Question: Hi, Micki. I recently had a problem during a tutoring session, and I was hoping you could help me. My tutee and I were working on some math problems, and I busted out one of my tutor training techniques (i.e. not doing your tutee's homework).
I asked her whether or not the problems were part her upcoming take-home final, and she told me, "no," that they were practice problems sent home as a worksheet by her professor.
Well, during our next tutoring session she showed me her graded take-home test, and I was shocked! She had lied to me about the problems being practice problems, and had inadvertently gotten me to do a bunch of her math final for her.
Honestly, I'm ticked off at being duped, and feel like she cheated. When I asked her about it, she just laughed it off, said I was easy to fool, and started talking about the next math class she'll need help with.
Due to integrity issues, and feeling like our tutoring ethics don't mesh, I dropped her from my tutoring schedule. My question is: What should I do to make sure this doesn't happen again at one of my other tutoring sessions? Thanks!
- J.A., a ticked off tutor in VA
Answer: Hi, there, ticked off tutor. First of all, sorry to hear about your unpleasant tutoring situation. It is always tough when a tutee breaks the tutor-tutee trust that takes at least a few tutoring sessions to build. In this case, your tutee pretty much lied to you, and tricked you into doing her final exam - not cool, and it won't serve her well as she takes more math classes in the future.
Second, good for you staying ethical, trying to do the right thing, and looking elsewhere for tutoring clients. There are plenty of tutees who are willing to put in the time and effort learning new skills, and you will be better off working with people who care about academic integrity.
Now, on to your question. To prevent this kind of thing from happening during future tutoring sessions, try the following steps:
1. Try out a learning contract. As strange as it may sound, a learning contract often gives the tutor and tutee a more formal framework for tutoring sessions, keeps the tutee accountable for his or her actions, and serves as a reminder that certain behaviors are expected for a good learning/tutoring experience.
2. Talk to your tutee about why tutoring is not a homework service. It could be that your tutee doesn't understand why you won't do homework for them. Let your tutee know that by working problems (rather than just doing their homework), you are helping them learn a skill that they can take with them into the classroom. The skills they learn through tutoring will also be helpful later, when they need to build on that knowledge to master more advanced material.
3. Review the take-home tests and homework prior to starting each tutoring session. Let the tutee know that you will be looking at the test/homework before the session so that you will know what concepts you need to tutor. It is also a good idea to look over the test/homework after it is graded. Checking out the test/homework works well not only because you get to see exactly what problems are on there, but also because the tutee knows that you are aware of what is on the test/homework prior to tutoring. It will keep your tutee honest.
Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!
~ Micki
Showing posts with label homework tutoring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homework tutoring. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Guest Post: Problems with Parents
This is a great guest post sent to us by a tutor who wishes to remain anonymous. It is all about dealing with the difficult parents of a tutee.
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Hi readers,
I've decided to submit this post anonymously for obvious reasons (I don't want to get involved in the parents reading this, etc.). It is a post that deals with the reality of tutoring high school mathematics, and the pitfalls that come with a teens difficult parents.
My tale starts out like any normal tutoring session. I showed up at my tutee's home, a nice suburban brick house, on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
I rang the bell and a tired looking 16 year old girl, I'll call her June (name obviously changed), answered the door. After making my way inside, we sat down and went through the usual introductions. I found out that she played volleyball, which she enjoyed, and that she was very worried about her algebra grade.
Unfortunately, during this 10 minute conversation, June's parents interrupted about 5 times. Not to introduce themselves, or offer some insight into their daughter's difficulties with her math class, but to remind her to "study fast - you have practice in 2 hours."
I was shocked and knew that there was a definite problem.
Throughout our hour long session, we were interrupted repeatedly, at least a dozen times, by June's parents.
June's mom stopped the session twice to ask about volleyball equipment, her dad interrupted us to talk about the upcoming game in 3 weeks, and there were other interruptions that ranged from carpool questions to discussions about "gearing up for the scouts that might be at the game next month."
By the end of the tutoring session June looked as frustrated as I felt and it was clear that nothing had been accomplished during the session.
I knew that we had 9 more tutoring sessions planned, but I also knew that they would be useless if the tutoring session conditions stayed the same. So I started thinking about what to do next.
Should I talk to the parents and risk confrontation? Should I suggest we meet elsewhere? I didn't want to create any tension or uneasiness, I just wanted to give June a chance to learn.
So, after a few minutes of though, I mustered up the courage to talk to her mom and dad. I let them know that June definitely needed help with her algebra, but that she was a bright young woman who seemed very capable of quickly learning the concepts.
