Learning Assistance Center
             Room 2016, Ninth Street Hall
                Charleston, Illinois 61920
                217-581-6696

  Eastern Illinois University                 Tutoring Handbook
 

Contents

This handbook was prepared by

The Learning Assistance Center
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Avenue
Charleston, IL 61920-3099

Eastern Illinois University Important Dates

Fall Semester 2002  

Please confirm dates at http://www.eiu.edu/~registra/
  

Handbook Contents

Introduction | Tutoring Roles | Social Skills | Three Varieties of Tutoring | Drop-in Tutoring Service | Tutoring by Appointment | Group Tutoring | Keys to Good Tutoring Practice | Tips to Pass Along to Tutees | Identifying the Underlying Problem | Working with Students with Disabilities | Places on Campus to Refer Students | Inspire your Tutees to Learn | Books and Articles | Tutoring References | Study Skills References | Related Readings | Acknowledgments

Introduction

Congratulations on being chosen to tutor at Eastern Illinois University! Your selection as a tutor results from the confidence the faculty has in your ability to support their teaching efforts. They encourage you to do your best and to enjoy the challenges of this responsibility. Tutoring is one of the most effective interventions for students who are performing poorly in their classes. Such students may be stressed out due to their academic difficulties, but if you make good use of your interpersonal skills, you will develop rewarding, fun, and heartwarming tutoring relationships. Besides the satisfaction that comes from supporting others' efforts to achieve their goals, you will learn a great deal as you review material and help tutees to learn how to be successful.

The faculty and administration at Eastern Illinois University appreciate your efforts, and they want to support your important work. The Tutoring Handbook was created to offer you general guidelines, tutoring principles, and teaching tips that will help you make the most of your tutoring experience. Please read the handbook carefully and consult with your supervisor if you have any questions.
 
 

A tutor plays many roles. In general, you will play an intermediary role between the students and the instructors, acting as a bridge between the learning needs of the students and the teaching objectives of the instructors. Ask your supervisor if it is appropriate for you to establish contact with the course instructors. If so, then early in the semester, visit them during their office hours. Ask permission to introduce yourself to their classes to make the students aware of your services. Seeing your friendly face will help students feel comfortable about asking you for help. If you encourage your tutees and communicate well with your supervisor and course instructors, you will be able to play an important role in your tutees' academic lives.

There are many specific roles for you to play depending on the needs of your clients. You will be a teacher, but you will also be a guide, a role model, a referral source, a counselor, a mediator, and a tester. Be flexible. Vary the roles you play according to the needs of the individuals and the demands of the course. When you establish the right kind of atmosphere and play the roles that fit the needs of your tutees, you can strengthen their learning skills and help them to become confident, independent, and successful students.
 
 

It takes courage for people to admit that they need assistance. When tutees ask you for help, try to make them feel good about coming to see you. They may have low self-esteem, or they may be embarrassed about needing tutoring. In addition, tutees may feel frustrated, discouraged, or anxious. Instead of pointing out their failings, try to help them start building accomplishments. Begin teaching at a level where they are comfortable, then challenge them to learn more. Praise them when they do well.

Show interest in your tutees-make eye contact, smile, and sit next to them (instead of across from them). Be considerate of their feelings. Do not interrupt them. Trying to impress or intimidate tutees is counterproductive. Tutees will benefit most when you act both as a peer (an understanding, sympathetic fellow student) and as a tutor (who provides academic guidance).

Focus your efforts on the difficulties that tutees are having in their classes. However, look for opportunities to help them grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Since learning is a product of the interplay of intellectual and motivational factors, you must be sensitive to both needs. Encourage your clients to be more curious, to be more willing to take on new challenges, to be more confident, and to take control of their own education. Talk about your interest in the subject and explain how you learned to be successful in your classes. Be a good role model for your tutees.
 
 

The three basic means of providing tutoring services are by the drop-in method, through individual appointments, and by group tutoring. Your department will determine which form of tutoring best serves the needs of the students. Departments that use the drop-in method have tutors who work at assigned times and tutor anyone who arrives at the tutoring area. If your department uses the drop-in method, you will probably be working with students who are taking different courses or different sections of the same course. Most often, you will be working with more than one tutee at a time. Departments that use the individual appointment method have tutors working with the same students on an ongoing basis throughout the semester. Departments that use the group tutoring method have tutors who work with groups of students who are taking the same class. The basic principles of tutoring are the same for each situation. Successful tutors work well under these different conditions by emphasizing different kinds of tutoring roles.
 
