Heather: So what should I write down as the skills we covered for peer tutoring?
Jose: Well, first we need to take time to build a rapport with the other person.
Sage: And we need to ask probing questions, not just questions that require a yes or no answer.
Jose: I think it's really important to remember not to do the work for the other person. I know I always want to take the paper and pencil and do the work myself when I'm with someone who isn't getting is as quickly as I think they should.
Deena: Don't forget how important body language is. And without good listening skills the session won't go very well either.
Brian: There's really a lot to remember about this topic. So how much peer tutoring do you think we might have to do?
Sage: I think we have been doing it all along, just not formally.
Deena: If I was to have to do it formally then I would like to have appropriate training. We have talked about a lot of key issues, but we are not experts yet.
Jose: I think even with training, having experience counts for a lot. The more we practice, the better we will be at peer tutoring.
Heather: I think the main point here is that we are a lot more aware of the process. And if we need to have a tutor, then we can also be more effective as a learner. Just having discussed some of the general communication principles helps me.
Brian: If I have a tutor, I'm going to make sure that they are listening.
Sage: I feel better. I tend to get defensive really quickly when I'm being questioned. Maybe I can work on that.
Deena: That part about giving proper feedback was good. When I'm working with my kids, I need to remember to do that. I sometimes just answer the question myself so we can move on. I know that is not the best way for them to learn.
Jose: I know that this may seem like we got a little off track from our research, but we do need to keep in mind we may need to teach others about what we have learned from our research, how we did it, and others will need to teach us. I guess that is just part of the lifelong learning process.
Brian: One thing is for sure, peer tutoring is a more complicated process than I thought. It requires a lot of people skills.
Heather: I think in most cases, it just requires good common sense.
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