Hello, intrepid tutors everywhere!
Today's topic is that of the attitudes students bring to the table when they sit down for a session with you. I think what determines a tutee's level of engagement and attitude is their purpose for being there in the first place. If they are attending a session at the behest (or requirement) of their classroom instructor(s), they may present themselves differently than if they are there of their own accord. Of course there is a great deal of fluctuation at play here, and there are no sweeping generalizations that address this issue. (Stupid joke: There are never any sweeping generalizations that work--not ever!)
I wonder if you've had any tutoring experiences wherein the tutee's attitude was not what you expected. And, if the tutee's attitude isn't what you consider productive, what are your "disarming" techniques? How do you coerce someone into participating when s/he really just doesn't want to engage with you?
6 comments:
I would like to hear more from tutors on this topic. At our institution, we have mandatory tutoring for several sections of first years classes. This semester we have been experiencing very fierce resistence from students. This resistence is shown in class as well as during the tutoring session.
I am a tutor at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. I tutor psychology (specifically intro to psych) and I have many students who are required to come to me because they are athletes or are on academic probation. Unfortunatly, I have experienced alot of resistance from these students and it is very difficult to combat at times. What I do is I have them read parts of the chapters we are looking at out loud and ask them direct questions about the content and avoid questions that have yes or no answers, as well as have them summarize what they just read. I also have them write out information in forms of charts/graphs/outlines, etc. so that they are physically engaged even when they do not want to be mentally engaged. This way, they are encoding/processing the information in some way, whether it is both physically and mentally or just physically (many of them are athletes so the physical way/"muscle memory" works well for them if nothing else). In general, I just try to have them take responsibility for what is going on in the session so that they cant just simply sit and listen to me (what good does that do when they dont even want to be there in the 1st place?). It also has helped me to have them relate the information to something that they enjoy or are already familiar with so that they may begin to get engaged or participate, based on an interest they have. I would like to know if any other tutors have additional techniques that they have used, in order to expand my resources. Thanks!
I tutor mathematics at a community college in Houston, Texas. I'm lucky to not be put in this situation very often, because students who show up for tutoring are often earnest to learn and work through whatever they're struggling with. That aside, whenever I'm tutoring a student who doesn't seem to have a strong enough mental presence, I'll pepper them with questions about their problem--Normally they're capable of answering these simple, logical questions. In this way, I can make them at least follow the steps of a math problem until we hit the true snag in a math problem that they're struggling with.
This might not be a very practical method for tutors in subjects outside the reach of science and mathematics, though.
I tutor at Florida International University, Reading & Learning, for the Center of Academic Success at Biscayne Bay Campus. For the most part my tutees want to be there. However, I do teach some extra credit course work that forces them to be there. Although they are receiving extra credit allot of them hate it and it’s time consuming to be there once a week, at a further campus, for four to five weeks.
However, I find that my attitude towards them can be contagious, a big smile and genuine warmth and that sometimes a little humor goes a long way. I had to take this extra credit course myself and I remember that I really didn’t care too much for it or the person who taught it at first and I share that with them. The fact of what I got out of it and what the true purpose is, which is to learn different styles of learning and pick and choose which works best. I tell them how it all paid off in the end and I try to make the material relatable and treat them as adults.
I have found that directness and blunt honesty go far. When I speak to them and not down to them in an encouraging way, sometimes saying “hey some subjects require more work than others…like statistics did for me, but grades are important if you want to get into graduate school and let’s face it, you’d rather get through this course this time than take it again right?” Most of them agree I find. Most students (tutees) just need a little encouragement and understanding.
I take teaching seriously and the job as well. But I do not take myself so seriously or the fact if they are in a crappy or stubborn mood personally. Humor is a great tool to use to break the ice and get them to like you enough to work with you. It seems to work and they tend to come back for other subjects or sometimes advice at later times. I try to make it fun so it doesn’t feel like a burden to them. Plus, if you learn their names, take a true interest in them and are always glad they came back it helps allot as well. You’ll find that they begin to share their accomplishments with you and that feels pretty darn good.
Wow, some very interesting responses thus far. I really like the suggestion to diffuse the situation with humor. Certainly, tutees respond differently to our attempts to infuse our sessions with humor. Some see joking as a waste of time that could be better spent doing *one last* math problem, while others really loosen up once we reveal ourselves to be empathetic human beings who feel their pain and really want to help. The anonymous poster from FIU (comment 4) suggested that a certain amount of bluntness is often appreciated; sometimes that takes the form of a humorous attitude, while other times it's more of a "Yeah, that sucks" kind of comment. Either way, though, it helps humanize the tutor in the process.
Kelsey (comment 2) mentioned tutees' occasional weak "mental presence," and that's an apt term that's both politically correct and spot-on. Sometimes tutees don't have the cognitive capacity to understand the material at hand, while at other times they're more than capable of handling the ideas--they're just not "present" in the moment, either by floating through a class not doing homework or keeping up with reading, or simply by texting their friends when they should be studying or meeting with their tutor. Sometimes it's necessary to be up front and say, "Look, you'd get a lot more out of this if you focused on our session a little more." I don't advocate confrontation with tutees as a general rule, but sometimes the tutor has to exert some authority. After all, isn't it a waste of everyone's time just to go through the motions?
One of the current trends in learning assistance is to make tutoring sessions (or other things that are differently named but similarly structured) mandatory for certain classes or particular students. The rationale behind this is the belief that students won't typically do things, even if they are things that research tells us are beneficial, it those things are only suggested. So many colleges don't give students choices when it comes to tutoring--they have to go, and that's it. However, I fear that one result of such mandates is that these students may develop bad attitudes; it also reinforces the notion of learning assistance as a punishment, and so many students are already saddled with a stigma about seeking help.
i have been pretty fortunate some what in that most students acyually do come 4 help on their own. The main problem seems to be the perception they only need help after the first test has come and gone and now realize they dont know as much as they thought they did. Thiss means having to re review old material but at least now u hve them seeking help, I am jim and tutor accounting at jsargeant reynolds community college in richmond virginia
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