 

Drop-in tutoring service is the most common form of tutoring offered at Eastern Illinois University. Tutors work regularly scheduled hours at a specified location and tutees "drop-in." Generally, tutees are offered assistance on a first-come, first-served basis. Drop-in tutoring is easy to administrate, and it provides students with a reliable, convenient source of help. This type of service is great for students who have an occasional question, who need clarification on how to complete a homework assignment, who need to generate some ideas to get started on a project, and who are looking for guidance in preparing for a test.

If you tutor at a "drop-in" site, you need to plan ahead because you will never be sure who is coming or what questions will be asked. The demand for your services will tend to fluctuate in response to test dates and other due dates established by the course instructors. You may be swamped by students wanting help studying for a test on one day and see no one the next. Because the demand for your services may be high, you may not be able to give a great deal of time and personal attention to students who have substantial needs or who are totally unprepared. Because these students can take enormous amounts of time, do not spend all of your time working with them when you are busy. Spend as much time with them as you do with everyone else, so that you are providing the best service possible to as many students as you can. The following recommendations will help you serve the needs of Eastern's students as a drop-in tutor:

1. Be Prepared. Get copies of all of the instructors' syllabi. Record test dates and due dates on a calendar using different colored inks for each instructor. When you anticipate busy days, ask your supervisor if it would help to extend your tutoring hours or lead a group review session. Ask experienced tutors or the instructors what chapters or concepts give students the greatest difficulty, and ask them for suggestions about how to best accommodate large numbers of students. When times are slow, prepare some materials in advance, outline questions to ask, or identify problems to be solved. This will save you time during peak hours. During these peak hours, get tutees working on something as soon as they arrive, so you do not develop a growing line of people waiting for help. Then try to keep everyone busy as you move from person to person. Encourage tutees to help each other when they run into problems.

2. Be Organized. When you anticipate a large number of people from different sections of a class, arrange the room so that people from the same section can work together. Students in these small groups can help each other as you encourage, question, and provide information while moving from one group the next. When you are busy, give each group just enough support to get them started making progress. If you expect a number of students taking different courses, have them sign a log-in sheet as they arrive. Ask them what course they are taking on the log. Use this information to help you place tutees in groups or work with them in the order they arrived.

3. Be Perceptive. Identify the most needy students early in the semester. When you recognize a student who is struggling more than most, suggest that she or he visit you on a regular basis during hours when you are generally slow. Encourage weaker students to find study partners, join a study group, make an appointment with their instructor, or use other academic support services.

4. Be Visible. As you move from one client to another, it may be difficult for someone just arriving to find you. Create a "TUTOR ON DUTY" tent sign, and display it nearby. Remain standing when there are lots of students seeking assistance. Use a "THE TUTOR WILL RETURN IN FIVE MINUTES" sign for those occasions when you have to leave the tutoring site.

5. Be Punctual. Arrive on time and stay at the designated site for the entire time you are scheduled. However, do not feel obligated to stay beyond your scheduled hours. Politely inform students a few minutes before you are supposed to leave that you will be leaving. Then, answer their last minute questions, and let them know when and where they can obtain additional help.
 
 

Tutoring by appointment offers students on-going personalized attention. This form of tutoring maximizes the possibilities of establishing solid working relationships. If your department uses this form of tutoring, you will have a good opportunity to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your clients, and you will be able to monitor your tutees' progress. However, tutoring by appointment is not perfect. Because the demand for tutoring normally exceeds the supply, you may book up quickly, leaving some students without a tutor.

When you predict that there will not be enough time to tutor all of the students individually, try to distribute your services fairly. If there are other tutors in your department, work with them to create a tutoring schedule that maximizes the number of students you can serve. Consider the following options. 1) Meet with more than one student from a class at a time. Working with two clients can be a great tutoring situation, especially if you allow them to help each other. 2) Create a waiting list, and tell your current clients that if they fail to show up for a session, they will lose their time slot. 3) Leave some tutoring hours open, and offer tutoring during those hours on a first come-first served basis.

