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SUMMER TUTORING
By Beverly C. Weaver
Spring is in the air and that means summer can't be far behind.
Ah... the connotations of summer - warm, sunny days... a good novel
to read on the beach or by the pool... freedom from school schedules
and homework . . . great summer tutoring!
What?! Yes, you heard me correctly. Summer is the perfect time for
tutoring! It is the opportunity to walk a self-paced, individualized
path to learning - something some students have never previously
experienced. I define it as slowing things down and enlarging them
for better understanding. IT CAN ALSO BE DEFINED AS THE GIFT OF TIME
AND SPACE NOT AVAILABLE DURING THE BUSY SCHOOL YEAR.
Let me explain it like this: Have you ever stopped to ask someone
for directions when you were traveling? The person who knows the
info (the teacher) may give you (the student) accurate and complete
information (the lesson) to guide you directly to your destination
(the test). However, the "teacher" probably defines the amount of
time to "learn" with him/her (the finite class time for the lesson).
Further, very probably the "teacher" does not get in your car and
assist you if you have questions later about the directions
(reviewing/re-teaching). From the "lesson" presented you may have
been "taught" all of the information you need (the complete
directions in correct sequence). However, you may not have gained a
complete understanding of the content of that "lesson" well enough
to apply what you have learned to the "test" (getting where you need
to go). That is just what the school experience is like for some
students.
Or, let's say you go to the computer for a map to guide you to
someplace unfamiliar. If you are a really good map-reader you might
be able to "get" all the information from the original screen. But,
frankly, some of us with weaker map skills find that too difficult.
The map may cover a larger area and contain more info than we can
sort. So, what do we do? We enlarge the map and zoom in on only the
information we need. That helps us focus on the pertinent
information. Then we spend as much time as we need to "learn" the
"lesson" from the "content" that is appropriately sized and focused
specifically for our learning needs. That is just what tutoring
does.
That, my friends, is the goal and the glory of summer tutoring!
Without deadlines for schoolwork, a student can spend as much time
as necessary on each topic. There is no such thing as falling
behind. Need to study the same topic today as yesterday? No problem!
Need to do it again tomorrow? No problem! No sinking feeling for the
student that the test is next week and he/she is not prepared. Time
to introduce, focus, explain, practice, and repeat as necessary!
This relaxed summer tutoring pace affords the tutor the luxury to
"enlarge" the topic to meet the student's study comfort level. Often
that means the tutor does a task analysis, isolating each part for
study at the student's pace, and teaching each small part before
moving on to the next.
However, not all types of tutoring are best done in summer. So let's
spend a moment looking at types of tutoring. Basically there are two
main types of tutoring with a couple of sub-groups. One main type of
tutoring is defined as supportive tutoring. Supportive tutoring is
direct assistance with current schoolwork and may include extra
study, extra test prep, and homework help to directly support daily
and long-term school assignments in a specific subject. Students who
benefit from supportive tutoring generally do not gain much from
summer tutoring because that type of tutoring is so tied to the
daily schoolwork.
There is, however, one aspect of supportive tutoring that works well
when done in the summer. That is an education concept called
"pre-teaching". Pre-teaching means that a content area is introduced
to a student before that student will study it in the classroom. Key
concepts and vocabulary are introduced and discussed, but mastery by
the student is neither required nor the goal. The goal is to prepare
the student to be ready and able to understand a difficult subject
when it is presented in class. Pre-teaching does not preclude taking
the class. Rather it acts as a strong preview of the material. It is
a learning technique that can be very effective for special learners
or for extremely difficult topics. Not only is summer a good time
for this type of tutoring, it may actually be the best time because
there are no other school demands.
The second main type of tutoring is remedial tutoring. It is defined
as assisting a student who is behind grade level in one or more
subjects. Often remedial students need help with math or reading or
both. As well, remedial readers are often remedial writers because
those skills are so closely linked. Summer is an excellent time for
remedial tutoring because students can focus on certain areas
without being distracted by other school pressures.
In more recent years, a sub-category of remedial tutoring has
emerged which includes students who lack executive functioning
skills. Executive functioning skills are those administrative
functions that enable a student to plan and effectively, complete
study and test prep, break down large assignments into smaller
manageable pieces, organize folders and notebooks for good retrieval
of information when needed, take comprehensive notes, and be an
active listener/learner in class. For many students, these types of
skills come naturally and increase with maturity. For some, they lag
or never develop without training (think of that co-worker who has a
desk so piled with papers it resembles a volcano or that fellow
committee member who can never remember what time the next meeting
is and what he/she is supposed to bring to it.).
Interestingly, many parents feel summer is the perfect time to focus
on those executive functioning skills because of the lack of daily
assignments; however, my experience has shown just the opposite.
Teaching those skills without the daily assignments (i.e., teaching
those skills in the abstract) is significantly less effective than
applying them to real schoolwork. Most grade-school students and
teen-agers simply do not retain the skills taught in isolation but
do retain them when applied to real school situations. So, for solid
work on executive functioning skills I suggest waiting until school
starts.
In conclusion, let's be honest. Summer tutoring will never have the
cache of a trip to Disney World or a vacation at the beach. But, the
positive results of summer tutoring can be more long lasting. Summer
is as much the perfect time for relaxed learning as it is for pure
relaxation. Think summer... think tutoring!
Beverly C. Weaver is the mother of a son with learning disabilities.
As well, she is Master Tutor and Director of the Kingsbury Center’s
Northern Virginia Tutoring Office. The Kingsbury Center, located in
Washington, D.C. since 1938, is the oldest non-profit organization
in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area working to identify and
remediate learning disabilities in children and adults. In September
2004, Kingsbury opened a Northern VA tutoring office to more
conveniently meet the needs of those families living in Alexandria,
Arlington, and Fairfax County. For more information call
703-915-6930 or send email to
b.weaver@kingsbury.org.
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