FALL 2012 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
GROUP TUTORING
OVERVIEW______
As an English Center tutor, you will occasionally be called upon to tutor more than person at a time. This professional development module will focus on putting into practice the group tutoring models previously discussed in workshop which will allow you to manage the expectations of students who are used to one-on-one tutoring methods, manage your table while group tutoring, and manage what outcomes you should aim for in a group session.
WHY GROUP TUTORING?
Group Tutoring is best used when students have a common objective, like reviewing for a test, discussing an English essay, brainstorming ideas for a presentation, working on practice exercises, or discussing a particular assignment. Leadership skills are necessary to be an effective group tutor. As a group leader, the tutor will be responsible for:
• Ensuring that everything is in place for a successful session
• Developing an agenda
• Initiating the discussion: taking care of introductions, reviewing the purpose of the session, asking opening questions
• Providing structure to the session: keeping the group focused, monitoring time, summarizing progress
• Ensuring that everyone has a chance to talk: encourage the shy student, control the dominant student
• Stimulating creative and critical thinking.
The primary advantage of group tutoring is the potential for the sharing of a variety of views and information. Groups can also demonstrate and build cooperative attitudes and work skills, requisites for the “real” world.
INTEGRATING THE TUTORING CYCLE______
The tutoring cycle remains a useful tool for managing group tutoring sessions. Regardless of the individual needs of students, the basic cycle of Greeting > Diagnosis > Setting the Agenda > Leading the Session > Ending the Session can still be adhered to while also addressing the needs of the larger group dynamic. The key component of the Tutoring Cycle for group sessions is Diagnosis.
THE FOUR GOALS OF TUTORING______
Likewise, tutors should keep the four goals of tutoring in mind while leading group sessions. Fostering student independence, active learning, mastery of the material and self-esteem remain at the core of what we do as English Center tutors, including in group sessions.
DIAGNOSING THE GROUP NEED—MAKING VIABLE CONNECTIONS______
Whenever possible, the group tutor will need to focus on the challenges students in the group have in common. By doing so, the tutor will be able to serve the needs of multiple students at once in a variety of group tutor modes. To do so the tutor will need to effectively and comprehensively diagnose the needs of each student while looking for correlations in the challenges each student faces.
Practically speaking, this will involve writing down the specific agenda items each student claims to need help with, and then assessing each student’s project before setting a definitive agenda or determining which mode of group tutoring to use. In the same way that you would diagnose issues to discuss in single-student tutoring sessions, go around the table and discuss with each student in turn his or her specific needs. Once you’ve discovered all the agenda items each student needs to work on, consider what is in common and what is not and then structure the session around those needs.
What if their issues are completely different?
In the event that upon diagnosis you discover that there are no common issues to discuss in the group session, use this information to help decide which group tutoring model you will use to manage the session. Likewise, you will choose a group tutoring model based in part on which agenda items students do have in common. Above all else, know which group tutoring model you intend to use before diving into the session. This will reduce confusion both for yourself and students, as well as help you manage the expectations of students regarding what they will achieve in the tutoring session.
AT THIS TIME, PLEASE REVIEW THE GROUP TUTORING MODEL PRESENTATION POWERPOINT.
PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE______
To complete this professional development module, lead one group tutoring session before semester’s end. Afterward, answer the questions below. Coordinate with your trainer and the front desk to arrange a group session if you do not normally have the opportunity to run one, and take the initiative when you see an opportunity to form a group session. Invite students who could potentially work in a group, such as English 49 students, to form a tutoring group with you. To count as a group session, make sure you include at least two students plus yourself.
Questions
[1] When and where did the session occur, and with how many students?
[2] What courses were the students seeking help with?
[3] How did you initiate the session? Was it challenging? Why or why not?
[4] How did you set the agenda? Was it difficult to do so? Why or why not?
[5] What group tutoring model (group discussion, clusters, round robin) did you choose? Explain why.
[6] Did you adhere to the model you chose throughout the entire session, or did you switch models?
[7] Did you find yourself struggling to maintain the chosen model? Did students buy in, or did you feel resistance? How did you manage the session in the face of that resistance (if any)?
[8] Overall, how successful do you feel you were at leading your group session? Were you able to set and stick to an agenda, integrate the four goals of tutoring and the tutoring cycle? Explain.
[9] What might you do differently the next time you lead a group session?
[10] What can be improved regarding our group tutoring process in the English Center? How can we make group tutoring more effective?