tutor case study #1
January 21st, 2008 by jseguritanIt’s 1:03 am in the evening and a student initiates a session with you.
Student: Hi there!
You: Hi. What’s up?
Student: You think you can help me with an algebra problem?
You: Sure thing! What do you have?
Student: Ok. So I need to figure out the roots, vertex and axis of symmetry of x^2 + 2x - 10. I have no clue how to start, and it’s due tomorrow! 
You: We’ll see what we can do. What have you learned about quadratic functions in school?
Student: Umm.. I don’t remember much at all. It’s all so confusing!
You: Let’s start with this: what makes a function quadratic?
Student: Arrgh! Can’t you just go through the steps of solving this? Pleease?
You: I think it’s better if we understood the concepts involved, so you’d be able to find the information you need for ANY quadratic function, or handle any curveballs a teacher throws at you during an exam.
Student: I don’t have time. And my brain is fried this late at night. Come on! I can easily give an unsatisfactory review, you know. 
How would you continue this session? Do you think the tutor “You” has led this session appropriately given the situation? Have you ever encountered a situation like this before?
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I haven’t encountered anything like this yet here, but I have many times in face-to-face tutoring sessions. I imagine my response here would be a little different than what i’d do in a f2f session.
First time I encountered this was at the beginning of a hour session. The student was obviously stressed, and just wanted to get through the assignment so we could move on to the next thing. So, after some back and forth, I obliged, and I walked her through the problem step by step. She “got it,” and before we moved on, I gave her a similar, but much more difficult problem, and asked her to solve it. It didn’t take her too long to realize that she had no idea how to solve this one. So I went back, and we talked about the concepts that allowed her to solve the first one, and she was relieved to find that those same concepts were used to solve the more difficult problem. At our next session, she told me that her test had a problem similar to the “difficult” one I’d given her, and she was relieved that she had learned the basics. Haven’t heard any complaints about that since.
Here, I imagine this tactic would be less than successful, as the tutee can end the session at any time. I think “You” is doing a good job so far. I’ve got some ideas about how to continue, but I’m interested in what everyone else has to say.