The best tutors are experts at making information accessible and motivating their clients. Their tutoring sessions generally contain the same basic elements. From their observations of mathematics tutors, Lepper, Drake, and O'Donnell-Johnson (1998) state that expert tutors:
Present a progression of increasingly difficult problems for the solution by the tutee, with the tutor providing both cognitive and motivational scaffolding [support] of the student's work when needed. For each of these problems, it is possible to identify a cycle of phases through which the tutor and tutee progress. Through the course of the tutoring session, this cycle is repeated with problems of increasing complexity, so that the progress of a successful session resembles a helix.

Planning an agenda for each tutoring session will make your time more productive. Consider how to best structure each tutoring session to meet the tutees' needs. Lepper, et al. (1998) identify five phases of effective tutoring sessions. These phases are problem selection, problem presentation, problem solution, reflection, and instruction. This model will help you develop a tutoring session model suitable for your discipline.

Problem Selection Initially, choose problems designed to assess the tutee's competence. Based upon your assessment, select a good starting point for the day's work.

Problem Presentation Once you have established what needs to be accomplished, you should work with the tutee to develop a plan. This is a good time to work on motivating your tutee. Orient your tutee to the problem, then challenge them, reassure them, and provide encouragement.

Problem Solution The central goal in this third phase is for you to allow the tutee to correctly solve the problems. Knowing when and how to offer assistance is the essence of good tutoring. Resist the temptation to intervene every time the tutee starts to struggle. Effective tutors show at least four distinct responses to actual and anticipated student errors.
1. Ignoring. You may decide to ignore inconsequential errors. If you demand that everything be done exactly right, the session can get bogged down or the tutee can begin to feel helplessly incompetent. Try to stay focused on the having the tutee learn the main ideas that are currently being addressed.
2. Forestalling. The best tutors are continually diagnosing and monitoring underlying misconceptions (systematic bugs). You may attempt to forestall these errors when clients begin to head down a wrong path. Asking leading questions or providing hints to help tutees think about the direction they have taken will help prevent future problems.
3. Intervening. At times, expert tutors directly intervene in order to correct an error. This intervention works well when the error is trivial or when immediate correction is necessary to prevent the error from occurring again. Immediately pointing out careless mistakes can help prevent the tutee from getting distracted by a minor detail.
4. Debugging. When unanticipated errors have occurred or when the tutee has been allowed to make an error, expert tutors ask questions or provide hints to help the client correct mistakes for themselves. See if you can draw out the correct response from the tutee. If this fails, ask a series of questions to walk the client through the learning process one step at a time.

Reflection-After the tutees arrive at an acceptable answer, expert tutors ask tutees to explain how they arrived at their response. This summary period helps to reinforce the learning that took place, and it gives the tutor the opportunity to elaborate upon incomplete or incorrect responses. It is also a good time for you to help tutees make connections to other material that has been learned.
Instruction-In some sessions a separate instruction period is useful. When new material is being presented to a tutee, you may wish to offer direct instruction about the topic and provide a demonstration of how to do a task. Using concrete analogies to help tutees understand relationships is often a useful way of explaining new ideas.
 
 

Group tutoring is best used when students have a common objective, like reviewing for a test, discussing an article, brainstorming ideas for a presentation, working on practice exercises, or discussing the day's lesson. You need good leadership skills to be an effective group tutor. Fortunately, leadership skills can be developed. You can improve your leadership skills through practice and by adapting your behavior to fit the circumstances of the group. In general, as a group leader you will be responsible for:

• Ensuring that everything is in place for a successful session

• Developing an agenda

• Initiating the discussion (taking care of the introductions, reviewing the purpose of the session, and asking opening questions)

• Providing structure to the session (keeping the group focused, monitoring time, summarizing the group's progress)

• Ensuring that everyone has a chance to participate (encouraging less talkative students)

• Stimulating creative and critical thinking

The group tutor's role is similar to that of a classroom teacher; so, working closely with course instructors to determine the best approach for leading a formal group session is recommended. Informal group sessions are also possible. Your department may want you to play a role in organizing small group study teams. Ask tutees if they would like to form study groups, and help people taking the same class to contact one another. If you spend some time getting study teams off the ground, you may make learning more interesting and help motivate students to work together to do their best.
 
