We asked, you answered!

Here are the results!

 

The breakdown by the numbers (multiple choices allowed) was:
Math: 70%

Foreign Languages: 75%

English: 66%

Humanities & Social Sciences: 33%

Tutoring Business Tools: 25%

Other: 8%

Thanks again to all the tutors who voted - be watching for more learning resources in the areas you requested!

Ask Micki: New Ideas?

© ilco

Question: Hi, there, Micki.  It's a brand new year, and I'd like to start it off with a brand new set of ideas for my math tutoring sessions!

Any ideas on how to make math fun?

Just to give some background: my name is Lizzie and I tutor math for 3rd to 6th grade kids.

Thanks, and happy new year to you!
Lizzie, AZ

Answer: Happy new year to you, too, Lizzie, and thanks for the great question!

I'm always excited to get emails from people who love what they tutor, and want to add some pep and fun to their tutoring sessions. 

So how do you make those math problems jump off the page and capture the interest of your tutees?

First thing - find out what your tutee likes. If your tutee likes music, incorporate that into your tutoring. A lot of music relies on math, right down to the sixteenth notes used to compose songs. Grab some reading material on the subject, too, and help your tutee make the math-music connection. 

Is your tutee a young foodie?  Use the always popular pizza, pie, or cake learning technique to help explain fractions.  Have your young tutees color in a pizza (aka: a round piece of paper), and let them decorate it with their favorite toppings.  Then, slice up the pizza into small segments, and let your tutee practice adding and subtracting fractions using the pizza.  

Does your tutee like art?  It can also be a great math learning tool.  Trust me on this one - it is how I learned a lot of my ratios, percentages, and fractions!  Try coming up with word problems using paint colors (we need to use twice as much red as blue, the color purple is made up of 40% red and ?% blue, etc.), and watch budding artists take a sudden interest in math.

Maybe your tutee likes animals, dinosaurs, or sports.  You can incorporate practically any interest into math by using key elements in word problems or worksheets. 

One of my friends, for example, tutors a baseball fanatic.  So he uses baseballs, bats, and other baseball elements in all of the math worksheets that he provides to his tutee.  It works wonderfully.

And don't forget about those short breaks. Even the brightest mind can reach burnout status pretty quickly after staring at the same material for hours. Try to take a few short breaks, and let your tutee know that he's doing a great job.  Talk about school, or hobbies, and get away from the math work for a minute or two.

Have fun, and happy tutoring!

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Photo Credit: © ilco
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ilco

Ask Micki: Crossword puzzle as a project?

Question: Hello, Micki, thanks in advance for your help.  I was thinking of creating a crossword puzzle for my ITA certification project? It will be a world geography crossword puzzle aimed at elementary school (1st-3rd grade) students.  Would that be all right? 

A.L., in San Diego, CA

Answer:  Hi, A.L., great question!  Yes, I would definitely make a crossword puzzle as your final project! 

Here's why:

1. It is a fun, educational worksheet to take with you for your tutoring sessions.
2. Crossword puzzles are an entertaining tool that help tutees learn facts in a repetitious way, allowing them to recall the information more easily at a later date.
3. Crossword puzzles reinforce grammar skills and spelling through reading and writing.
4. Crossword puzzles promote critical thinking and reasoning.
5. Crossword learning tools get kids (and adults) excited and interested, making them want to learn.

As you can see, crossword puzzles are little dynamos in the world of learning tools. 
Looking forward to seeing your finished project and, as always, happy tutoring!

Ask Micki: What to do for my ITA project?

Question: Hi, Micki.  I am pretty much done with my ITA training (tests, evaluations, and time log are all finished), but I can't figure out what to do for my project.  Could you give me a few ideas?

Thanks for your help,
Jill, MA

Answer:  Hi Jill, thanks for your question.  The best part about the ITA project is that there are so many different things you can do.  

Basically, you are creating an activity sheet, worksheet, or other resource for other tutors (and yourself) to use.  For example, if you are an elementary school English tutor, maybe you could develop a vocabulary activity sheet (word search, crossword puzzle, etc.).   If you are a junior high school science tutor, maybe you could come up with a step-by-step worksheet that lays out a biology or chemistry experiment.  Math tutor?  A worksheet that helps tutees understand geometry, algebra, or calculus would be a great project. 

