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1) Introduce yourself to the student and take some time for you both to get to know each other. Don't go straight into tutoring.
* Look at the "Getting To Know You" section. You might consider asking the student some of these or other open-ended questions to help you become acquainted with the student. Remember to let the student know your answers as well!2) Restructure the learning environment.* Learn the student's name and its correct pronunciation immediately. If you are volunteering in a classroom, ask the teacher for a class list to facilitate your learning process.
* Make sure the student knows your name. Write it down for her/him and include your schedule. Introduce yourself again the next time.
* Often students are easily distracted; make sure you are in a relatively quiet area, and not by a popular attraction like the pencil sharpener or water fountain. Facing a window can also be a problem.3) Begin tutoring at a level well within the grasp of the student to provide an atmosphere of success. (At whatever level you begin, you may need to adjust as you learn more about the student's level.) Listen to and observe your students.* Clear the desk of other materials so the student can focus on the subject at hand; put books for other subjects out of sight.
* Some students might even benefit if you physically block out parts of the page or material they are not working with.
* Assess the student's understanding of the subject. Does she or he have the necessary skills to do the work assigned? For example: If your student is having trouble with multiplication, you may need to find out if she or he is able to do addition or even recognize the numbers. If the problem is not that basic, check to see if she or he understands the idea of multiplication operations.4) Getting started:*Some students are very quiet and it is important to be aware of their body language. Often students let you know in subtle ways what they are thinking, how they feel and whether they understand.
* Let the student tell you what she or he thinks she/he is supposed to do. It is a good idea to find out what the student knows before jumping in to help.5) Give clear directions.* If you do not understand the assignment or are not clear how to do it, be honest with the student. Read the assignment in the book aloud and refer back to earlier sections as needed. If there is no book, try different ways to do the assignment or ask the teacher for further explanation. Your student will learn how to work through a problem by watching and participating with you..
* Explain the assignment to the student slowly, giving one direction at a time.6) To the extent possible, be creative and imaginative in your tutoring methods, look for ways to motivate your student and involve her/him in the activity.* Break the task into small pieces if possible, allowing the student to focus on one thing at a time. For example, if a student is working on 25 math problems, block out all but five. If the problems are complicated, work on one step-by-step.
* Make sure the student understands what she/he is supposed to do before she/he begins. Do the first problem or some examples with her/him.
* Participate actively in the tasks the student is not ready for, such as figuring out what needs to be done and explaining it to a student who is overwhelmed by this, or taking the lead in working on assignments, but make sure the student is active in doing the things that come easily for her/him..
* Have a flexible structure so that students know what to expect, perhaps a "getting started" activity to transition into your tutoring session. * Break your session into several shorter segments of various activities, i.e., 10 minutes of oral reading or discussion, 5 minutes for a game or other fun activity, 10 minutes for writing, math drill, etc. The length and content of your segments will depend on the attention span and needs of your student. She/he will get less restless if she/he knows in advance when the session will begin and end.
* Remember that students take in information through different learning channels (visual, auditory and kinesthetic), and that one or two of these may dominate in your student. Use special, colored markers and objects to facilitate learning. Sometimes putting things in different colors, using manipulative objects or even physical movement to represent concepts can be helpful. Tape recorders can help students who have trouble deciding and remembering what they want to write about..
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