 

Five keys for working with members of the department
1. If possible, talk with the instructors of the courses you are tutoring. Obtain copies of the syllabi and borrow textbooks (when available).
2. Expand your knowledge of tutoring by talking with your supervisor, faculty, and other tutors. Read about tutoring and study skills. Attend tutoring workshops.
3. Criticizing the professor or making negative comments about any course policy, assignment, or teaching style does not help your tutee. Having your tutees lose confidence in their instructors will make it more difficult for them to learn, and it may damage your working relationship with the department. Remember that your job is to support the instructors' work.
4. Keep accurate records of your tutoring sessions.
5. Turn in your time sheets on time.

Five keys for good communication with tutees
1. Ask open-ended questions instead of closed-ended questions. Ask, "How are you preparing for the upcoming test?" (which encourages the tutee to talk), rather than "Did you study for the upcoming test?" (which can be answered simply by saying "yes" or "no").
2. Ask tutees to verbalize examples, explanations, theories, processes, causes, effects, comparisons, solutions, and arguments.
3. Tutees who say "yes" when you ask if they understand, do not always really understand. They may falsely believe that they understand. They may feel stupid if they admit that they do not understand what you just explained. Or, they may think that they will hurt your feelings if your explanation does not make sense to them. Find ways to test tutees to see if they really grasp the ideas.
4. Question, prod, guide, and suggest rather than lecturing.
5. Let your tutees know that they are senior partners in the tutoring relationship. They have to contribute to make the relationship work. Tutees are expected to be on time, to bring all necessary materials, to practice what you discuss, and to be prepared for each session.

Five keys for working with tutees
1. Try to make your tutoring sessions pleasant and relaxed. If you enjoy your work, then your tutees will look forward to your sessions.
2. Let the tutees do most of the work. Your aim is to help them become independent learners.
3. Talk with your tutees about short- and long-term goals. Try to help tutees see how each session moves them closer to fulfilling their goals.
4. Focus on improving one skill at a time. It is difficult to learn new skills; it is nearly impossible to learn everything at once.
5. End each session on a positive note. (Know how to quit when you are ahead.)

Five key ethical principles
1. Always act ethically and professionally. You are an employee and representative of a fine university. Your work should enhance Eastern Illinois University's reputation.
2. Refer students to appropriate campus resources when they have needs that you can not address.
3. If you are aware that the student has asked you to help on an assignment to be graded, pose similar problems/questions rather than those assigned. The tutee must earn any grade the instructor assigns. Even if the homework is not graded, it is generally a bad idea to consistently work on homework during your sessions. Instead, ask tutees to do their homework before reviewing it with you, or ask them to work on problems like those assigned. It is important that your tutee complete assignments on their own because you will not be there to help them during tests.
4. Do you remember how you felt when you struggled to understand something new? Treat your tutees with the same respect that you deserve.
5. You are in a helping profession. Tutees will come to trust you, and they may share personal information with you. Treat personal and academic information as confidential. Even when you try to help tutees by talking with their professors, you have to be careful. Talking with a professor about a tutee by name might offend her or him. Suggest that the tutee speak with the professor, or ask your tutee for permission before using her or his name.

Five keys to avoiding unpleasant situations
1. Calculating tutees' grades is dangerous. Let tutees calculate their own grades. If you make a mistake, you will feel responsible.
2. Suggesting that a student drop a class can cause problems. When circumstance warrant it, you can inform the student of drop dates, but refer students to their instructor or advisors for information regarding grades and withdrawing from class.
3. Tutees may make "funny" mistakes. You can laugh with your tutees about their mistakes, but never laugh at them. Tutees are easily hurt and embarrassed.
4. Your tutees are ultimately responsible for learning the material. Do not blame yourself when tutees fail. The very best tutors, like the very best teachers, will still have some students who do not succeed. Nevertheless, reflecting on your efforts with a student who is not succeeding (and talking the situation over with your supervisor, faculty or other professionals) may help you better meet the needs of future tutees.
5. Tutees need encouragement and positive reinforcement. Look for, point out, and praise their strengths and accomplishments. Do not dwell on their weaknesses and shortcomings.
 
 

• Read the syllabus. Record all due dates on a calendar, and review the learning objectives throughout the semester.

• Attend every class.

• Get to know the professor and your classmates early in the semester.

• Read the assigned reading before attending the lecture.

• Make your notes more complete and understandable by revising them after every class meeting. Add information that you did not have time to get down on paper during the class and clean up the lecture notes so you can easily read them later on. (The process of revising class notes helps students to remember the information and prepare for tests.)