One tutor submitted a fractions worksheet for kids that broke down complicated fractions addition into adding pieces of pizza together - it was a big hit!

Or, maybe you'd rather develop a resource that helps tutors during their sessions - a time sheet, learning contract, or some other tool that tutors can take with them to their sessions.  One tutor submitted a really useful learning contract that helps keep tutees accountable for their homework and study habits. 

In other words, try to develop a resource that you could use during your tutoring sessions. 

And don't forget to have fun!
Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!

Ask Micki: 10 year old tutee hates science

Question:  Hi, Micki.  I am hoping you can help me come up with some ways of making tutoring more entertaining.  I work with a bright, friendly 10 year old who is really, really bored with the botany part of her science class.  She works really hard, and her grades are good, but I feel bad that she is so bored during tutoring.  Any ideas for how to make botany more thrilling to a 10 year old? 

Thanks!
Science Tutor in IN

Answer:  Hi there, Science Tutor - the short answer to your question is ABSOLUTELY!  Sorry, I know I'm a bit too excited, but science is one of the few subjects for tutoring that automatically lends itself to fun, hands-on activities.

First, if you are an ITA tutor, check out the resources once you login to your account.  There are a ton of cool science experiments for kids, exercises, and activities that will jazz up any tutoring session.  Besides botany, there are also experiments and activities for biology, chemistry, astronomy, and a host of other subjects!

Second, look over the lesson plans and homework for the next few weeks (if it is available), and talk to your tutee about what she is currently studying, what she is going to be studying, etc.  Then, come up with a few simple experiments that will highlight the botany principles she is studying.

For example, if she is learning about chlorophyll, check out an experiment like this:
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html

Is she studying up on plants and watering?  Check out this experiment:
http://www.helium.com/items/1608049-plant-science-experiments-for-kids

Is your tutee learning about different plant and flowergroups?  Try putting together a plant field guide or a flower press: http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2009/06/make-a-portable-flower-press.html

Is your tutee learning about fungi or growth patterns of other plants?  Try putting together a simple herbarium!

The possibilities are endless, so have fun with them - Your tutee will be grateful, and your tutoring will be even more effective!

And, as always, happy tutoring!

Ask Micki: Do tutoring/learning contracts work?

Question: Hi, Micki. I am pretty new to the world of math and science tutoring and was wondering whether I should bother with a learning contract. Do they work, or is it a waste of time?

Thanks!
Joe, a math and science tutor from Northern California.

Answer: Hi, Joe - thanks for the great question! I've been hearing quite a bit about learning and tutoring contracts lately, and I happen to think that they can be a great tool for your tutoring sessions.

A tutoring or learning contract is basically an informal document that the tutor and tutee (and/or tutee's parents) sign. It is a written promise that the tutor will provide stellar tutoring, and that the tutee will put in his or her best effort, do all of the tutoring assignments, be at the tutoring sessions on time, participate in the tutoring sessions, etc.

Essentially, it helps keep the tutee accountable for learning the material, taking an active role in the tutoring sesisons, and giving 100% at each tutoring session. It also (from the tutee's point of view) keeps the tutor accountable for providing the best tutoring possible.

Some people also choose to incorporate the business contract (i.e. pay rate, when the tutor will be paid, etc.) into the learning contract, but I choose not to do this.

In my opinion, it is a better idea to keep the business contract separate from the learning contract. The tutoring/learning contract should be all about learning, not clouded by business details.

It is also a great idea to make a copy of the contract so that you, your tutee, and (if needed) your tutee's parents all have the document to reference at a later date.

There are some great learning contracts available in the ITA Resource Bank, so take a look around, and try using one of these great tools out at your next tutoring session!

Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!

Tips from Charlie: Learning Tools

I used to think that tutoring was all about using my own knowledge and my tutee's textbook.

Then I started tutoring younger kids and it changed the way I tutored forever.

Kids can be great to work with.  They are enthusiastic (most of the time), are honest about what they do and don't know, and have a very different way of learning...they also, like myself, have shorter attention spans than most grown adults!

