This week I attended a workshop so that I could start tutoring the children. The workshop was on Wednesday from 3:30 until 5:30. The first thing I learned was the definition of what tutoring is. This is known as helping the child learn in a one-on-one or small group situation. I also learned the difference between intervention and remediation. Intervention is additional instruction, often in reading, designed to accelerate proficiency in an area to an age-appropriate level. The primary goal of intervention is to prevent or stop the student from failing.

I also learned the fundamental beliefs of tutoring. The beliefs are as follows: First, the children must see themselves as having the potential to achieve success. Second, a trusting relationship between the tutor and the student in the one-on-one or small group setting provides the ideal environment for learning to take place. Third, these groups focus on specific, identifiable problems. Finally, the help that is provided is viewed as fun and not work.

The roles of a tutor are very simple. The tutor is an integral member of the educational team. Under the proper supervision the, the tutor instructs the students, assists with the observation and other assessment activities, and assists students with independent study and other projects while providing opportunities for the students to practice and master skills. As a result the program is more student-centered and the personalized instructional support for the individual student can be increased.

In order to be an effective to one must first prepare. The tutor must learn about the child. The tutor should learn the name the child likes to be called; they should also learn how to pronounce the child’s name. The tutor should learn something that interests the child i.e. favorite sport or hobby. The tutor should have a “toolbox” filled with everything they will need for the session. The tutor should find ways to “break the ice” to help the students get acquainted with one another and to also feel comfortable with the tutor. When talking with the children the tutor must be sure to listen, ask about past, present, and future activities. Also be sure to ask about the students everyday activities. Make sure and respond to the questions that the children ask. Be sure to talk about the lesson being taught; use props if necessary. For example, younger children need experience retelling familiar stories. Tutors should always model the activity first. The following examples present a range of retelling activities.
A simple five-finger technique can help guide children through retellings. Each finger represents one of the following questions:
 Who were the characters in the story?
 What happened in the story?
 Where did the story take place?
 When did the story take place?
 Why did the action happen the way it did?
Oral retellings using props: Visual prompts help children organize their thoughts when retelling a story. Props such as finger puppets and felt boards provide a concrete structure to frame the story. Make simple puppets by photocopying or drawing the main characters from a story and gluing them to craft sticks. You can also use these with a felt or Velcro board.
Dramatizations: Young children love dramatic play, and this vehicle provides them with a natural way to recreate a story. Choose read-aloud texts with simple story structure and a limited number of characters. Do this activity with a small group of children, each taking on a different character from the story. Older children, who might be reading more complex stories, can choose a particular part of the story to act out, such as the emotions of a particular character or what a character might have been thinking and why.
Story web retellings: Story webs help children organize their ideas about fictional texts. A story web is a visual way for the child to represent the key elements of the story, such as characters, settings, problem, and solution.
Interactive picture books: Young children reading fairly simple stories can create picture books using the settings from the story. The process of drawing the settings lends itself to discussion of story structure and story sequence.

The tutoring environment should be one that is quiet and free of distractions, but can be observed by others. It should also be in a convenient and defined location such as a corner. The tutor should be able to access all needed materials and resources.

I am a psychology major and at first I thought that this class had absolutely nothing to do with my major or with what I wanted to do for a profession; but the more we do in the class the more I can relate it to what I plan to do for a profession; especially the class project. The project as help me to interact with different people whether they are young or old. It also gives me a chance to use and improve my teaching skills. This project has also helped me understand that everyone learns on a different level and the steps to teach these individuals are very different.

Feminists Criticism could be a very useful tool. It brings forth the representation of the female conditions in literary text and it allows readers to actually be aware of the tactics used by writers to belittle women. Most of the literature written during the time of the Bible was written by men. This means that you get the male perspective all throughout the Bible. This also can give a negative view towards women. Women were sometimes the scapegoat in the Bible. Adam and Eve is an example of blame being put on the woman. When God asked Adam who ate from the tree of knowledge, Adam replied by saying that Eve made him do it. The goal of feminist criticism is to show what the women’s perspective is. It would have been interesting to see what the views of women were during this time; they might have been the same as men or completely different. Some women are depicted badly in the Bible and it would have been interesting to see how women would have depicted men.

We have not taken the midterm yet, so I cannot answer that question. The study guide was very helpful though.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2007 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Week 06: Related Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.