• Keep all course-related materials together.

• When you must be absent, call or e-mail your instructors before the classes meet.

• Be neat. Whatever you submit to your professors should be professional looking and be grammatically correct.

• Pay close attention to all of the directions given by the instructor.

• Ask questions, especially those concerning how to do an assignment.

• Try to do your very best work. Those who aim at "just getting by" often come up short and fail.

• Spend two hours out of class studying for every hour in class.

Many students have academic problems that are not directly related to learning the course content. Poor time management skills, reading problems, poor note-taking skills, weak test-taking skills, ineffective study habits, writing difficulties, and personal problems can all be factors that interfere with learning. Good academic and social skills are the foundation for mastering the content of a new course. As you work with tutees, look for the causes of the problems they are having in the class.

Take the time to teach them how to develop the skills and habits that will prepare them to learn. Ask how much time they are spending on their classes, talk about their study habits, look over their notes, and see what kinds of test taking strategies they use. Many students' problems are the result of a lack of basic learning skills. These kinds of skills are generally not taught in college level classrooms. By providing information about basic learning skills, you will not only help your tutee to learn in your discipline, you will also help the tutee to improve in other courses.

To help develop higher level thinking skills, encourage your tutees to be self-reflective and strategic while they are learning. Ask them to think out loud for you and to explain their thought processes. Model this behavior for them. These kinds of activities will help them to become more independent.

Students who seek tutorial assistance often try to memorize rather than learn. Those who try to memorize may do well on quizzes covering small amounts of material, but they generally do poorly when they take tests covering large amounts of material. Memorizers also tend to study by reading materials over and over again. Teaching memorizers learning strategies can help them to become active learners. Commonly used learning techniques include: using the SQ3R reading technique, taking notes using the Cornell method, rewriting classroom notes, outlining, highlighting, paraphrasing, explaining to others, writing test questions, using flashcards, creating mnemonics, and using visual imagery. Become familiar with these learning strategies, so you can suggest alternative approaches to learning.

Keep in mind, however, that you are not a psychologist, a counselor, a study skills specialist, or an instructor. Encourage your tutees to visit professionals when their ability to learn is hampered by personal problems, health related issues, or learning difficulties that you can not address.
 
 

As a tutor, you are an important part of the effort to provide excellent educational opportunities to all Eastern Illinois University students. Although there are approximately 50 million Americans who have disabilities ("Implementing the Disabilities Act," 1996), you may not have much experience interacting with students who have disabilities. The Office of Disability Services (n.d.) has provided the following basic hints to ease any apprehension you may feel about working with students who have disabilities. Please contact the Office of Disability Services at 581-6583 with any questions or concerns.

• Special training in disability issues is not generally necessary for tutors. Being sensitive, caring, and having a positive attitude will get you started.

• Students with disabilities are more like non-disabled students than not. They have the same worries, daily activities, and interests we all do.

• Talk directly to your tutees and not to his/her companion(s), even if the tutee is deaf and a sign language interpreter is present.

• Keep the tone and volume of your voice within the normal range, unless you are specifically requested by your tutee to raise your voice.

• If you suspect your tutee needs basic assistance with activities such as standing, sitting, locating materials, etc., please offer to help; however, wait to see if your offer is accepted before taking action. If your assistance is wanted, and you are uncertain how to proceed, by all means, ask what to do and how to do it.

• Do not get hung up on the fear of being politically incorrect. For example, it is okay to use the word "see" in conversation with a visually impaired student.

• If a tutee uses a chair, scooter, crutches, cane, or other device, remember that these should be treated as a part of the student's body. Do not lean on a chair, or move crutches or cane away from where the student has placed them unless specifically requested to do so.

• Most importantly, relax. Keep in mind that you are dealing first and foremost with a person-who just happens to have a disability.

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  Places on Campus to Refer Students

Knowing when and where to refer a tutee is important. When a tutee talks about a problem with you, ask yourself: "Am I qualified to address this tutee's problem?" Any time a tutee asks for advice on a serious matter, suggest that they visit the experts. If you are concerned about a tutee, discuss the situation with your supervisor.

One danger that can occur in tutoring relationships is that you become so involved in helping tutees that you begin to own their problems. Remember two things. First, your clients are primarily responsible for their successes and failures. Second, you are not alone in your desire to provide support for them. There are many free support services available for students on campus.

