Tutela a guiding influence

The birds flit from tree to budding tree, chirping with delight and speed. Downtown, ducks cross streets as if humans and our cars simply don't mean a thing. And students? At this time of year, students and tutors turn into pressure-cookers. The entire campus wants to relax into spring, but instead musters its energy for one last push before the collective sigh of summer relief. If you're dealing with moving, finding a job, graduating, finals, leaving your friends, and all the other monumental changes in the air, I'd bet that dealing with students comes as yet another stress on your list. After all, you're stressed about finals, your students kick into hyper gear, and you keep getting phone calls and emails about extra tutoring just as your final projects and papers come due.

What can you do at this time of year to stay sane? Erin McKee, our fabulous student editor, writes some tips in her farewell column (more on Erin below). Andy Freeman, the Academic Coordinator of Support Service Programs, gives you tips on smart ways to deal with stressed and anxious students. Erin also interviews and presents to you a sane way to help your students -- or yourself! -- deal with test anxiety. Make sure you note the Official Things to Remember At the End of the Semester -- these are key!

Finally, just for fun, we present your own summer book recommendations for your enjoyment. So as you power up for the end of the semester, use this issue as a resource for retaining your sanity and your joy. After all, if ducks had to tutor anxious students or take finals, you can bet they'd calmly walk right up to the challenge, settle their fluff down, and head off in search of popcorn after finishing the job with grace.

Note on Erin: This summer, Erin McKee will once again serve as an Orientation Advisor to entering students, and in the fall, she's headed for Mysore, India with a UI Study Abroad program. I'd go on and on about Erin -- how organized, prompt, creative, energetic, reliable, and generally brilliant she is -- but if you've read her articles in Tutela, you'd know that Erin's skills shine from every article. New Dimensions in Learning thanks Erin for a wonderful year, and we send good wishes during her adventures in India!

Also, I'd like to thank my student clerk, Vykye Johnson. Vykye keeps the paper piles in my office a manageable size, tracks assignments through their various stages, and both creates and distributes impressive flyers which help us hire enough tutors for our assignment rate to hover between 87% and 92% all semester! Thanks for your work and your advice, Vykye, and congrats on graduation this summer!

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The role the tutor plays as the semester is winding down and final exams are approaching, is not much different from what we would expect throughout the semester -- EXCEPT the emphasis on certain areas will change. The emphasis on learning new content will decrease while the need to reassimilate information will need to increase.

Assuming that the student has been working with the tutor on a regular basis, completing assignments and is basically "caught up" with the content of the course, the shift in a student's behavior should now be toward review of the material. While many students and tutors may assume that tutoring only involves imparting content information, the reality is that the tutor also assists with engaging the student in the process. This involves determining if the student is prepared, organizing the material in a way that helps the learning process, and asking appropriate questions. (You will no doubt recognize these terms from the bi-weekly tutor reports.) Again, these tasks are done throughout the semester -- but perhaps they are not emphasized as much as they will need to be now that students are preparing for the final test.

By recognizing that the emphasis has shifted, the tutor needs to begin assisting the student in a new way. Perhaps the tutor should most strongly emphasize helping the student organize materials in order to facilitate learning (or what some may call "studying"). Dare I say the tutor is now expected to help the student study? Well, when students ask for tutors they often make the comment that the tutor will be helpful with procrastination issues. The tutoring process does involve an element of commitment by the student. If the tutoring appointment is enough to get the student to stop procrastinating and put in the study hours, then the tutor should play that role even more now that finals are here. Likewise, tutoring also meets the needs of the auditory component of the three main learning styles (the other learning styles being visual and hands-on). So if the student benefits from auditory learning, then the role of the tutoring relationship now becomes one in which the tutor quizzes the student on the information -- and discusses right or wrong answers. So yes, you may call it studying, but the tutor still plays a very vital role in helping the student learn the content of a course. Indeed, the academic planning counselors emphasize these benefits to the students in the Office of Support Service Programs when the student applies for a tutor

So as final exams approach, students themselves may state that they "only need to study." As tutors it would be your role to encourage the student to continue with appointments and share with them the benefits of the tutoring sessions as I have described in this article. This way, the tutoring experience will be "completed," most likely with positive outcomes.

