The four most important aspects of my role as a peer tutor would be showing leadership, communication, flexibility and having a positive impact on students. Each of these aspects are important and all contribute to my role as a peer tutor, without any of them I don’t think I would perform as well in the classroom. Showing leadership and having a positive impact on others have changed over the course of the semester. At the beginning of the semester my leadership skills weren’t as inclined as they currently are. Over the course of the semester, 1 have gained confidence and demonstrated leadership and initiative while peer tutoring.
Also, I saw a change in how students approached me; they are presently more comfortable asking me questions in class. I am now able to see the kind of impact I have on students as I have received feedback over the semester about my positive impact on them. Communication between myself and the students have also improved. Furthermore, I have gained flexibility skills when adjusting to students learning types and styles. I think my role has changed in a positive way over the course of the semester because myself and the students have become more comfortable with each other and in the learning environment.
My role has gained variety and more importance as well while developing skills and attributes over time My mood and energy level does affect how l interact with students in the classroom. If my energy is positive and encouraging, I believe my peer tutoring is more effective, interacting with students in a positive way. For example, if I were upset one day or in a bad mood, my interactions would not have a positive impact on the students, they would feel discouraged and I would appear unapproachable. Not only would my mood and energy levels affect how I interact with students, but it would affect how they interact with me.
My mood may also change or alter their own moods. Have a positive mood and good energy levels is always the best idea; I believe I complete tasks more efficiently and have a greater impact on students when possessing a good attitude. Even though some people don’t realize it, their energy levels affect those around them and the environment thy are in. Since my mood and energy level does affect how I interact with students in the classroom, I always do my best to hold a good mood and energy levels while peer tutoring to be an effective peer tutor
Two strengths I have as a peer tutor are that I have a positive attitude and am honest with the students. Having a positive attitude is important when wanting to keep students motivated to do their best. I understand that the attitude I have while peer tutoring will impact others and the environment of the classroom. When students feel encouraged in the classroom or are working in a positive environment, they usually they perform better which leads to success.
I have used a positive attitude to assist the students and teachers in my class because a good mood rubs off on others and allows themselves to feel positive, which increases motivation and drive. While peer tutoring, I am always honest with students usually when it comes to what they are doing right, and where they could improve. I believe honesty is a strength because by providing honesty, I will hopefully influence others to be honest and encourage a friendly work environment. I have used honesty to assist students in my class because giving them honest feedback helps them improve in the future.
When you are honest with students about their work, they tend to show more respect and be honest with you in the future. Honesty has assisted the placement supervisor in my class because the teachers can help students better if I honestly inform them of their progress and how they are performing. Overall, these strengths have helped me in the past and I hope to use them in the future to continue to grow as a peer tutor. Two weaknesses I have that has hindered my effectiveness as a peer tutor include not identifying goals and stagnancy.
To begin, sometimes when I look back on situations, I feel that I fail to define goals for students to achieve. For example, when students begin a worksheet and I assist them, we usually go ahead and begin working on the questions. I believe defining learning goals for an assignment or help them to set long term goals for the semester would improve their work ethics and give them clarity on what needs to be done. I could turn this weakness into a strength by reminding myself to define goals for students, whatever the goal may be. Making this a strength would have a positive impact on both myself and the students.
My other weakness l identified is stagnancy when is comes to tutoring students. I believe this is a weakness because it could be dangerous to get stuck in a certain teaching way. Even if a method I continuously use is effective, it is important to change things up from time to time. Growing out of a stagnant way could help me and a class grow as a peer tutor as well as demonstrate that I am adaptive and innovative. In conclusion, identifying weaknesses is not always a bad thing because we can change them into strengths. In the future I will keep in mind my weaknesses and how I can change them to better myself in the classroom.