I.

Introduction

There are different reasons why students struggle in calculus. One of the reasons is the
students tend not to give importance on studying calculus instead the students perceive calculus
as a burden and not as a helpful tool in developing themselves. The problem is, basically
students taking up STEM aren’t going to take higher mathematics after their specialization in
senior high school. Aside from engineering and mathematics related courses, the other courses
under the STEM program are the science related courses and technology related courses.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics are intertwining disciplines when applied
in the real world (Edukasyon.ph). The difference of the STEM curriculum with the other
strands and tracks is the focus on advanced concepts and topics. Those students who wants to
proceed in engineering and mathematics courses will have greater interest in learning calculus
during their senior high school class but those who will take science and technology will have
difficulties in learning calculus in their specialization.
One-on-one tutoring is known to be an effective model for calculus learning. Tutoring
is probably one of the oldest teaching methods. Tutoring is a self–paced and self–directed
learning process. Tutoring improves educational climate as well and increases positive student
interaction. Tutoring promotes goals for learning stated by an unknown, tutoring promotes
Independence in Learning: a tutor helps students in ways that make students better able to help
themselves and in ways that reduce their need for continual help. Personalizes Instruction: Help
students improve their learning strategies is the most direct route to promoting independence
and empowerment. Facilitate Tutee Insights into Learning & Learning Processes: Work with
students in a way that they discover answers, “Well, how would you start?” Provide a Student
Perspective on Learning and School Success: Your rapport derives from the fact that, like your
tutees, you are a student. From the tutees’ perspective, this makes one of us (students) not one
of them (instructors, supervisors, or corrections officer). Respect Individual Differences: You
are likely to be working with students whose backgrounds are different than yours. Maintain
respect and remember that they may not show the motivation as you think they should and still
be having real success at a meaningful task. Therefore, there are many benefits in tutorial
session and the benefit between the tutee and the tutor is mutual.

A research conducted by John Grant McLoughlin, Faculty of Education, Memorial

University of Newfoundland, Winter 1999. “THE NATURE OF STUDENT-TUTOR
INTERACTIONS: A LOOK INSIDE A MATH HELP CENTRE” Why and how do students
attend the math help centre and what sort of learning and teaching takes place there? This
question guided the research that is to be discussed in this paper. The math help centre served
as the focal point for the research. The setting is a room at a university campus in western New
York. Its principal role is to serve the student population of three first year mathematics
courses. These courses are designed for students who require some form of basic skills
development in mathematics or, alternatively, precalculus preparation. Students in other
courses are welcome to make use of the services offered. However, priority is given to students
in any of the three courses.

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 Some Advantages And Disadvantages Of Tutorial Method Of Teaching by Albert
Barkley. February 11, 2018. There are different methods of delivering the knowledge to the
students. Among these methods, there is also a method of delivering the knowledge with the
help of the tutorials. The tutorial method of teaching is the most effective and authentic way to
deliver the knowledge that a book or a lecture. Its reason is that a tutorial is delivered to a small
group of class. These teaching tutorials are held in the small teaching tutorials.

A question why do students need to study calculus is being answered on a study entitled
“Why Do We Study Calculus?” by Tutorhunt that Calculus is not a just vocational training
course. In part, students study calculus for the same reasons that they study Darwin, Marx,
Voltaire, or Dostoyevsky: These ideas are a basic part of our culture; these ideas have shaped
how we perceive the world and how we perceive our place in the world.

Equity in learning should be present in every learners because there are different pacing
of the students. Giving different levels of difficulty activity to all students may be possible
during tutorial sessions since a student will not wonder why does he/she has different kind of
evaluation from his/her classmates. A teacher as a tutor will give the best evaluation to his/her
students.

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 II. Statement of the Problem

It will be an advantage to the group of STEM students if majority of them will take
engineering and mathematics related courses as they graduate but what if more than half of the
class doesn’t want to take any math related courses? This is the problem of most of the teacher
in calculus, on how to omit the negative approach of students taking up STEM and complaining
about the inevitable subject, calculus, in their specialization in senior high school. In fact,
according to Arita G. in Socratic homework app, calculus is of outmost importance because of
its huge applicability. Calculus is not just restricted to mathematics and analysis, it's used pretty
much everywhere - Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Biology, Engineering, Dynamic systems
and so much more. The other reason why calculus should be taken up by the students because
it helps the students develop critical thinking and analysis.