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Because of test anxiety, Gregor Mendel never received his teaching certification. The final time he attempted the test (and failed), he literally became physically ill. After that, he resigned himself to gardening in his monastery, where his famous pea plant experiment introduced the concept of heredity and earned him the title "father of genetics."

According to Hyunjin Cho, a psychology intern at University Counseling Services (UCS), everyone experiences test anxiety at some point, and sometimes it doesn't matter how smart or prepared you are. "It's a normal feeling and can even help make people more alert if it's not excessive," she said. But for some it is excessive, and their test anxiety prevents them from even finishing a test.

"Some common symptoms of test anxiety are fear of failing, tension, worry, panic (especially as times runs out at the end of an exam period), mental block or blanking out, and negative thinking," Cho continued. If the student didn't study, these would be natural reactions. If a prepared student is blanking out, however, then there are problems that need to be addressed, according to a list of tips offered by UCS.

For tutors hoping to help their stressed out students or themselves, Cho suggested encouraging students to go the UCS and either 1) receive handouts on test anxiety management, 2) talk to a counselor individually, or 3) arrange a test anxiety workshop for at least five students.

Besides studying, the UCS gives lots of tips for taming test anxiety. For example, during the test you can tense and relax muscles and take deep breaths to calm down, ask the instructor a question, eat something, break your pencil lead and then go sharpen it, anything to make your anxious thoughts slow down and focus, according to UCS publications. If you'd like more tips, Cho invites everyone to pick up information at UCS; there's a whole rack packed full of pamphlets as soon as you walk in the door, and you don't even have to talk to anyone unless you want to.

If you're more of a web person, Carolyn Lieberg, the associate director of the Center for Teaching at the UI recommends Muskingum College of Ohio's Center for Advancement of Learning's homepage, http://muskingum.edu/~cal/database/genpurpose.html, which has extensive files on test anxiety as well as other learning topics. According to Lieberg, the tips in this site can help students avoid the "big mistakes."

"A common mistake students make is if they do too much cramming," Lieberg said, "I have found that one of the best ways to study for finals is to flip into the teacher role and make up your own questions. It gives you a real command for the material."

If you want to find more resources with testing tips, check out the study strategies page in the U of Ia Center for Teaching website at: www.uiowa.edu/~centeach

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Tutoring during the last few weeks of the semester is a lot like being in an airplane cabin that's losing air pressure. The little yellow oxygen masks drop from the ceiling and panic ensues. Everyone tries to remember the safety instructions -- the ones everyone ignores because they've heard them a million times: "If you are sitting by someone who is having difficulty putting on their mask, put your mask on first and then assist them." If you don't take care of yourself first, you'll pass out before you can help others.

In tutor terms, if you don't take care of your own studies first, you won't be equipped to help your students. Saying no and setting boundaries can be hard because you don't want to let down your students, but are you really helping if you get more stressed about their finals than they do?

When I first started tutoring, I put in as much time reading novels for my student's class as I did for one of my own. I can see Suzi now, shaking her head and saying, "I told you not to do that!" I know, I know. I just wanted to help so much! But it wasn't helping either of us. I began to resent all the time it took locating and reading books we discussed for perhaps two hours. I nixed that plan of action and made a reading agreement with my student that actually fit into my schedule. Now, I tell all my students up front how much time I can spend preparing for sessions and how I can help them even if I don't read all their material word for word.

One of the hardest things we have to do as tutors is realize our limitations. We can't give students all-night study marathons or expect them to get straight A's because of our extraordinary tutoring abilities. As tutors, we help them become better learners and self-teachers. Ultimately, succeeding is up to the students.

Our expectations for students remind me of the responsibility statement on the UI Degree Evaluations, or DELIs -- you know, those yellow confusing records of course requirements the UI ships out before registration. "This degree evaluation has been prepared to assist you in determining your academic progress at the University of Iowa. While efforts have been made to ensure its accuracy, final responsibility for meeting graduation requirements resides with you."

As a UI orientation adviser, I read this statement to all my first-year students and welcome them to the world of the university. The concept of being solely in control of education and life is relatively shocking to most of them, and sometimes there is nothing I'd rather do than just fill out their schedules for them so they'll stop freaking out. But that's not my job; my job is to calm them down and guide, not force, their decisions. Tutors, as well as students, must realize that no matter how much a tutor does or wants to help, the final responsibility resides with the student. And even though it's grand to care about your students, it shouldn't mean sacrificing your own studies and health. Don't forget to put your oxygen mask on first.

