Best Practices Tutor Training - VoiceTube: Learn English through videos!

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(upbeat music)
- Hey Stark, how are you this morning?
- Hey Parker, I'm doing just fine, how are you?
- Fantastic, say, I wanted to ask you something,
so I recently decided I wanted to tutor,
you know, I really thought I could help others
with their classes and and be an educational super hero,
so to speak.
Anyway, I was wondering if you could possibly help me out?
- Sure, you know, I've only known you for a short while,
but you do seem like you have a lot of potential.
Why don't you go ahead and follow me up to my office
in Stark Tower, and I can maybe give you a few tips.
- Really, yeah, that would be great,
I've always wanted to see the top floor of Stark Tower.
This is so exciting.
- Yes it is, very exciting.
All right Peter Parker, before we make our way
up to the top of Stark Tower,
let's discuss a bit about what it means to be a tutor.
I know this may seem obvious to you,
but there's actually a lot that goes into being a tutor.
- Absolutely, I completely understand,
so just out of curiosity, what would you say
that a tutor is?
- Well, here's how I would put it,
a tutor is someone who engages in a pure teaching
and learning relationship with their students,
within a structured and supervised educational context.
In other words, a tutor is someone who works with students
to help them succeed academically,
by providing them with plenty of resources and skills,
that would help them do well in their classes.
- That makes sense,
but how is that any different from what a teacher does,
is there really any difference between being a tutor,
and being a professor?
- Actually, I'm really glad you asked that.
There definitely are similarities.
However, the key difference is that tutoring
is sort of a peer to peer learning relationship,
with one or more people.
A professor teaches a class full of students,
whereas a tutor helps individual students,
who may be seeking assistance in their class.
Another difference is that tutors work
on a more personal level to try and get students
not only to learn the material,
but also to help them acquire the skills and tools
to effectively learn the material on their own.
Also, professors are experts in their field
and tutors are not.
Tutors are supposed to be very knowledgeable
in their subject area they are tutoring for.
However, they are not expected to be experts.
- Okay, wow, light bulb that makes a lot more sense.
- Great, let's go inside.
All right, so something you may want to consider
is the manner in which you may address a student,
from a tutoring perspective.
Let's try to consider a situation that you could
potentially find yourself in.
- All right, I'm listening.
- Let's say that Charles Xavier is a tutor and has been
tutoring his student Raven Darkholme for about an hour a
day for the last five weeks in Intro to Psychology.
Now, one day at the beginning of their meeting, Raven
arrives late and looks very shaken.
Her eyes dart about nervously and she appears
to be very jittery.
Charles of course has never seen her this startled before
and begins expressing concern.
A few minutes into the session, Raven starts complaining
about how her shrink has changed her medication and says
she stopped taking it and that she's having trouble
feelings good at the moment.
Raven continues to describe the situation in more depth,
but her narrative is very fragmented and the more she
talks, the more she becomes agitated.
Charles realizes that their tutoring time is ticking away
and that the medication she was referring to may be related
to psychological treatment.
What would you do in this situation if you were
Charles Xavier?
Do you think it would be an appropriate time to continue
the tutoring session?
- You know, I would safely assume that Raven may not be
mentally stable in that moment and that it probably isn't
the best time for her to be having the session.
I personally would try to reschedule another time, maybe
direct her to services on campus
that might be able to help her.
I think this would be much more beneficial than trying to
proceed with the session.
- Perfect that's actually a really great answer.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Just keep in mind that situations like this may actually
exist and as a tutor, you'll want to behave responsibly.
Let's go ahead and hop on the elevator.
There are six main goals that I want my tutors to focus on
that I believe will help you develop the best practices for
being a tutor.
The first goal is to promote independent learning
with your student.
This is very important because we want students to acquire
the skillset to learn independently without your help.
You don't want to just explain everything to the student
and give them all the answers because in doing so, they are
never actually learning how to learn, which means they will
always be reliant on you to do their work for them.
We really want students to develop independent learning
strategies, so that they can continue to be successful in
all of their courses, not just the one
that you're tutoring in.
- That's a really good point.
I actually always thought that tutoring was just a process
of teaching material to the students.
- Exactly and that's why I really want to stress that this
is not what tutors should be doing.
- Okay, I'll definitely remember that.
- The second goal is to personalize the tutoring session
when you are working with a student.