There could be a misconception on having tutorial session to listening to the teacher’s

discussion. Some may think that there could be a possibility that a student will depend on the
tutorial session and will not listen to the teacher’s discussion anymore. Remember that the role
of the tutor is not to show how to solve a math problem, but to help the tutee learn how to find
the answers and to find the solutions on his or her own. While guiding him/ her through the
process of tutoring, the tutor should discuss the process that will allow the student find his or
her own solutions. The main goal of tutoring is to help a tutee to become a lifelong independent
learner. It is not that the teacher in the class cannot make his students become lifelong learners
but we cannot deny the fact that every learner has his own pacing in learning the subject.

Is giving tutorial session an hour to every student per week and a teacher at the same
time a burden? Regardless on the salary of the teacher, giving a one hour tutorial for each of
his students is an additional load but it is the teacher’s responsibility to produce lifelong
learners and to ensure that all of his students to become one, those students who have
difficulties should be given extra time and attention.

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 III. Methodology

The study is being conducted at Central Mindanao University Laboratory High School
specifically on 46 Grade 11 Newton students taking up Calculus 1. In this study, only mere
observation is being used. The researcher observed the students in calculus 1. The researcher
is the student teacher of the subject at the same time the student teacher adviser of the 46
students. Most of the students perceived that calculus is a very hard subject and not all of the
students are interested in the subject. It focuses not only on the perception of the students about
calculus but also in the behaviour of the students during class discussion. The researcher, as a
math student teacher, is required to be a tutor in Math Clinic. Math clinic is the math help centre
for CMULHS students specifically it tutors mathematics. The tutor will tutor the subject he is
teaching so the researcher tutors calculus 1. It is not hard for the researcher to conduct a tutorial
session because the students are the ones, though not all students, who come to the clinic to
have sessions. The students are also encouraged every after class, to visit the math clinic to ask
for clarifications or to have review about their math subject.

First student who had tutorial session is when he was absent. Since the class had a quiz
on that day when he was absent, he approached his student teacher to have tutorial before taking
up the quiz. The student teacher like they were having a make-up class but the teacher made
sure that he will not be given the same test item from the others instead he was given another
test item but still the process is the same. It was an advantage for him taking up quiz after the
one on one discussion because he doesn’t need to be on rush or to b aligned with other student’s
pacing, it is self-paced learning that’s is why he got perfect in the make-up quiz. The questions
he was taught during the tutorial is different from the original question that his classmates have
had taken up but the same process in getting the correct answer has been taught. The first
student shared his passion in learning calculus since he is going to take engineering soon as he
finished his secondary. It is now a hint that for every student who wants to proceed math related
courses soon as they took their course.

The second student admitted that she really had difficulties on understanding the
concept of calculus but she have shown an interest on listening and asks questions during the
tutorial session. Though she have shown an interest in listening in tutorial session, one factor
that she cannot concentrate in class is her seatmates, she barely listens to her teacher since she
is busy chitchatting with her classmates but whenever taking up quizzes, she always asks her
seatmate on how did her seatmates arrived in such discussion. There are many times that the
second student who had tutorial session had tutorials not just once but many times for the entire
quarter. First session is when she admits that she doesn’t understand the discussion, second
session is before her first long exam in the fourth quarter, the third one is when she has an
assignment and the last one is before the second long exam for the last quarter. It is not easy
tutoring a student who doesn’t have any idea about the topic, so even if she is physically present
during class discussion but the attention of the student is in the other thing, still the discussion
is useless. For the next day that they had a class the student teacher realised that she has to
strengthen the way she monitors the class during discussion to minimize the distractions of the
other students.

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 The third student who approached her student teacher to have tutorial session is the
student who honestly said that she really have had a hard time understanding it. She wants to
learn calculus to pass her calculus subject but during the discussion she shares about what she
really is feeling during the class or the discussion during class. She even writes down whatever
her tutor is emphasizing during the session. She is a type of student who prepares all her
questions during discussion and reserved it as an assignment to her tutor for the next day. Even
if she doesn’t like taking up maths, she still has the willingness to learn it. For the third student
in tutorial session, for her she finds tutorial helpful because she admits that she cannot cope up
with the pacing in general in classroom setting. Her style of listening to calculus class is even
if she understands a little in the discussion, still she copies everything that is needed to be
written then reviews it for herself.

