Abstract
At all education levels “remediation” is more and more integrated into the learning process. Tutoring is one of the multiple possibilities in this huge collection offered, but with essential characteristics. Indeed, the participants having been observed - “tutor and tutoree” – expressing a high satisfaction about their accomplishment in different disciplines. This chapter questions tutoring among future teachers to know how it could change working methods and how some good practice could later be implemented into the group class. A study of different mechanisms inferred into the tutoring relations allows for developing a few remarks about affective, cognitive, and reflexive impacts. As private companies also present services in the shadow of the official educational system, can these be considered as different? Regarding the parallel tracks of the official/private educational system, some recommendations illustrate the tutoring original pedagogical relation with specific understanding.
TopIntroduction
Tutoring is a suitable experience to develop a serious shoring-up in cooperation. It represents certainly a strong human relation between at least two persons involved in a learning process. On one side the tutor acts as a guide and on the other side tutoree is seeking help for specific needs in comprehension, knowledge and well doing.
Responding to the dramatic failure rate at the superior academic level, the official education system in Wallonia and Brussels (Belgium) proposes different actions since the first study year.
Tutoring is a Part of the Programme
A qualitative approach will be well appropriate to better understand the tutoring between future teachers in training. The problematic was: can tutoring between future teachers change pedagogical methods and quality of learning process? Can the practical experiences present in the way of doing as a trainee really influence future relation between “tutor and tutoree” in the professional life? Can this cooperative action give rise to revival conception in teaching? Could personal changes be implemented later into the class? Could affective, cognitive and reflexive stakes included in the tutoring relation fix a concrete adjustment in pedagogical purposes? Seeing the private sector developing also a coaching with profitable business, can we notice identical observations?
We have made a selection of a few tutors (Tn= 6) and tutoree (tn=16) candidates in training studies BAC1/BAC3 in pedagogy for primary and secondary levels. Following these interviews we met a few candidates in training teaching BAC2 with young Teachers Coaches (TCn=3) in their classes (around four years experience). Finally, we listened to Tutors Coaches (TCn=3) in private companies (Admitis and Educadomo) working in the parallel track of the official educational system and delivering some support for students.
Criteria and indicators selected to create the questionnaire are:
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Affective: First mental representation about tutoring; Mood at the beginning and during the relation; Need of encouragement to maintain the motivation.
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Cognitive: Working methods as repetition, reformulation, adaptation, reorganization; Adapted vocabulary to explain; Changes observed in learning as new acknowledges construction, increasing or decreasing comprehension, confidence in reinforcement.
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Reflexive: Changes in self respect, personal motivation, sense of responsibilities; Values defined; Pedagogical methods that will be implemented.
The qualitative study is done on a limited sample but allows a few remarks especially in a prospective vision when we try to look carefully at the ins and outs of the question with a deficit of distance to measure the different impact.
As pedagogical teacher’s involved in different lectures and training for future teachers I was personally concerned by the study. Then, I have made all these interviews during two months (October-November 2011) live with students from the pedagogical department at the Haute Ecole Paul-Henri Spaak and with teachers into Secondary School located in Nivelles (Belgium) accepting young trainers.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Tutoring: An experience in cooperation to develop a strong human relation between at least two persons involved in a learning process.
Tutor: Acts as a guide, the person is involved in a tutoring experience as a referent with successful background in the same learning process on the same course.
Reflexive: Criteria related to self commitment in learning process: sense of responsibilities, values and personal methods that will be implemented later in a collective process.
Tutoree: The person involved in a learning process seeking help for specific needs in comprehension, knowledge and well doing.
Coach: The person is involved in the tutoring relation as a referent with successful background in the same learning process but not necessary on the same course.
Cognitive: Criteria based on the way of knowledge integration: comprehension, construction and working methods.
Affective: Criteria connected to emotion, representation and personal well being in motivation.
Metacognition: Personal reflexion oriented to the way of doing for person involved in a learning process with particular attention on transfer benefits.