The document summarizes the author's experience with their service learning project as a tutor. Some key points: 1) The author had initial expectations of being able to effectively teach their tutees and reinforce lessons, but faced challenges with student attendance and engagement that did not always allow lessons to go as planned. 2) Through tutoring, the author gained skills in teaching methods, lesson planning, and developed relationships with their tutees to better understand their perspectives and challenges. 3) The experience helped the author learn about themselves, including realizing their own capabilities and capacity for patience and understanding of others. They were able to exceed their own expectations from the project.

1. REGINA Q. MUNOZ III - BS PSYCHOLOGY
Service learning is a method of teaching that combines formal instruction with a related
service in the community. Advocates claim that learning is enhanced through direct application
in appropriate social contexts of principles and practices taught through formal instruction
concurrent with guided reflection of the student's experiences. Service learning is frequently
implemented as youth service. As a teaching method, service learning is best categorized as a
form of experiential education.
Service learning offers students immediate opportunities to apply classroom learning to
support or enhance the work of local agencies that often exist to effect positive change in the
community.
Before my service learning experience, I expected to be able to teach my tutees well in
the specific subject that they are having hard time learning. Not only that they have to learn but
to reinforce what they have and will learn. They should also be able to make connections
between our previous discussions or what they have already learned during their class
discussions and the new topics that we will be undertake and also be able to have a meaningful
class questioning and answering during our sessions. I expected them to be present as well
during our sessions so we won’t have a waste of time and make the most of the short period of
the time we will have. I have thought of this service learning as not only something that is worth
the time but I have also opened my mind to the changes and tough times that I will have to deal
with.

2. REGINA Q. MUNOZ III - BS PSYCHOLOGY
At some point my expectations were met however, we just cannot avoid situations that
will make us feel discouraged and disappointed. Not all the things we have planned out and
prepared for will be accomplished in the time and schedule that we have prepared it for because
there situations that we cannot control. So, in order to get us back on tract we have to do more
and a lot of thinking to figure another way to solve it. What I mean is that there may be
distractions that my tutees are going through which is why there are times that they don’t get so
interested to what we are doing. They may have personal concerns and as a tutor I would like for
them to know that we can talk it over and that thing will be just fine. As part of what I want to
achieve, is to develop a relationship with them not only as someone who can teach them but also
as a friend. I think that if they feel comfortable with their tutor they will much more willing to
attend the sessions and to learn because they know that they can be open and free to ask
whatever it is that they don’t know because I, myself don’t know all the things in the world.
They don’t have to feel intimidated especially when they have already established trust in their
tutor.
This experience did not only teach me lessons in school subjects but lessons in life. I
gained the skill of teaching in proper ways. I learned how to organize and look for lessons and
activities and how to think of possible alternatives in case if something does not go with my
planned schedule. I have learned how important it was to have a background of what I will be
doing so when I am already in the field I will know what to do. It taught me to know what is
important and has to be prioritized with what is not especially in not taking things for granted or
not taking things lightly because there will be so much regret in the end. After all there is a
reason why we go through what we are going through because we can use it as firm foundation
of a life we want worth living or just not mind it and always get confused of what to do. For me

3. REGINA Q. MUNOZ III - BS PSYCHOLOGY
it is important for an individual to have a foundation so he or she cannot only know where and
what to start on but also to use that foundation so they can figure out where they are heading-
where would they want to go and what would they want to be.
This has also made me discover myself and I realized that there are things that I am
capable of. Sometimes we discourage ourselves in doing new things and taking risks because we
think that we are not responsible enough to handle it. We remain in our comfort zone even if
there has always been a deep urge inside of us that wants to step out of the box and try to explore
what other thing are out there that is waiting for us. That is why people tend to get stuck in a life
that they feel is not really for them, get confused and feel not contented because they hold
themselves from taking new steps and change. As the saying goes that the enemy of success is
the average. People remain in a life that makes them feel just comfortable. In addition, I saw that
I am able to adjust to the behaviors of children and that I can control myself, my temper. I was
able teach them Math, English and Science, they learned so I have seen how I was able to
influence them. I realized that I am responsible enough, that I am understanding and patient, that
I can handle things my way, that I can do what I am asked and supposed to do, and that I can
trust myself.
Knowing what different and great many things our situations can teach us and being able
to realize the things that I am capable of this experience did not only made me see things clearly
but it also made me see things in a different light. As I tried to establish a good relationship with
my tutees I also got to know them more. My first impressions about them were changed. An
article I have read online mentions that service learning will require a diversity of different
people for it to be accomplished and a person has to face the challenge of fighting against
stereotyping:

