Tutoring a teenager can be a difficult task. There can be many obstacles in the way. From the cynical student who doesn’t care about school anymore to the prideful student who is embarrassed to be getting tutored, teens are not easy to tutor. Here are ten tips that can make tutoring a teen an easier and more enjoyable experience for both teen and tutor.
Find out what they are interested in and use it!
Tutoring teens can be difficult, particularly because many teens become jaded about school and learning. They feel like they have been doing the school thing for so long that it is just boring. The best way to keep teens focused is to incorporate things that interest them. Find out what they like to do in their spare time. If a teen girl likes to shop, create math assignments that involve receipts, balancing a checkbook, sales prices, etc. Someone who loves to shop will be excited to know that they can figure out exactly what 40% off of that $50 sweater is. If you are tutoring a teen who loves sports, gather the stats of their favorite team and teach ways of analyzing the data. Teens are much more receptive to learning when they feel that the information is relevant to their lives.
Ask a lot of questions
When tutoring a teenager, it is important to ask a lot of questions. Not only should you ask questions about the material, but you should ask questions about their lives. If you want to use what interest them, then you need to ask questions to find out what interests them.
Asking questions is also important for teaching purposes. A teenager should be able to verbally articulate anything they have an understanding of. A tutor can watch a teenager complete an algebra equation, but asking them what process they used to solve for x will teach the teen more. By having to explain what they did, the student reinforces the process in their mind.
Asking questions is also the best way to get a feel for reading comprehension. With television, internet, and video games occupying more time than recreational reading these days, many teens are below their grade level in reading comprehension. They may understand the words, but not understand exactly what a story is saying. For instance, when reading a short story, ask the teen details about what happened, and also ask questions about why. “Why do you think the story ended the way it did?”
Listen.
Don’t just ask questions for the sake of asking questions. When tutoring a teen, it is important to be real. Teens seem to have some sixth sense for sensing insincerity. If you don’t really care to know the answer, don’t ask the question.
Celebrate accomplishments.
For some reason, praising the work of an elementary student just comes more naturally than it does when tutoring a teen. Perhaps its because we still feel like the high pitched, “Good job,” affects younger students. A 6- or 7-year old student also still gets excited to receive stickers as a reward.
Although it is harder to praise the accomplishments of teen students, it is just as important, if not more important. Many teens struggle with a sense of self-worth. If they are being tutored, it is often because they are doing poorly in one or more subjects. This can be hard for a teenager to accept, as it may make them feel like they are stupid (which is rarely the case).
Praise every accomplishment! Keep track of their progress, and mention when they have improved. Point out how far they have come. One student of mine called me immediately after school one day to tell me that he had finished two books for his outside reading assignment, and had passed tests on both of them. He was very excited, and I took advantage of this as an opportunity to celebrate with him. I told him then how proud I was of him, and that I knew he could do it. The next time we got together for tutoring, I mentioned again how proud I was of his reading accomplishments, and his face lit up with a big smile.
Providing tangible rewards for accomplishments can also be helpful. While some tutors many consider this bribery, you might be surprised how hard a teen will work to earn a candy bar. It’s not really about the candy bar; it’s about the sense of accomplishment that comes with earning a tangible reward.
Cater to their style of learning.
Administer a test to find out what kind of learner the student is. Look for a “printable learning style quiz” online, or checking with the learning resource center at a local community college to find a test. By discovering how the student learns best, you can know what tutoring activities will be most effective in tutoring your teen student.
Talk to the teachers
While parents may have strong opinions about how a teen is doing in school, and teens also have their own opinions about their strengths and weaknesses, the best source for realistic information is often the teacher. If a student is getting bad grades, a teacher can usually give you some idea of why.
Teachers can also give you the most up-to-date information about what that teen is studying. By contacting the teacher, you as a tutor can know what skills to be working on, or what assignments the teen may struggle with.
In some districts, release of such information requires permission from a parent. Ask a student to provide a list of teachers’ phone numbers and/or email addresses. You can then contact the teacher to find out what they need from the family to be able to release information to you. Most teachers will appreciate the fact that you are trying to help and will be more than happy to cooperate.
Teach study skills
Many teens do not do well in school because they do not ever study. One student of mine was consistently doing poorly on science tests. After investigating with the teacher and discussing with the student, I was able to determine that he did poorly on tests because he did not study. He did not study for two reasons- first because he never remembered when the tests were, and second, because he did not know how to study. After this, I began teaching him a method of organizing his schedule to keep up with important assignments and test dates. Once he recognized the need to study, it was just a matter of teaching him different methods of studying.
Teach different methods of studying to help the teen figure out what works best for him or her. Read the material and highlight key points. Manually write out a sheet of important things to remember. Outline the information. Make flash cards. Draw diagrams. Record the information with a tape recorder and play it back over and over again. Soon, the student will develop a personal method of studying that works well, and they may actually even begin to enjoy it.
Always keep one step ahead in at least one area.
If you know what your student is doing in school currently, try to take a guess at what might be next. If you can start teaching concepts before they learn them in school, they will be more interested when the concept comes up in class, and they will understand the information better. Students always grasp things better the second time around.
Utilize hands-on learning whenever possible.
Today’s society is very interactive. Teens today are used to the world of digital cable, where they can browse through an on-screen guide of programming and even rewind live television with TiVo. Most teens preferred method of gathering information is the internet, where they interact with the text by browsing sites and clicking on active links. Interactive teaching is important to keep a teens attention.
Use the internet whenever possible. Teach a math assignment with real money. Instead of lecturing about what they are learning in science, develop experiments that will teach the same concepts. Whenever it is possible for a student to do the work themselves, by all means, encourage hands-on activity.
Try new things to keep it interesting.
While younger students tend to thrive on routine, teens tend to get bored when things become commonplace. Breaking the routine doesn’t have to be complicated; even a simple change like working outside on the patio on a sunny day can work wonders. If you normally start with math, change it up and start with reading once in a while. Pick one day to randomly just spend the day reviewing accomplishments, or organizing, or sharing what they are learning in school.
You can also try throwing in something new that they are not learning in school, just to keep things interesting. If they don’t take music class in school, take some time one week to do some basic lessons on music. If they are studying fractions in school, bring in a recipe that serves four people and have the student figure out how to make two servings. When things are fresh and new, a teen is more likely to be focused and attentive.