You should understand that every student learns in
different ways.
We are all wired differently based on our genetics and most
importantly based on our experiences,
especially earlier in life.
By the time a student reaches you and seeks for your help,
they will be wired a very specific way based on their
experiences from birth to present, so some students may be
more visual learners, others may be more auditory learners
or hands-on learners.
Some students may study better in quiet environments and
others may study with background music.
The point I'm trying to make is keep in mind that every
student is unique and your session should be planned and
personalized based on what works best for them.
- I guess I never really thought of things that way.
People are very unique in so many ways.
I'll have to keep that in mind.
- Perfect, so the third goal is to implement multiple
perspectives and insights when your student is trying to
learn the material.
Your objective as a tutor should be to look at the content
from multiple angles, try to see how the student
conceptualizes the information.
Observe their methods of learning and then share new
perspectives with them on how to approach learning the
material.
As a tutor, you're good at approaching and studying new
material.
Share this wisdom with your students, but most importantly
facilitate the students insight into the learning process
and remember the goal of the tutor is to provide
opportunities and support students as they search for
answers.
- Definitely that makes a lot of sense.
Oh, we're stopping, I don't believe this is the right floor.
Someone must be getting on the elevator.
- Well, hello Natasha.
Parker, I'd like to introduce you to Natasha Romanov.
Natasha, this is Peter Parker.
Natasha is a close colleague of mine.
- Nice to meet you Peter.
- Likewise.
- We were just talking about the six goals of tutoring.
We actually just discussed the first three just now.
- Oh yes, do you mind if I explain the other three?
- Not at all, go right ahead.
- All right, well, the fourth goal is to provide your
perspective on learning and school success through the lens
of being a student yourself.
A part of being a tutor is establishing a peer to peer
relationship.
Remember that you have experience in the class.
You've likely just recently taken the course and you have a
lot of knowledge on how the class is structured.
Relay this to your students.
You know how the professor teaches the course.
You know what they may be looking for on an exam.
You know what is expected on class assignments.
Keep that in mind.
- Also keep in mind that if you haven't taken the course
recently, you can always ask the professor if anything has
changed or you can also talk to other tutors and mentors to
gain more knowledge for your own sessions.
- Very good point.
The fifth goal is to respect individual differences.
There are a lot of different people at IUPUI with a lot of
diverse backgrounds, ideas, opinions and motivations.
It is important that you have respect for everyone, no
matter who they are and be mindful that many students will
likely be very different than you.
It should go both ways.
The student should also respect who you are as an
individual as well.
If for whatever reason, a confrontation were to arise and
the student disrespects you, be sure to inform your
supervisor or program coordinator and they will assist you.
- Absolutely, respecting people for who they are is very
important to me.
I'll definitely make an effort to treat my students with
respect based on their individual differences.
- That's great, I like to hear that.
The sixth goal is to make sure that you are staying within
your realm of tutoring.
Stick to the job description.
Remember that you're not a counselor, you're not a
psychiatrist and you're not the professor.
You are a tutor, know your limits.
For example, if a student is having trouble with personal
problems, it's not your job to help them with that.
Refer the student to other resources offered on campus when
they need help with something else outside of your job
description.
- Okay, so does that mean I should be familiar with all the
resources on campus?
- You don't have to have all resources memorized, but you
should make an effort to know them or help the student
find those resources by doing a simple web search if you
don't know.
- Okay that's actually very helpful.
I wouldn't have thought to do that.
- Great, so definitely try to keep these goals in mind.
They will help you stay on track as a tutor.
Well, it looks like this is our stop, let's go ahead and
get off now.
(upbeat music)
- Welcome to the top of Stark Tower.
You can actually look outside and see IUPUI from here.
- This is way too cool.
IUPUI looks amazing from this view.
- These are two more colleagues of mine Wanda Maximoff and
Bruce Banner.
They along with Natasha are going to help you train to
become a tutor.
- Nice to meet you both.
- It's good to meet you Peter.
- We already discussed the six goals of tutoring on the
long elevator ride up here and we also already discuss what
it means to be a tutor.
Now, we need to talk about something that we refer to as
the tutoring cycle.
Wanda, would you care to begin?
- The tutor cycle is designed to help you organize your
tutoring session and keep you on track.
It's a 12-step process that should really help you plan for
your session and keep things running smoothly.
