Hi, Charlie again with peer tutoring tip #6!
Tip #6: Pay attention to body language.
Your body language, and the body language of your tutee, are both important (and often overlooked) elements of a tutoring session. If the tutor has open, relaxed body language, it will put the tutee at ease, and make tutoring more effective.
Smile, make eye contact (if your tutee is comfortable with it; some people are not, and that is OK), keep your body language open (no crossed arms or legs), lean in and pay attention to what your tutee is saying and show it with nods, offer hospitable gestures such as a handshake when the tutee arrives for tutoring.
Maintaining open, relaxed, friendly body language will create a comfortable tutoring atmosphere that will make tutoring more effective and enjoyable for both of you.
Keep in mind, too, that although you may do all of these things, some tutees are naturally just more shy and introverted than others, and that is OK. No need to force an introvert to be an extrovert - that's not your job. Your job is to tutor. If you have a shy tutee, give him or her some time to get comfortable with you and the tutoring. It could be that he or she just needs a few tutoring sessions to open up and get more relaxed.
Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned for tip #7, coming soon!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Peer Tutoring: Tip 5
Charlie here with tip # 5 for all you peer tutors!
Tip #5: Establish the best tutoring environment.
The tutoring environment and atmosphere is a really important, and often overlooked, aspect of tutoring. As with most tutoring, it is important to establish a casual, quiet, neutral environment for your peer tutoring sessions.
This should be a fairly quiet place free from distractions so that you and your tutee can focus on tutoring instead of your surroundings. Noisy cafeterias or crowded restaurants are especially bad choices since they are not only loud and distracting, but they also offer the hazard of food and drink on the table. One wrong move and your study materials wind up covered in BBQ sauce and iced tea...trust me, I found out the hard way many years ago.
It is also a good idea to try and find a neutral meeting ground where each of you feel comfortable talking, and no one has a territorial advantage. A quiet classroom with side-by-side seating or a private library study room are both great choices for peer tutoring. The main floor of the library may not be a good choice, however, eve though there is plenty of quiet. Why? Because the forced quiet of the library may make conversation difficult. Definitely opt for a private study room instead.
Of course, if your peer tutoring program provides a designated space for the tutoring, that makes your job a bit easier when it comes to finding the perfect tutoring environment. Definitely take advantage of any provided tutoring spaces. Chances are, the tutoring program coordinator already has set up an optimal tutoring setting.
Well, that's it for tip #5, but stay tuned for tip #6, coming soon!
Tip #5: Establish the best tutoring environment.
The tutoring environment and atmosphere is a really important, and often overlooked, aspect of tutoring. As with most tutoring, it is important to establish a casual, quiet, neutral environment for your peer tutoring sessions.
This should be a fairly quiet place free from distractions so that you and your tutee can focus on tutoring instead of your surroundings. Noisy cafeterias or crowded restaurants are especially bad choices since they are not only loud and distracting, but they also offer the hazard of food and drink on the table. One wrong move and your study materials wind up covered in BBQ sauce and iced tea...trust me, I found out the hard way many years ago.
It is also a good idea to try and find a neutral meeting ground where each of you feel comfortable talking, and no one has a territorial advantage. A quiet classroom with side-by-side seating or a private library study room are both great choices for peer tutoring. The main floor of the library may not be a good choice, however, eve though there is plenty of quiet. Why? Because the forced quiet of the library may make conversation difficult. Definitely opt for a private study room instead.
Of course, if your peer tutoring program provides a designated space for the tutoring, that makes your job a bit easier when it comes to finding the perfect tutoring environment. Definitely take advantage of any provided tutoring spaces. Chances are, the tutoring program coordinator already has set up an optimal tutoring setting.
Well, that's it for tip #5, but stay tuned for tip #6, coming soon!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Peer Tutoring: Tip 4
Charlie here, again, with tip 4 for peer tutors!
Tip #4: Don't borrow from your tutee.
Yes, I know, another common sense tip, but, again, you'd be shocked how many peer tutors I have worked with who have borrowed from their peer tutees. Even worse, many of them have forgotten to return the borrowed items.
The thing about peer tutoring is that, as the name suggests, you are working with a peer, maybe even a long time school friend. This can lead to scenarios in which a tutor is so comfortable with the tutee on a friendship level that he/she starts acting more like a friend and less like a tutor.
I knew one tutor who borrowed $1 from his tutee when he peer tutored back in high school. The problem was that the tutor repeatedly forgot to pay the tutee back, the school year came to an end, and the tension between the two of them got so bad that they could not work together over the summer. All that over $1.
Another tutor I know borrowed a CD from his tutee, accidentally left it in the hot car during the tutoring session, and ruined it. The tutee didn't want to say anything, and it led to some awkwardness.
Still another tutor I knew borrowed school supplies from the tutee during every session (pencil lead, erasers, paper, folders, etc.). This made the tutor seem frazzled and disorganized, and he did not get a very good review at the end of the semester.
No matter what the item is, or how much money it is, never borrow from your tutee. Borrowing anything at all can make you look a lot less professional, and could even cause some unwanted tension in the future. Sure, on occasion you may need to quickly borrow a pencil sharpener, or even a pencil, during the session, but make sure to return it, and remember extra pencils/a pencil sharpener for your next session. Be prepared so that you can avoid borrowing anything.
Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for Tip #5, coming soon!
Tip #4: Don't borrow from your tutee.
Yes, I know, another common sense tip, but, again, you'd be shocked how many peer tutors I have worked with who have borrowed from their peer tutees. Even worse, many of them have forgotten to return the borrowed items.
The thing about peer tutoring is that, as the name suggests, you are working with a peer, maybe even a long time school friend. This can lead to scenarios in which a tutor is so comfortable with the tutee on a friendship level that he/she starts acting more like a friend and less like a tutor.
I knew one tutor who borrowed $1 from his tutee when he peer tutored back in high school. The problem was that the tutor repeatedly forgot to pay the tutee back, the school year came to an end, and the tension between the two of them got so bad that they could not work together over the summer. All that over $1.
Another tutor I know borrowed a CD from his tutee, accidentally left it in the hot car during the tutoring session, and ruined it. The tutee didn't want to say anything, and it led to some awkwardness.
Still another tutor I knew borrowed school supplies from the tutee during every session (pencil lead, erasers, paper, folders, etc.). This made the tutor seem frazzled and disorganized, and he did not get a very good review at the end of the semester.
No matter what the item is, or how much money it is, never borrow from your tutee. Borrowing anything at all can make you look a lot less professional, and could even cause some unwanted tension in the future. Sure, on occasion you may need to quickly borrow a pencil sharpener, or even a pencil, during the session, but make sure to return it, and remember extra pencils/a pencil sharpener for your next session. Be prepared so that you can avoid borrowing anything.
Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for Tip #5, coming soon!
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