Jones, M., NTA 2015 Basic Level Webinar Assessment

National Tutoring Association
Basic Level Tutor Assessment
NAME: Maya Jones
Date: July 22, 2015
1. What is the definition of tutoring?
Tutoring is individual or small group instruction in an academic discipline. The
goal of tutors’ tutoring approach is students will eventually no longer need
instruction. The students have strengthened their independent learning skills.
Tutoring is a temporary academic success tactic in students attempt to learn how to
learn.
Tutoring is beneficial to students, institutions or private practice, society, and
businesses. Students possess skills in enabling them to create a disposition to learn.
These skills include critical thinking. For example, students use critical thinking
skills to decide how an item of information is credible or is not credible.
Students’ independent learning skills, such as critical thinking, enables them to
work with other members of communities on improving individuals’ ability to live
comfortably in the places of their choosing. Society is enriched by citizens, such as
the students, who seek to help others lessen influences of social problems on
individuals improving themselves. Reputations of institutions, such as tutoring
programs, and professional tutors’ private practice are elevated by tutors’
commitment to use students’ learning preferences to guide tutoring sessions. Last,
businesses’ hiring managers are enticed to hire individuals who have job-ready
skills, such as critical thinking. Tutoring has an influence at the micro, mezzo, and
macro levels of society.
2. List 3 benefits of certification.
A) Certified tutors know their limitations and scope of expertise as related to
tutoring. The tutor has knowledge of how to refer students to other
professionals, or institutions. These professionals and institutions can help
students address the academic or personal needs that are beyond the tutors’
qualifications.
B) Certified tutors are committed to gaining skills that are relevant and specific
to the practice of tutoring. The tutors assure administrative staff that they
will take part in professional skill development trainings. The trainers have
authorized expertise in the subject of the trainings.
Copyright 2014 National Tutoring Association
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C) Certified tutors can decrease probability or prevent occurrence of conflict in
student-tutor relationship.
3. List five qualities of an effective tutor.
A) An effective tutor behaves professionally. The tutor takes part in
professional development opportunities in his or her academic discipline.
The tutor is attempting to gain current knowledge about instructional trends
in the academic discipline.
B) An effective tutor has a learner disposition. The tutor attempts to strengthen
knowledge about general aspects of tutoring. These aspects include laws and
how to establish rapport with learners. The tutor also has interaction with
independent research.
The tutor either is conducting studies focused on tutoring practice or
expands knowledge about tutoring. The tutor is committed to the act of
learning. The tutor understands that having current knowledge about the
tutoring profession will assist them to advocate on behalf of students better.
The tutor seeks to enhance knowledge of how to be an independent learner.
C) An effective tutor has independent learning knowledge. For example, the
tutor knows how discipline-specific skills are connected to other discipline-
specific skills. The tutor understands that independent learning skills are
transferable and can assist learners to interact in various settings.
D) An effective tutor can efficiently communicate. The tutor can communicate
in ways to be perceived as honest about their limitations and strengths in the
academic subjects, show passion about learning the subjects and explain
learning material in a manner that reflects sensitivity to learners’ learning
style (e.g. auditory).
E) An effective tutor promotes evaluation of themselves and other components
of the tutoring service. The tutor wants to learn how the tutoring service can
improve. The tutor seeks to learn the efficacy of tutoring by way of
evaluating their instructional approach, learners understanding of the
material, and institutions and private practices’ approach in tutoring.
4. What are the three pillars of the role of the tutor?
The three pillars of the role of the tutor are the following: a) knowledge of
students, b) serve within scope of expertise, and c) carry out responsibilities of
an effective tutor. The basic facts of tutoring are tutors will only help students in
the academic subject that they are qualified to teach, and are effective if they are
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honest, in control, and goal-oriented in planning tutoring sessions.
The knowledge of students is the tutor understands the specific reasons why
a student needs tutoring. The tutor should know how tutoring will fill a gap in
student learning. The tutor is aware of a student’s learning preference. The
tutoring session begins at student’s level of motivation to learn and ends at the
student completing a learning goal.