The fourth batch of students who have had tutorial sessions with are students with
common interest, to answer the possible questions that will come out in the quizzes. They are
preparing their selves for the possible questions to answer the possible question not to learn
from that question. It is like mimicking what the teacher and the tutor have discussed when in
fact they to understand the process and practice not just know the process then forget and will
not try to analyse for the next problem and tends to give up answering a question because they
think that it is not yet introduced to them, that they are still new to the question and cannot
answer the question but the question is just an analysing question to the topic that was already
discussed. It is also good that they still consults their selves to the math clinic, because in that
way they can practice solving mathematical problem and that is one of the most helpful method
that can be used in learning mathematics, to practice more questions or problems, not just stick
on the theorems, instead apply these and try analysing problems.

The fifth kind of student who have had tutorial session is a student who is silent in class
but the passion in learning math is visible in his eyes. He even got only one mistake in the
periodical examination though his classmates didn’t expect for his victory. A humble student
who knows the process but still monitors his learning through possible questions and having
tutorial session on the items in the previous long exams. He admitted that he wants to take
engineering course that is why his interest in learning math is undeniable. It is also good that
after the discussion during class a student who listens well still needs to have a time for a one
on one interaction with the subject teacher because there are questions about the subject that
cannot be answered in a group discussion that should be discussed in person.

There are students who doesn’t take tutorial session in calculus and some complains
about their understanding in calculus, some uses their hectic schedule as an excuse on not
having time consulting about their calculus standing and some just don’t have the interest and
the own free will to approach the teacher for clarifications, they just keep it on their selves and
leave the questions unanswered. They are encouraged to visit the math clinic to consult about
their difficulties in math.

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 IV. Results and Discussion

There are students who would spend their vacant time for calculus tutorial and there are
those who would choose to keep their questions unanswered. The advantage of this tutorial is
that the teacher would build relationship to student or each of the students to know them well
and for the students to open up with their teacher. The challenge towards the teacher is for the
teacher to be patient and to accept the reality that not all students learn in one classroom setting
or if all of them will learn it will be for a short period of time. There are different kinds of study
habits and a teacher must consider every learner’s specialization. What about removing
calculus subject in STEM strand and offer it those who will be taking math related courses? It
is not a solution, it is probably a big problem since calculus is not just mathematics but it helps
the students analyse situations which is very helpful because analysing is one of the higher
order thinking skills that will help students become lifelong learners.

The tutorial doesn’t just help the students in their learning and mastery in calculus but
also lets them open up to their teacher about what they feel during class, about the discussion
and about the subject. Their feeling during class and about the discussion matters most because
as a teacher you cannot just give a grade based on their scores in an evaluation. Remember that
evaluation should vary from different kind kinds of learners, and to where do the teacher will
base his/her judgement on what kind of evaluation to be used? It is on the attitude of the
students about the subject and the level of difficulty depending on the student’s capacity. Every
learner is unique, every learner should receive equal assessment and equal judgement. This is
the fault of the majority of the teacher nowadays, they just stick to one role where in fact they
should be flexible and they should serve as the second parent of their student. What do the child
do when he/she is in trouble? The child will look for an outlet to share and to understand her/his
side. It is the teacher’s responsibility to become aware of what his/her student is going through.
It is his/her obligation to know what is happening during his/her class. The fact that only few
of the students will be understood because not all feelings and attitude are seen in one setup.
Some are tested, some are visible but some needed to have special treatment in order for them
to be understood. Tutorial session is a helpful tool and will serve a bridge between the student
and the teacher.

There are teachers who are good in class discussion and there are those better in giving
tutorial or one on one discussion. This means that teacher will deliver the discussion better
during the one on one discussion than in a group or class discussion. Tutorial, at some point,
will help the teacher’s way of teaching during class because during the tutorial session with a
student, a teacher will know more about the student’s way of learning and if the teacher will
reflect on it, the teacher will have reflections every after the tutorial he/she will have an idea
on what way is she/he is going to change or to improve or to develop to help his/her students
for the next discussion. According to TeachHUB.com there are five basic teaching strategies
to deliver an effective lesson plan and one of the essential teaching strategies is to Compliment
Positive Behaviour and Hard Work a teacher may do this in class during a group activity since
it will take too much time giving compliments to all of the students. Taking consideration to
those students that preferred to receive compliments in person, during tutorial, a teacher can
give motivations to each of the students. During the tutorial is the best time for the teacher to

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compliment the work of the student especially when the student have had a hard time on
answering the given activity.

