Tutoring

TRIO tutoring uses an active approach where the tutor asks open-ended questions and guides the student to reaching their own conclusions. This approach engages the student deeply into the course material, which allows for those mental connections to strengthen and create sturdy building blocks in your understanding of those subjects. The coaching approach to tutoring is very similar to the coaching approach in professional sports or in learning a musical instrument.

Whether you are struggling in class or you are feeling pretty confident, everyone can greatly benefit from tutoring. The key is to seek tutoring as early as possible and regularly.

Yes! And we highly recommend joining our group tutoring sessions. The active approach in group tutoring sessions gives you a chance to share and listen to others express their ideas. This will further reinforce learning and retention of subjects.

Not only will our tutor coaches provide tips, but we also offer workshops that go over key actions that you can take to improve your studying habits such as: Note taking, how to review, how to reach out to professors, time-management, and many more!

1. Review your notes and textbook on the subject. For this, it is important to not miss class! Our tutor coaches can work with you on providing tips and suggestions on how to take notes and how to review.
2. Attempt the writing project or homework problems. There are 3 classes of knowledge: Things that you know, things that you know that you do not know, and things that you don’t know that you don’t know. In attempting your assignment as best as you can, you will discover things that you didn’t know that you didn’t know. Knowing what you don’t know is key for both your own studies as well as for reaching out for tutoring. This is because if you know what you don’t know, you have a starting point as to what to look for when further researching your textbook and notes or what to ask the tutor after you have attempted the project.
3. Before meeting with the tutor, gather your notes, writing assignment, worksheets, and also write down questions that you’ve gathered when attempting the problem. Being prepared will help you make the most out of your tutoring session.

The tutor will ask the student a lot of open-ended questions. They may ask you to explain the steps you’re taking in solving a problem, or read your writing assignment out loud. All this is to guide the student to get to that “a-ha!” moment, which sparks a stronger understanding of the subject. During the session, you are highly encouraged to ask any question and not be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are very much part of the learning process.

Save any notes you may have taken and review what you went over that same day. Same day review is very important for long-term retention of material because your brain will organize those thoughts when you sleep. Regularly review your class notes, tutor notes, and homework a few times a week. The week before a big exam, review all the notes related to the exam content, and one final time the night before the exam. This inter-weaved method allows you to spread out your study time in manageable chunks, and greatly improves retention of the subjects. Don’t cram and get good sleep!

To obtain tutoring services and take advantage of all TRIO benefits, all you need to do is apply to the TRIO program. See the application below when you’re ready or come to our office at B&T 127!

Application