I started realizing that my tutoring sessions with kids were just not as exciting and full of zest as they could be.  So, I sat down and did some thinking.  What did I respond to at a younger age? What bored me?  What got me enthusiastic about learning?

The answer, as it turns out, was using learning tools during our tutoring sessions.

Learning tools can turn a drab tutoring session into an exciting learning opportunity!

I used simple experiments to tutor the concepts of electricity and chemistry.  I brought games and activities that showcased the exciting world of math.  I dug out my old microscope and brought simple slides to go over biology concepts and make them more interesting.

In other words, any tutoring tool I could get my hands on (that related to the subjects I tutored), I brought with me to tutoring sessions.

The results were amazing, and I noticed that not only was I getting more excited learners, but I was getting happier parents.  One mom told me that I was the only person who had managed to get her son excited about science.  He had hated the subject before our tutoring had started.

An unexpected benefit to this new technique were the referrals I was getting from other parents.  I was known as the fun tutor who could actually get kids to learn boring subjects.  I was honored, and thrilled to have the "title."

So, if you are looking for a way to spice up your sessions, thrill parents, and garner referrals, look no further than tutoring and learning tools!

~ Charlie

Ask Micki: How to help a young tutor get excited about fractions

After answering my most recent question about getting a tutee more enthusiastic about math sessions, I was inspired to keep the positive vibes going and answer this question that deals with the same sort of topic...enjoy!

Question: Hi, Micki. I am working with a really bright little girl who just started the first grade and is working with fractions for the first time. We're going to be going over them during our next few sessions and I was hoping you might have some suggestions for how to make them more fun than they are right now. I'm thinking black print on a boring white page is just not as exciting as it could be. Thanks!

Answer: Thanks for the great question! I love fractions for kids because there are so many great ways to make them a lot more fun.

Pizza, for example, is a great way to work with fractions. Having a mathematical pizza party is always a winner - just get a few pictures of different pizzas and cut them up into various fraction pieces. Then, have your tutee mix and match how much of each type of pizza he or she wants.

This exercise also works for slightly older tutees as they begin adding or subtracting fractions - the tutee takes various slices and adds them up as he or she "orders."

Technically even multiplication or division works. For division, give your tutee a set number of pizza slices and determine how many party goers need to be fed. For multiplication, determine the number of "guests" and figure out how much pizza you'll need if each person wants one slice, two slices, etc.

You could do the same with cake, pie, or anything else that is bright, fun, and can be segmented into pieces.

Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!

Ask Micki: Adding zest to your tutoring sessions

Question: Hi, Micki. I have a question about encouraging my tutee to be more excited about the subject matter we're working with during our sessions.

I absolutely love tutoring, and my tutee and I get along wonderfully. He's a bright kid, funny, and pays close attention to the math that we go over together.

The thing is, I feel bad that he is so bored by math, and would love to be able to make things more interesting for him. Just for a little background, he loves music, soccer, and guitars. Thanks!

Answer: Great question! I'm always happy to get emails from people who love what they do, and get along well with their tutees.

Even better, you're going above and beyond the call of tutoring duty to make the material jump off the page for your tutee. Good for you!

Now, how to get him more enthusiastic and involved in math?

The good news is that your tutee likes music! That is good news because a lot of music relies on math, right down to the quarter and half notes used to compose tunes. So, definitely go with that interest. Find articles about math and music being related, put together music related problems, and try to tie the two subjects together whenever you can.

As for his other interests - soccer and guitars - those can work, too. Make up some problems using soccer lingo or guitar talk. Trigonometry that deals with shadows on a soccer field, algebra that focuses on guitar-centric word problems...pretty much anything that even mentions his favorite hobbies can be useful in peaking interest in a less exciting subject.

You can also come up with some games that fuse his hobbies with mathematics. A music worksheet that deals with fractions, for example. These games work especially well with younger tutees, but if you can find some more sophisticated, complex games they would also work for older tutees.

And don't forget about short breaks. Even the sharpest mind can reach overload status pretty quick after staring at the same material for hours on end. Try to take a few short breaks in between problems. Let your tutee know that he's doing a great job, talk about school, and get away from the hardcore math for a minute or two.

Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!