|
Information about Peer Tutoring |
Establishing the Environment
Building Rapport
Establishing Proper Body Language
Approaching the Work
Listening, Questioning, and Responding
Feedback
Interactive Role Play
Before peer tutoring starts, it is important to establish a neutral and casual environment for the tutoring session. This should be a space where both the tutor and tutee feel comfortable to ask questions and explore ideas. For example, meeting in a dorm room or office is less desirable because this gives one of the participants a "home-court" advantage.
Also, make sure the location is quiet and free from distractions. For example, the open areas and eating areas in the Student Union buildings are not as practical as an open, empty classroom because of all of the other people and distractions. The library may not be ideal either, because the imposed quiet might stifle conversation.
Finally, make sure to have the assignment sheet available for reference & extra paper for scratch work.
Which of these locations would be better for a tutoring session? Why? Which location would be the worst of the three? Using the "My Notes" tool on the right side of the tool bar at the top of the page, write two or three sentences explaining which location would be best and why.
|
|
|
Think about the first time you attended your favorite class or group activity. Did the others in the group help you to feel comfortable? What are three things others have done to help you feel comfortable in a new situation?
When you have a good rapport with someone, you look forward to meeting with
them. You feel free to talk openly with them about a variety of subjects
and you appreciate their thoughts and ideas, as well. Establishing a good rapport
between the tutee and the tutor is essential in peer tutoring. Because the
peer tutoring session is not intended as a traditional teacher-student relationship,
but rather as a conversational dialogue, it is important that both parties
are engaged in the process. Always keep in mind that a conversation needs
two speakers. Both the tutor and the tutee need to feel free to ask questions
and reflect on ideas.
Rapport is the "glue" that makes the tutor/tutee relationship productive. Therefore, an important aspect of the tutorial experience is that you, as a tutor, are able to 'read' your tutee and make him or her feel at ease in the situation. Being aware of body language -- both your own and your tutee's -- and understanding the subtext of your tutee's verbal responses will help make sure that both you and your tutee are engaged.
| Begin by introducing yourself. The initial greeting and chit-chat is when you can connect with your fellow student and begin to establish a rapport which will determine the direction the session will take. This is where you begin to get acquainted with the tutee. Find out if this is her or his first visit. If it is, describe what to expect. |  |
If tutees are uncomfortable or apprehensive, try to put them at ease through conversation, but also through body language. A good acronym to remember about body language when beginning to build a rapport is LOOSER. Each letter of the word will help you remember the six points listed below.
L: Lean in towards the tutee; approach the tutee. O: Offer hospitality (a handshake, a soft drink, to hang up coat). O: Open posture, legs not crossed, arms not crossed. S: Smile, nod. E: Eye contact. R: Relax.
If your tutee continues to be tense in spite of your efforts to help her feel more comfortable and establish a rapport, you might try getting her to relax by modeling a relaxed -- but attentive -- posture. Try mirroring the tutee's stance, then gradually uncross your arms and legs. It's human nature for the tutee to mirror you. At the same time, you need to be aware of your own body language -- just as it's natural for the tutee to mirror you, it's also natural for you to mirror the tutee!
After reading the above information, think about this situation and answer the questions below.
A tutee won't make eye contact and constantly looks down. She sits at a distance, removed from the table, and looks very uncomfortable. Her arms are crossed and she won't ask questions. When pressed, she responds with simple nods.
What can you tell about this student from her body language? Using the "My Notes" tool, describe two things you might do to help this student feel more comfortable.
When starting a tutoring session, it is important to help the student feel comfortable. Some of the things you might have suggested doing in your answer would be:
Take this quick quiz (ANGEL Quiz) to check what you have learned so far.
 |
Establishing Proper Body Language |
As you can see from the information you just read, when establishing a rapport and working with a tutee your body language is just as important as your verbal language. Click the link below for some tips on body language. These tips will help you be aware of the messages you are sending, as well as the messages the tutee is sending. Remember to consciously "read" the tutee, so you can help them feel more comfortable without forgetting to pay attention to the messages you are sending with your own body language.
