Guidelines for Tutors
You are expected to be online during your assigned times. If you are unable to participate for any reason, you must contact Dr. Wente.
Always be professional. When in doubt, err on the cautious side. Something that intend to be humorous could easily be taken out of context, misinterpreted, or otherwise get you into trouble. If you're asking yourself, even for a split-second, "I wonder if it's okay to say...?" then it's probably NOT.
What is the best way to see and comment on the student's written work?
It's good to have a keyboard nearby. Ideally, the student should have one too. But if he/she does not, you can establish a key for a sight singing melody, play intervals for dictation, play the student's counterpoint exercise, etc. By the way, there is a good online piano located here. There are also many excellent piano apps for smartphones and tablets that are extremely accessible.
Have your sources close by. Students will often ask questions referring to a specific problem in a textbook or analysis. If possible, be sure to have your theory text, sight singing text, and anthology nearby.
Do not give the student answers. Instead, ask leading questions that will help the student learn the concept. For example, instead of saying "change that bass note to a G-sharp," or, "you need to use a V6/5 there," you might ask a series of questions, such as the following.
Assuming the key of A major:
Always maintain the confidence of the student. While it is appropriate to talk with your faculty mentor about your Skype tutoring experience, it is not appropriate to share information with your peers. Often, Skype tutees will share with you their previous grades on assignments. It is not professional to share this information nor is it acceptable to speak poorly of students to your peers.
If you're not certain about the answer to something, be up-front about it. There's nothing wrong with saying "I don't know." This is especially true if the student is working with different a textbook or analysis method than the one that you were trained on. Encourage the student to seek clarification from his/her own teacher or TA, and remind the student that his/her teacher is always the final authority.
Always be professional. When in doubt, err on the cautious side. Something that intend to be humorous could easily be taken out of context, misinterpreted, or otherwise get you into trouble. If you're asking yourself, even for a split-second, "I wonder if it's okay to say...?" then it's probably NOT.
What is the best way to see and comment on the student's written work?
- If the student is using notation software, ask them to use the "Share Screen" feature.There may also be times when it is helpful to share your own screen. (For example, let's say that you've written a series of intervals you want the student to identify.) Before sharing your screen, be sure that there is nothing confidential or inappropriate on your desktop or another open window, that could be inadvertently seen.
- If the student is working with pencil and paper, have him or her hold the paper in front of the webcam. Be sure you can see everything, take a snapshot using a screen-capture program, then print the page. Better yet, have the student scan their work and send you the file. That way, both of you can see the paper, and refer to specific places in the exercise. (For example, m. 3, beat 2.)
It's good to have a keyboard nearby. Ideally, the student should have one too. But if he/she does not, you can establish a key for a sight singing melody, play intervals for dictation, play the student's counterpoint exercise, etc. By the way, there is a good online piano located here. There are also many excellent piano apps for smartphones and tablets that are extremely accessible.
Have your sources close by. Students will often ask questions referring to a specific problem in a textbook or analysis. If possible, be sure to have your theory text, sight singing text, and anthology nearby.
Do not give the student answers. Instead, ask leading questions that will help the student learn the concept. For example, instead of saying "change that bass note to a G-sharp," or, "you need to use a V6/5 there," you might ask a series of questions, such as the following.
Assuming the key of A major:
- "What are the notes of the V7 chord?" (E G# B D)
- "What are the bass notes on either side of this chord?" (F# and A)
- " Which of the chord tones creates the smoothest bass line?" (G#. If possible, have the student play the different options.)
- "What is the corresponding inversion symbol for this chord?" (V 6/5)
Always maintain the confidence of the student. While it is appropriate to talk with your faculty mentor about your Skype tutoring experience, it is not appropriate to share information with your peers. Often, Skype tutees will share with you their previous grades on assignments. It is not professional to share this information nor is it acceptable to speak poorly of students to your peers.
If you're not certain about the answer to something, be up-front about it. There's nothing wrong with saying "I don't know." This is especially true if the student is working with different a textbook or analysis method than the one that you were trained on. Encourage the student to seek clarification from his/her own teacher or TA, and remind the student that his/her teacher is always the final authority.
