Tutor Responsibilities
Revised January, 2015
The main role of a tutor is to help students in a friendly manner and provide a friendly atmosphere that is conducive to student learning.
Characteristics of a Good Tutor
Intelligence alone does not indicate success as a tutor; but what kind of person, what kind of student you are does. It takes a certain kind of person to be a good tutor. Some of the characteristics noticeable in good tutors are:
- A positive outlook: The belief that things can be changed through action.
- Reliability as a worker: Punctual, dependable, and steady.
- A desire to help others: The willingness to become involved with people at first hand and in depth.
- An even disposition: Patience, gentleness, understanding and fairness.
- An open mind: A willingness to accept other people and their point of view.
- Initiative: The ability to see what needs to be done and to do something about it.
- Enthusiasm: A liking for your subject, and a wish to share it with others.
Helping Students
Tutor training will discuss how to help students in more detail related to your subject area. Some general guidelines are:
- Say hello and introduce yourself when students enter the center.
- Ask what course they are seeking assistance in and if it is their first time using the tutoring services. If it is their first time in the center explain how tutoring for your subject works. For example: math is drop-in tutoring and students should raise their hand for help.
- Let the student know that you may be helping others when they have a question and that you will assist them shortly.
- Ask questions to find out what the student understands and what they are struggling with. What is the main concept? What details do they need for the problem?
- If a student states “I don’t understand any of this”, have them go through their notes and examples with you. Ask them questions about what they have read. For example, “what does this mean for this problem?” or “why did they perform this step on this example?”
- If students bring in work, have them explain their steps and thought processes for why they did something. This teaches them to find their mistakes instead of you pointing out where they went wrong. Nine times out of ten they will find their mistake on their own.
- Use positive reinforcement for something a student does understand. It is a great confidence builder. This is especially important when a student is very frustrated with a concept.
- Do not work problems for students or give them answers.
- Try avoiding writing things for students. Have the student do the work instead of working something out for them.
- If you are having difficulty relating a concept, talk to other tutors to see if they have a different way of explaining the concept.
- Students and faculty have different learning styles (auditory, visual…). A student is responsible for his/her learning and sometimes blames an instructor or someone else for their failures. You are an employee of the school and are expected to have professional courtesy towards all staff on campus. Do not provide personal opinions about faculty and staff and help students to find something positive about this person.
- If a student gets frustrated or does not understand something, DO NOT raise your voice. It is frustrating to students and it makes them feel stupid for not understanding. Remember, they came to you for help.
- If you feel a student is really struggling with a concept, please refer them to their instructor.
- If a student has been in the center for a while and does not ask questions, offer help. They may have been shy and have had a question the whole time but were afraid to ask.
- When students enter and leave, politely remind them to log in and out of the computer.
- Acknowledge a student’s departure. For example, say, “Have a nice day. Hope to see you soon.”
Timesheets
Getting your timesheet in on time is your responsibility as an employee and a requirement for your professional development. It also affects our evaluation of your work. If your timesheet is late once during a quarter, you will be issued a warning. If it is late a second time, we reserve the right to terminate your employment. Each late timesheet after the first one will result in a 0.1 drop in your grade for the quarter.
If there are any issues that arise while tutoring, please inform the Tutoring Center or Math Resource Center staff as soon as possible.
If the center is slow and there are no students to help, you are responsible for making sure that things are in order around the center. This means that you can straighten chairs around the tables, throw away any trash that was left behind, and organize any paperwork and brochures. If the center is organized and there are no students to help, you may work on homework or something else. If a student enters, you are expected to put all personal work away to help them. Computers are not to be used by tutors for homework at the center.