The Tutoring Cycle for Peer Tutors

1. Greet
Identify
Task
Break
Task into
Parts
Identify
Thought
Process
Set an
Agenda
Address
the Task
Student
Summary
or
Content
Student
Summary
of Process
Confirmation
What
Next?
Arrange
and Plan
Next
Session
Close
and
Goodbye

2. BEGINNING STEPS
 STEP 1 Greeting and Climate Setting
 STEP 2 Identification of Task
 STEP 3 Breaking the Task into Parts
 STEP 4 Identification of Thought Processes Which Underlie Task

3. STEP 1 Greeting and Climate
Setting
 Greet your students and set the climate.
Hi – how was class today?
 Connect with the person before the content.
Good morning Omar – did you all go to the career fair this morning?
 Learn and use names
 Jen – it is good to see you.

4. STEP 2 Identification of Task
 Identify the task
 “What do you want to work on today?
 Probe the student if their answer is not specific.
 “Everything in class today was hard.”
 “What assignment are you working on right now?”
 We have to graph these inequalities and shade in the right direction to get an
answer.
 Okay, so what did you understand how to do?
 I can put the equation in y=mx +b but that’s it.
 “Ok, so you all need to know how to graph an equation of a line?”

5. STEP 3 Breaking the Task into Parts
 Make sure you understand what exactly the student needs help with.
 “So is the problem that graphing a line is difficult for you.”
 “What I am hearing is that you want to work on inserting a picture into PowerPoint, resize it,
and recolor it.”
 Confirm that you have enough time for each part of the tasks.
 “In the next 45 minutes, you all want to put a line in y=mx+b format, graph the y intercept,
and finish the line with the slope. That works.
 “We have time to practice finding a picture, inserting the picture, and editing a picture.”
 If there is not enough time, ask the student to prioritize.
 Graphing a line has a few steps. We don’t have time to do that and solve a system of
equations too. Let’s work on graphing, and we can set another date for solving the system.”
 Adding animation to pictures is a whole new step. We can leave that for next time.”

6. STEP 4 Identification of Thought
Processes Which Underlie Task
 Discuss the specific kinds of work you will have to do to complete the task. This brief
discussion is one tool to teach the student how to learn and solve problems for him or
herself.
 “Ok, so to put a picture in PowerPoint, there are a few steps. Where can we go to find these
steps?”
 “Can you look over their notes to find the steps for doing a bank reconciliation?”
 “When you see a word problem, how can we approach it?”
 Once you have identified a set of thought processes appropriate for the task,
remember them, perhaps have the student write them out, and refer to them later in
the meeting to keep the student focused and to re-teach that process.
 “Why don’t you write the steps down– that way, we can use them for our work later.”

7. TASKING STEPS
 STEP 5 Set the Agenda For the Session
 STEP 6 Addressing the Task
 STEP 7 Student Summary of Content
 STEP 8 Student Summary of Underlying Process

8. STEP 5 Set the Agenda For the
Session
 Be clear about what the student should do, and let them set the agenda as much as
possible.
 “Ok, so now that we know our steps, we can take about 5 minutes to review the
instructions, another ten minutes for you to insert pictures, and another ten minutes to resize
and color the picture. Then, we can figure out if their are any questions, and plan next
time.”
 “We should spend 5 minutes making sure you can put a line in y = mx+b format, and then
another 15 minutes to graph a line. At the end, if there is time, we can try a word
problem.”

9. STEP 6 Addressing the Task
 At this time, the student should be working mostly independently – this might take up
more time than other steps.
 Be aware your student might need guidance to keep progressing.
 “Explain why you are getting stuck on this step”
 “Don’t be nervous – look at the steps we wrote down, and try again.”
 “Remember, this is when we need to graph the y-intercept. Ana, can you show everyone
how you did that?

10. STEP 7 Student Summary of
Content
 Once you have finished the task, allow the student to summarize for you what they
learned.
 “What is one thing you will take away from our session today?”
 “Can you teach me how to insert a picture into a PowerPoint?”
 Pay close attention during this step and ask open-ended questions if he or she has
left out information or still seems confused about any important points.
 “It’s good that you remember to put your line in y=mx+b format – what does m stand for?”
 “Explain again how to resize the picture – I think there is a step we are missing.”
 Don’t forget to check to make sure you save your work at the end.

11. STEP 8 Student Summary of
Underlying Process
 Successful completion of this step will indicate to you that your
student has, in fact, internalized the basic processes involved in
solving the problems or answering the questions at hand.
 “So the next time you see a word problem, how will you know what to
do?”
 “If you are feeling lost while doing a PowerPoint again, where can you
go to refresh your memory?”

12. CLOSING STEPS
 STEP 9 Confirmation
 STEP 10 What Next?
 STEP 11 Arranging and Planning the Next Session
 STEP 12 Closing and Good-bye

13. STEP 9 Confirmation
 Let the student know that what she has learned is accurate and
appropriate.
 “You were able to insert a formula into Excel without consulting me or the
book. Good job.”
 Let the student know about some resources in case they are not
confident, or still had a hard time with the concept. Try to build
confidence in what they did well.
 “I know that Excel formulas make you nervous, but if you forget, just use the
steps from your notes – you took excellent notes on the procedure.
 Let the student ask any final questions.
 “We have five minutes left. What questions do you have about anything we
did today?”

14. STEP 10 What Next?
 Guide the students to identify some things they can work on between sessions.
 “What steps on your PowerPoint do you feel like you can complete on your own now?”
 “If you want to practice some more graphing problems, let’s choose some examples
from chapter 2.”
 “You have a test Wednesday – what are some ways you can study before then?”
 Help the student anticipate what is coming next, and how concepts are
connected.
 “Now that you can insert images in a PowerPoint, what do you think is the next step to a
polished slideshow?”
 “Take a look at the next math section. Now that you can graph a line, they are going to
ask you to graph two to see where they cross.”

15. STEP 11 Arranging and Planning
the Next Session
 Arranging and Planning the Next Session
 “Does this same time next week work for you?”
 “Would you like to make another appointment?”
 What do you want to do or accomplish next?
 Ask open-ended questions – let the student lead.
 “Today, we practiced adding images to our PowerPoints. What should we work on next time?”
 “Is there anything you want to revisit in our next session?”
 “I know you have a test next week – can you decide on some topics to work on in our next
meeting?”

16. STEP 12 Closing and Good-bye
 Thank the student for his/her contributions
 “Joe, you did a great job explaining the steps of the problem.”
 “Ana, you asked really good questions and kept us moving.”
 Closing and Good-bye
 “Have a nice afternoon – I will see you all on Thursday.”