PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2020
Boston, Massachusetts
Tutoring beyond show and tell: An existence proof
Page: 294
Drop-in tutoring has been shown to positively impact grades. However, little is known about what occurs in drop-in tutoring. This study sought to fill this gap by answering the following research questions: 1) How do tutors interact with students? 2) What factors influence tutors’ decisions regarding how to navigate interactions? 3) How do these factors impact tutors’ interactions? This study provides a descriptive case study of one tutor’s practices in the context of drop-in undergraduate Calculus I tutoring. Natural tutor session recordings and stimulated recall interviews were collected. Multiple lenses, including teacher decision-making, social and socio-mathematical norms, responsive teaching, and cognitive apprenticeship, were utilized during analysis. Results found tutor-student interaction patterns are more complex than previously reported in the literature. In addition, results suggest tutors are capable of changing their practices within the short time span of a semester and further, tutors are capable of enacting “best practice” teaching strategies.