The Learning Center is investigating a potential pilot in Fall 2023 for embedded tutoring. We are seeking interested faculty members whose pedagogy allows for in-class group or individual study/discussion time.
Embedded tutoring works best in courses that have frequent graded assignments, quizzes, tests, or other projects, and in courses that have high rates of D's, F's, and W's due to the challenging nature of the course material. The delivery in the classroom must not be solely lecture-based; there must be time for individual and/or group work and discussion.
Embedded tutoring is a well-researched, highly effective model of academic support in which a tutor who has taken a course and earned an A attends the course again, providing in-class support to students.
IN the Classroom, Embedded Tutors...
- Assist the instructor as needed;
- Engage with and help students during individual and group work and other class activities;
- Demonstrate the skills needed to be a successful student;
- Ask thoughtful questions (if the instructor permits it);
- De-stigmatize "help-getting" by regularly providing assistance to students during class;
- Regularly and enthusiastically encourage students to attend tutoring sessions.
OUT of the Classroom, Embedded Tutors...
- Provide one-on-one and small group tutoring specifically for the students who attend a section taught by this instructor;
- Help students with assignments, organize their time, and develop study plans to stay on top of the required work (and use calendars, planners, etc. when doing so);
- Use differentiated, active, engaged tutoring strategies during group and individual tutoring sessions;
- Discuss and demonstrate effective, "brain-friendly" study techniques and strategies;
- Notify the instructor of areas of struggle by identifying where several/many students seem to be having a hard time and reporting it in a timely fashion without identifying any student(s) by name (for confidentiality reasons).
Embedded Tutors CANNOT…
- Run class (if the instructor is absent);
- Take attendance during class;
- Create or proctor exams;
- Design course materials;
- Grade assignments or predict a student's grade on one;
- Plan/prepare lessons to be taught during class;
- Discipline other students;
- Be asked to manage disruptive students/the "classroom climate."
*Information adapted from West Valley College
If an instructor is interested in participating in this pilot for Fall 2023 and does NOT already have a Supplemental Instruction leader assigned, please contact Learning Center Director Jenny Haley at jhaley@bsu.edu.