WHAT IS TUTORING?
The Dictionary defines a tutor as someone who gives individual, or in some cases small group, instruction. The purposes of tutoring is to help students help themselves become an independent learner, and thus no longer need a tutor. Tutoring can help the student master the material, build self confidence and competence
There is a difference between teaching and tutoring. Teaching is where the teacher is doing most of the work and is information driven. It is generalized and addresses only content. Tutoring is where the student is doing most of the work and is question driven. It is personalized and diagnostic in that defiencies are revealed immediately. Tutoring can also address other issues like, study skills and attention defiencies.
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WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TUTORING?
- Socratic vs. feeding
- One-on-one vs. small group
- Personalized vs. program
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HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOU CHILD NEEDS A TUTOR?
Your child's teacher or school counselor recommends it. This may happen at a parent-teacher conference or when progress reports go home.
Your child's grades start to fall, even though he seems to be working. Be aware, even with high grades, your child may still be in trouble. Note that high grades do not necessarily equate with good school performance. Due to grade inflation, your child may be earning fairly high grades through extra credit and retesting, or extra time for tests, or through the completion of projects which have little to do with learning about the subject. Grades are not always the best measure of how well your child is doing in school.
Look for comments, red flags or warning signs, that your child is having trouble in school. "all the other kids are smarter than I am"; "I hate reading"; "I never have time to finish my work in class".
Frequently, check your child's homework grades, test scores and report cards for low scores.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TUTOR
Tutors are special people. They need not be intellectually bright but they must know what it feels like not to understand. They must be creative, able to explain a concept by using stories, drawings, analogies, or metaphors. Tutors must be affirming people, and humble, and patient.
It is not necessary to be an A student to be a good tutor. But it is necessary to like people. It is also necessary to listen. Tutoring is not so much an act of sharing information as it is a process of empowering. The focus is primarily on helping people learn how to learn. Sometimes this means teaching them to take smaller bites of information, and sometimes it means reformatting content so that it is more meaningful to the person learning it. But whatever strategy is required, the goal is always get your student to understand something.
Some Characteristics of a Good Tutor
Intelligence alone does not result in successful tutoring. More important is the ability to get results.
Positive outlook: belief that circumstances can be changed through actions.
Desire to help others: willingness to get involved with people.
Reliability: punctual, steady, dependable.
Enthusiasm: liking for the subject matter.
Open mind: willingness to accept other points of view.
Initiative: ability to see what needs to be done and do it.
Even disposition: patience, gentleness, understanding, fairness.
Empathy: ability to feel what another person is feeling
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QUESTIONS TO ASK A TUTOR
Hiring a tutor should be approached in the same manner as hiring any other professional. Ask questions, look carefully at references, and use your instinct as to whether this tutor is a good fit for your student. Your student should be present at the initial interview so that you can receive feedback from your student before making a final hiring decision. After all, the student is 50% of the learning team, and as such, needs to be involved from the onset.
After you have decided to hire a tutor, it is important to ask some questions before hiring the person to work with your child. Be prepared with a list of questions before picking up the phone to call, so that you will be able to quickly find out the pertinent information you need to make a decision.
Fees
Ask the tutor for a detailed pricing plan, i.e. how many sessions at what cost per session. Be sure you are clear about payment requirements, rules about missed appointments, and miscellaneous fees for testing and materials. Find out how much notice the tutor requires if you need to cancel, and how she expects you to make those hours up. Find out what she expects if you are running late or got stuck in traffic when coming to pick your child up at the end of the session. Don't be surprised if your tutor requires you to sign a paper that says if you cancel a tutoring session without at least 24 hours notice, then you will be charged for that session. Tutors make their schedules based on an agreed upon time with their clients. Often they will have other clients who would like to tutor at the same time your student is scheduled, but they have to turn away this business because you are already taking up that time slot. If you cancel and the tutor is unable to fill that slot, the tutor has lost some if his/her anticipated income for that day. In the case of illness or an unexpected emergency, most tutors will allow you to make up that tutoring session at another time that week. Also, you should know what the tutor's policy is if he/she has to cancel on you. You should receive a make-up lesson or a refund for that lesson if you have paid ahead.
Do you require me to sign a contract?
