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Discussion: Tools of the Trade - Online Tutoring Blog Post

Decide which of the workshop videos from the Lesson to watch, and summarize briefly. What was the information that was valuable to you from that workshop, and what can you apply to your online tutoring practice?

For this lesson, I decided to watch the video titled, Successful Practices in Online Peer Learning. The video discussed judgment in the peer tutoring space and how we can be mindful of and avoid being judgmental as peer tutors. During the lesson they brought up how many students may be afraid to ask for help and may feel judged for going to tutoring for assistance. A couple of strategies for providing a non-judgmental space the peer tutors suggested included reassuring the tutees, leading with empathy, recognizing outside factors that affect learning, providing different modes of learning, and recognizing implicit bias. After the tutors provided their insights the hosts Chase and Giselle also provided some strategies, including equity training, growth mindset, and contract grading, which I found very insightful as well. Personally, I think adopting a growth mindset and thinking of more ways to provide different modes of learning are both key strategies I would like to apply to online learning, especially since I plan on being fully remote next semester. Challenges with learning are only amplified when tutoring remotely, as some students may not be comfortable with technology and there will be an extra barrier between me and the students. It will be important to adapt modes of learning into a virtual setting and I plan on using all the tools available to me. This includes virtual whiteboards, drawing tablets, 3d models, virtual microscopes, and google docs to assist the students.

How would you structure an online session using the Tutoring Cycle? How do you signal your online presence for a tutee? What steps do you or could you take to make the session comparable in quality to an on-campus session?

First and foremost, I find it important to establish a good rapport with the new tutee and also existing tutees. I will always greet them by name and introduce myself to new students. I will typically ask a student how they are doing, as many tutees are already stressed and appreciate feeling seen and heard when they are struggling. I will then confirm the topics the tutee wants to go over for the day's session. From there I will ask them questions in regard to their level of understanding so we can establish a baseline that we can improve upon. From there I will ask more questions about the topic in order to try to guide them into arriving at the information they need through active learning. Otherwise, I will direct them to resources or go over their notes and study guides about the information so they can try to learn the information independently. Once they feel comfortable with what they have found, I will ask them even more questions about what they found or ask them to summarize what they have found to test their knowledge and retention. After that I will help clarify any other questions they have and wind down the session. I will reiterate that they will always be welcome should they need more help in order to reinforce the safe space of the tutoring zone. In terms of signaling my online presence to a tutee, I will always make sure my webcam and mic are set up and I will greet them by name when they enter the online video session (usually zoom). If the tutee is late, I will make contact on penji and confirm if they are still available and make sure they have no issues joining the session. We will work with the front desk to help contact and assist students. Next semester I will be fully online so it is imperative that I ensure that the online tutoring experience is comparable to my on-campus strategies. Using the shared google docs will be critical to going over class material that the tutees need help with. Using screen sharing features to go over these documents together is key to maintaining proper communication and to staying on the same page. I also use my drawing tablet when the need for a virtual white board arises, that way students can visualize concepts. Access to 3D anatomy models as well as virtual microscopes are also very important resources to use. These resources are usually very helpful since professors usually use them to teach as well. I will often provide them hyperlinks to these resources in their shared google drive so they can look at them later for independent learning.

What are some possible back-up plans for when tech goes wrong? Consider: a difficult wi-fi connection, sound problems, video problems, inability to join the platform (whether Zoom, Google Meet, Discord, or any other), and a student who is struggling with the sharing file or other technology. Apply the priciples we've used in the class so far in coming up with an action plan.

Usually the first point of contact may be tricky, as students (and even tutees) may have some technical difficulties. Sometimes this may be caused by lack of access to certain virtual apps. For example, a student may not have zoom, in which case we can suggest using google meet since most students will have a gmail. If this doesn't work, it's not ideal but a facetime or phone call might be an option. Another major obstacle includes internet issues. When this happens, there are several back-up plans we use. If the tutor is working from home and the student is on-campus, the on-campus staff can provide internet and/or a laptop or desktop for the student to use. If the tutee's own home internet is an issue, we can help them reset their wifi or try to see if mobile options work for them. For sound problems, we can also troubleshoot their devices as well. We can make sure neither side is muted and make sure their headsets are charged and connected. If that doesn't work we can suggest or provide earphones on campus. Sometimes video problems can be an issue, in which case it might be helpful to check the internet connection again and even reset the video call. Again, this problem can be solved by providing students with school devices. If all else fails, we will collaborate with the front desk staff on how to move forward with the appointment.

