Thursday, December 16, 2010
What is QEP?
Having students present their notes, their books, and any other resources for the tutoring sessions has really pushed students to learn what "It's in the Book!" really means. What advantages/disadvantages does this bring to the tutoring session from your perspective? What are the road blocks for the students? What are the road blocks for you--the tutors? How can we have every student learn how to be prepared for future tutoring sessions while teaching them how to be successful and active learners in the classroom? What questions can we start asking to help fully engage our students in the tutoring sessions?
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For me and my students,there have been no disadvantages. The students that I have seen this semester, did not really understand how to use the book effectively. The first thing we did was go over how to use a highlighter and mark certain things in the book to go back and use again. After we did this, one of my students saw her grades begin to improve quite a bit. She thought that if she used a highlighter in her books, that the bookstore would not buy them back. The only roadblock I see is that sometimes students are afraid to mark in their books. I think that professors need to remind students that using a highlighter, while you are reading the book is a good thing. Sometimes the professors forget what it was like being a new incoming student. Alot of the students are straigt out of high school, where you did get in trouble for marking in the book. They have not necessarily been told that it is ok. The first question I usually ask is: "Have you been reading along in the book?" If they say yes, then I ask: "Have you been highlighting the key or bold words?" If they tell me no on either question, we go over the importance of reading along and putting the key words down for later use.
ReplyDeleteOne advantage is that it encourages independent learning, and in a way independence form the tutor. Tutors will not always be there to help the students. Another advantage is students will open their eyes and see how much tools/materials they have available; leaving them to realize that once again, the grade they end up with is really up to them. I can't really see a disadvantage other than any misconstruing that might arise; students thinking that we (tutors) don't really feel like mentoring and are instead brushing them off to the books.
ReplyDeleteThe only roadblock I can see is if the student has a certain disability (i.e. dyslexia, A.D.D.)that might keep him absorbing the material. For the tutors, the only roadblock is that some tutors have subjects for which QEP is a little harder to apply and enforce.
We can have every student learn to be aware of the resources around them, they buy a book, yet never touch it; they open the book, yet they forget to highlight the main ideas. The tutors should also be able to identify what class the student is taking and see if its QEP applicable. Another thing is maybe we can lead by example, if we are reading our textbooks at the center (whenever downtime allows) we should also practice what we preach and highlight what we deem as important in our readings.
Questions to ask:
Is this a QEP class?
Did you bring your book with you?
Have you read the book/chapters being discussed?
If you have read it, have you kept track of the important ideas/elements?
How have you kept track of these ideas/elements?