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How do u tutor someone?


Semiterrestrial Scientist

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Semiterrestrial Scientist

So I go to a class every Friday and today a kid in class asked me if I would be willing to tutor him. He even said he would pay me (if I do tutor him it would be because I want to promote education so I would not charge him). So I would like to do this because I think it’s great that he wants to get better at math. The problem is that I’m very bad at people-ing with pretty much everyone. So if I do end up tutoring, how exactly do I do that? Do I just talk to him about the stuff and help him understand it better? The problem being that I am good at understand things quickly and am not quite as good at explaining HOW I understand. So, suggestions are very welcome. 

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arekathevampyre
15 minutes ago, Syrthia said:

Do I just talk to him about the stuff and help him understand it better?

from what I did with my tutors in the past , this is what they did with me . 

maybe you can try to use analogies to explain the concepts to him ? 

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You tutor everyone slightly differently. But a general way to go about it is start at the start of the course content and just step him through everything. Or, you could start where your class is up to now and just go through the week's content every session. Run through practice problems with him that you haven't done in class. Don't necessarily do them yourself with him just watching. Let him do them, and try and identify what is making it so hard for him. Likewise, don't always be the one to explain things to him. Make him explain things to you, and if he gets stuck, you can either explain to him straight out what the correct idea is, or better yet help him reason out why his thinking is wrong and help him to reach the correct conclusion himself. Often in class people have difficulty with concepts (and even exercises) because they don't have the opportunity to struggle through it themselves. And if they do, if they get stuck, they don't have anyone to assist them to struggle through it (or they get someone to just tell them the answer).

 

Good luck, you'll figure out your own style as you go! It's a bit scary at first, but I found I got used to it quite quickly. You can PM me or just ask here if you want any more tips. I tutor in physics, which is pretty similar to tutoring in maths. My close friends tutor maths so I could ask them for specific tips if you need.

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This is my usual process:

 

-Ask the individual to state what part of the process they are having trouble with.

 

-If they are having a hard time articulating it, come up with guiding questions that helps them deal with their own confusion.

 

-Have the individual solving a particular problem, as they do ask them to describe their mental process as they go through it.

 

-After that, model your thinking process as you solve a problem.

 

-Make sure to give the individual opportunities to ask questions if something is not clear to them.

 

Aside from this I would play it by ear.

 

If it would make it easier for you to tutor you could also write a small script so you don't have to come up with things on the fly.

 

Maybe also use the internet and YouTube to look up tutoring techniques.

 

I would also make sure that you are both on the same page on what "tutoring" is.

 

Make sure it's not a situation where they think you will do all their work for them.

 

Just a note on not accepting their money for tutoring, make sure it's not a pride thing, and they are offering you money because they don't want to feel like a charity case.

 

I don't know the situation, but I thought I would mention it just in case.

 

Good luck, I hope the experience is beneficial for both of you.

 

 

 

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It takes practice. =)

 

I always begin my sessions by reminding folks that I'm learning, too, and I'm happy to share the knowledge that I have but I by no means know it all, but if we run in to trouble, there are two of us to figure it out. I've found this to be a good icebreaker, and it helps remind me that I'm not expected to be an endless wealth of information.

 

Don't be afraid to ask them directly what their goals for the session are.

 

After that it's just gonna be a matter of trial and error. It's practice for you both, so give yourself leeway to make mistakes - that's okay, you're new at this. =) It'll be a matter of finding a balance between working through the problems and having them work through the problems so you can figure out their thought process and identify where they might be going wrong.

 

Defo don't do all the work for them. =)

 

And don't fret, too much - you're a student too, after all. 

 

Sidenote, if it goes well, it may be worth looking in to if your University has a formalized peer tutoring setup in place so that you can be paid for your time and effort. =) At my university, the tutoring sessions were free for the student, but the tutor was paid by the university. It wasn't much, but it was nice drinking money. =D

 

 

 

 

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Semiterrestrial Scientist

Thank you people of AVEN. I will make sure not to do all his work for him. I actually don’t know why he wants a tutor exactly. We didn’t have a lot of time to talk about it and when he did ask me I was a bit shocked that I kinda blanked out. I don’t know if he is having trouble with the material or he just wants to get to the next level of math faster. What is the reason most people get a tutor? 

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:huh: I'm surprised he asked you, a fellow student to tutor him, when teachers normally say they're available to help students in their class, before or after school, if they need help. Does he really need tutoring or is this just his way of saying he likes you, has a crush on you, and wants to spend time with you?

 

I'm puzzled why he choose you, rather than anyone else, even a teacher. Even though my classmates remarked that I was a good student, they didn't ask me to tutor them; instead, they chose to get help from either teachers or their friends.

 

I briefly tried tutoring a friend in math, who was a special needs student; it was difficult because no matter how many times I tried to make it as simple to understand as I could, she still didn't understand how to solve math problems.

 

Tutoring is a lot easier for teachers who've been helping different types of students for several years and who have teaching certifications; they know what to expect. It is a bit of a burden to put on a fellow student who didn't offer to help tutor others.

 

Of course, you can, if you want to; I just thought it sounded odd that he was volunteering you to help him, rather than more experienced teachers.

 

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1 hour ago, Syrthia said:

Thank you people of AVEN. I will make sure not to do all his work for him. I actually don’t know why he wants a tutor exactly. We didn’t have a lot of time to talk about it and when he did ask me I was a bit shocked that I kinda blanked out. I don’t know if he is having trouble with the material or he just wants to get to the next level of math faster. What is the reason most people get a tutor? 

An advantage of a student teaching rather than a teacher is the different perspective. Often teachers will forget how it was like to learn their topic. They've made all these other connections in their brains that they haven't realised the students don't have yet. It's why if you look back at previous year's maths work it looks stupidly simple now. You have the a better chance of working out where their difficulty lies as someone who is learning it at the same time and probably making the same mistakes.

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Semiterrestrial Scientist
6 hours ago, InquisitivePhilosopher said:

:huh: I'm surprised he asked you, a fellow student to tutor him, when teachers normally say they're available to help students in their class, before or after school, if they need help. Does he really need tutoring or is this just his way of saying he likes you, has a crush on you, and wants to spend time with you?

I have tried to make myself as unlike able as possible. The class that I go to is a homeschool co-op where things are a little different. We learn almost the same stuff except in math and a little bit of science. They r a more classical way of learning.y friend and I are very ahead in the math section of this class. We have both completed algebra 1 and she has completed geometry and is halfway through algebra 2 while I have completed both algebras beforehand and am halfway through geometry. Our “teacher” isn’t a liscenced professional. She is more like our guide and our mothers or fathers are our teachers. I do my work by myself.

 

I am surprised that he would ask me to tutor him instead of my friend. I think that she would be able to connect and teach him better than I could. I don’t think he knows how far along she is though.

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- Be Patient.

- Make sure you yourself understand what they are having trouble with. Ex. If it's a Chi Square make sure you know how to do it.

- Find out what is the particular part or process they have trouble with.

- Depending on the learning speed you'll prob have to explain stuff again so mentally prepare to do this.

- Don't do all his work for him. You're supposed to guide him so give him some space to answer stuff on his own and to show progress.

- Don't be afraid to call them out on being wrong if they mess up a part. 

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