Vigars & McClure Questions are the Answer

23/Th 8:00 AM Van Sweringer

Title: Questions are the answer

Strands: Learning and Study Strategies

Peer Tutoring

Description

Do your peer tutors have difficulty formulating questions? We have noticed that ours do especially when confronted with a student expecting to be taught content. In this session we will show how we use hand-outs, activities and training videos to teach our tutors how to effectively ask questions by using Bloom’s Taxonomy and following their tutee’s reasoning.

Detailed Summary

We have taught a peer tutoring course since January 1999. Our training consists of a 2-credit class, The Theory and Practice of Peer Tutoring which includes 25 hours of on-the-job tutoring. The course is an introduction to tutoring at the college level. We cover topics such as strategies for tutoring one-one-one and in groups, problem solving and instructional techniques, learning theory, learning styles, disabilities, cultural diversity, and the ethics of tutoring. When students satisfactorily finish the class, they receive Level I CRLA certification.

One of the main goals of our course is to teach the peer tutors how to tutor versus teach. A cornerstone of tutoring is learning to ask questions of a tutee (using Bloom’s Taxonomy) and follow that tutee’s reasoning to help teach process the goal of which is to produce independent learners. We begin by discussing the importance of listening to the tutee and assessing what level of understanding that student has reached. This enables the tutor to develop appropriate questions that help develop the tutee’s critical thinking skills. The goal of teaching process is to produce independent learners.

Helping our tutors to learn to focus on a student’s problem solving skills and how to use questions the help that student learn continues to be our biggest challenge. Over the ten years we have been working with tutors, we have experimented with many techniques designed (by us) to accomplish this lofty goal. In this presentation, we will explain and demonstrate many of those techniques–some of which have been more successful than others as the participants will see. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn what methods have been successful and what have not worked as well. We will bring examples that the attendees can take with them and will even practice a session using one of our favorite tools.

Content

I. Introduction

A. History of Peer Tutoring at SUNY Cortland

B. Reason for emphasis on questioning

C. Videotape of mock tutoring session

II. Peer Tutoring Class

A. Topics based on CRLA certification

B. Listening

C. Questioning

D. Videotape of second mock tutoring session

E. Problem solving (interactive activity with attendees)

III. Evaluation

A. Supervisor

B. Tutees

Method of Presentation

We use a PowerPoint presentation with video clip and an interactive problem solving activity. We also include a packet of handouts with more examples of our techniques.

Presenters Experience

Teri has taught a peer tutoring class since January of 1999. Rickie joined the program in 2004 when the number of tutors had increased significantly. In April 2005, Teri and Rickie completed requirements for Certification at the Advanced Level Tutor Trainer through the National Tutoring Association.

Presenters: Teri Vigars and Rickie McClure

Certified Tutor Trainers/Peer Tutor Coordinators

ASAP

SUNY Cortland