Taking On A Tutor.

By James Broder

It is important when starting a tutoring experience to make an agreement with the tutor. It should outline what the student and teacher expect from each other. It should also have concrete goals for the student, and outline what should be done when the goals are being completed. No tutor will be able to instantly fix grades, but with the proper communication, you can make great improvements.

The most important thing for the student to realize is that a tutor shouldn't be doing homework, or even working on homework, with the student. A tutor may certainly check homework, and answer questions about homework, but if a student doesn't first attempt to struggle with it, it will hamper learning. For example, many textbooks have answer keys, a math tutor should go over all the questions that a student gets wrong.

The agreement should outline what the tutor should bring to the table. Every student should expect the tutor to know when exams are coming, and what material is being worked on. This should come from constant contact with teachers and parents to get the job done.

There is definitely room for discussion when it comes to how much time a student should prepare for a session. I've found that an hour per hour of tutoring is sufficient. This hour should be above and beyond the time a student spends doing homework and studying for exams. This is meant to maximize the effectiveness of the session.

If a student is working with an English tutor or a writing tutor then he or she should spend much more time outside of sessions preparing. It could be up to 5 or 6 hours preparing writings and reading prose before a student is ready to work with the tutor. Remember that practice is always important, no matter the subject.

The final important facet of the tutoring agreement is a student's goals. These should be partly class related (a certain grade) and partly additional learning to work on when the grades are back on course. Some good examples of extra learning could be learning to use a computer program like Excel, or reading books from a different author (in English tutoring). Remember that the end goal should always be to maximize learning, not grades.

In total, the tutoring agreement is a critical part of the tutoring process. It outlines what should be taught, and how much time all parties are expected to spend. It also lays out a framework for dealing with any issues that may arise during the course of tutoring.

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