4. REGINA Q. MUNOZ III - BS PSYCHOLOGY
Stereotyping is something that everyone can be guilty of. We all have preconceived
notions about how someone should or shouldn't act. When we are working with someone
for the very first time, we sometime can be guilty of judging them based on appearance
or previous interaction with someone with the same personality. This is wrong; we must
never assume how a person should act by their life circumstances or religious preference.
By taking the time to get to know them, then we can overcome the urge to make
assumptions and wait to pass judgment on them until we know their character.
I also got to know myself more and saw myself through them. I can relate to the feeling of acting
out as a kid because of the burden and problems in the family, in school and with friends. Each
person has their own story and we should not generalize our impressions just because we know
that all people have problems. We must also understand that individuals have different ways of
dealing with it. Through my tutees I saw that I can be able to handle my problems because I’m
much more matured compared to them. I should not act as if I’m still a kid that needs to be told
what to do. I understand them if they do things that may seem stupid for matured people because
they’re still at a young age and are still trying to figure themselves out. Through them I was
reminded that I’m the only person in this world that needs help and encouragement, that I’m not
the only one in pain and with family problems and that the world is not unfair because there are
people somewhere with deeper burden than mine. I’m not the only one with insecurities.
Overcoming such feeling is important for me so could and would know how to deal with people
with or without the same problems but my experience in service learning also helped.
Overall, I would say my expectations were not only met, but they were exceeded
compared to what I wanted to get from this course.

5. REGINA Q. MUNOZ III - BS PSYCHOLOGY
I think the real advantage of this course is that I had the time to plan my own to-do list.
There is really no better teacher than hands-on experience; being able to discuss lessons in my
own way, do activities that I have not only wanted to do but my tutees as well. In short, be there
and, in doing so, be better able to imagine myself into what I can possibly do in the future. There
was another saying that says that one of the ways to gain knowledge is through experience.
Having the service learning a course requirement also was a good factor because we had the
motive to really comply and which I am also thankful for.
If I were to do another schoolwork like this, I would be much more prepared with my
materials, with my lessons and with my activities. I had some materials but I wasn’t able to have
more ideas of using it in a way that would make my tutees be interested more and our activities
were only few.
To effectively do my part as a tutor I have researched some online articles that can
somehow help in my teaching strategies. As for my Grade 3 tutee’s who does not know how to
read, I had the idea of teaching them the alphabet first. According to an online article, How to
Introduce the Alphabet to Children, as their tutor I have to determine in what order will I teach
the letters. Would I teach them the vowels first then the consonants or introduce a specific
sequence. For example, show the “A” alphabet, say the letter’s name and then say the sound.
Then demonstrate the correct way to write the letter. This method teaches children that letters
have corresponding shapes in print. As we progressed, I had the idea of associating a familiar
item or an animal to each letter. For this situation I have used Jerome Bruner’s Discovery
Learning Theory. According to Bruner learning is an active process in which learners construct
new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects and
transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive

6. REGINA Q. MUNOZ III - BS PSYCHOLOGY
structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and
organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given". As
their instructor i should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves. The
instructor and student should engage in an active dialog. The task of the instructor is to translate
information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding.
When the tutees will be taught that “A” is a letter that sounds “ah” and that Apple can be
associated with letter “A” because its first letter sounds “ah,” then they will know that Apple
starts with the letter “A.” If they are able to determine the rules and relationships in the given
example then they can be able to associate other things that they know which starts with the
letter “A.” knowing this will also give them the idea of associating items to the rest of the other
letters once they learn what it sounds like.
In addition, I have also used dual coding theory. It suggests that an individual is able to
remember when two processes are engaged such as visual and verbal learning. In teaching the
alphabet, I guided them through writing the letters in my own sheet of paper and at the same time
I gave verbal instruction. In that way they will not only follow what I have written but also
repeat the sound I have associated with the specific letter. Thus, they will not only know how to
write and recognize the letters but also know what its sounds are.
On the other hand, for my Grade 6 tutee’s I had to teach three subjects, Math, Science
and English. Since much of the concerns with kids of this age are just trying to understand
concepts and knowing other ways of learning, my ways of helping them is through activities and
question-answer and read-explain kind of discussions. I have read an online article that mentions
about how important it is to encourage discussions among my tutees. It says that I should try to

7. REGINA Q. MUNOZ III - BS PSYCHOLOGY
encourage them to participate and fish for some answers. I should talk very little, except to
prompt and clarify. As I ended the sessions, I tried to ensure that my tutees walk away with one
or two skills or tools to aid in successfully completing what I taught. In some of our sessions,
like Math, I used the threshold method from Edwin Guthrie’s Contiguity Theory. I introduced
Math lessons through making my tutees solve easy equations, three items each and I gradually
gave another three equations until it gradually got harder. I also used the Sidetracking method to
avoid or help my tutees minimize their fear in Math problems through the use of the Threshold
method- giving them those equations to solve in small numbers from easy, moderate to
moderately hard.
To both my tutees in Grade 3 and Grade 6 I have applied the Cognitive Theory of
Multimedia Learning. With the use of videos, students are able to learn more and be more
interested because of the presence of pictures, words, animations, movies rather than from words
alone.