12 steps is a lot to remember, so you don't necessarily
have to memorize each step, but you should be familiar with
them and be able to implement them in order during your
session.
I think you will actually find it to be quite helpful.
The first step is to greet your student, make them feel
comfortable coming to your session.
Students often feel intimidated when they first meet with
their tutor because they are struggling in the course and
may feel reluctant to ask for help.
The fact that they are there shows that they have made
their first step to doing well in their course.
Make them feel comfortable and be friendly and open-minded.
The second step is to identify the task that you are going
to be working with.
Ask the student why they came in
and what they want help with.
Once you know what they're struggling with, you can better
assess how your session will play out.
For the third step, break the task down
into different parts.
You want the student to gain independence, so let them take
the lead in breaking the task into different parts based on
what they are struggling with.
If they aren't entirely sure how to break down the task,
then help them by asking critical questions that get the
students to think about how to break up the session into
different parts.
- [Bruce] The fourth step is to identify
the thought process.
Discuss with your student the specific kinds of work he
will have to do to solve the problems he's been presented
with.
For example, does the student need to identify something,
solidify information to their memory, organize or prove an
argument for an assignment, this brief discussion is a way
to teach the student how to learn and solve problems for
him or herself.
Use specific terms to help steer you and the student in the
right direction as you address the task at hand.
The fifth step is to set an agenda.
Once you have divided the task into parts and discussed the
specific kinds of mental work you and your student will do
during the session, order those tasks in a logical fashion.
Create a well-organized plan to make good use of your time.
It may be wise to ask the student to write down the agenda
for the session to keep you both on task.
The sixth step is to finally address the task you've
determined at the beginning of the session.
This involves tackling the task head on with the student
and being prepared for anything.
This is where most of your time will be spent and this is
the part of tutoring that most people think of when they
think of traditional tutoring.
Take this time to engage the student in meaningful
dialogue, either about the question he or she has brought
to the meeting or about issues you noticed as you begin to
assess the student's work.
Effective tutoring always involves a back-and-forth
exchange of information.
The tutor should explain concepts to the student, but
should remain quiet at other time, so to allow the student
to explain his or her understanding.
Both should ask questions and utilize books and other
resources and don't forget that the most important part of
this step is to encourage independent thinking.
- Okay, quick question, this all makes a lot of sense, but
I'm still a bit confused on how much time I should spend on
the sixth step?
It almost seems like this would be what most of the
tutoring session is all about.
- Well that's actually correct.
This step of the process really should consume more time
than any other step.
In fact, you may even spend more time here than in all the
other steps combined, which is completely fine.
Just make sure to plan accordingly, so you can do your best
to make room for all the other steps as well.
- [Wanda] The seventh step of the tutoring cycle is for the
student to summarize the content that you have reviewed.
Try to have them summarize what they understand and what
they have learned during the session so far.
Try asking open-ended questions if he or she has left out
information or still seems confused about
any important points.
Step eight is for the student to summarize any underlying
processes that may have been used during the session.
You want to try and get your student to internalize the
basic processes that were used to address the problems that
the student had during the session.
Let the student reflect and allow them to explain what
tools they learned to use and the usefulness of those tools.
You really want to make sure the student understands these
processes, so that they can use them outside of your
tutoring session as well as independently.
The ninth step is the confirmation stage.
Make sure to take time to wind down from the work of the
session, summarize what you have done and ask if the
student has any more questions.
As a tutor, you will want to determine whether or not the
student has a good understanding of all the concepts you
went over during the session.
Provide positive reinforcement and critique the student's
work while providing valuable insight.
The 10th step is figuring out what's next.
Help the student determine what his or her next step will
be after they leave the meeting.
Ask the student if they think they will be coming back for
another session or whether they should schedule
another meeting.
The students should ultimately determine whether or not
they would like to meet again.
However, you should use your insight as a student to assist
the student in their decision.
The 11th step is to actually arrange and plan the next
session if there will be one.
Let the student see you write down in your personal
calendar the date, time and location of your next meeting.
This will give them the cue to do the same and give you the
opportunity to suggest that they make a note of the meeting
if you realize they have not.
You and your students should also set a tentative goal for
the student to complete by the next meeting.
The final step is to end the session on a good note.
Let the student know why the meeting has gone well and if
they have not reached your goal for that meeting
explain why.