Therefore, a teacher and a student should have an extra time to know each other and to
cooperate in creating a positive approach on the subject calculus. The use of tutorial should be
a tool to help the students in learning calculus and not to make the students become dependent
learners, one of the roles of a tutor is to help the student become an independent learners. There
is a study conducted by Jonathan Marx and Michelle G. Wolf, Winthrop University Kimberly
Howard, UNC Charlotte entitled “A Spoonful of Success: Undergraduate Tutor-Tutee
Interactions and Performance” that as the frequency and quality of the interactions between
tutor and tutees increase, the tutors are more likely to foster independent study habits in the
tutee. The incorporation of independent study habits was then associated with better course
outcomes. Therefore a teacher and a student should have session as often as possible.

Why do the teacher should facilitate as the tutor and why not the other teacher? During
the session, knowing every student is the best benefit a teacher will receive. The teacher in
calculus should put on mind that whatever the problem during the discussion the teacher should
solve it and how do the teacher will know the problem? It is by asking the students or knowing
through the students. A teacher must not think that this is an additional job, but a tool to enhance
his/her way of teaching and a tool to continue the growth of professionalism.

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 V. Recommendation

In conducting a tutorial session it is better if you will have at least one hour per session
per student. All of the students should have a tutorial session to have more conclusion and to
test different personality and to cater all the needs and problems the students are encountering
during class to have an immediate response to the problem. As a tutor and a teacher, the
activities to be given during the session must be different from what is in the class discussion
but the activity should at least teach the student to know and master the process. If the student
already know the subject well, then do not stop from facilitating learning to that student, instead
give activities to the students to master the subject. Do not make the entire tutorial session as a
classroom discussion, it should be different from the classroom setting, remember you are there
to be a study buddy of your tutee.

According to The University of Melbourne, Tutor training professional development

online, no two tutorials will operate in the same way and there may be things that go wrong.
One of these common challenges can be the behaviour of students – some may be dominating,
some may be appear disinterested and do not contribute. Establish ground rules for expected
behaviour, participation and how the tutorials will be run. Some students may bring their
troubles to you. Listen to their problems and deal with academic matters which fall within your
expertise, but encourage students to seek further appropriate professional counselling if this is
needed. Most students will act in an appropriate manner during tutorials. However, there are
occasions when some students will test the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. Deal with the
behaviour calmly and professional. Listen to the student and address concerns but be firm in
stating that you cannot continue discussing aspects with one student when others are waiting
for the tutorial work to progress. Do not get involved in arguments within the tutorial. Some
students will find the level of independent study that is expected of them at university to be
quite different from their prior educational experiences and may need support to achieve
independence. Students may require carefully structured and specific steps (scaffolding) to
complete a set task. As the student becomes more independent in the learning process, the
scaffolding – or level of support – is gradually withdrawn. If you feel students are heavily
reliant on you to provide the structure for their learning, you must work at establishing self-
confidence in how the student will understand, and meet, the expectations of the task.

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 VI. REFERENCES

An Adaptive Tutoring System for Calculus Learning Hisashi Yokota, Shibaura Institute of
Technology, Japan
Flipped Calculus: A Study of Student Performance and Perceptions
Lori B. Ziegelmeier & Chad M. Topaz
Schmid College of Science and Technology
What Tutoring is and What Tutoring is not.
Why is calculus important?, Aritra G. mar 27, 2017

International Conference on Mathematics Education Research 2010 (ICMER 2010),

Visualizing Students, Difficulties in Learning Calculus, Rohani Ahmad Tarmizi*, Institute for
Mathematical Research & Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia.

TeachHUB.com K-12 News, Lessons & Shared Resources By Teachers, For Teachers
Provided by the K-12 Teachers Alliance.
https://valenciacollege.edu/faculty/development/tla/actionResearch/elements.cfm
http://tutortraining.econ.usyd.edu.au/classroom_challenges.html