Formation of tutors

Rob Vierendeels

Agree on time, target tutee’s learning goals and alter support and challenge

Some hints:

  • Learning in regular short sessions is more effective than in occasionallong sessions.
  • The tutees’ motivation will higher for their own learning goals. They often are short-term and focused onlyon task completion, and need broadening.
  • Learning is constructive: it starts at the tutee’s current point of understanding. So, tutors must find out where this is, and try to uncover relevant misconceptions.
  • Learning proceeds in smallsteps from this point.
  • Learning strategies are more important than memorizingsubject content.Schoolteachers do not have enough time totalk with individual learners about their strategies, or exploredeep understanding.Explore varied examples of the concepts to make sure tutees can really use what they know in other contexts.
  • Tutors should not just give tutees the answer, or just tell or show them how to do something.This might feel helpful, but it will only result in mechanicallearning without real understanding—remembering what. Understanding the process of how to find the rightanswer is the most important thing. So tutoring should bemore than repeated drill and practice. Sometimes tutorswill find that tutees have fixed ideas that are too narrow orjust wrong. Then the tutor must challenge the tutee (in agentle and helpful way), to help them loosen and thenreorganize and improve the quality of their thinking.

Question, pause for thinking time and thenprompt

  • Question: open-ended and encourage thetutee to talk. But do not make them too complicated. Askquestions that will make the tutee think and reveal theirunderstanding (or misunderstanding). Ask questions thatmake the tutee apply, analyse, predict, classify, synthesize,justify or evaluate what they are learning. Some of thesequestions will have more than one ‘right’ answer. Do notaccept guesses.
  • Thinking time. Do not expect the tutee to respond toa question immediately. They will need some thinkingtime.
  • Prompt. Do not just tell the tutee the answer. Give them asmall clue about how to work out the right answer. Thismight be a drawing or a gesture (for example), as well asmore spoken words. Give just enough support to enablethe tutee to be successful with some effort — no more.

Observe performance; check for errors;ensure all errors are corrected

Recognized errors are a positive learning opportunity. But if not recognized, some errors compound faulty learning. They might be a sign of misconceptions.

  • Observe tutee performance closely. If errors are not seen and corrected, much faulty learning will take place.Some errors might be just carelessness. But many will showa misconception or a failure to understand.
  • When you see an error, try to intervenepositively. Avoid just saying ‘no!’. First, suggest to yourtutee that you think they might have made an error.Encourage them to find where. If they cannot find where,give them a clue to help them locate the error.
  • Promote self-correction. When they have found it, talkabout the nature of the error. In what way is it wrong? Why?How can it be put right? Through this discussion, you givethe tutee the chance to put the error right themselves (selfcorrect).This is much better for their learning and for theirconfidence.
  • Correction procedure. Of course, if they try to self-correctbut still do not get it right, you will need to intervenemore. If all else fails, you might need to: demonstrate ormodel the correct response; lead or prompt the tutee toimitate this; check that the tutee can produce the correctresponse without help.
  • For the organisation: Ensure correct correction. There is a risk that Tutors will not notice all the errorsthe tutee makes. They might insist someanswers are wrong, when actually they are correct. Or theymight see the tutee has got something wrong, but get itwrong themselves in trying to correct it. In those kinds oftutoring where there are ‘right answers’ (for example,mathematics problems), it is helpful if the tutor has somemaster source of reference (the correct answers on aseparate sheet). A mentor for the tutor is also important.

Discuss, praise, review

  • Discuss. The discussions above will help toestablish deeper and wider understanding in the tuteeand perhaps also in the tutor!
  • Praise. Most tutors do not praise their tutees as much asthey think they do. Most tutors also criticize their tuteesmore than they think they do. Try to observe your owntutoring behaviour carefully. Tutoring is a private situationthat should be within a context of trust. So give more praise!
  • When to praise:
  • Praise for success with particularly hardproblems or tasks.
  • Praise for self-correction.
  • Praise forincreasing time-span without error.
  • Praise for effort as wellas success when the tutee is struggling. Praise ‘betterefforts’ even if still not quite right.
  • Praise increasing tuteeindependence.
  • At the end of the session, give praise for thewhole session. Write some praise on any record of thesession.
  • Effective praise.
  • Praise specifying the reason for it—sayexactly what the tutee has done well.
  • Vary the praise—useas many different praise words as you can think of. Praise as if you meanit—sound and look pleased! Smile, at least.
  • Summarize/review. At strategic points during the tutoringsession, and certainly at the end of it, ask the tutee tosummarize or review the key or main points that have beenlearned.
  • You might be surprised at what they think are themain points.
  • You might need to remind them of one or twoimportant things, which they already seem to have forgotten.
  • Have a final discussion and agree about the mainpoints. Do not try to cram in too many ‘main’ points. Thisis all good preparation for the review or recapitulation thatshould start your next session.

Codeerschema gebaseerd op Salmon (2000). Salmon (2000) introduceert in haar boek een

onderwijsmodel waarbij ze vijf fasen in e-leren onderscheidt. Bovendien besteedt de

auteur expliciete aandacht aan de rol van de begeleider of ‘e-moderator’. Het vijfstappenmodel

wordt voorgesteld als een piramide waarvan de bodem breder is dan de top,

omdat deze al wat er boven ligt draagt, ondersteunt en mogelijk maakt (zie figuur 1).