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My Tutoring Assessment

Discuss one of your tutoring sessions by answering the following questions. A session should be at least 30 minutes with at least one tutee. If you have more than one tutee, consider combining your comments about each tutee. If you work in an open lab with several students on a variety of concepts/tasks, consider summarizing your interactions during a shift. 

Describe your tutoring session. Include the date, time and length of the session (or work shift); the course(s) being tutored or discipline(s) if in an open lab; the number of tutees during the session or that you worked with in an open lab; overall topics/concepts covered or tasks with which the tutee(s) needed help if in an open lab. If working with more than one tutee, provide the approximate time with each tutee.

On Tuesday, November 26, my tutee arrives for his regularly scheduled, hour- long appointment at 12:30 pm. We greet each other by name and I offer him a seat as usual. He comes in to review his current chapters for the week for Human Anatomy and Physiology. To begin, I will always confirm that the course material he added to our shared google drive is what he wants to go over. Today he wanted help identifying neural cell structures in histology slides, and also some help identifying structures of the brain.

How did you prepare, organize, conduct and conclude your tutoring session or your tutoring of each tutee if working in an open lab setting? Consider any tasks needed in preparing for your session, environment/setting, etc.

This session was not an open lab, but I do make preparations before every tutoring session regardless. I always start by reviewing the pre-session notes about what my tutees want to go over. This is typically the night before the next session, so I can refresh on the topics needed or anticipate the needs of my tutees. I don’t set a structured plan as I’m not a teacher, but I am familiar with the typical class structure for Bio 430 and I like to be prepared to direct my tutees towards necessary resources for any relevant information if needed. I took note of which lab unit he was learning and went over some old notes and class material to orient myself. In some cases I will prepare extra examples via links to digital histology slides of the structures listed on the study guides. That way they will have a more interactive session where they are able to search and identify the structures under the microscope themselves. This session, my tutee had some sample slides we were able to look at together.

What were the tutee’s expectations and/or goals for the session? How did these expectations and/or goals compare to yours? Include in your discussion whether the expectations and/or goals were met and how you handled any difficulties.

During this session, my tutee admitted that his level of understanding of this week’s material was very low. He needed help getting started on learning material, and selected specific topics that he felt like he needed help with the most. I expected him to have a decent level of understanding since he’s usually good at keeping up with the material in class. However, he had taken the liberty of selecting focus areas so the session would not be too broad. Instead of asking more complex questions that would make him think more about how these structures were oriented, we focused on the basics, so we could establish a baseline understanding of these structures.  For example, instead of asking why a region of the brain might be gray matter or white matter in order to challenge his understanding of axons, I focused on asking questions related to simple identification. “What are these features on this structure? What is this space called? What cell is this and what part of the cell is this?” This method of tutoring was pretty straight-forward and we felt like we definitely met our learning goals for the session.

How did you assess the tutee’s comprehension of the concepts/material? What techniques did you employ in tutoring the concepts/material and any relevant study skills? 

 For this session, I saw that my tutee wanted to go over histology slides, so I made note of where he was in progress-wise in the chapter, so I could direct him towards the correct section in his study guide. This way he was able to find his notes about certain structures, so he could identify them by himself, rather than have me tell him what the structures were. In this case, he had trouble naming the structures of the spinal cord and his level of understanding was very low. He admitted that he was a bit behind and needed help getting started. I asked him where he would find lab notes for the spinal cord in his study guide, and he was able to find the information in the google drive presentation slides for histology. From there he took notes about the structures and we practiced identifying them as if he were taking a lab exam. I pointed to different parts of a neuron and asked him to identify them, which helped him reinforce his knowledge. We also went over different regions of the brain. For this task, he took the initiative in finding a blank outline of the brain in his study guide and intended to label the regions. I suggested that he could use markers or colored pencils to color-code these regions, which he was receptive of, and we were able to proceed with labeling them. From there, we repeated the exercise of identifying the structures by covering his labels and seeing what he could remember based on his color-coding.

Discuss your communication skills and their effectiveness. Include your listening skills, speaking skills, questioning skills, etc.

I felt that my communication skills were great and that I was able to effectively assist my tutee in a way that fostered independent learning. My listening skills allowed me to assess his level of learning and identify areas he wanted to go over. Although I did prepare for our session by preparing some questions, I mostly did this based on drawing on my experience with what tutees typically might struggle with in the class. I was not concerned with preparing the “correct” answers to my tutee, as that would not have helped him, especially since his level of understanding was so low that any pre-planned “script” would’ve been useless in assisting him anyway. It is because of this, that I was able to pivot my questions based on his level of understanding rather than focusing on leading him to answers to questions he did not have. He was able to understand my questions clearly and we met our goals in good time. This session was a bit easier as we were focused on establishing a baseline, and we felt no need to go into more complex concepts before understanding the basics of neural structures.

