A Tutorial Program: Collaboration Between Preserviceand Inservice Teachers

John F. LeBJancIndiana University (ret)

Annette Ricks LeitzeBall State University

Charles E, EmenakerMiami University

Many elementary school teachers face severe time constraints working individually with students whoneed extra help or attention in mathematics. Sometimes, childrenwho need this attention do not receiveit. Atthe same time, critics ofteacher educationprograms contend thatpreservice teachers do not receiveenough hands-on experience teaching children. The Mathematics Tutorial Program is one attempt toaddress bothofthese issues. Inthisprogram, elementary grade children are identifiedby their classroomteachers as needing extra help in mathematics. They are paired with preservice elementary schoolteachers. Each preservice teacher tutors one or more elementary children for two 30-minute sessionseach weekfor 6 to 24 weeks. They use manipulatives and a hands-on approach. The tutors reportedprofessional gainsfrom their contacts with classroom teachers, mathematics educators, and elementarychildren. Classroom teachers involved with the program commented on the children’s improved self-esteem and confidence in mathematics. The children eagerly lookedforward to the timewith their tutors.

Most people involved with education today real-ize that schools, from elementary through college, facemany difficult challenges. A team of mathematicseducators at Indiana University noted two particularchallenges that they felt could be mutually addressed:Someelementary school childrenneed individual help,andpreservice elementaryschoolteachers, duringtheirpreparation, need to work more closely with schools.

First, many elementary school teachers wish theyhadmoretime to woik individually with their students.Of particular concern are those children who needindividual help, either coccasionally or routinely, tounderstand the mathematical concepts and skills pre-sented in class. Classroom teachers find themselvespressed to maintain forward progress while, at thesame time, reteach mathematical concepts and skillsusing a variety of approaches and/or manipulatives togroups of children within their classrooms.

Second, critics of many college and universityteacher education programs complain that preserviceteachers do not receive enough experience teachingchildren. In fact, many preservice teachers expresssimilar complaints. Moreover, methods courses cur-rently do not have time to stress and provide fieldexperience using each manipulative in a variety ofways as classroom teachers find they must be able todo. Programs designed to remedy these shortcomingsneed to be addressed in the preparation of elementaryschool teachers.

At Indiana University, the Mathematics TutorialProgram was instigated during the fall of 1989. It wasdesigned to provide selected preservice teachers withadditionalexperience inthe remediationofmathemati-

cal concepts and skills and reduce some of the timeconstraintchallenges facedby elementary schoolclass-room teachers. Tutors were those preservice teacherswho had been observed successfully working withchildren in mathematics field experiences and haddemonstrated independence and enthusiasm in learn-ing, knowledge in the use ofmanipulatives, and eager-ness in working with children.

Program Structure

The program structure presented here is the resultof several semesters of modification. Suggestionsfrom the tutors were included in planning for futuresemesters ofthe program and provided valuable infor-mation and suggested improvements. The currentstructure ofthe program also reflects their suggestions.

Tutors participating intheprogram arepaired withan elementary school teacher who selects childrenneeding mathematics remediation in one or more ar-eas. The teacher identifies for the tutor the area(s)needing remediation. It is thenthe responsibility ofthetutor, with assistance from the program coordinator atIndiana University, to determinehowbest to remediatethe deficiency(ies).

The program operates for two 6-week segmentseach semester. During each segment the participatingtutors volunteer one hour a day, twice a week toindividually tutor elementary school children. Eachchild receives one 30-minute tutoring session twiceeach week. These sessions typically take place whenthe class is engaged in individual seatwoik, thus,ensuringno loss ofinstructionaltimeforthe child. This

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A Mathematics Tutorial Program

kind ofschedule provides onehourofcontactbetweentutor and child each week allowing the tutor to seegrowth over the six-week segment. At the end ofeachsix-week segment, the tutor is permitted to continueworking at the same grade level, change to a differentgrade level, or discontinue participation in the pro-gram. Continued participation for the duration of thesemester is encouraged but not required. In severalcases, the tutors have developed a sense of commit-ment to the children, tutoring beyond the end of theuniversity semester.

Individualized consideration is given to the pair-ing ofclassroom teachers and tutors. Tutors arcplacedin grade levels where they have had no prior teachingopportunities, thus, broadening their grade-level expe-rience. A second consideration is to place tutors withteachers whose schedules appear to be compatible,with the actual rcmediation schedule to be worked outbetween the tutor and the classroom teacher.

In addition to meeting with the students, the tutorsmust meet weekly with the program coordinator. Thepurposes of these weekly meetings are to providesupport, professional guidance, resource materials,and manipulatives to the tutors. During these meetingsthe program coordinator serves as a personal andprofessional resource person, at times acting as asounding board for the tutor while at other timesproviding suggestions regarding rcmediation of a par-ticular problem. To assist the tutors in their work withthe children and to facilitate the tutors gaining addi-tional experience in the use of manipulatives, themanipulatives and other resources arc made availablefor check-out through the program coordinator.

Participant Responsibilities

A successful remediation program such as theMathematics Tutorial Program requires that partici-pating tutors and classroom teachers be made aware oftheir respective responsibilities from the onset. Theresponsibilities of the tutors, classroom teachers, andprogram coordinator follow.

Tutors mustbeprepared to commitapproximatelytwo hours per week for a six-week period for thepurpose of remediating elementary school pupils inmathematics. They must briefly talk with the class-room teacher to receive direction on the woik to bedone with the pupil and to discuss the pupil’s progressto date. In addition, they must check in with theprogram coordinator each week. This meeting may bebrief or extended depending on the circumstances.

