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I recently got a job as a tutor for a local tutoring company. I'm new to tutoring and on top of that, the company is now conducting all its sessions through Zoom until everything improves. There are a couple younger students that I'm struggling with. One is in the second grade and it's really hard to keep him engaged for the entire 1.5 hour session. We don't really get much accomplished because he tends to lose focus and get distracted.
Examples -- we pull up the online white board and he'll spend several minutes coloring the page before starting a math problem. Or I'll ask him a question and he'll stare at the camera for a couple minutes making strange faces and looking at himself. Or he'll make a game out of "covering the camera" and playing "hide and seek." I give him lots of breaks -- try to say "okay let's do a problem and then you can take a two minute break" and that seems to help, but what happens is the sessions just move really slow, we don't get through very much in the 1.5 hours.
Just looking for tips anyone else has for keeping the young students interested? I have a lot more success with older elementary/junior high students who are able to sit still easier. I am just worried I'm not engaging enough for the younger students. I really need this job and it's contingent on the parents being happy with the tutoring I'm providing.
As someone who's been a teacher AND a parent, it seems unrealistic for them to expect kids that young to be able to get past the novelty of the video and actually work for an hour and a half.
They should know better than that.
Did they give you a reward system to use? Tokens, awards, etc?
Some kids are able to handle online tutoring and some kids aren't. This kid doesn't seem to be one that can do it and I would let the parents know. My daughter went to weekly tutoring before COVID-19. Her tutor is a math teacher at her ES (she was my son's switch teacher for math/science last year). She is starting to offer private tutor lessons via Zoom. She sent it out to only the parents of kids that she knew could handle it and stay focused. She doesn't do 90 minutes though. She offers 30 minute or 55 minute sessions and these kids are 10/11.
Some kids are able to handle online tutoring and some kids aren't. This kid doesn't seem to be one that can do it and I would let the parents know. My daughter went to weekly tutoring before COVID-19. Her tutor is a math teacher at her ES (she was my son's switch teacher for math/science last year). She is starting to offer private tutor lessons via Zoom. She sent it out to only the parents of kids that she knew could handle it and stay focused. She doesn't do 90 minutes though. She offers 30 minute or 55 minute sessions and these kids are 10/11.
I was wondering if 90 minutes was too long for this student. And I agree with you here, I wasn't sure if the problem is me not being animated and interesting enough, or if the online method is just not a fit for him. There have been a couple sessions that went better in which I tried to make everything more of a "game" for him, but it was an incredible amount of work on my part, I felt like a clown trying to entertain him. Just not sure how much "trying" is too much.
As someone who's been a teacher AND a parent, it seems unrealistic for them to expect kids that young to be able to get past the novelty of the video and actually work for an hour and a half.
They should know better than that.
Did they give you a reward system to use? Tokens, awards, etc?
Can you get parents involved?
The parents sometimes are in the same room and will tell him to "Listen up!" and stuff like that which helps, but it also adds a little anxiety for me knowing that they're in the room listening. I was thinking to make my own reward system of sorts, as the tutoring center curriculum is a little dry in the online format (to be honest) and I think that's part of the problem. It's literally tasking the student to sit and read text on the screen and then answer multiple choice questions.
The parents sometimes are in the same room and will tell him to "Listen up!" and stuff like that which helps, but it also adds a little anxiety for me knowing that they're in the room listening. I was thinking to make my own reward system of sorts, as the tutoring center curriculum is a little dry in the online format (to be honest) and I think that's part of the problem. It's literally tasking the student to sit and read text on the screen and then answer multiple choice questions.
That is a terrible format for a 2nd grader. Is this a class or just one student? It might be a bit more fun it 2 to 4 kids joined in.
Definitely try to create as many games as you can. Make it interactive. You can start off with a more lecture type format with breaks. Part of the reward for getting through the first part of a lesson is interactive stuff. Once you start with interactive material, it's hard to pull a person away from that activity. So, try to leave that for last if you can.
Our long term housekeeper comes in for 3 hours 3 days a week. With her children now required to be schooled on line, her 6th grade student can not handle math. A few weeks ago, I found he had not done his math homework for a week as he did not understand what he had to do, and his teacher had spent an hour and a half on phone with him, and he still did not understand what he was to do.
He scrolls down to 6th grade, types in problem he needs help with, and someone shows him how to do it. He then does the problem using the same method, and is now doing great in math.
His older brother is a Junior in High School, and is one of the two top students in his grade level. He has found that Open Culture can give him a great advantage in some subjects and he is now the top student, way outdistancing his competitor for that position. Great assistance like a personal tutor, for K-12.
Over 1,000 college level courses, same for real classic older movies, Free Books on line, and other great tools for anyone to use, all Free. Some great lectures and speeches by some of he brightest minds in the world.
I know it is helping these two brothers with their education under lockdown internet education.
There was one other problem. They were using a laptop, and the screen is so small, it was hard to see what they needed to see. I showed her my screen. A $90 32 inch T.V. used as a monitor connected to the lap top with a cable. She got one for her kids, and it makes a tremendous difference in their ability to do school work on line. With a wireless mouse and keyboard, and it is great. She then did what i have which is a refurbished tower from Walmart for $89 with a large hard drive, and Windows 10 professional (much better than in most lap tops Windows 10 home), which is fast, fast, fast, loading up in 32 seconds from turn on till asked for password. These are professional grade computers that are off lease, then refurbished much better than most home computers. Lots of offices buy them to save money, and they are fantastic for home use.
As she says, this new computer set up, and Open Office, is giving her children a great advantage in their home forced education.
I have grandkids all over the country from 1st grade to Seniors in high school, and they have been using these two tips to a great advantage now schools are closed and educating on line. And the best part is they cost less than $200 complete.
Just a couple of hints that can maybe help someone.
My housekeeper just told me today, that the younger son I mentioned above, went from failing some classes, after getting a big 32 inch screen where he can see everything clearly and using open culture to help him with his classes, ended up with a 3.9 grade point for the year. It made that much difference. Taking him from failing the year, to a 3.9 is one huge jump, putting him right at the top for his grade. I never expected such a change to happen, but it did. A middle of the class student, that was failing home schooling, to the top end of the class by two different changes. She told me he went from having to be threatened to do his home work to can't wait to get to his on line classes. She is one happy mother.
Plus with the big screen to make it easy to order ALL of her groceries from Walmart on line, with just driving up to the store, giving her name on the phone, and they deliver the groceries and put them in her car. No contact with anyone, and no waiting in line to get into the store due to limiting number of people in the store at a time, no going through the store keeping social distant rules, and going through checkout. She did all her grocery shopping on line last month, going to pick up twice, and figured she saved over $200 and her computer is now free, as she saved enough to pay for it. Says she will never go grocery shopping in a store again. Said she considers she will now save $2,500 to $3,000 per year and considers that money as the same as a pay raise.
It now appears our schools will not be open this year, all on line, so is buying a second refurbished tower and 32 inch T.V. for a monitor for her son that is a senior, so he will have that for his dorm next year, and the now never used lap top she bought them last Christmas, will go to school with him to take to classes for notes, etc., and with USB drive can move to the tower things he needs. He says in addition the TV as a screen and Internet will be able to give him free t.v. and movies. And with 2 towers both sons can work at same time for home schooling.
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