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General Tutoring Principles And Skills

These are divided into:

  1. General Tutoring Principles
  2. Specific Tutoring Skills
  3. Specific Tutoring Behaviours - Examples

You might want to select from all three sections to create a short list or prompt sheet for your own project which reflects your purposes, your students and their attention span. You will probably want a balance between the general and the specific. You might wish to simplify the wording. You will probably wish to add items specific to your own context. You can of course prioritise your list and advise/train the most important principles or skills first.



  1. General Tutoring Principles


      A

    1. Plan and prepare for the session
    2. Little and often is most effective: don't overdo it
    3. Check materials are available
    4. Check YOU understand the subject matter/objectives
    5. Check materials are within tutee competence
    6. Find a quiet place, away from distraction
    7. Check temperature, ventilation, furniture, comfort

      8. B

    8. Be polite and friendly
    9. Put your tutee at ease
    10. Listen carefully
    11. Establish a relationship with your tutee

      12. C

    12. Explain purpose or objective of session
    13. Be interested and enthusiastic
    14. Be confident
    15. Give simple, clear instructions
    16. Make learning fun
    17. Actively involve the tutee; don't do it FOR them
    18. Introduce variety without losing track
    19. Discuss and question to ensure understanding
    20. Be patient
    21. Watch for signs of boredom
    22. Avoid criticism, reprimand and threat

      23. D

    23. Watch and check tutee performance carefully
    24. Praise tutee success
    25. Correct tutee errors
    26. Evaluate tutee mastery

      27. E

    27. Encourage and praise tutee independence
    28. Encourage tutee to explain how THEY would approach task
    29. Encourage tutee choice of tasks/materials if appropriate
    30. Encourage tutee prediction

      31. F

    31. Summarise and recapitulate at end of session
    32. Keep records of tasks covered
    33. Keep records of tutee performance
    34. End the session on a positive, pleasant note

  2. Specific Tutoring Skills - Examples


      A

    1. Introduce yourself, describe yourself
    2. Encourage tutee to do likewise
    3. Recapitulate on previous session
    4. Ensure tutee is familiar with tutorial procedure
    5. Give positive instructions; say what TO do, not what NOT to do
    6. Keep tutee on-task and attending
    7. Arrange or mask materials or point to focus attention
    8. Discuss throughout to ensure tutee comprehension
    9. Ask questions rather than making statements

      10. B

    10. Monitor all tutee responses/actions
    11. Have tutee check/verify all responses
    12. Help tutee check/verify responses

      13. C

    13. Apply consistent correction procedure
    14. Pause before intervening to allow self-correction by tutee
    15. Intervene positively - avoid saying "no"
    16. Pause again for same reason
    17. But give support before tutee gives up totally
    18. Yet don't over-help or do it for the tutee, thus reinforcing helplessness
    19. Rephrase or re-clarify the task
    20. Ask leading questions
    21. Ask open-ended questions as well as closed questions needing one-word answers
    22. Relate the task to the tutee's own experience
    23. Prompt verbally in other ways
    24. Make drawings or move objects to aid tutee understanding
    25. Give clues by gesture
    26. Praise improved approximations to the correct response
    27. Model or demonstrate the required response
    28. Have tutee imitate your example
    29. Physically guide tutee through correct response

      30. D

    30. Use frequent positive reinforcement or reward
    31. Praise for effort as well as success at points of difficulty
    32. Praise for self-correction
    33. Praise for increasing time-span without error
    34. Praise including tutee name and specifying reason
    35. Praise as if you mean it - SOUND pleased
    36. Praise non-verbally too - smile, at feast!

      37. E

    37. Intersperse easy and hard tasks, short and long
    38. Intersperse highly structured and open-ended tasks
    39. Intersperse different modes of tutee response (verbal, written, graphic)
    40. Regulate pace of session to tutee's coping level
    41. Agree on signals to regulate interaction if appropriate
    42. If you don't know, say so - don't try to bluff

      43. F

    43. Follow the directions of the professional teacher
    44. If the tutee misbehaves, refer to the teacher

      45. G

    45. Test tutee for mastery immediately
    46. Review recall mastery after a set time

  3. Specific Tutoring Behavious - Examples


      A

    1. Attend every scheduled session
    2. Arrive on time
    3. Arrive with necessary materials

      4. B

    4. Call tutee by first name
    5. Smile at tutee
    6. Sit next to tutee, not opposite
    7. Maintain eye contact with tutee

      8. C

    8. Present materials in manner prescribe
    9. Present materials in sequence prescribed
    10. Check all tutee responses with master version
    11. Ask for repeat response if in doubt
    12. Have tutee read answer aloud
    13. Apply prescribed correction procedure in full at every error

      14. D

    14. Say "good" or "well done"
    15. Provide verbal praise on conditions/schedules specified

      16. E

    16. End session on time
    17. Ensure tutee gives answer sheet to teacher co-ordinator
    18. Complete prescribed record form in full
    19. Sign record form and pass to teacher co-ordinator
    20. Have tutee complete evaluation form as required
    21. Notify any failure to complete scheduled tasks to teacher
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