Assess your overall performance of the tutoring session. Include in your discussion how you could improve your tutoring techniques/skills, such as but not limited to your session organizational skills, communication skills, questioning strategies, study skills, etc.

Overall I felt like we had a fantastic session! Participation in the modules and discussion really helped me address my weak points. I felt more confident in my ability to effectively assist my tutees and was able to see noticeable results. During this session, I made sure to put more emphasis on reinforcing my tutee’s level of understanding. I helped my tutee practice identifying structures under a digital microscope after going over the information in the study guide. This helped reinforce his recognition of these structures which is critical for biology labs. We did the same exercise when reinforcing his recognition of the brain regions. After the session was over I made sure to recap what we went over, and I reiterated the importance of implementing these same exercises on his own to help foster his independent learning. Another positive result I was not expecting was seeing improvement in my communication skills. I felt like I was much better at “outlining the talk” which is a listening error in communication. In my first few sessions I was nervous about relaying incorrect information to my tutee, and would focus too much on preparing answers for my tutee. For my last couple of sessions, including this one, I focused on guiding my tutee to learn the information independently by asking him questions about where to find it in the study guide. This put a lot less pressure on me to have all the answers, and instead helped my tutee find the resources he needed to learn. This in turn helped him establish a good baseline level of understanding so we could reinforce the knowledge before the end of the session.

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Discussion: Diversity, Equity, and Bias in Tutoring.

Do you feel defensive, and do you recognize yourself in any way? That recognition could your own biases, or it could also be remembering how you or members of a group you identify with have been poorly treated. Or both. We all have biases and must consciously counteract those biases with cultural awareness and by seeing each tutee as an individual deserving of respect, dignity, and compassion, no matter their identity.

As a Cis gender Asian American of Filipino descent, I do often feel defensive in regards to both my ethnicity and sex/gender and I'm also defensive of others who share either of these characteristics as well. Growing up I was afraid of being seen as too "girly" and often avoided things or activities I associated with anything attached to that word. This included what bands I listened to, what clothes I wore and what clothes I avoided, what hobbies I chose, and even what mannerisms I had. I've discussed this with my twin sister a few years ago and she brought up a point that I felt like made so much sense. She theorized that our culture is geared towards putting down (being biased against) women or anything that appeared to be "feminine". And so we grew up avoiding anything that would be seen as too "girly" to protect ourselves against the perceived "shame" of being associated with anything feminine. After realizing this, I learned to embrace things about myself that I previously avoided or things about myself that I suppressed because I realized that I shouldn't be ashamed of who I was. I started to embrace my self-image, my emotions, and being vulnerable. Being "too emotional" or vulnerable were two things I subconsciously associated with only women/females. Once I realized this stereotype was negatively affecting my interpersonal relationships and my judgment of those around me, I began the long process of unraveling my biased and prejudiced behaviors, not only in regards to gender roles, but also in regards to culture, socioeconomic differences, and pedagogy.

Choose something in the readings that you feel strongly about and tell us how it affects you and how you plan to deal with this (or have dealt with this) if and when it comes up in a tutoring session. Be honest about where you see your weaknesses and strengths. How can you counteract those weaknesses? What are some of your strengths and strategies you can share with your peers? What are you nervous about getting wrong with your tutees? Do you have any apprehensions about bias towards yourself? 

In this week's lesson, it reiterates that tutors should provide a safe and comfortable environment for their tutees. Additionally, all tutees should remain respectful of other tutees. This stuck out to me because, although I feel that I have stayed conscious of reserving judgment of all tutees that come for help, I have experienced some situations where I haven't maintained a safe environment. In all of these instances they have occurred when a tutee has made an off-hand remark about a professor or even another student in passing. In this lesson, the module stresses the importance of firmly responding to these prejudices, as non-reactions demonstrates that this behavior is acceptable. My reaction has been either to try to ignore it, because I thought that by doing so meant not giving those remarks "energy", or to freeze up because I'm not sure how to respond. This is an area I need to confront and learn how to be more confident and assertive, not just as a tutor, but also as a person who deserves respect and as someone who wants to demand respect for those in my community.

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Discussion: Tutoring Strategies For Adult Learners

Explain Universal Design for Learning in your own words.

Universal Design for Learning is a model that creates and implements teaching strategies and learning tools that reduces barriers for learning and that makes learning accessible and inclusive for all students.

Discuss whether or how the readings and videos changed your view toward disability, either in the people you tutor or in yourself.