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Peter Andersen--

Dr. Richard P. Feynman, (dead for 12 years) was a nobel laureate in physics and a great author with a sharp wit in his writings. He wrote several books; the best and most broad reaching are You're Joking, Mr. Feynman and The Pleasure of Finding Things Out. I haven't read the former, but the latter is a riot. It describes (among other things) Feynman's role in the Manhattan Project during WWII and has many amusing anecdotes. Any person with any sort of scientific interest will enjoy this book immensely.

Jolie Chrisman--

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and the Harry Potter books.

Nathan Fieser--

John Grisham's The Brethren is to be recommended. Departing from Grisham's traditional formula of "young lawyer crushes ruthless corporate giant," but keeping a legal and political theme, this novel about three judges in a federal prison and a presidential campaign keeps the reader spellbound.

Amanda Fisher--

Terry Tempest Williams' novel Refuge is one of the best books I've ever read. It's an autobiographical account of Terry's interaction with the flooding of Utah's Great Salt Lake resulting in the loss of bird habitat and her mother and grandmother's battles with breast cancer. The cancer possibly stems from nuclear bomb testing in the "uninhabited desert" where the Williams and many other Mormons live. Refuge is a great story that sincerely explores the rhythms of life and death.

Somaish Kashef--

This summer, I hope I have time to read some novels. I'd also like to look at my Biology book before class next semester. (Editor's note: Somaieh recommends that tutors tell their students to look over books for next semester.) I'd also like to read some books about how to read faster, how to manage time and how to improve my skills. (Editor's note: Dr. Johnnie Sims, Program Coordinator of NDIL, recommends the following books to Somaieh: Practicing College Study Skills: Strategies for Success (2nd ed) by Carolyn H. Hopper; Claiming Your Victories: A Concise Guide to College Success by Linda Stevens Hjorth )

Rachel Pleasants--

I just finished The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende -- just about anything of hers is good. Tom Robbins (Skinny Legs and All, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, etc.) is good summer reading too.

Greg Stotts--

Prometheous Deception and Matarese Circle by (the recently deceased) Robert Ludlum Harry Potter -- Books 3 and 4

Suzi Steffen--

tutor coordinator, would love to recommend approximately 8,000 books, but she'll keep it (relatively) short. Here's the top of her list: Freeze My Margarita by Lauren Henderson for the mystery lovers out there. Prodigal Summer and Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy, for WW II buffs. Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger (don't be frightened by the "young adult" designation -- this is a smart book with range and depth). Stubborn Twig and The Happy Bottom Riding Club by Lauren Kessler. The Color Purple and The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker. Heads by Harry by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. For short story lovers: The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, Drown by Junot Diaz, and The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin along with anything at all by Alice Munro.

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• Turn in your survey of summer and fall employment! (An e-mail response is fine and dandy.)

• Return any textbooks or other materials you've checked out this semester.

• Avoid long cram sessions! Remember, don't tutor for longer than 90 minutes at one time. One extra tutoring session may be scheduled for final exam review.

• If you're not returning, turn in your NDIL Tutor Tool Kit! We'll charge you $10 on your U-Bill if you're not returning and haven't turned in your Tool Kit by 4:00 on May 11th.

• Finish up all paperwork for tutoring and turn it in by 4:00 on May 11th.

• Let us know your summer and fall addresses and phone numbers.

• Remind your students to turn in their Student Evaluations of Tutoring.

• Be sure to respond to the survey of resources (Tool Kit, Tutela, web page)! Again, you can print it out and mail it in or e-mail it. We'll take 'em either way.

• Congratulate yourself on a job well-done!

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There are two boxers. The smaller boxer is an amateur and also the son of the bigger boxer, who is a professional. But the pro boxer is not the amateur's father. Who is the pro?

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We hope you have a safe and productive summer.

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Page last modified May, 2001. Site maintained by University of Iowa Office of Support Service Programs.  Copyright © 2001 The University of Iowa. OSSP site developed by Ray Mescallado.