Mikayla Christensen

Date of Tutoring Session: 1/17/19

Student Age & Grade: 9 years old, Grade 4

1. What topic(s) did you cover in your tutoring session?

For this session I helped a student work on writing an equation for, and solving multi step word
problems. This student had a worksheet to work on that we used for the session.

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 did use strategies from this class in the session. The first thing I used was telling the student to
rewrite the question into his own words so that he could understand it better. I used questions
like, “what do we already know, and what do we need to find out?” I also made sure that I didn’t
just take over and do the steps for the student when he struggled. I think that it really helped the
student when I had him rewrite the question in his own words. He understood what information
was needed, which helped him decide how put together the equation. I think it also really helped
that I let him struggle a little bit and work through the information himself. Of course I was
helping to guide him in the right direction, but overall all of the answers he came up with
himself.

3. Describe any challenges you faced in this session. (What was your students attitude about
math? Did you notice any knowledge gaps? Was the lesson/homework too easy or too hard for
this students skill level? etc.)

One challenge that I had was that this student was very reserved and nervous when it came to
math. When we started on the first problem, he got stumped and he got really frustrated and
wanted to give up. I told him that math is something that takes a lot of practice, and that mistakes
were okay. I helped him work through that first problem by asking him some questions. I would
ask about what information we knew, what we needed to know, and what operations we would
use to get the answer. He answered all the questions himself, which I think gave him a
confidence boost. I didn’t notice any knowledge gaps, I think that this concept in math was just
one that he needed a little bit of extra help with. At first the assignment seemed to be too hard for
him, but by the time we got to the last few problems, he asked himself the necessary questions
and wrote the equation all on his own.

4. Describe any triumphs you had in this session.

I think my biggest triumph from this session was the fact that I was able to help this student get a
little more confidence when it came to math. He was so excited when he was able to finish a
problem completely on his own and get it right. After the session he told me he he couldn’t wait
to show his teacher that he can do it all by himself now. Believing in yourself is so important
when it comes to math, and I’m glad I could help a student feel that way.

5. What are your take-a-ways from this session. (Did you learn anything about teaching from
it? What would you do differently or the same to help your students.)

My takeaway from this session would be that patience when it comes to helping a struggling
student goes a long way. I had to explain, and then re explain things multiple times. I could see
how it could get frustrating, but once the student started to understand the concept it was all
worth it. I think that I would continue to have students who are struggling rephrase the question
into their own words. I noticed it was hard for this student to just pick the information out of the
word problem, but when he phrased it in his own words he got it.

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?)

I was actually really comfortable with this topic, because we did a similar concept in my Math
1010 class (on a harder level of course.) But that previous knowledge helped make it easier for
me to explain the concept and have confidence when helping the student. I can definitely relate
to this students struggles, math was my worst subject all through elementary and middle school. I
feel like that helped me with have the patience I needed to help this student learn.