The Course Instructor When students are having serious problems in a class, encourage them to contact the instructor, in addition to working with you. You are not expected to have all of the answers to issues pertaining to the class. Tell the client to talk with the instructor whenever questions arise regarding grades, classroom policy, and attendance. Be careful about acting as an advocate for your tutees. Instead, explain to them how they should approach their instructor with their questions.

Learning Assistance Center (581-6696) When tutees do not understand why they are having difficulty in a class, when they are not making progress, or when they want to find out more about learning strategies, have them make an appointment at the Learning Assistance Center (LAC). The LAC will work with your tutees to identify learning barriers and to suggest ways to overcome their obstacles. The LAC will also work with you to identify appropriate sources of learning assistance.

Writing Center (581-5929) The Writing Center is staffed by graduate students who will answer questions about the process of writing and editing papers. The Center also prepares students for the Writing Competency Exam.

Reading Center (1320 Buzzard Hall, 581-7898) The Reading Center offers assistance to those who recognize a need for guidance and practice with essential reading and study skills. Help is given to students in improving reading comprehension and speed and in practicing efficient study habits. Individual assistance is offered through computerized instruction on a walk-in basis from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday - Thursday. Additionally, GST 1000 is a course offered for 2 credit hours each semester to any EIU student who wishes to improve reading and study skills. Special workshops also help prepare students for local and state tests, such as TAP. Contact Cindy Rich or Janet Carpenter.

The Counseling Center (581-3413) The Counseling Center provides free, voluntary, and confidential counseling and crisis services to currently enrolled students. Issues commonly presented by students include, but are not limited to, relationship problems, depression, eating disorders, anxiety/stress, and anger management. Our staff of psychologists and counselors also conduct workshops designed to maximize the potential of all students to benefit from Eastern's academic and social environment. Appointments can be arranged either in person or by phone.

Health and Education Resource Center (581-7786) Refer students who need health-related information for academic or personal reasons. Free materials and website printouts on a variety of topics are available including: contraceptives, sexually transmitted infections, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; stress, nutrition, exercise, and illness. Located in Health Services.

Academic Advising(581-2313) Refer students to their advisors if they are considering dropping a class or withdrawing from the university. They will help your tutees determine what impact these decisions have upon their program of study, financial aid status, scholarships, graduation date, choice of majors, etc.

Disability Services (581-6583) If a tutee states that she or he has a learning disability or asks you about testing accommodations, refer her or him to Kathy Waggoner, the Assistant Director of Disability Services. Students who have questions regarding disability policy or who desire accommodations must see the Director of Disability Services regarding establishing eligibility for disability support services.

Career Services (581-2412) Career Services can help students chose a major or career, search for a job, prepare a resume, and interview for a job. Shirley Stewart, the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Career Services, can be e-mailed at cfsas@ux1.eiu.edu

Booth Library (581-6072) Refer tutees to Booth Library who are having trouble locating sources of information. Booth Library offers term paper clinics to individuals to help them refine their topic, develop a basic plan of research, and learn how to select and locate appropriate sources of information in the library
 
 
 

The acronym "INSPIRE" summarizes the characteristics and strategies of expert tutors (Lepper, Drake, and O'Donnell, 1998).

Intelligence
Know the subject matter well, and recognize the difficulty level of problems and concepts.

Nurturant
Build rapport with your clients, pay attention to their needs, and be empathetic.

Socratic
Try to draw as much out of your clients as possible. Make them active in the learning process. Asking questions is the best technique.

Progressive
Begin by working at a level of difficulty where the tutee is comfortable, then challenge the tutee by systematically increasing the difficulty of the material you discuss.

Indirect
Convey expectations in a polite and unobtrusive manner. Avoid being blunt; instead give hints or ask questions.

Reflective
Ask tutees to reflect on their progress by asking them to explain, summarize, or write down what they have learned. This reinforces their new knowledge and skills.

Encouraging
Motivate your clients, not just to work hard, but to feel challenged, empowered, and curious about the topic.
 
 
 

Books and Articles

Many of the following articles and books on tutoring were consulted, and material from them was adapted to create this handbook. Most of these works can be borrowed through Booth Library. Please visit the Learning Assistance Center for more information about learning strategies and the tutoring process.