You may also want to explain what the student can do to be
more prepared next time.
Most importantly, end the meeting on a positive note.
You want your student to build confidence about coming to
your session and feel welcome to return.
- Wow, so that seems like a lot of steps.
I feel like I'll have difficulties remembering them all.
- That is absolutely fine.
After you get used to tutoring for a while, these steps
will feel very natural.
In fact, you probably will forget what these steps are
because you'll get so used to doing them naturally.
As you begin as a new tutor though, it can be a bit
intimidating and we totally get that.
What I would advise is to have these 12 steps printed out
or accessible for you during the session to help keep you
on track.
You should also prepare a plan before the session even
starts and we would advise that you use the tutoring cycle
to help you plan the session beforehand.
You will find that this helps out a lot and makes a session
run much more smoothly.
- That's great advice, I'll definitely be doing that.
That will help me out so much.
- That's great, okay, so we still have more to go over.
Let's move to the training room to go over communication
during the tutoring session.
Wanda and Bruce, you can come with me.
Right this way.
- Good afternoon Tony Stark.
- Hello Kamala Khan.
Would you mind buzzing us in please?
- Not a problem, you are good to go.
Thank you Kamala.
You are the best and don't you forget it.
Now, we need to discuss communication during your session.
Proper communication with your students will be very
important.
Being able to talk with your students and interact with
them in an effective way will be crucial to running a
successful tutoring session.
There are six communicatory options we will need to
discuss, initiate,
reply,
evaluate,
explain,
active listening and quiet.
We will elaborate each of these in detail for you.
- The first communicatory option is to initiate.
You're the tutor and are expected to lead the session.
This means that you will need to initiate productive and
effective conversation that allows the student to think
about the material or simply to just actively get
involved in the conversation, whether it's related to the
material or not.
Initiating a good conversation usually involves asking a
question that challenges the student to respond in a
meaningful way.
This brings us to the second communicatory option, reply,
which is the interactive response that should be simulated
by an effective and strategic question that you have
initiated.
The response will lead the conversation forward.
The third option is to evaluate, after the student has had
a chance to respond, you will have a chance to evaluate what
they are saying.
The student's response can really help you determine where
a student is with the material or may reveal to you how
social or interactive the student is going to be.
There are many different cues that you can get from a
student's response that may help you determine how to
proceed with the session.
Then, there is explanation, which allows for the student or
you as the tutor to further elaborate, illustrate,
summarize or justify reasoning.
Explanation by the student can illustrate gaps or missing
information, while explanation by the tutor can provide
background information or provide missing pieces of
information to the student.
Fifth, you should always engage in active listening.
Active listening requires that you, as the tutor, fully
concentrate, pay attention to, understand, respond and
remember what is being said by a student.
It is really important that the student knows that you are
actively listening.
You can do this by nodding your head, keeping eye contact
with the student without staring blankly, using a variety
of words to let them know you are paying attention and
being sure not to get distracted while the student is
talking to you.
You don't want the students to think that they are wasting
your time or feel like they are in an uncomfortable
environment.
Also, put your phone away, so the student has your
undivided attention.
The sixth option is remaining quiet at specific points
during the session.
Sometimes the session will become quiet as the student
begins to internalize and process the information
they have just learned.
It may seem difficult not to say something at this time to
break the silence.
However, if you do, then you're interrupting their thought
process and may prevent them from fully understanding the
material.
Be sure to allow moments of silence to allow the student to
think or formulate a response or explanation.
- There are different models that utilize some of these
communicatory topics.
First there is the IRP model.
IRP stands for initiate reply pattern.
This model utilizes the initiate and reply communicatory
options and is meant to provoke back-and-forth conversation
between the student and the tutor.
There's also the explain active listening pattern, where
one person explains something in-depth while the other
actively listens.
A lot of the time, the tutors think that they should be the
ones explaining.
However, that is not always the case.
It is actually recommended that you let the student do more
of the explaining, while you engage in active listening.
Having the student explain the material will greatly help
them understand the content and having someone actively
listen and provide feedback to them is an excellent value.
You will realize that as a tutor, you are more likely to
learn a lot more about the subject than you already knew.
- Communication is very important, so do you feel that you
have a good grasp of how to communicate during the session?
- Yeah, I believe so, I didn't realize we're supposed to
encourage the student to do a lot of the talking while the
tutor actively listens, but it makes a lot of sense now.
