Salwa Abdalla

Detroit Fellows Tutoring Project

Dale Thomas
12/6/16
Tutoring Reflection
Truthfully, before taking this course I was worried, having no idea what to expect from
my performance as a tutor or the tutees themselves. I was afraid of not being able to make any
notable differences in the students academic performance. As with any new experience, the
tutoring did come with its fair share of challenges that I could not have anticipated as a first time
reading tutor. The experience taught me a lot about myself, teaching, learning, and having
patience.
To begin, I believe I did have at least a small impact on the children I tutored. The first
two weeks of tutoring was extremely challenging. I did not know the students individual levels
of reading or their learning styles. Though I had just begun, I was afraid of not being able to
make progress. It was not until the third and fourth week, that I became more settled and
optimistic about improving the students reading abilities. Gradually, as the tutees learned new
words such as the or at, their desire to search for these words in their environment grew. It
was extremely satisfying to see their enthusiasm for actively engaging with the material we went
over.
Not only did I see spikes in the students participation but I also think I helped them
genuinely feel capable and smart. Recalling the seminars I attended for training, I made certain
to never make the tutees feel dumb or incapableas this was stressed by my instructors. It was
not until I began tutoring, that I truly understood why my instructors told me it was important to

make the young students feel smart. In many cases, the tutees already thought less of themselves
in terms of academic performance because they may have been behind others in their class. To
boost their confidence, I always complimented and praised them whenever they would get an
answer right. Even if they were not able to answer a question I posed correctly, or maybe
misspelled or misread a word, I still praised their hard work. I wanted them to associate reading
with happiness and fun instead of something strict and difficult to master. I would praise the
students with a big smile and verbal compliment and a high five. I never got tired of seeing their
small faces light up with joy whenever they were complimented. They also really enjoyed getting
rewarded in stickersso much so, they would remind me if I forgot to give them one for the day.
Finally, and most importantly, I believe I impacted the tutees overall drive for learning
how to reading. I witnessed a huge difference in the students behavior from the first to the last
month of tutoring sessions. Originally, most of the students did not seem to have any motivation
to read, which has a lot to do with their deficiency in vocabulary knowledge. However, during
the final month of tutoring, I observed how the kids walked around the halls pointing out words
or how they mumbled short sentences under their breath or decided to randomly tell me words
they knew that rhymed without me asking. It feels great knowing the students I tutored have
gained a new love and drive for learning to read. Believing learning can be fun is a small factor
that may lead to great academic success in the future.
In terms of reading strategies I used with the students, some proved extremely successful
while others were not so successful. On average, I believe at least 3 of the 5 students I tutored
were kinesthetic learners, so any learning activities that involved physical action really helped
solidify concepts for them. For example, every student enjoyed the catching words activity, in
which I would tell them to catch a word such as the and try to spell it out loud. I told them they

could only throw it back to me if they spelled the word. This motivated them tremendously and
they were successfully able to spell the word. One student, Keith, enjoyed the activity so much
that the next session he threw a word to me and told me to spell it. Another great strategy used
with the tutees was physically walking around the room and searching for letters and words they
knew. I found this strategy to be the most useful and practical considering they were in school
majority of the day and were surrounded by words everywhere. This allows for them to practice
what they have learned in their everyday lives. All the students were very excited to find words
they recognized so much so that sometimes they would search for words without me having to
ask. The best way for them to practice reading is by paying attention to words they find in their
every day life.
Another strategy that was successful for half and not as successful for others was arm
spelling. This strategy consists of the students spelling a word out on their arm and then saying
the word. For two of my students, when they would forget a word, they referred back to arm
spelling to remember the word, while the other 3 students did not utilize the technique much
and seemed bored with it. Finally, and surprisingly, the strategy that seemed to make the least
significant improvement for the students was the word-picture matching activity. While students
were able to match most at words with their corresponding pictures, I do not think the act of
matching helped them remember the words any better. However, I had one student, Keyonte,
who requested the matching game at every single tutoring session we had. The students
individual preferences toward certain strategies were difficult for me to manage in the beginning,
however, once I understood each student more, I was able to adjust to their learning styles.
This experience not only had an impact on the students I tutored, but it also left a great
impact on me as a student and as a person. Firstly, as a student myself, I sympathized with the

tutees when they felt frustrated or overwhelmed by the reading material. Though, admittedly,
sometimes it felt difficult to relate with such a large knowledge difference between us. At times, I
had to remind myself just how horrible I feel when I am in class and a professor is speaking on a
subject in depth that I just can not grasp so that I did not make the students also feel that way.
Through this experience, I have learned to truly sympathize with educators and applaud them for
the amount of patience and endurance they must have to teach a subject. Several times, I felt
frustrated if I was not able to get one of the tutees to understand or spell a word. Also, when the
students were not in the mood to learn and did not listen to my instructions, I felt eager to just
stop or get angry but I reminded myself constantly of how young they were and that I should
keep enduring patiently. I have a lot more respect for educators and feel motivated to never slack
off in class so as to show my appreciation for their hard work and patience.
Finally, as a person, this course has impacted me tremendously. This may be the first time
I feel like I have made a real difference in another persons life, even if that difference is
minuscule. To see the tutees wave, smile, and seem genuinely happy when I arrived to their class
felt like such a foreign feeling to me. Their excitement felt rewarding to melike I was doing
something right. I have learned the importance of having patience and being kind when working
not only with the students but staff members in the school as well. This experience felt like job
training and I feel more equipped to work with others. I have learned the importance of
sometimes having to conform my ways for the greater end goal for the team. Also, I have learned
that every person is different in the way they learn, the life they have at home, the way they
interact with others and that these differences should be accommodated for. One tactic does not
work for every individual and I know to be mindful of this and be more understanding.

This experience of tutoring first grade students has really opened my mind. While it was
challenging most days, it was also rewarding and enjoyable. I feel like I have pushed myself
outside my comfort zone and learned so much about learning, teaching, and myself. All I hope
for is that each student I tutored continues to find joy in learning for the rest of their lives.