THE TUTOR JUGGLE:1 HOUR JUMPSTART TUTOR TRAINING

M.E. McWilliamsAcademic Assistance and Resource Center DirectorStephen F. Austin State Universitymmcwilliams@sfasu.edu

CHAT IT UP

What do you most want to change about your tutor training?

What would perfect tutor training look like?

KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T WANT

2 DAYS PRE-SEMESTER

SERIES OF CLASSES OR MEETINGS

DELAYS KNOWLEDGE COMPLETION

OFTEN DECENTRALIZED

COST MONEY

TIME INTENSIVE

LOTS OF ABSENCES

COST MONEY (including snacks

and lunch)

Conventional training has equally negative consequences.

Most disturbing is that sometimes tutors begin their work without knowing everything expected of them.

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT AND WHY

CENTRALIZED FOR ALL

PROGRAMS

COMMON LEARNING

OBJECTIVES

UP-FRONT TRAINING/ ALL POINTS COVERED COST-

EFFECTIVE

CONFERENCE STYLENEW KIND

OF TRAINING

DETERMINE WHO

KNOW-

LEDGEABLE

DYNAMIC

INTERACTIVE

SPONTANEOUS

PRESENTER

Requirements in red are talents. You cannot train your presenter to demonstrate these qualities.

DETERMINE WHEN

The day before classes begin or Friday if classes begin on a Monday—Every semester.

Be ready for these excuses:

Still on vacation

Required sorority meeting

SET A CONFERENCE-STYLE AGENDA

DETERMINE LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR TUTORS

What should a tutor be able to do because of your training? The tutor will create responsive, supportive

interpersonal communication. The tutor will motivate the student to engage

in learning. The tutor will facilitate interactive learning. The tutor will suggest or model specific ideas

for the client to better prepare for assignments

and tests.

WELCOME

MOTIVATE

INVOLVE

LEARNING

STRATEGIES

CHAT IT UP

What are some other possible learning outcomes for your tutors?

Which learning outcomes are most important to you?

WEIGHT THEM

Spend more time on the domains that:

the tutors say are the hardest to do

the staff observers and clients rate the lowest

WELCOME

MOTIVATE

INVOLVE

LEARNING STRATEGIES

The hardest to do!Our

lowest scores!

Examples of assessment tools to retrieve the feedback to determine the above are discussed at end of slideshow.

WELCOME

MOTIVATE

INVOLVE

LEARNING STRATEGIE

S

“UNSEQUENCE THEM”=JUGGLE

A general sequence does exist:1. Welcome: Before they can learn they must feel comfortable and happy2. Motivate: Before they will engage in learning, they have to have a good reason to do so.3. Involve: This is the bulk of the tutoring session.4. Learning Strategies: At the end of the session, give them a “take away”—a learning strategy they can employ at home.

But. . . the truth is that all four of these objectives are to be deployed at any appropriate moment throughout the session. The tutor is in effect JUGGLING all these balls throughout the session.

WELCOME

RESEARCH AND WRITE SCRIPT LINES: INTERPERSONALCOMMUNICATION

WHAT TO SAY (OR DO):

WHY SAY IT Feeling good tends to “enhance

the ability to think flexibly and with more complexity, thus making it easier to find solutions to problems” (Jensen, 1996,p. 85)

Maslow’s Hierarchy,1943; Hunley & Shaller, 2009, p.26

WOO HOO WELCOME

Hello! Smile and handshakeUse names

MOTIVATE

RESEARCH AND WRITE SCRIPT LINES: INTERPERSONALCOMMUNICATION

WHAT TO SAY: WHY SAY IT: Unless the student believes he can do

something, the student will not engage in that something. Be a coping model and testify to the client that the ordinary student (like you) can successfully the master the material. (Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2007)

Until students see the correlation between their lives and that of the subjects they study, the information “might as well be about Mars . . .” (Dewey, 1916, p. 342)

“When the client sees that the information is of personal use to him, he is likely to determine to study hard on his own, without being forced.” (Ryan and Deci, 2000, p. 68)

Dewey (1916) noted that one can learn all the parts of the flower but regrettably overlook the wonder of the flower as a whole.

SELL YOUR BUCKET OF CHICKEN

If I learned this stuff, you can too!

This is really neat stuff! This is stuff you can use!

