msp in nyc the new york city mathematics and science partnership

1. mspinnycthe new york city mathematics and science partnership Tutor Training Fall 2006

2. Perceptions of Tutoring Video Clips—Board of Directors, Hunter College—Summer 2006

3. Welcome! We are a group of: • High School Students from 7 schools • Undergraduate students from 5 colleges • High School teachers from 7 schools In total the tutoring program will begin with a staff of 115 people! What a powerful force!

4. Agenda • Get to know one another a little • Figure out building logistics and assignments • Develop models for in-class tutoring • Begin thinking about what it means to really understand what a student knows and can do as well as what they still need to learn • Try out a few research-based strategies to promote understanding

5. What/who are Teacher-Tutor Leaders? We have selected one person from each high school to coordinate the particulars at the school. We met this morning and I am going to turn the next 30-40 minutes over to them to help get you all organized.

6. Tutor Roles

7. Models for In-Class tutoring Student-teacher model • Collaborative Planning • Formal Observations • Co-facilitating small group work • Clinical Interviews • Debriefing—kid talk

8. Tutor as Facilitator • This is the most appropriate role for a tutor • A facilitator guides the student through the learning process, as opposed to doing the work for them • Encourage active participation from the student; ask lots of questions • The session should be a discussion, not a lecture by the tutor

9. Tutor as Classroom Observer • Tutors will collect and record the following data for the teacher to use formatively: • Observations of students and how the lesson is being received • Feedback on whether lesson goals were met • Review of student work to see where difficulties occur and more instruction is needed • Concrete examples of where student misunderstanding and/or misconceptions arose

10. Collecting Data Journals—submitted every two weeks electronically to Faith Muirhead at fmuirhea@hunter.cuny.edu

11. Tutor Journal Requirements Following each tutoring session, you will record: • Class and teacher, description of your role (working with one group, one student, facilitating many groups, observing, clinical interview) • What students most struggle with in the content • Description of the feedback you gave to the teacher– this feedback should address both the students you worked with and the lesson you observed

12. Tutor Journal Requirements Once each week you will also reflect on the weeks work in the following ways: • What aspects of your tutoring went well this week and how do you know • What aspects did not go well and why • What changes in your understanding of the subject material have occurred

13. Strategies

14. Identifying Similarities and Differences 1. Presenting students with explicit guidance in identifying similarities and differences enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge. 2. Asking students to independently identify similarities and differences enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge. 3. Representing similarities and differences in graphic or symbolic form enhances students' understanding of and ability to use knowledge.

15. Your turn With a partner, create 2 examples of topics that would make sense as a similarity/difference activity

16. Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers 1. Cues and questions should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual. 2. “Higher level” questions produce deeper learning than “lower level” questions. 3. “Waiting” briefly before accepting responses from students has the effect of increasing the depth of students’ answers. 4. Questions are effective learning tools even when asked before a learning experience.

17. Your turn With a partner design 2 questions at a higher lever that will engage students in thinking analytically about a topic.

18. Classifying Classifying involves organizing elements into groups based on their similarities. One of the critical elements of classifying is identifying the rules that govern class or category membership.

19. Your turn Taking one of your topics from the similarities/ differences activity, design a task for students to classify information.

20. Classroom Practice in Cues and Questions 1. Questions that elicit inferences. 2. Analytic questions.

21. Your turn Taking your higher-level questions analyze them—do they require students to make inferences? If not, design another higher level question on the same that topic that does.

22. Research and Theory on Advance Organizers 1. Advance organizers should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual. 2. “Higher level” advance organizers produce deeper learning than the “lower level” advance organizers. 3. Advance organizers are most useful with information that is well organized. 4. Different types of advance organizers produce different results.

23. Your turn Taking one of your topics—complete two different Advance Organizers. Make sure each has a different purpose.

24. Tutor Questioning in Action Video Clips— • Lehman—2 tutors—Giraffe’s and Foreign • Math A—What’s 1 ½?

25. Questioning Techniques • Questions should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual or interesting • Higher level questions produce deeper learning than lower level (e.g., recall) questions • Employ adequate wait time – this will increase the depth of students’ answers • Ask questions that build on prior knowledge • Use vocabulary that is familiar and understandable to the student • Encourage the student to articulate their own questions from Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, et al

26. Listening Skills If one of the goals is to get the student to talk about the lesson or topic, you must be an active listener: • Remain alert with an open posture and consistent eye contact • Paraphrase what you hear – restate in a summary way (e.g., try to get more to the point) to confirm understanding • Clarify – ask questions to bring vague material into focus • Project Empathy – reflect on the content and feelings of the student. The basic formula for this is “You feel (state feeling) because (state content)”

27. Goals of a Clinical Interview What you want to learn about students from a clinical interview: a. self- concept as mathematics/science learner b. prior knowledge c. misconceptions, and new mathematical/scientific conceptual understanding d. strengths and weaknesses in processing mathematical or scientific operations/problem- solving e. students’ level of conviction about their results f. divergent thinking g. ways of learning

28. How to perform the interview Ask questions that do not lead: a. ask open-ended questions b. wait patiently for responses c. remain non-judgmental if you seek further insight into the student’s thought process d. ask the student to clarify or explain surprising answers e. follow up with questions until you are sure you understand how the student thinks

29. Topics • Math A—Solving Systems of Equations • Math B—Circles-chords, tangents, secants • Chemistry—Molarity • Living Environment—Meiosis and Mitosis • Earth Science—Plate Tectonics • Environmental Science—Pollution • Physics--Momentum

30. Regents Prep Workshop Understanding what the “real” content question in the problem is—how can you identify what a student needs to know in order to successfully answer the question

31. Bibliography • A Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment—Joan Herman, Pamela Aschbacher, Lynn Winters • Assessing Student Performance—Grant Wiggins • Barbara Barone, Director of the Dolciani Center, Hunter College • Classroom Instruction that Works—Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, Jane Pollock • TESOL K-12 Teaching & Practicum Handbook, 2005, Department of Curriculum and teaching, Hunter College • The Clinical Interview and the Measurement of Conceptual Change—George Posner; William Gertzog • http://webhome.crk.umn.edu/ubar002/tutortraining/tutorMod1.htm