Tips:
Read these tips to help you understand more about body language.
 |
Approaching the Work |
As you "read" your tutee and begin to establish a genuine rapport, you also need to begin to approach the material in question. However, it is important to keep a few ideas in mind as you start.
So, as a tutor, the two roles you want to avoid are (5):
 |
Listening, Questioning, and Responding |
As a tutor, one of your more important roles is to be an effective listener. A good tutor is able to listen to the concerns of the tutee and reflect those back. If the tutor cannot listen to the needs and questions of the tutee, then the conversational aspect of the session degrades into an instructional teacher-student relationship.
Another key role that a tutor performs is to ask effective and stimulating discussion questions. By asking the right questions, a tutor can help create a dialogue for the tutee that the tutee can replay later by him/herself.
As you listen, you will naturally find yourself asking questions. Ask questions to engage the tutee, to clarify what has been said, and to show that you've been listening (8). Effective questioning helps to continue to build rapport as well as provide information about the work at hand.
Tips:
When asking questions, here are some tips to remember.
As you are working with and listening to your tutee, you will want to continue to progress through the task at hand by building the dialog and showing that you are interested and involved. Making effective verbal responses will also help to clarify the materials being discussed as well as reinforce the rapport you are building.
Now that you have read through all of the information and Tips Sheets, take this quiz (ANGEL Quiz) to see what you learned.
 |
Feedback |
Finally, as you are addressing the work with your tutee, it is your job to offer useful feedback. Remember that it is not the tutor's responsibility to make sure the paper or assignment is perfect. Your job is to help the tutee further understand key concepts. Therefore, when offering feedback keep these ideas in mind:
Activity 6:
What's happening in each of these situations? Use the "My
Notes"
tool to write a sentence or two about each scenario before reading
the "Explanation."
Situation 1
Tutee: I have a math problem that I'm having trouble with. I do the work the way the instructor showed us, but I can't seem to get the same answer he got.
Tutor: Here, let me see
The tutor takes the paper and starts writing, coming up with the right answer. He gives the paper back to the student.
Tutor: Here you go, all done. Just look at my work and you will see how to do the problem.
Explanation: The tutor does not talk and explain his/her corrections. Instead, the tutor simply does the work and corrects the assignment without allowing the tutee to participate in the experience. The tutor solved the problem using a different strategy than the student was taught in class, and now the student doesn't understand either way to solve the problem.
Situation 2
Tutee: I'm working on this assignment for English. I have to write a descriptive essay. I'm trying to describe my family, but I'm stuck on this part about what we do together. My sister is the biggest pain when we go anywhere together. She is always whining and complaining. I'm just not sure how to write about that.
Tutor: (Reads about the assignment on the syllabus and thinks to himself that there are easier topics for a descriptive essay than family relationships, but doesn't want to discourage the tutee.) OK, let's see what you have so far.
The tutor reads what the student has written and is now positive that this isn't a good topic for the assignment. Even if the tutee was a good writer, which he isn't, he would have a lot of trouble making this topic work.
Tutor: You're writing about your sister, but you don't know what to say?
Tutee: Yeah. She whines and complains when we try to do stuff together and makes the event unpleasant for everyone. How do I say that without sounding whiney myself?
Tutor: She's always whining and is hard to please.
Tutee: Yes. That's what I just said. How can I write about that?
Tutor: Are you sure you want to write about your sister? Can't you think of something better to write about?
Tutee: Well, I've already put a couple of hours of work into this -- I just need to finish this part about my sister.
Tutor: You want to describe how whiney she is without sounding whiney yourself.
Tutee: That's what I just said. Can you help me with this or not?
Explanation: The tutor doesn't give any positive feedback. The tutor, in trying not to preach, fails to give the tutee any direction and frustrates the tutee. The tutee gives up asking and becomes combative with the tutor, because the tutee feels like the tutor is being condescending.
The tutor offers useful feedback and asks questions throughout the session (ie: "What do you think? Where do you feel like you get confused?"). This helps the tutee think through the problem and come up with a solution.
Explanation: By asking probing questions and providing useful responses and feedback, the tutee is able to think through his problems and leaves feeling helped and confident.
This page opened in a new window. To return to the previous page,
close this window.