INVOLVE

RESEARCH AND WRITE SCRIPT LINES:INTERACTIVE LEARNING

WHAT TO SAY: WHY SAY IT: The one doing all the work, is the one

doing all the learning! (Wong & Wong) Only by WRESTLING with the conditions

of the problem at first hand, seeking and finding his own way out, does he [the student] think. (Dewey, 1916, p.159-160).

Students can often provide correct answers, repeat definitions, and apply formulae while yet not understanding those questions, definitions, and formulae (Pintrich, 1995).

Identify the “illusion of comprehension” (Druckman & Bjork in Svinicki, 2004, p. 117) (loosely related to MacDonald’s fake light bulb, 1994)

The development of effective study skills depends crucially on the learner being able to assess what they know and do not know (National Center for Education).

FIND THE FALSE LIGHT

BULB

Why?Tell me more about

that.Explain that back and I’ll see what I’ve forgotten.

Can you give an example?

ALLOW 7 SECONDS THINK TIME

LEARNING STRATEGIE

S

RESEARCH AND WRITE SCRIPT LINES: LEARNING STRATEGIES

WHAT TO SAY:

WHY SAY IT: Don’t say, I’ll worry about it later.

Worry Now! (Pauk, 1974) If you do nothing with new

information—don’t think about it, don’t read about it, for the first 24 hours--you will forget 50-70% of that new information. Pashler, H. Et al. (2007). Organizing Learning and Student to Improve Student Learning.

INFORMATION NOT AN INSULT: Pintrich, P.R.and Schunk, D.H. (1996). Motivation in education.

If you can’t explain it to your grandma, you don’t know it! Einstein

We remember 95% of what we teach to others! Dale, E. (1960). Educational media.

Information sticks when it seems funny, pleasant, or familiar. Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don't students like school?

GET ON YOUR BIKE

Practice!• Review notes in 24 hours!

• Ask your prof! • Study mistakes!• Pretend to teach it!• Memorize with tricks!

• Don’t give up!

CHAT IT UP

What else might tutors do to implement learning strategies into a session?

Why might “learning strategies” be a better term to use than “study strategies”?

WELCOME

MOTIVATE

INVOLVE

LEARNING STRATEGIE

S

DEFINE OVER-ARCHING THEME: SELF-EFFICACY

You ARE Doing it!

The most important goal for

tutoring—the one that

rings all the bells—is to go beyond

merely saying to the

client, You can do it!

Instead, find that moment

when you can say to the client, You ARE doing it!

WELCOME

MOTIVATE

INVOLVE

LEARNING STRATEGIE

S

sfasu.edu/aarc

PRESENT THE BIG PICTURE: THE TUTOR JUGGLE

WOO HOO WELCOME

Hello! Smile and handshake

Use nameJensen, Maslow

SELL YOUR BUCKET OF CHICKEN

If I learned this stuff, you can too!

This is really neat stuff!

This is stuff you can use!

Ryan and Deci, Wigfield & Eccles, Bandura

FIND THE FALSE LIGHT BULB

Why?Tell me more about that.Explain that back and I’ll see what I’ve forgotten.

Can you give an example?

ALLOW 7 SECONDS THINK TIME

Druckman & Bjork in Svinicki, MacDonald

GET ON YOUR BIKE

Practice!• Review notes in 24

hours!• Ask your prof! • Study mistakes!• Pretend to teach it!•Memorize with tricks!• Don’t give up!

Smilkstein, Krug, NSSE, Pintrich

Our lowest scores!

The hardest to do!

You ARE Doing it!

BUILDMASTER TUTOR JEOPARDY

http://library.sfasu.edu/aarc/tutor-resources/

RAMP UP THE PRESENTATION

MODEL THE DOMAINS:

Door Greetings and Introsnamesapplause for uncertified

Tutor testimoniesShow and TellStinky Cheese

Master Tutor Jeopardy

Nametag Review

WATCH THE CLOCK:

Be selective about the research. Don’t bore them with everything you know. Make choices and they will remember something. Say it all and they remember how long you spoke.

Knowing the names of

learning theories is not important. Prepare them to be practitioners not theorists.

WELCOME

MOTIVATE

INVOLVE

LEARNING STRATEGIES

CHAT IT UP

What would the presenter most fear about taking on this responsibility?

