Office of Academic Support

 

September 4, 2008  “Getting Your Tutoring Sessions Off To A Good Start”

Matt McCluskey, Coordinator of Academic Support (Peer Tutoring Academic Mentor)

1. Be Clear About Your Expectations:  A good way to begin a tutoring relationship is to take ten minutes to outline each of your expectations.   Remember that you’ll be reaping academic benefits from the experience, too, and you should think about these benefits.   You may also want to talk about what you find exciting or intriguing about the subject matter and your past experiences in the course.  Have the student outline his or her expectations for your tutoring sessions and goals for the course.  Write them down and revisit them from time to time.
   
   
2. Examine Course Requirements:  It never hurts to begin your sessions by examining the course expectations.   A good way to do this would be to look over the syllabus together and note upcoming assignments, tests, presentations, etc.   Be sure to allow enough time for revision if the student will be working on a writing assignment or practice sessions if you are talking about an oral presentation.
   
   
3. Time Management, Note-Taking, and Syllabus Mapping Referrals:  If your student is having trouble taking notes, managing time, or making sense of the syllabus, I encourage you to refer the student to the Academic Advising Office.  Becky Graham (Coordinator of Academic Achievement) specializes in helping students with note-taking, and I can help with time management and syllabus mapping. 
   
   
4. Begin Each Session With Review:  A good tutor will often begin a session with 5-10 minutes of review from the previous session.   This can be fun and can involve trivia, a discussion, or perhaps even a brief game or debate.   A brief opening review can get everyone focused.
   
   
5. Be Aware of Additional Resources:  St. Lawrence is chock full of academic resources.   It would be helpful for each of you to familiarize yourself with such resources on campus as the WORD Studio, the QRC, and Academic Advising offices.  That way you will be able to point students in right direction should they require additional assistance.  If you are unsure about a question or resource, feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call.  Also, I strongly encourage you to be in touch with your student’s professor.
   
   
6. Let the Student Teach You:  One of the most effective teaching methods is having students explain back what they have just learned.   When the two of you are ready to review a topic, pretend that you are brand new to the discipline and ask the student to teach you about it.  Be sure to ask lots of questions.  This can be a lot of fun.

A couple of common questions:  (Group Discussion)

“What does he mean by revision, exactly?”

“This reading seems impenetrable.  How can I get a handle on it, let alone remember it?”

“My student continues to make mistakes.  Is that OK?”

“How can one tutoring session flow into the next?”