The readings and videos were very insightful. They helped me recognize some internal flaws and misconceptions I have about disabilities and the way I approach students with disabilities. I always liked to think of myself as open-minded and accepting towards people of all backgrounds, but I know that there is still much for me to improve upon and learn. I still have some unintentional ableism that I subconsciously projected upon those with disabilities that I must "unpack". As we read in the module lesson, I recognize that I have in some situations engaged in deficit thinking. I thought that in anticipating and trying to predict the needs and perceived patterns of a person with disabilities, I was properly accommodating for them to succeed, when this is actually a very ableist assumption. In the future I will be much more aware of this thinking and instead of assuming someone's learning abilities, I will ask them questions about their general knowledge and what strategies they use and may want to try out.

After taking the VARK questionnaireLinks to an external site., how do you feel about your own learning processes? What insight does this give you into your tutees' differences from yours?

VARK Results:

Learning Preference: Multimodal

Visual Score: 8

Aural Score: 10

Read/Write Score: 9

Kinesthetic Score: 12

Notes about Multimodal Learners: "If you have multiple preferences you are in the majority as around two-thirds of any population seems to fit into that group. You may have two strong preferences V and A, or R and K, or you may have three strong preferences such as VAR or ARK. Some people have no particular strong preferences and their scores are almost even for all four modes."

I am not surprised by results, and it appears that Multimodal seems to be the typical learning strategy for most people. It's never felt sufficient to only read written instructions, and I've needed different strategies for learning for different subjects. I think this does reinforce support for the Universal Learning Design. Everyone has different styles of learning. In fact, most people need multiple modes of learning, thus supporting the argument that the ULD not only accommodates students with disabilities, it actually is beneficial to all students of varying backgrounds. This includes tutees who have varying educational and cultural backgrounds.

Describe how you will go about finding out what this student needs from you. What specific questions will you ask about how they learn? You may draw on your own experience with tutoring, and you should also draw from the readings and materials from the module.

First and foremost, I feel that it is very important to review that notes for information that the tutee wants to cover. The tutee is already taking that step in communicating their needs, and there should be no assumptions made in that regard. Once this information is established, I will greet the student and make sure I clarify the topics we want to cover. Firstly, I like to identify the problem areas and ask questions about their knowledge level about the subject. For example, if a student listed what chapter they wanted to go over, I would ask: "Which objectives are you struggling with? What concepts are you struggling to understand?"

If a student has a particular concept that they are struggling to, I like to start at the root and then work our way up. This is where I will gauge their knowledge level so we can establish a baseline and then flesh out their understanding. For example, a student was having a difficult time understanding how the nervous system sends signals to our our muscles. I asked basic questions the structures of the nerves and about the core concept of an electrical impulse:

"What do you know about the structure of nerves?" Do you know what an action potential is?" "What do you know about action potentials?" "Do you know the role of ions in action potentials?" "What are some vocabulary terms that you were tasked with learning?"

Once I can gauge their basic understanding of topics, I can guide the student into identifying what they need to work on. In doing so I hope to help them build a framework for independent learning. That way I am not simply giving them the answers for their assignments or study guides, but I am instead helping them center themselves in where they are at knowledge-wise and giving them tools to arrive at the knowledge/answers on their own.

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Discussion: Communication in the Tutoring Session

Errors and Non-Verbal Communication

Discuss two listening errors presented in the readings and explain how you could avoid them.

One listening error is criticizing the speaker's delivery. This error occurs when you focus on the delivery of the message rather than the content of the message itself. It is important to reserve judgment and focus on the main points of communication rather than distract oneself by judging minor details about a person's delivery. To avoid this error, it is important to listen with intent and purpose. This means that one has to keep an open mind and actively focus on trying to understand what the tutee's/speaker's is trying to convey. In the case of the tutee, it is important to try to pinpoint what their learning goals are and where they are having issues, as the main reason for seeking out tutoring services is to receive assistance with their education. Another listening error is trying to outline the talk. This error occurs when the listener tries to "plan out" how the discussion between themself and the speaker/tutee. This involves trying to hyperfocus on trying to structure the conversation by anticipating or searching for patterns. While this might be helpful when drawing upon past experience, in order to anticipate the needs of the speaker or tutee, everyone is different and has their own individual thoughts, feelings, and levels of learning or understanding. Trying to pre-plan what the speaker is trying to say and your subsequent responses will cause you to be more concerned with your own responses rather than actively listening to the speaker. This will make you less effective in assessing the tutee or speaker's needs. Instead of trying to outline the talk, one should not be afraid to ask questions and/or use the Socratic Method of teaching in order to better assess and address the speaker's needs. It is okay if a tutor does not know the answer to a question or problem as we are not instructors, nor are we supposed to focus on giving the answers to problems either. Our goal is to enhance learning strategies for independent learning and studying. We can refer to resources that are available to the student, such as supplemental material given by instructors, notes, textbooks, models, and other resources in order to guide the tutee or speaker to obtain the answer themselves. That way you will not be pressured to try give the right answer and you will be effective at helping the tutee learn independently.

