“What I will remember most about my SHINE experience is
the good relationship that I developed with my learners” -
SHINE Tutor
The Project Shine Experience
Be very patient with your learners. It is important to actively
listen to your learners. Always come prepared with tutoring materials.
Be flexible with the lesson plans. For instance, if you have a lesson
in mind but the learners want to work on something else, it is okay
to go along with what the learners want.
Assess your learner's level carefully because they could be at
a different level than what is assumed. If we assess the learners
incorrectly, it would be very difficult for the tutors and the learners.
Tutoring sessions don't always have to be in the same setting.
Give the learners breaks often during the lesson.
If the learners want to leave early, encourage them to stay, but
don't force the issue. Contact your supervisor if it happens regularly.
If tutoring is taking place at the site where the learners live,
avoid going to the learner's home during tutoring sessions. This
can cause problems for you as a tutor, since many site supervisors
view it as unprofessional.
Please dress appropriately when you arrive at tutoring sessions.
Please be sure to give equal attention to each learner if you
are working with more than one.
Work at the learners' pace. Many times, you may think you are
going at the right pace but, in fact, you may be going too fast
for the learners. Do frequent understanding checks.
Don't be afraid to try out new things to make the tutoring sessions
more enjoyable for you and your learners!
Comments from previous tutors
Project SHINE involves a lot of work, but overall it was a very
worthwhile experience.
Besides helping my learners learn, I also learned a lot of new
interesting things about my learners' cultures.
On top of tutoring my learners, I have developed a good relationship
with them over the past ten weeks.
My overall experience with Project SHINE was really nice, because
I enjoyed exchanging information with my learners very much.
This experience has really opened my eyes up to a whole
new world. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to do this.
It feels great to be part of something like Project SHINE, because
the feeling of great satisfaction of knowing I've made a change
in something else's life, even if it's just a small change.
My learners were always happy to see me, it just made me feel
good coming to the tutoring sessions.
I think my learner and I have benefited a lot from this whole
experience because we both gain new knowledge from it.
