Group Tutoring

Ugh! There's more than one!

As a new tutor, facing the prospect of group tutoring may be somewhat daunting. Often, however, tutors find that group tutoring offers a lot of advantages over one-on-one tutoring. Students' own work, memory and understanding is validated and reinforced when they are able to help others. Here are some suggestions to help group sessions go smoothly:

Arrange seating and notes in a way that encourages interaction and visibility.

Be respectful.

Provide direction, not dictatorship.

Guide the conversation, but remember to limit how much you talk.

Encourage participation.

Control dominant tutees.

Consciously, but slowly, draw shy tutees into the flow of conversation.

Stress confidentiality.

Summarize the ideas presented in sessions.

Encourage interaction by having tutees answer each other's questions.

Take a vote instead of giving a blanket yes or no response.

Ask open-ended questions.

Rephrase questions if they do not yield comments. Don't always clarify with an explanation.

Use eye contact.

The more you experience tutoring, the easier it will become to facilitate group tutoring effectively. Remember, we do not expect you to know EVERY answer to every possible question. We understand that tutoring may be new to you and thus, we expect an adjustment period. The first few group sessions may be a little rocky. If you need any help in finding better ways to facilitate groups, or find that you are more comfortable one-on-one or with just a couple of people at a time, please the TASC staff know. We are here to help you.