Discuss a non-verbal communication that might affect a tutoring session with someone from a culture that is not yours, or who is from a different background in some way. How could you prepare for situations to avoid a negative outcome?

It is important to be aware of and recognize any preconceived biases or stereotypes one might subconsciously or even consciously have. It is also important to lead with empathy so you may have an open mind and reserve judgment about a person or situation. Many tutees may suffer from low self esteem and anxiety about their education to begin with, so it it is crucial to have empathy when helping those who are struggling.

Disrupting Linguistic Profiling

Describe one way that a student might be using language differently than you are (code switching, register, speaking English as a Second Language, or some other difference), and how you can adjust your tutoring to help that student. Think about your own experience when you were uncomfortable either speaking English or in a situation where you were nervous about your prescriptive English skills. What might have helped you learn better in that situation? How might you make a student feel more comfortable with you, in order for them to learn more easily?

As I stated previously, it is important to lead with empathy and keep an open mind. Understanding and being conscious of biases or stereotypes is also crucial to reserving judgment and preventing uncomfortable or negative situations when communicating with and tutoring a student. Educating oneself about linguistics and second language learning can also help a tutor prepare for interactions with tutees of different cultural backgrounds and languages. Maintaining eye contact and asking questions that actively seek to understand a person from a different cultural background may help a student feel more comfortable around you despite linguistic or cultural barriers.

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Discussion: Conducting and Managing a Tutoring Session.

Hey fellow Tutors! For today's discussion, we'll be talking about the importance of not "dominating" a tutoring session. It's imperative that we focus on fostering independent learning amongst the tutees. We are not instructors, but guides that help students develop skills to learn and success. While we may impart much knowledge about the courses we are tutoring for, we must be careful not to focus on simply giving out the answers or giving out a lecture. Instead of doing so, we should ask many questions which can help us asses the tutee's level of understanding and help us identify focus areas that they need help with. Additionally, we can give hints in the form of questions or ask them to explain their reasoning as to how they arrived at their answers or conclusions to certain concepts. In this way, the student is actively engaged and able to break down course material so they are actually learning and not just trying to memorize answers.

Self-Assesment and Reflection. Which of the 12 Steps of the Tutoring is your best?

I believe my best step of the Tutoring Cycle is: Step 5 -Break Tasks Into Parts/ Step 6 -Address the Task. I love the Socratic Method as a learning model. Asking questions is my go-to when tutoring students, andI am glad that this is the preferred model of learning for peer tutoring. I find that asking questions both helps me gauge a tutee's level of understanding on subjects and also helps the students apply their knowledge so they are actually learning and understanding instead of memorizing.

Which of the 12 Steps of Tutoring do you need help on?

I would like to improve on: Step 7- Tutee Summary of Content and Step 8 - Tutee Summary of Underlying Process. Although I do encourage students to learn independently by asking open questions, I must go a step further by helping them reinforce their knowledge. Helping tutees summarize their learning process will allow them develop the tools needed to learn on their own and be confident in their own academic success.

What pointers/"Words of Wisdom" did you get from the participants on how you can do better?

Crystal appears to have had an in-depth discussion about these two steps with her peer group. According to Crystal, it is quite common to skip the review step due to various reasons such as lack of time or desire to cover more course material. Her group emphasized how important it is to stop and make a conscious effort to slow down and make sure the tutees are retaining knowledge and reinforcing learning skills so they have the tools to succeed independently both in their current courses and the ones they take in the future.

What will you do differently at your next tutoring sessions?

Next tutoring sessions, I will set a time for summarization in the session agenda. If there are multiple concepts or sections that a tutee wants to cover, I will recap each individual concept or section with the student. If there are multiple short concepts I will ask them to summarize what they've learned during the session as a whole.

Which step of the cycle will you be working on for the rest of the semester?

I will focus on step 8 as I think improving in this area is essential for our overall goal of fostering independent learning amongst tutees. Helping students in need is great, but helping students until they don't need us even better.

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Q&A:

Q: If you are working as a tutor, what has surprised you the most about tutoring so far?

A: What surprised me the most about tutoring is how much I have learned about myself during the whole experience. I never saw myself as a good leader or mentor, and I feel that I am making a big impact on my peer’s education.