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What Peer Tutors In My Class Say About Their Work…
I’ve written a lot over the years about the extraordinary work peer tutors do in my ELL Newcomers class and my ELL Intermediate class (when I teach it). You can see many of those pieces at THE BEST RESOURCES ON PEER TUTORS. We’re ending the first semester this week, and I asked the twenty-five of […]
I’ve written a lot over the years about the extraordinary work peer tutors do in my ELL Newcomers class and my ELL Intermediate class (when I teach it).
You can see many of those pieces at THE BEST RESOURCES ON PEER TUTORS.
We’re ending the first semester this week, and I asked the twenty-five of them to respond to some questions on a Google Form. Most of these tutors are seniors, and are either former students of my IB Theory of Knowledge classes or advanced ELLs who were formerly in my Newcomers or Intermediate classes.
Here are some of their responses:
QUESTION ONE: 1 was “I hate it” and 2 was “I love it”:
QUESTION TWO:
QUESTION THREE
OTHER QUESTIONS: These three questions were followed by:
What, if any, peer tutor skills would you like to improve?
What, if anything, can Mr. Ferlazzo do to help support your work as a peer tutor? You could include suggestions you might have about activities you think could help your students.
If you are going to continue being a peer tutor, what is one goal as a peer tutor you would like to accomplish next semester? This could be getting to know one student better, improving one particular skill, accomplishing one specific piece of work, etc.
What have YOU learned about yourself, about teaching, about other cultures, or about life during your work as a peer tutor?
Would you recommend to your friends or other students that they consider becoming peer tutors? Why or why not?
Is there anything else you think it would be helpful for Mr. Ferlazzo to know about how you or your family are doing? Like: Are you experiencing any challenges outside of peer tutor class? Is your family doing okay? Is there any other way Mr. Ferlazzo can support you?
FINAL QUESTION:
Please write at least a paragraph explaining why you chose to be a peer tutor, what you like best about it, what have the biggest challenges been, and what you feel like you’ve gained from it (if you’ve gained anything). You may include comments that you have written in response to previous questions on this form.
I would like to publish this response in my blog for teachers. After you write this paragraph, please either write “It’s okay to publish paragraph” OR “I would prefer that you not publish this paragraph.”
Here are some of those responses:
“I chose to be a peer tutor for senior year because I wanted to test my teaching skills and mainly because Mr. Ferlazzo is a great teacher who always encourages student to help each other. I like the free snacks and most importantly, the mentees’ improvements. Its rewarding to see the mentees become better each day. The only challenge was language barrier because it was harder to get close to them and have full conversation without a translator. I’ve definitely gained the awareness to become more strategic, open-minded, and organized. A lot of students learn at a different pace and their commitment to education also differs but, as a peer tutor you have to have patience and do your job to help students move on. High school is an intimidating place so having a class with a great teacher and mentors that supports you is relieving.”
“I originally wanted to become a peer tutor so I could try something new. But after some time I know why I wanted to become a peer tutor. I wanted to become a peer tutor because I’ve always loved to help others, and seeing them grow more and more. What I like best about it is that my mentees are not afraid to tell me they don’t know, or that they don’t understand. It gives me a sense that they trust me and aren’t afraid to ask for more assistance! A big challenge I’ve had during peer tutoring is probably trying to explain objects without giving away the actual object itself. I’ve gotten better at explaining, but it is one of my biggest challenges especially if they don’t understand some other words that can help in imagining. Lastly, I feel that I’ve gained so much from my few months of being a peer tutor! I’ve gained so many skills that will help me later in my years of school, teaching siblings, helping others.”
“The thing I like the most about peer tutoring is feeling like I’m making a difference in someone’s life. The students that we teach come from a country where English isn’t the primary language, so its been very difficult here in the United States for many of them. By teaching them English, we are making a difference since what they are learning here will be used in their day to day life and help them out in the long run.”
As you can see it’s been going well. One more semester to go!