The scope of expertise of the tutor is study skills, discipline-specific skills and
cross-discipline skills. The tutor should not confuse his or her role with the role
of a mentor and academic coach in a student’s life. Mentors help learners
navigate systems, such as the education system, to meet academic needs. Even
though academic coaches are qualified to tutor, these professionals also help
students improve life-related skills, such as time management, and are involved
in behavioral interventions.
5. List four strategies for using praise effectively.
A) Tutors describe the students' behavior that was appropriate to reaching the
academic accomplishment. Students know which behaviors were acceptable
to being successful. The description is not a vague account of students'
behavior. For example, the description is not the tutor saying "great job"
only. Students do not know which behaviors enabled them to perform well.
B) Tutors voice a rationale for the specific students' behaviors that are factors to
students' personal and academic success. Students know why they
experience success.
C) Tutors request the students to tell you (tutor) why their behavior enables
them to finish a personal or academic goal. Students show they understand
which behaviors are praised and why they are praised.
D) Tutors appropriately show students how they are acknowledged for their
satisfactory performance. Students know the specific positive consequences
of performing well.
6. Why is the correct use of praise important in the tutor/student relationship?
Tutors must use praise correctly because students should continue to make
progress in strengthening independent learning skills. An influence of the praise on
students is students are becoming more capable to satisfy an academic task or
assignment on their own. The purpose of the praise is to encourage students to try
to exhibit certain behaviors consistently.
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These behaviors are a part of learners' effort to correctly respond to an academic
task or assignment. An example of a correct praise is tutors positively
acknowledging the students' behaviors that corresponds to the formative or
summative assessment. Incorrect use of praise involves bribing the learners.
Possibly learners will not associate satisfactory academic performance with
appropriate behaviors if they are given a material reward for their behavior. Tutors
correctly praise students because students should initiate understanding they can
rely on themselves to learn.
6. Define andragogy vs. pedagogy.
Andragogy versus pedagogy is defined as a distinction in the individuals who
decide all aspects of the learning experience in certain settings. In andragogical
learning settings (e.g. adult school classrooms), there are no traditional teachers;
there are tutors. The tutors promote working together with the students.
Students and teachers make joint decision on the learning content, the time
period of learning the content, how to plan and create learning objectives, and how
learners are evaluated and learners' progress is measured. Tutors and students are
in cooperation because there is mutual respect for using the respective group's
skills, knowledge, and experience to influence the learning experience.
Andragogical learning settings are focused on motivating adult learners to learn.
Pedagogical learning environments (e.g. elementary school classrooms) are
focused on the instructor only. Teachers control what, when, and how to transmit
learning content to students. The teachers are preparing learners to take
standardized exams.
Teachers promote an authoritarian or formal learning climate; teachers'
knowledge and classroom management tactics has an influence on students'
behavior. Students are expected to listen and try to absorb all the content teachers
communicate. There is only one-way communication between teachers and
students as the teachers' knowledge is the lone factor to student learning.
There is no mutual respect in these environments as students' skills, experience,
and knowledge are not a factor in the process of learning. Teachers are in control in
pedagogical learning environments because learners are primarily children.
Children are dependent on the teachers for learning the learning the learning
content.
Tutors, however, need to respect all learners, regardless of the learners' age, to
help effectively learners learn. Each student has life experiences and knowledge
that can help them understand the teaching content. In consideration of Malcolm
Knowles' 6 ways of looking at students, tutors should strive to collaborate with all
learners. Each learner is receptive to learning information they can use in their life.
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Tutors’ responsibility is to influence learners to sustain having motivation to learn.
7. List the three skills needed for effective communication and provide one
strategy to improve each skill.
A) Skill: Speaking
Strategy to improve skill: The tutor requests the student to repeat the
information he or she hears from the tutor. The tutor will restate the student's
comments, concerns, and questions if it is necessary to ensure tutor understands
student. The tutor attempts to recheck the student’s understanding of the tutor’s
instruction.
