fire questions.  Instead, ask what your tutee thinks in a positive, enthusiastic tone.  By answering questions, and getting involved in learning the subject, your tutee cannot help but open up a bit more during tutoring.

Second step - praise the answers.  If your tutee is participating, and gives you a correct answer, make sure not to gloss over it and move on.  Take a few seconds to offer some praise, and a few words of encouragement.  If the answer isn't correct, praise your tutee for attempting an answer, and offer some words of encouragement about that.  Don't go over the top, though - be honest and genuine.

Third step - wrap ups, introductions, summaries, and more questions.  At the end of your tutoring session, take a few minutes and have your tutee summarize and wrap up what was learned.  Ask him if he has any questions.  Talk about the game plan for next week's tutoring, his homework, etc.  During your next session, warm up by asking him about the most exciting thing he learned during the week.

You get the idea - get your tutee talking not only about the tutoring, but about himself, his school, the material, etc.

Good luck, and happy tutoring!


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Photo credit: © sxc.hu/lusi
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/lusi

Big changes for ITA!

Change is in the air for ITA!  

To mark our 4 year anniversary, we're making some big changes to the look of the site.  We're updating, modernizing, and making it even more user friendly.

We will be making the switchover beginning Saturday (September 18th) at 8:00 PM (PST), and we are expecting that the majority of ITA's web pages will be sporting the new look by midnight Sunday (Sept. 19th). 

This will be a rolling switchover for the website, so there should be no interruption of service, and we don't anticipate any problems.

Hope you all like the new and improved ITA website!

~ ITA IT Staff

Ask Micki: ITA project question

© sxc.hu/lusi

 Question: Hi, Micki. I have a question that isn't technically a tutor-tutee question. It's more along the lines of an ITA question.

I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit more about how I would complete a project successfully for my ITA certification. 

I'd like to turn something in that is great, and I guess I'm kind of looking for some ideas and inspiration at this point. 

I'm an English and ESL tutor, by the way.

Thanks!
Brandi

Answer: Hey, Brandi, thanks for the question -  I'll do my best to be inspirational and throw some good ideas your way!

The subjects that you tutor definitely lend themselves to some great possibilities when it comes to your project.  A worksheet, for example, is a fantastic project.

A worksheet that tackles grammar or vocabulary is not only great for ITA certification, but also a great tool to take with you to your tutoring sessions.  One popular worksheet idea is an ESL activity that shows a calender with the days of the week listed below it.  The tutee then draws lines from the named day of the week to their positions on the calender.

Another idea: Squares of various colors on one side of the page, and a list of the color names on the other side of the page.  The tutee then draws lines from the color names to the appropriately colored squares.

Similarly, any type of ESL or English vocabulary worksheet is also a great choice for your project.  Think basic categories - months, seasons, days of the week, animals, food - all are perfect choices for vocabulary worksheets.

You can also create an activity or worksheet that deals with verbs, homonyms, antonyms, prepositions...the list goes on and on!  The key is to have fun, and be creative.

Think of things that will make your tutoring subject come to life.  Make a worksheet that you would want to work on as a tutee - something that would capture your interest, and make you want to learn more. 

Obviously, you'll want to use the above ideas as guidelines, and come up with your own unique ideas, but they are definitely a great starting place for your projects.

Good luck, and happy tutoring!
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© lusi
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/lusi

Ask Micki: How to Spark Math Enthusiasm.

© thegnome54

Question: Hi, Micki. I am working with a really great young kid who is just starting out in the world of mathematics.

We have just started working on the basics of addition and subtraction, but my tutee is kind of losing focus and excitement.  I think he's finding this a little tougher than it was at first, and his enthusiasm is waning a little.

Any idea how I can add some spark to the tutoring sessions, and make boring addition and subtraction more entertaining?

This will be his first year of school, and I am trying to get him started off on the right foot without boring him in the process - Thanks!
Pete W., WI

Answer: Hey, Pete, thanks for the great question! It's nice to know that there are tutors like you out there who are willing to go the extra mile to make math fun for kids!

The really good news is that addition and subtraction can both be made much more fun, for both you and your young tutee, by adding a few colorful games and puzzles into the mix. 

For example, maybe you can cut out some of his favorite shapes and work with those to physically show the results of adding and subtracting numbers.  If he loves dinosaurs, cut out 10 Triceratops, 10 T-Rex, 10 Pterodactyl, 10 Stegosaurus, 10 Plesiosaur...you get the idea.  Then, you two can take some time adding together each of the dinosaur types.

If we take away two Stegosauruses, how many do we have left?
Or: If we add three T-Rexes to five Triceratops, how many dinosaurs are there total?

You can also reach for some dice to add a gaming element to the math tutoring.  Dice have numbers (a necessity for adding and subtracting!), they are fun to roll, and (thanks to the dynamics of rolling the dice) they offer you an ever changing array of math possibilities.

Another popular method is to put together games and worksheets that look like tests or homework, but much more fun.  Brighten up boring black and white equations with some stickers and pictures.  Make up fun scenarios about why these equations have to be worked out - one tutor I knew created a whole scenario about a time machine, and how working out 10 equations would allow the time machine to take the tutee anywhere in time he wanted to go.

These fun versions of tests and homework sheets are also good, because they will help your tutee get used to the format of the tests and homework sheets he will see in school for the next several years.

And don't forget to check out the ITA resources for some addition and subtraction games that are sure to add some zest to your math tutoring!

Good luck and happy tutoring!
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10 Reasons Kids Need Summer Tutors-Reason #10

© sxc.hu/laura00

Hi, everyone. It's Charlie here, with reason #10 that a student may need some summer tutoring.

Reason #10: A student (or the parent(s) of the student) wants to get a jumpstart on the upcoming  semester's subject matter.

As the fall semester approaches, a lot of students (and their parents) start thinking about getting a head start on the upcoming classes. 


You might be working with a tutee who will be starting pre-algebra, or a student who is excited about taking her first Russian language class.  No matter what the upcoming course may be, a tutor can help give the tutee a helpful jumpstart for the upcoming course. 


A jumpstart is really beneficial, because it gets the tutee excited about the class, and that excitement can translate into long term success.  It also lays an educational foundation that will get your tutee a few steps ahead before the class even starts.


Getting a head start on coursework, even just by looking over an introduction to the coursework, can give your tutee a lot of confidence, too.  Imagine going into a new class, and already knowing the basic principles - now that's a recipe for confidence!

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© sxc.hu/laura00
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/laura00