Making Tutoring Sessions Work for Students

Given the increasing pressures on students to succeed, it's not surprising that many students receive extra instruction outside the classroom. However, we don't always consider the best ways to make this tutoring successful. Obviously, the main challenge for a tutor is to help the student increase their proficiency in a subject and to improve their grades. However, a tutor must also be able to provide one-on-one instruction that dovetails with the classroom instruction. In addition to my classroom duties, I tutor several students from neighboring districts. Although each student has specific educational concerns, there is one commonality — the need to find a way to support classroom lessons, and provide the study skill instruction that will help them to succeed. 

During my initial consultation, I spend a lot of time with the student discussing their classes. We list the positive and negative aspects of the course. I also try to get as much information as I can regarding the current units of study and the assignments that go along with them. Quite often, I find that it is not the academic content, but issues of poor organization and a lack of study skills that are the root of the problem. Once I determine what the issues are, I construct very simple lesson plans. I don’t create new lessons, but rather, create activities that will support the topic being taught. For example, I have a student who is having problems reading and comprehending "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. During our sessions, we read the text he uses in class along with simpler translations that I have used. We discuss the text one-on-one. If he has homework questions, we work on those as well. 

Sometimes, tutors spend the duration of their sessions working on homework. This tactic doesn’t always help the student in the long term or address the real issue. For example, consider the student mentioned above. His problem comprehending literature is merely masking his true difficulty— ineffective study skills. The key to helping him succeed is to spend extra time working with him on note taking and “active reading” skills. These are skills that will help him with his other classes - not just in comprehending "Romeo and Juliet." Since so many students have this same problem, I give each of my students a packet of supplemental materials that reinforce positive study skills, note taking, and organization. During each session, we practice one study skill technique. Eventually, the students recognize that these skills and “tricks” are universal, and can be used in any class. 

Here are some ideas that work for me, and can help you be an effective tutor:

• Understand the needs of your student inside and out and listen to his or her concerns
• Keep the parents informed and updated on student progress (Make sure they know that the problem will not be solved overnight)
• Offer to communicate with the classroom teachers
• Find fun ways to reinforce the same material  (Try creative writing to improve overall writing skills or use warm ups for comprehension practice)
• Provide numerous ways to improve organization  (I suggest getting a dry-erase board, folders for each class, hanging file folders. You will be amazed how these minor changes can help!)
• Reinforce skills that can be used in other content areas (study skills, active reading, math/science formulas)

Below are examples of lessons that I would adapt for my tutoring students.  

Study Skills Lesson Plans: 

Everyday Study Skills

In this lesson students get an overview of how to set goals, stay organized and prioritize. It is a great way to get students thinking about their own strengths and weaknesses, and focus on how they can improve their study skills. This is also a great way to get to know your students and what they need.

Study Wise

This lesson has students learn about different learning styles and evaluate their personal learning style. This lesson can lead to writing assignments, discussions and other activities.

Note Taking By Crayon

In this lesson students learn about how to use crayons, markers, or highlighters to identify important words and information in text. They use a brief biography to practice this skill. You could substitute any text for this exercise.