B) Skill: Listening
Strategy to improve skill: The tutor paraphrases the student's comments,
questions, and concerns. The tutor tries to confirm he or she understands the
student.
C) Skill: Positive non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication includes
body position and hand gestures.
Strategy to improve skill: Tutor positively acknowledges and accepts that the
student may or may not reciprocate the same non-verbal communication. The
student's cultural identity is distinct from tutor. The tutor shows knowledge of
distinct non-verbal communication that is represented between different
cultures.
8. Describe three examples of para-verbal messages.
Para-verbal messages are how individuals say words. The meaning of the messages
is expressed by way of the rate, pauses, duration, volume, inflection, and pitch of a
person’s voice.
Question: Why can’t you do the work for me?
Analysis
A) Situation: The student is upset about his class grade. The student quickly
asks the tutor the question (rate).
Para-verbal message: The student takes his anger out on the tutor.
B) Situation: The student raises his voice when he says, “can’t” (inflection). The
student actually says, “Why CAN’T you do the work for me?”
Para-verbal message: The student challenges the tutor to correct his
understanding that the tutor’s job is to complete all the students’ academic
tasks. The student believes the tutor is only useful if the tutor directly
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ensures the academic tasks are completed correctly.
C) Situation: The student’s voices the question in a low and monotone tone.
Para-verbal message: The student is likely bored; the student does not seem
interested in talking to the tutor nor participating in the tutoring session.
10. How can we evaluate the efficacy of tutors, tutoring sessions, student
achievement, and tutorial programs?
Tutors and students' evaluations of the tutoring sessions are ways to
evaluate the efficacy of tutors, tutoring sessions, student achievement, and tutorial
programs. The evaluations are completed at the end of each tutoring session. The
purpose of evaluations in a tutoring intervention is to confirm explicitly the extent
in tutors and tutorial programs’ approach to instruct learners and identify specific
ways of how tutors and tutorial programs can improve.
Efficacy of tutors
An example of question that evaluates the efficacy of tutors is the following:
Was the tutor prepared for the tutoring session? The tutor's response reflects
acknowledgement of how he or she helps the students to behave in ways that are
consistent to finishing the academic task or assignment. The students’ view show an
extent of acceptance of the tutor's tutoring approach. This question allows tutors
and students to evaluate the tutor's organizational and management skills.
Efficacy of tutoring sessions
An example of question that evaluates the efficacy of tutoring sessions is the
following: Was the tutoring session successful? The tutor's response reflects
identifying specific ways he or she requested the student to participate in the
tutoring session. The students’ response involve an evaluation of how the tutoring
session was helpful in strengthening their knowledge of discipline-specific skills.
This question allows tutors and students to evaluate the effectiveness of the tutoring
session in encouraging students to use critical thinking skills in completing the
learning activities.
Efficacy of student achievement
Examples of questions that evaluates the efficacy of student achievement are
the following: a) Did the student understand the tutoring instruction? b) Did the
student accomplish his or her goals during the tutoring session?
The tutor's response reflects acknowledging if he or she requested the
students to demonstrate his or her understanding of the lesson. The students’
response involve recognizing if they were successful in reaching goals and how they
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understand if they are successful. This question allows tutors and students to
evaluate if the students’ behaviors were useful in students learning the instructional
content.
Efficacy of tutorial programs
An example of a question that evaluates the efficacy of tutorial programs is
the following: What could tutors have done to make the tutoring sessions more
effective? The tutor's response reflects specific tutor's behaviors in improving the
tutoring session and how he or she intends to ensure the next tutoring session is
more effective.
The tutor's response indirectly evaluates tutorial programs or private
tutoring practice's tutoring approach, and resources. The students’ response reflect
acknowledging how the tutor's communication skills and lesson can better help
them to learn. The students’ response indirectly evaluate tutorial programs or
private tutoring practice's approach in training tutors. This question permits tutors
and students to evaluate tutorial programs or private tutoring practice's
commitment to preparing tutors to help students meet a specific learning
preference need.
