SCC Tutoring

 Hi guys!  This week's module discussed the topic of diversity, equity, and bias.  Diversity is observed as difference in many different categories such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.  Some of the categories that are not as frequently discussed are disabilities.  Having various health conditions or disabilities like arthritis or dyslexia is also a category that contributes to diversity.  This leads into equity which is the idea that people should receive treatment adequate for their particular needs.  Equity seeks to address the challenges of disadvantaged students.  One of the main examples of this in education is providing financial aid to socioeconomically challenged students who would struggle to stay in school due to tuition costs.  This also applies to interpersonal relationships where we should treat people not just uniformly but rather based on the way they want to be treated. Tutoring is inherently promoting equi...

 Hi guys!  This week's module was about learning strategies for adults with various learning needs.  From the get go, adults learn differently from children.  Children typically need instructors to spoonfeed them information and motivate them through a reward system.  Adults on the other hand actively seek learning for themselves. According to Marcus Knowles, adults take responsibility for their own education and seek learning for their own benefit.  Arthur Chickering lists some helpful tips for peer tutors to provide college students with the necessary internal stability and motivation to become competent adult learners.  This includes developing the students’ studying capabilities as well as guiding their mindset to find their reason and purpose for learning. Not everyone learns the same way and it’s important to tailor your tutoring methods to fit their needs.  This applies to more than disabilities since all humans have quirks and tendencies. ...

 Hi guys!  This week's lesson was about listening and communication.  We learned about listening errors to avoid and the ones that stood out to me were: "1. Calling the subject or speaker uninteresting or boring" and "10. Letting your mind wander". The first point seems very obvious, but perhaps what this point was addressing wasn't the explicit verbal criticism of the subject or speaker.  Instead it's an internal criticism of the subject or speaker that creates a negative impression of the conversation.  To avoid running into the problem, the listener is advised to simply take in what they can at the moment.  I think this is an interesting point because the listening error seems to be more about attitude than action.  If your attitude towards a conversation is negative, you will struggle to focus on what is being said. The second point is kind of similar in the sense that the listener struggles to stay focused or interested in the conversation.  ...