Tutoring Reflection

Kirsten Dent
Date of tutoring session: 3/20/2019 Student Age & Grade: 8th Grade, 13 years old
Answer all in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. What topic(s) did you cover in your tutoring session?
The topic I worked on with the student was graphing equations and graphing an equation
parallel to the first equation. The student was given the equations and then they had to fill out
the table with the points then graph the points for both equations. There were 4 problems like
this that she had to complete in total.
2. Did you use any problem-solving strategies or tools from this class? If so, describe how this
went. If not, what techniques did you use to help your student?
I have worked with her on assignments similar to this one before so this time she wanted me to
just sit by her and double check her work when she got stuck. When she would get stuck, I
would look at it first to see where the problem was occurring then I would go through and
double check everything with her by thinking out loud. This technique of thinking out loud
models for the students what I would do to solve the problem. I would tell her exactly how I
would fill out the table and graph and if there was something that didn’t match what I was
saying then we would talk about it to figure out the right answer. This worked out really well
because most of the time, she was able to catch her mistakes on her own after she heard me
explain my thinking.
3. Describe any challenges you faced in the session. (What was your student’s attitude about
math? Did you notice any knowledge gaps? Was the lesson/homework too easy or too hard
for the student’s skill level? etc.)
There really weren’t any challenges when we worked on this assignment. The student was able
to do the majority of her work on her own and then she would ask me questions when she was
stuck. The student’s attitude toward math has changed so much since I saw them at the
beginning of the school year. They are confident and they understand a lot more. The
homework level was really good. It pushed her but she was also able to succeed on her own.
The main mistakes came from simple multiplication and also graphing using the slope. The
student has struggled with the y-intercept concept in the past but this assignment she seemed
to understand it a little bit better.
4. Describe any triumphs you had in the session.
I think the big triumph this session was that the student felt confident enough to try the math
problem on their own first. She did a very good job and only got stuck a couple times. She
worked hard to try and understand her mistakes and she comprehended them very well. I feel
like this was a very effective session working with the student.
 Tutoring Reflection

5. What are your take-a-ways from the session? (Did you learn anything about teaching from
it? What would you do differently or the same to help your students?)
The main take-a-way from this session was that if you continually work with a student to build
up their confidence it will start to happen and they will be able to solve more problems on their
own. I think it was actually really helpful for the student to try the problems on their own first
and then ask me questions when they felt like something was wrong. I think talking the
problems out and helping them realize where their mistakes are was also a great idea.
6. Other thoughts? (How comfortable were you with the topics? Did you face challenges with
the student’s teacher’s instruction style/rules? Can you relate to your student’s
struggles/triumphs?)
Graphing equations is a topic that I liked learning about when I was in middle school. When I
was learning this topic, it was hard because there are so many things you had to take into
account. This student has also struggled with those steps as well. It was cool to be able to help
support the student and I do feel like it does help that she knows I went through the same thing
too. I really think this was one of the more successful sessions because the student was able to
finish the assignment and she did the majority of work without any help. It was fun to see how
much she has improved with this topic. This is a very important topic that needs to be
understood because they will use it in school for many years to come.