I also asked if it would be all right to move our future tutoring sessions to the local library so that we would have access to all of the math books we could possibly need and a quiet place to study.
To my relief, June's parents said that library tutoring sessions would be fine with them, provided that they could be scheduled around practice and games. I was thrilled - I knew that we would have a much better chance of math class success if June was given an opportunity to concentrate.
So, for the next session June and I met after school at her local public library. The session went great, June picked up all of the concepts we went over, and by the end of the semester she had improved by an entire letter grade!
Now that she will be entering her Junior year of high school, we have planned regular tutoring sessions at the library. June is still a star volleyball player, but now she is a star math student as well!
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Hi readers,
I've decided to submit this post anonymously for obvious reasons (I don't want to get involved in the parents reading this, etc.). It is a post that deals with the reality of tutoring high school mathematics, and the pitfalls that come with a teens difficult parents.
My tale starts out like any normal tutoring session. I showed up at my tutee's home, a nice suburban brick house, on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
I rang the bell and a tired looking 16 year old girl, I'll call her June (name obviously changed), answered the door. After making my way inside, we sat down and went through the usual introductions. I found out that she played volleyball, which she enjoyed, and that she was very worried about her algebra grade.
Unfortunately, during this 10 minute conversation, June's parents interrupted about 5 times. Not to introduce themselves, or offer some insight into their daughter's difficulties with her math class, but to remind her to "study fast - you have practice in 2 hours."
I was shocked and knew that there was a definite problem.
Throughout our hour long session, we were interrupted repeatedly, at least a dozen times, by June's parents.
June's mom stopped the session twice to ask about volleyball equipment, her dad interrupted us to talk about the upcoming game in 3 weeks, and there were other interruptions that ranged from carpool questions to discussions about "gearing up for the scouts that might be at the game next month."
By the end of the tutoring session June looked as frustrated as I felt and it was clear that nothing had been accomplished during the session.
I knew that we had 9 more tutoring sessions planned, but I also knew that they would be useless if the tutoring session conditions stayed the same. So I started thinking about what to do next.
Should I talk to the parents and risk confrontation? Should I suggest we meet elsewhere? I didn't want to create any tension or uneasiness, I just wanted to give June a chance to learn.
So, after a few minutes of though, I mustered up the courage to talk to her mom and dad. I let them know that June definitely needed help with her algebra, but that she was a bright young woman who seemed very capable of quickly learning the concepts.
I also asked if it would be all right to move our future tutoring sessions to the local library so that we would have access to all of the math books we could possibly need and a quiet place to study.
To my relief, June's parents said that library tutoring sessions would be fine with them, provided that they could be scheduled around practice and games. I was thrilled - I knew that we would have a much better chance of math class success if June was given an opportunity to concentrate.
So, for the next session June and I met after school at her local public library. The session went great, June picked up all of the concepts we went over, and by the end of the semester she had improved by an entire letter grade!
Now that she will be entering her Junior year of high school, we have planned regular tutoring sessions at the library. June is still a star volleyball player, but now she is a star math student as well!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Archived Entries
ARCHIVED
"What's New at ITA" from the old ITA site
August 10, 2006
Exciting changes are in store for ITA!
We are currently in the process of adding a host of resources for you to use during your tutoring sessions (i.e. activities resources with learning activities). Most of what we have collected so far has been activities for K-6 grade tutees.
So, we're putting a call out to all of you! If you have a particular study technique or activity that you use during your sessions, send it over to us!
If we use it, we'll make sure to post your name (unless you'd prefer to remain anonymous) on the resources page along with a copy of the activity/technique...In other words, your brilliance will go down in tutoring history!
April 30, 2006
The conferences were a success!
We attended and presented at both ACTLA and NTA conferences and we were a hit! Good news for us and good news for you...Why? Because the more well known we are in the tutoring world, the more recognized and respected your certification will be in the real world!
February 26 , 2006
We have added a new link on the navigation bar, to make it easier for tutees to submit evaluations online.
January 28, 2006
Due to popular request, you will now be able to see a breakdown of how each test was graded. What this means is that after you take each test, you will see your overall score, as well as how many of the four possible points you earned on each question.
January 27, 2006
We have been invited to, and will be presenting at, the NTA (National Tutor Association) conference in Costa Mesa. Our presentation will be about web-based tutor training and ITA. We will again have an informational vendor booth, so if you're in the area, feel free to stop by!
January 11, 2006
This coming April holds exciting things for ITA!
We have been invited to, and will be presenting at, the ACTLA (Association of Colleges for Tutoring and Learning Assistance) conference in San Francisco. In addition to the presentation, we will also be hosting an informational vendor booth so that we can continue to spread the word about ITA!
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