Communication Techniques
We Learn...
10%...of What We Read
20%...of What We Hear
30%...of What We See
50%...of What We See and Hear
70%...of What We Discuss With Others
80%...of What We Experience Personally
95%...of What We Teach Others
William
Glasser
It has been estimated that it takes only three or four minutes for
the average person to form a positive or negative first impression.
What does this mean to a tutor? Make that first meeting with your
tutee a positive experience. Be consistent in
body language. voice and words. Initiate eye contact. Listen
with your body by smiling and nodding your head. Nonverbal messages
are the most powerful form of communication. Take the
communication skills test and find out how your communication
skills rank. Establishing rapport with your tutee is very important.
You can help create a good rapport by listening patiently and
remaining open to what the tutee has to say.
It is also important to know why the student has requested tutoring.
Some students know exactly where they are having trouble. Some
students point out general areas of difficulty. Some students can
only vaguely describe the source of their confusion. To help these
students, simply ask them where they are having problems. It could
be that they fear the subject because of past failure. It could be
that they are taking the class because it is a requirement;
therefore they have no interest in the subject. The students could
also be lacking confidence in their ability to master the material,
or they could be overwhelmed by the time requirements imposed on
them for this particular class. The reason for the tutoring request
is important because it will give you a focus to plan your future
tutoring sessions.
Another approach to finding out why the student is seeking
assistance is to review the course materials with the student. Use
the course outline, text, or assignments to figure out precisely
where the student is having problems. Ask questions that encourage
students to state what they know about the material.
A technique critical to a successful tutoring session is the ability
to ask the right question. Tutors should develop a strategy for
asking
effective questions.
It's important to use the right words. Try asking "What do you
understand?" If you ask students what they don't understand, they
will be clueless. Another important aspect of asking questions is
waiting for an answer. Many tutors are too quick to answer their own
questions. Give students an opportunity to reflect on the question
before they volunteer a response. Always wait at least 20 seconds
for the student to answer your question. This "wait time" might be
uncomfortable at first, but it can greatly improve the tutoring
session.
Remember to ask leading questions. Questions that can be answered
with yes/no have less value that those that ask the student to
demonstrate understanding. "What if" questions and analogies are
excellent strategies for expanding student understanding. Become
familiar with the
Socratic Method of teaching. It is the oldest, but still the
most powerful teaching tactic for fostering critical thinking.
Tutors can perform a valuable service when they assist students to
figure out answers by themselves. There are three steps that can
help you provide this service: Provide instruction, require a
response, and give feedback. In other words, present the information
briefly, have the student respond and talk about the material, let
the student know when the answer is correct or incorrect. Learning
to
handle right and wrong answers is a vital part of tutoring.
There are many options available to a tutor when deciding how to
talk with a tutee. But its important to remember that the best
teachers talk the least. When you are not talking that means either
the tutee is talking (which is what you want) or you are allowing
space for the tutee to respond. Experienced tutors use a variety of
Effective Ways to Work with Students to prompt tutees to talk
through their learning experience.