What would happen if you used multi-presenters?

REINFORCE WITH OBSERVATIONS

REINFORCE WITH SURVEYS

ASSESS TRAINING

TUTOR TALK

FIND ANSWERS TO YOUR OBSTACLES

OBSTACLESPayroll

RefreshmentsTime to prepare

Alternate trainingStellar Presenter

ANSWERSTight agenda

Cake and punch=$150 for 130

Summer readingSelf-studies for

absenteesPresenter options beyond director

MAKE FOLLOW-UP NOTES

FIRST TIMEGreeters not directionalPD with no

follow throughPresenter talked too

much

SECOND TIMEBetter training

for greetersAddition of script lines

Explicit expectations of

PDsTutor

testimonies

TAKE ACTION!

RESOURCES

Interpersonal Communication James, S. D. (2011). College freshmen: Students are stressed

and depressed. Retrieved from: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/depressed-college-freshmen-rise-report-concludes/story?id=12784100

Jensen, E. (1996). Brain-based learning. Kassorla, I. (1985). Go for it! [Audio Recording]. New York:

Time Warner Paperbacks. Maslow, A. (1943). A theory of human motivation.

Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96. Mehrabian, A.& Ferris, S. (1967). Inference of attitudes from

nonverbal communication in two channels. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 31, 248-252.

Fisher, R. & Ury, W. (1983). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

RESOURCES

MOTIVATION Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of

education. New York, NY: MacMillan Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random

House. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of

intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.

Smilkstein, R. (2003). We’re born to learn! Retrieved from: http://books.google.com/books?id=6ZHELyI9XEIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=we're+born+to+learn+smilkstein&source=bl&ots=IpZ-2t_Oy6&sig=5nNUlgYq4hDw63DF6jW6RsBrrqM&hl=en&ei=IFx2TeeTBIzogQfV07XPBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Schunk, D. H., Pintrich, P. R., & Meece, J. L. (2007). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy‑value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 68‑81

RESOURCES

INTERACTIVE LEARNING Arum, R. (2011). Academically adrift: Limited learning

on college campuses. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of education.

Dzubak, C.M. The cognition gap:  Sufficient skills for high school but not sufficient for college. Synergy. Retrieved from: http://www.myatp.org/Synergy_1/Syn_12.pdf

MacDonald, R. (1994). The Master tutor. New York: Cambridge Stratford Study Skills Institute.

Pintrich, P. (1995). Understanding self-regulated learning: New Directions for Teaching and Learning

RESOURCES

LEARNING STRATEGIES Ames, C. (1992). Classroom: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational

Psychology, 84(3), 261-271. Cepeda, N. (2009). Optimizing Distributed Practice. Experimental Psychology 2009; Vol. 56(4):xxx–xxx.

pp. 1-11. Dale, E. (1960). Educational media. Krug, D. Davis, T.B. & Glover, J.A. (1990). Massed versus distributed repeated reading: A case of

forgetting helping recall? Journal of educational psychology, 82 (2), 366-371. Jaschik, S. Inside Higher Ed. Jan. 31, 2011.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/31/colleges_try_to_use_metacognition_to_improve_student_learning

Leamnson, R..(2002). Learning: Your first job. Retrieved from http://www.udel.edu/CIS/106/iaydin/07F/misc/firstJob.pdf

Nissen, T. (1970). Learning and pedagogy. Copenhagan: Munksgaard. Pauk, W. (1974). How to study in college. Boston:, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Pashler, H. Et al. (2007). Organizing Learning and Student to Improve Student Learning. Retrieved

from: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/20072004.pdf Pintrich, P.R.and Schunk, D.H. (1996). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications (2nd

ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill-Prentice Hall. Pintrich, P. (1995). Understanding self-regulated learning: New directions for teaching and learning.

New York: Jossey-bass. Smilkstein, R. (2002). We’re born to learn. New York: Corwin Publishers. Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don't students like school?: a cognitive scientist answers questions about

how the mind works and what it means for your classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chapter 4.

THE TUTOR JUGGLE:1 HOUR JUMPSTART TUTOR TRAINING

M.E. McWilliamsAcademic Assistance and Resource Center DirectorStephen F. Austin State Universitymmcwilliams@sfasu.edu

THANK YOU!