The classroom teachermust identify pupils need-

ing extra help with mathematics as well as the specificconcept/skill with which they need help. The class-room teacher should meet with the tutor once eachweek to provide direction on the concept or skill to betutored and to discuss the pupil’s progress to date. It isfrequently helpful ifthe teacherprovides the tutor withexamples, from the text or elsewhere, of the tasks thepupils cannot do or do not understand.

The program coordinator must meet with thetutors each week to provide both personal and profes-sional assistance by listening, giving ideas for activi-ties, and suggesting as well as providing resourcematerials and manipulatives for their use. Then, everytwo orthree weeks, the coordinatorneeds to meet withclassroom teachers to ensure that the tutoring sessionsare going well. Additionally, the coordinator mustattend to administrative details of the program such assecuring personnel, conducting meetings, writing let-ters, and so forth.

Opportunities

The Mathematics Tutorial Program offers manyopportunities to tutors, classroom teachers, and chil-dren. The program provides opportunities for thetutors to gain additional and meaningful experiencewith school children in a setting where groupmanage-ment is not a problem. It allows them to refine andbroaden their teaching skills and at the same time,become more independent learners. Additionally, thetutors have the opportunity to further their experienceteaching with manipulatives in a style consistent withthe recommendations given in the Curriculum andEvaluation Standards for School Mathematics (Na-tional Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM],1989). Finally, the tutors arc given the opportunity todemonstrate dedication to the profession through vol-unteerwork�an experiencethat hasproven tobequitebeneficial to the tutors in securing teaching positionsfollowing graduation from the university.

The program provides classroom teachers withadditional assistance in trying to meet the individualneeds ofa classroom full ofchildren. Simultaneously.classroom teachers have opportunities to contribute tothe preparation offuture teachers and collaborate withuniversity personnel as called for in the ProfessionalStandards for Teaching Mathematics (NCTM. 1991).

Perhaps the most rewarding aspects of the pro-gram are the benefits to the children as perceived bytheir classroom teachers. The classroom teachers feltthat the children showed a better understanding ofmathematical concepts because ofthe individual help.

School Science and Mathematics

AMathematics Tutorial Program

However, the teachers commented most frequently onthe children’s improved self-esteem which, in turn.aids learning (House, 1988) and improved self-confi-dence in mathematics�an important affective factorin learning mathematics (House. 1988; Kloosterman,1988; Suydam, 1984).

Reactions

The tutors’ reactions to the program have beenpositive, which was not a complete surprise sinceparticipation is voluntary. Among the benefits mostoften mentioned by the tutors arc the professionalgains made through the additional contact with class-room teachers andmathematics educators, andthroughthe additional experience working with children. Thetutors find that this one-on-one time provides themwith a good opportunityto developtheirteaching skillsand builduponlessons theyhave previouslypresented.

Other benefits mentioned by the tutors tend to bepersonal ones. Many tutors commented on the per-sonal reward in woridng with the same children over aperiod of several weeks or months and seeing thechildren making progress. Such a personally gratify-ing experience is seldom possible in the brief contactsprovided by the field experience associated with thestandard methods course.

Feedback from the classroom teachers involvedwith the program has been quite favorable. The mostconsistent comment from the teachers is that it helpsimprove the children’s self-esteem and confidence inmathematics. As a result, the children are eager towolkonmathematicswiththeirtutor. Theteachers seethe one-on-one situations and the fact that the tutorscontinually work with the same children to be particu-larly beneficial. Classroom teachers are also favorablyimpressed with the tutors involved in the program.They have found the tutors to be responsible andenthusiastic in their woik with the children.

The children find the time with the tutor to be aspecial time. They look forward to their tutoring timeeach week and often refer to their tutor as "wy tutor."Thechildren’s enthusiasm is repeatedlyevidentas theyeagerly greet their tutor. Many of the children in theclass express an interest in having their own tutor,thereby indicating that the children have a positiveview of the tutoring program. On occasion, somechildren were exposed to material in the tutoring ses-sions before it was covered in class. This provided thechildren with opportunities to take a lead in classdiscussions�a positive experience for children whonormally are trailing behind.

Summary

At Indiana University, the tutorial program isperceived as a tremendous benefit to all participants.The extra experience the tutors receive is of valuableprofessional and personal benefit to them. The tutorsprofit from the opportunity to broaden theirexperienceworking with children and using manipulatives. Theprogram gives classroom teachers a means ofprovid-ing their students with one-on-one instruction thatstudents may not otherwise receive. The teachersreport improved mathematics self-esteem and confi-dence in the elementary school students who partici-pated in the program. In conclusion, the MathematicsTutorial Program has enhanced the learning of bothtutors and elementaryschool children while atthe sametime provided a useful service to classroom teachers.

We think that such a program can be successfulelsewhere and encourage readers to initiate one in theirown community. Drawing from our experience, webelieve that individuals who initiate or participate insuch a program will find the woikboth stimulating andrewarding. Readers interested in further details canrequest this information from the authors.

References

House, P.A. (1988). Components of success inmathematics and science. School Science and Math-ematics, 88, 632-641.

Kloosterman. P. (1988). Self-confidence andmo-tivation in mathematics. Journal ofEducational Psy-chology, 80. 345-351.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.(1989). Curriculum and evaluation standards forschool mathematics. Reston.VA: Author.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.(1991). Professional standards for teaching math-ematics. Reston, VA: Author.

Suydam, M. (1984). Whatresearch says: Helpinglow-achieving students in mathematics. School Sci-ence and Mathematics, 84,437-441.

Note: JohnF.LeBlanccanbereached at 1680LakeshoreDr., P.O. Box 304, Topinabee. MI 49791. Annette RicksLeitze can be reached at the Department of MathematicalSciences. Ball State University. Muncie. IN47306. CharlesE. EmenakercanbereachedattheDepartmentofMathemat-ics and Statistics, Miami University, Oxford. OH 45056.

Volume 95(4), April 1995