My artistic padlet by Ava Michielini

Marist Liberty Partnership Program

avamich77 — 2023-12-04 16:50:39 UTC

Hi everyone! I am a senior Biology/Adolescent education major. Throughout the semester I had the pleasure of working with Marist Liberty Partnership Program (LPP) for Dr. Gathers class, MATA 508. Every Thursday I would spend the afternoon with 8^th graders tutoring them, playing games, or giving advice. This experience has prepared me in various ways for my future teaching career. In this blog I will be sharing new insights I learned and advice for future students.

New insights

avamich77 — 2023-12-04 16:50:58 UTC

One new insight I gained from working with the LPP students was to create clear directions and encourage students to ask questions. Often, I went over living environment homework with students in regents classes who are a grade level ahead of their peers. The girls I would do the homework with were very bright, but often had no idea how to complete assignments. This is something I don’t want to happen in my classroom. As a future teacher I will make sure to create very clear directions and encourage students to ask questions, so they aren’t always lost on assignments.

Another new insight I gained was the importance of forming relationships with students. I noticed when I was tutoring many students would vent about their teachers or assignments. I realized that even if the student is in the wrong, it is important to listen to them and be understanding. This will make it easier to reach them academically if you can build that trust and relationship with them first.

Advice for future students

avamich77 — 2023-12-04 16:51:16 UTC

One piece of advice I would give for the Fall 2024 MATA 508 students is to try and form relationships with LPP students. I had the idea that this was mainly going to be tutoring for 2 hours and just learning about the academic side of teaching. Many students on Thursday’s wouldn’t have homework, or only had a little bit so tutoring was only a small portion of what happened. You will come to learn that many of the students have hard home lives, and this program is a large part of the consistent aspects of their lives. It is important to be present and open to talking with students so you can provide them with the level of support that they need.

Another piece of advice I would give future students is to be outgoing. As the tutor/mentor the students truly look up to you and think it is so cool that you are a college student. Don’t be afraid to go up to students who are by themselves or seem like they don’t want help; they are probably waiting for you to come up to them.