Don’t worry if a tutor asks you to sign a paper that confirms the hourly rate, documents how often he/she will get paid, and outlines the cancellation policy. This contract will benefit both you and the tutor. After all, this is a business relationship, and it is good for both parties to have in writing the details about payment and cancellations. However, if a tutor wants you to sign a contract that commits you to paying for a specified number of sessions in advance, then you should be aware. What if your son tells you after the second session that the tutor is not being helpful, and he hates her? You don’t want to have to keep taking him just because you signed a contract that says they will have 10 sessions together. And you don’t want to lose all the money you spent and get no help at all. Then you are stuck. Just read the contract carefully, and if there are parts of it you don’t agree with, discuss them with the tutor and see if you can modify the contract. If you can’t, don’t sign the contract and look for another tutor.
What is the length of a session, and how often should the tutor meet with you?
To be most effective, tutors should meet with the student 2-3 times a week. Sessions can range from 1/2 hour to 2 hours, depending on the age of your child. Very young children have short attention spans and should meet more often but for shorter periods of time. High school students can focus for sometimes up to two hours, but the tutor must vary the activities and keep the discussion light. Even if students are attending 2 hour sessions, they still should meet with a tutor at least twice a week. By only meeting once a week, students are not able to get enough feedback about the material they are covering and do not have the consistency they need to succeed in their problem areas.
Where will the sessions take place?
Whether your child is tutored at school, an office, a community center, or someone's home, you need to be comfortable with the location. If transportation is required, factor that into your decision. A number of studies have shown that regular, frequent tutoring is the most effective and that more sessions per week result in greater gains.
What are the tutor's qualifications?
Does he have experience teaching the subject your child needs help with? It's not necessary that an instructor be a credentialed teacher for your child's grade level. Just because they look good on paper doesn't mean they are the best tutors. What you are looking for is someone your child can relate to and understand, someone who explains things in different ways until your child "gets it".
What is the tutor's track record?
Request evidence of the tutor's success in raising student achievement, such as:
· Higher test results
· Improved classroom grades
· Better homework completion
· Satisfaction surveys of students or parents
What tutoring method do you employ?
Not all tutors work in the same manner. It is good to know if your personal tutor uses various forms of media like books, magazines, the internet, and others as part of his teaching routine. Variety is effective in helping children grasp information faster, as well as to keep their interest in the task at hand.
A Tutorial Plan
Give the tutor a list of your concerns and goals for your student. Ask the tutor to offer a basic plan for how he or she will assist your child. How will the tutor conduct an initial assessment of your student's academic needs and challenges? How will success be measured? When will feedback be provided to you and/or the student's teacher?
How do you deal with a difficult child?
There are instances wherein a tutee is non-receptive to the assistance given by his or her personal tutors. A child may be too shy, is aggravated by the added school load, or simply does not want to participate. In this case, ask the tutor how he deals with such tutoring obstacles. It is ideal to choose a tutor that is firm but at the same time understanding about your child's personality and academic needs.
Does the tutor carry professional liability insurance?
Letters of Recommendation
Make sure that the letters speak to the person's ability as a tutor and not just matters of general character. Letters should be current and include full contact information for the person making the recommendation. Above all, make the calls necessary to verify these recommendations.
Demonstration
Watch the tutor guide your student through a small portion of one lesson. How does the tutor approach the student? Where does the tutor sit; does the tutor respect your child's personal space? How is the tutor's intent conveyed to your student? Does the tutor write on your student's paper or does the tutor allow the student to make corrections as needed? Is your student allowed to ask numerous questions? Is the tutor patient, professional in mannerism, tone of voice and information delivery? Does the tutor give your student time to process and answer the question before offering the solution? Does the tutor offer sincere praise?
Additional Questions
How long have you been tutoring? Why do you enjoy tutoring? How many students are you currently working with? When do you become frustrated with students? How do you communicate with a student who clearly isn't "getting it"? How do you define your role as the tutor? What is my role as the parent? How will you communicate with my student's teacher(s) and how often?
Thinking of going through an agency?
Who will do the tutoring?
When dealing with a tutoring company, you are trusting that company to hire the right person for your child — so be sure you agree with the company's philosophy. Find out how much say you have in selecting a tutor and how the company determines which one is appropriate for your child. If the tutor is ill or unavailable, will your child be assigned a substitute? It is always good to ask whether the child or adult who will be tutored will have the same tutor for each tutoring session. Good education, even of the supplemental kind, requires an established rapport between educator and student.
How many students will be tutored at a time?
While some students thrive in small groups, others do better with one-on-one instruction. Be sure your choice can provide a setting that works for your child's particular learning style. If you've chosen group tutoring, find out what is the maximum number of students per class.
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