11. How does FERPA affect tutors both in institutions and in private practice?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law.
Parents and eligible students can legally access, and amend education records, and
have some control in disclosing personally identifiable information from the records
(FPCO, n.d.). Educational institutions or agencies are responsible to maintain
students' education records.
A parent is a natural parent, guardian, or an individual who is acting as a
parent because the natural parent is absent. The rights of parents transfers to their
children who are at least 18 or is attending a postsecondary institution. These
parents no longer have the rights afforded under FERPA (FPCO, n.d.). The rights
belong to the student because of his or her eligibility. The students are eligible
students. Types of records includes grades, transcripts, and student course
schedules.
Family Policy Compliance Office. (FPCO). (n.d.). FERPA for parents and eligible
students. Retrieved from http://familypolicy.ed.gov/ferpa-parents-students
Effect of FERPA on tutors of institutions that provide tutoring services
Tutors are highly likely not involved in helping institution's personnel
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develop policies to enforce the FERPA law. Tutors' primary responsibility is to
instruct students, regardless if the student is or is not an eligible student. The
institution's leadership personnel, such as directors, likely are primarily responsible
for directly upholding the parents or eligible student's FERPA right. Tutors should
promote students discuss their education records with their parent or the
institution's leadership personnel if education records is a potential topic of
conversation in the tutoring sessions.
The institution's personnel must discuss students' education records only
with the individuals who have FERPA rights. The institution's personnel would
undermine the FERPA law if they disclose personally identifiable information to
non-authorized individuals. For example, the director could not tell a parent of an
eligible student if the student attends the institution's tutoring sessions because the
parent is not authorized to know if the student is using the institution’s tutoring
service. The Institution's personnel must know which students are or are not
eligible students.
Effect of FERPA on tutors in private practice
A tutor who runs his or her own private tutoring practice may also be an
academic coach. An academic coach is a tutor and also is involved in helping
students strengthen daily living skills. Daily living skills includes goal planning and
time management. Academic coaches may need to promote students' parents be
involved in helping students develop and use daily living skills. Also, the students
and academic coaches may want to use the students' education records to assist in
creating goals and plans.
Academic coaches should request parents and eligible students sign a
waiver. The written waiver would grant the coach to have access to the students'
education records. The waiver reflects acknowledging that an academic coach is
involved in helping the student improve in areas beyond academic and study skills.
Academic coaches should advocate parents or eligible students permit them access
to the students’ education records. The coaches can help students identify goals
that is specific to the students’ education level and strengths and weaknesses in
learning.
12. What did you learn from this Basic Level Webinar and what do you commit to
include in your tutorial cadre of skills?
During the Basic Level Webinar, I learn tutors should be able to sustain
effectiveness if they continue to learn. Tutors’ knowledge is the factor to influence
students to show behaviors that enable them to reach their academic goals. For
example, the tutors describe the options that relate to the student’s academic issue.
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The options show how the student could resolve the issue realistically. The
options highlight the tutor and student’s obligations, and how additional service
providers can help the student. The tutors’ communicate in a way to influence
students to understand the academic issue and how to resolve it.
Tutors knowledge of communicating to learners enables them to have
rapport with students. In addition to communication skills, tutors also must have
current knowledge of other subjects that connects to tutoring. I learn a disposition
to learn is a necessary quality of a tutor.
I am committed to include critical thinking skills in my tutorial cadre of skills.
My critical thinking enables me to work with students in a honest and ethical
manner. For example, I would voice constructive feedback to students after I am
able to gather and accurately interpret evidence of how students use their study
skills.
I want to ensure my suggested actions, options, and recommendations of
how the student can improve are based on facts. I must honestly and ethically work
with students to increase the probability of a creating a safe learning environment
and decreasing the probability of the occurrence of a student-tutor conflict.
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Jones, M., NTA 2015 Basic Level Webinar Assessment

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