Tutors
Why become a tutor?
One of the best ways to learn something well is to explain it to someone else. You'll find gaps in your own understanding that you didn't know were there, and you'll find ways to fill them in. You'll see topics from someone else's point of view, and thus come to understand more aspects of the subject. It looks great on a résumé too! While tutoring is appealing to many students, those wishing to become teachers will find the experience particularly helpful. Plus, you get REAL job experience related to your career!
Tips for Tutors
- Be attentive and sensitive to the tutees’ needs.
- Demonstrate reliability; expect to arrive on time for every tutoring session.
- Exhibit enthusiasm for the material covered.
- Notify the Assistant Director in advance if unable to make a session.
- Keep proper documentation regarding tutoring sessions.
- Keep the Assistant Director informed of any questions or concerns in dealing with the tutees.
- Take the initiative to offer suggestions of ways to enhance the center’s operation.
- Keep tutee information confidential.
- Take time to establish rapport. Accept your tutees’ attitudes about the course. Start with manageable goals to build confidence in their ability to learn the material.
- Have your tutees show you the course syllabus so that you can use it as a basis for your goal setting.
- Ask to see your tutees’ notes to determine if they have adequate note taking skills. All lecture notes should be dated, titled, and organized. Remind the students to write down examples, anything on the board or overhead, key terms, definitions and material the teacher verbally emphasizes.
- Show your tutees the most effective way to mark the textbook for purposes of studying.
- Allow time for the tutees to arrive at their own answers. Tutees should be talking 75% of the time to build self-confidence. Encourage tutees to think for themselves.
- Be sure the tutees understand how you arrive at the answers you provide. Tutees need to take notes on important points. Be sure they include examples for clarification.
- At the end of the session, have the tutees summarize what was covered. Summarizing demonstrates to you and the tutees that they clearly understand the material.
- Guide the students towards being independent learners. Adopting good study skills will help them become confident and more effective learners in all of their courses.
Tutoring Policies
Tutors may help students with:
- Questions about class lectures.
- Textbook comprehension.
- Homework that the student has tried to do.
- Test preparation.
- Review of graded tests.
- Study Skill strategies.
- The writing process.
- Specific grammar questions.
Tutors may not help students with:
- Take-home tests (unless permission is granted by professor).
- Un-attempted homework assignments
- Final proofreading of papers.
- Missed class material (unless permission is granted by professor).
At the end of every tutoring session, be certain that the student leaves with the product of his/her own work.
Tutor Training
All peer tutors will participate in Tutor Training. The training consists of an online part accompanied by a training workshop. The training is supervised by the Assistant Director of the Center for Learning Excellence.
Last updated: May 1, 2013