- Good, yeah that's actually a very crucial point that we
want our tutors to take away.
Now, there is one other part that really needs to be
considered during communication with your students.
That part is considering the intercultural framework with
the different students you will be working with.
IUPUI is a diverse campus and it is important that you have
an appreciation and respect for everyone that requests your
tutoring help.
There are eight things we want you to keep in mind when
you're tutoring that will help you create the best
experience for yourself and your students.
- The first thing is commitment.
Be an active listener and show the student that you are
committed and dedicated to helping them succeed.
Show them that you really want to help them and that you
are not just there to get paid.
This also means you shouldn't be texting during the tutor
session or doing other things that show
you are uninterested.
Show them that you are involved in the session.
The second thing is acceptance.
It is imperative that you accept your students for who they
are no matter what.
Your students will all be different in a variety of ways
and you should be respectful of those differences.
You should also feel accepted by your student as well,
since you are accepting of them.
As was mentioned previously, if this were to become a
problem and your student is active in a disrespectful
manner, you need to contact your supervisor or program
coordinator to get things settled out.
Empathy is third, it is important to make sure that you
make an effort to understand your student and empathize
with them.
You want your student to feel comfortable and relaxed.
Remember that you are likely a student or you were student
at one time, so you know what they're going through.
Use your experiences to relate with the student and let them
know that you understand the struggle of the course as well.
It will really be beneficial to let them know that they are
not the only ones who have ever struggled before.
In some cases, students may have circumstances that you
cannot relate to.
Acknowledge their challenges and help as much as you can
within the realm of being a tutor.
The fourth is filtered perception.
We have all had different experiences in our lives that
shape the way we perceive different situations.
We have different cultural backgrounds and different
interactions with different people and different life
experiences.
This creates perception in our mind that alters how we
expect things to play out in our day-to-day lives and how
we expect people to act in those times.
It is very important that you filter those perceptions and
don't allow them to impede on the tutoring session, hence
the term filtered perception.
Failure to filter our perceptions may lead to stereotyping
others because of an implicit perception that you may hold
and that could potentially get in the way of effectively
tutoring that student.
You should work very hard not to stereotype under any
circumstances.
This is unacceptable.
- The fifth concept is us versus them.
You should be cautious of your language.
Categorizing a particular group of people by using us,
them, they, we or anything of the like can
really be offensive.
This type of language when used to categorize people based
on their differences can create serious divisions among
people, whether it be related to cultural situations,
religious beliefs, race, gender
or anything along those lines.
The sixth thing is discrimination institutionalize, as we
stated before, IUPUI is arguably considered a diverse
institution and not every student here believes that the
school embraces cultural awareness or equality on accounts
of all students.
It is important to know that when you are working with a
student, there might be a difference of opinion in that
regard, so keep that in mind.
You should also take care to generalize cautiously.
Do not under any circumstances stereotype because even doing
so on accident can really hurt your relation
with your student.
Any form of stereotyping is going to inhibit the student
from learning independently and that is the opposite of
what you're trying to accomplish during your session.
Finally, as a tutor, you need to solicit, accept and
reflect on feedback.
Discuss with other mentors or tutors that you are tutoring
and see what works for them.
Share ideas and discuss what had worked effectively
in the past.
Collaborate and leave each other feedback.
Tutoring is a learning process and you will only ever get
better at it if you continue to try and learn from others
on what works best.
When providing feedback among peers, it is important that
you maintain confidentiality.
This means not sharing with friends or colleagues about who
you are tutoring or what concepts the student is receiving
through reflect.
This also means not sharing any identifiable information
about the student you're working with.
Failure to maintain confidentiality can ruin the tutor
relationship and potentially result in legal action.
- Wow this has been incredibly beneficial.
I feel like I've learned so much.
- That's wonderful, we really want to make sure that our
tutors are well prepared to be the best tutors this world
has ever seen.
It is my hopes and dreams that we have helped train you to
become the tutoring super hero you've always wanted to
become.
Now, go out there and tutor away.
- Thank you so much, but there's one thing, I kind of
already am a superhero.
You may have heard me on the news,
which reminds me I got to go.
With great power comes great responsibility.
- Well that's interesting.
I did not see that coming.
We should probably consider adding him to our
team of Avengers.
(music)