Jaimes - Active Listening

I believe that when you “tune in” to what the student is saying you are beginning the first step of active listening. This is really important, in my opinion, because if you are recalling what you already know about the subject, then you will be able to better communicate with the student.  Another skill that I believe that is very important in active listening is body language. If you are sitting with your side to the student you have physically created a barrier to communication. It is better to sit either facing the student or sit semi-facing the student so the student can see that you are open to communication.  It just creates what I call a “positive-vibe”.   Something that I found to be very important in the presentation was when it talked about not interrupting the student even if you believe that they are headed towards an incorrect answer.  This is one thing I used to not think that mattered, but as I got more experience with tutoring, I actually found this to be a great way for students to learn. Most of the time, the student will catch their mistake and correct it themselves. We learn from our mistakes, right? Also, just as the presentation portrayed, sometimes you may have misunderstood where the person was going with their answer. I mean, if you interrupt the student and they were actually headed in the right direction you may confuse the student and cause them to get discouraged and make yourself look like a bad tutor. Communication is a big thing in tutoring; without communication skills it is impossible to tutor and tutor well.

Eye contact, in my humble opinion, is somewhat different. Some people believe that it is very important for good communication, but I believe a little differently. Occasional eye contact is good (in most cultures) but I have been in situations where someone is “staring me down”. This can make one feel very uncomfortable. The student may be concentrating more on the tutor staring at them than they are on their work. So if you use eye contact, just know how to do it appropriately.