Welcome back tutors and success assistants!
It’s time to kick off another wonderful year of learning and
knowledge. Before we discuss this week’s topic, I want to share a bit of what’s
going on around campus this first week of Fall term.
First, I encourage everyone to stop by the campus center and
visit with the newest ASUCC team. ASUCC will be on hand Monday the 29th
and Tuesday the 30th to answer questions, provide information, and
listen to complaints and concerns. Students who visit can be entered to win
prizes or a gas card, so take a moment to stop and say hi.
This year is the big transition from Angel to Canvas for
delivery of online class content. There is too much information regarding this
change to put in this blog, but if you visit the main UCC webpage at umpqua.edu,
and click the UCCOnline tab at the top it will provide much needed information
on the transition and the classes currently using canvas. Additionally, the
helpful folks in ESB 34 can answer many questions regarding the change.
The hours of the success center this term will be 0900-1800
M-Th, and 0900-1500 on Friday.
Now then. Let’s discuss some tips for succeeding with your
tutees. Fall term is always the busiest term of the year, and be prepared for
frequent and numerous visitors to the Success Center. Knowing that we can
provide the best services possible will go a long way in helping UCC students succeed.
I want each of you to imagine a rather difficult course that
you feel you may need tutoring in. Maybe it’s an advanced math class, maybe it’s
an extremely research-heavy science course . . . just imagine that you need
some tutoring in a subject. What would you want a tutor to do for you? How would
you want a tutor to interact with you, to help you through the material or
explain certain concepts? If you can formulate that interaction, if you can
imagine how you would want to be treated by a tutor, than that is a wonderful
start to your interactions with your tutees.
Here are some general guidelines:
Learn from them. We all have so much we can teach, and so
much we can learn. I’ve learned much from people over the years, and it has
always been a wonderful experience. Don’t be afraid to listen and glean from
others. By doing this we build a foundation of trust and understanding, and
thus providing a better nucleus for the tutor-tutee relationship
Be sympathetic. So many people come to the Success Center
confused, scared, and feeling unsure of their abilities. Some of the subjects
that the tutees struggle with may seem easy to us, but we must remember that to
them, they are anything but. Understanding their struggles is an important step
in helping them overcome those struggles.
Give them confidence. Perhaps the most important thing we
can do is instill in a tutee the power to tackle their problems head-on.
Help them understand. This may seem obvious, but
understanding the material is one of the foundations of academic success. A big
part of that is understanding why something needs to be done. Obviously,
this will mean different things for different people and different courses but
it is a basic requirement for success.
Different situations may require different approaches. Only
you can know what will work in any given situation. However, if you use the
above guidelines as a starting point, a student’s success should be well within
their grasp.
You are all wonderful tutors, and make an outstanding team.
I’m quite proud to have been a part of the Success Center, and will miss all of
you terribly. Keep up the wonderful work.
—N.