Tutoring References (click here for more tutoring references)

Anderson, H. (n.d.). What do I do when there are ten people wanting tutoring and one of me? [Handout]. Charleston, IL: Eastern Illinois University.

Calendrillo, L. (n.d.). Writing center tutoring handbook [Handout]. Charleston, IL: Eastern Illinois University.

Grier, T., & Hancock, K. (Eds.). (1996). College Reading and Learning Association's tutor training handbook. Anchorage, AL: College Reading and Learning Association.

Lepper, M. R., Drake, M. F., & O'Donnell-Johnson (1998). Scaffolding techniques of expert human tutors. In K. Hogan & M. Pressley (Eds.), Scaffolding student learning: Instructional approaches and issues (pp. 108-144). Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.

MacDonald, R. B. (1994). The master tutor: A guidebook for more effective tutoring. Williamsville, NY: The Cambridge Stratford Study Skills Institute.

Maxwell, M. (1994). When tutor meets student (2nd ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Maxwell, M. (1979). Improving student learning skills. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.

Moore, D. P., & Poppino, M. A. (1983). Successful tutoring: A practical guide to adult learning processes. Springfield, IL: Charles Thomas.

Office of Disability Services. (n.d.). Eastern Illinois University Faculty/Staff Information Handbook. Charleston, IL: Eastern Illinois University.

Schmalz, R. (n.d.). Some dos and don'ts for tutors [Handout]. Charleston, IL: Eastern Illinois University.

Slaughter, J. (1991). Tips for tutoring: Improving reading abilities. A guidebook for the peer tutor. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 339 026).

Study Skills References

Baldwin, R. S., Schatz, E. K., & Weiss, A. S. (1985). Passports to college success. Dubuque, IO: Kendall Hunt.

Brown, W. F., & Holtzman, W. H. (1987). A guide to college survival. Iowa City, IO: The American College Testing Program.

Chaffee, J. (1995). The thinker's guide to college success. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Coman, M. J., & Heavers, K. L. (1998). Developing study skills, taking notes and tests using dictionaries and libraries (2nd ed.). Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook.

Ellis, D. B. (1985). Becoming a master student. Rapid City, IO: College Survival.

Iannuzzi, P., Strichart, S. S., & Mangrum, C. T. (1998). Teaching study skills and strategies in college. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Knight, T. O. (1993). Study strategies for college. Homewood, IL: Irwin Career Education Division.

Monte, C. F. (1990). Merlin: The sorcerer's guide to survival in college. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Nolting, P. D. (1998). Math study skills workbook: Your guide to reducing test anxiety and improving study strategies. Bradenton, FL: Academic Success Press.

Orr, F. (1986). Test-taking power. New York: Monarch.

Phipps, R. (1983). The successful student's handbook: A step-by-step guide to study, reading, and thinking skills. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.

Rathus, S. A., & Fichner-Rathus, L. (1997). The right start. New York: Longman.

Reynolds, J. A. (1996). College success: Study strategies and skills. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Van Blerkom, D. L. (1997). College study skills: Becoming a strategic learner (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Related Readings

Galanes, G. J., & Brilhart, J. K. (1997). Communicating in groups: Applications and skills (3rd. ed.). Madison, WI: Brown and Benchmark.

Implementing the disabilities act. (1996, Dec. 20). The CQ Researcher, 6, (47), 1105-1128.
  
 

Several excellent locally produced materials were consulted during the creation of this handbook, including materials authored by Drs. Anderson, Calendrillo, G. DeRuiter, and Schmaltz. Many department chairs, department administrative assistants, faculty members, directors, students, and tutors have spoken with me about the needs of tutors at Eastern Illinois University. I hope this work is responsive to the needs of the tutors, faculty and students. A special thanks is owed to Professor Yunus Kathawala who gave me the opportunity to work with the excellent tutors at the Lumpkin School of Business. I am also grateful to the directors of the departments that reviewed or updated the information about their centers for the referral section of the handbook. Finally, this handbook benefited tremendously from the criticisms and suggestions made by Linda Calendrillo, Hollie Heinz, Martha Jacques, Mary Kelm, Wendy Long, and Rosemary Schmaltz. Thank you very much; the Tutor Handbook is much improved due to the time you spent working on the early drafts.
 

Mark May
Learning Assistance Center
Eastern Illinois University