Rebecca Zook - Math Tutoring Online

Moneyball — it’s a movie about baseball. And statistics. And underdogs succeeding against “impossible odds” – wait – make that, underdogs succeeding by stacking the odds in their favor in ways no one else had thought of before.

But Moneyball is also a movie about the battle between two mindsets: the mindset of the old-school baseball managers, who recruit and hire players based on “talent”, and new-school baseball managers, Billy Beane and Peter Brand, who hire and develop players based on their potential and overlooked, proven ability.

I see Beane and Brand’s approach as an awesome example of “growth mindset” – the belief – which is true – that human ability and intelligence is something that you develop with effort over time, instead of something that you’re born with a certain amount of which you just demonstrate throughout your life.

Related posts:
Self-made heroes: the dancers of Planet B-Boy
A Disorder can be an asset
Self-taught heroes: William Kamkwamba, the boy who harnessed the wind
Tip of the day: what to do when your kid makes a math mistake

I recently realized there’s something I constantly do with my private tutoring students: use a question to direct their attention to an error.

Let’s say a student makes a mistake like, 5 + 4 = 8.

Instead of saying, “NO! That’s WRONG! 5 + 4 DOES NOT EQUAL 8!!!”

I’ll just gently ask, “What’s 5 plus 4?”

The student gets the feedback that they’re off track, and they immediately know what to address. It lets the correct immediately without getting emotional, feeling judged, or falling out of “the math zone.”

Try it with your own kid and let me know how it goes!

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about re-framing. Along the lines of “eraser time,” and “when in doubt, write it out,” another way I’ve found helps my students to approach a more complex problem with courage and even a sense of playfulness is saying the simple phrase, “This looks… interesting,” with a little friendly smile.

Why does this work? So many times when kids hit a problem that looks weird to them, they just stop and give up, thinking, I don’t recognize this, I don’t know how to do this, no one has taught me this yet! I will just wait, or close my book and go do something else, or hope this problem disappears! But frequently, those problems are just one little step, one small stretch, beyond what they have just done.

“This looks…interesting” opens up a space where it’s okay if you don’t know exactly what to do–a place where you can explore. A zone where you can spread out and think about what might work or what you could try. It neutralizes the subconscious tendency to freak out. It’s like you’re an archeologist discovering a beautiful, mysterious artifact whose purpose is unknown. Instead of thinking, “I don’t know what to do with this crazy thing!” you can welcome the process of puzzling out how it might work.

I’ve found that if I do this enough, it’s one of those phrases that my students repeat back to me, unprompted. If we’re talking about the complicated problems as though they are “interesting” instead (even if inside, they might be saying, “this looks scary/impossible”), eventually they start doing this on their own.

And it’s not just a trick–it’s also true. Part of the process of mastery is that what was once impossible becomes familiar. And what is familiar is no longer challenging. And eventually, what is familiar becomes downright boring.

So to stay in the magic space between frustration and boredom, where the problem is perfectly matched to our abilities to stretch us just one step beyond what we already have done, we need to kick it up a notch so we don’t get bored. So we can grow. And so we can enjoy.

Related posts:
It’s eraser time! (And other math mantras)
On Optimal Challenge
How to help kids be OK with things being hard

Back when I was preparing to use technology to work with my students, I made a master list of everything I would normally do during an in-person session and then figured out a way to have the same experience even if we weren’t in the same place.

One of the biggest things that concerned me was whether or not students would feel as reassured or encouraged if we weren’t in the same spot. How could I plan for this in advance?

My list actually said something like:
How will I give hugs and stickers?

And my proposed solution was:
Hug the monitor and pretend we are hugging each other
Draw encouraging sticker-like shapes next to the student’s work
Send stickers in the mail!

That’s what I was prepared for. But after tutoring this way for almost two and a half years, I’ve realized my students have developed their own additional ways of connecting with me.

My students have invented:
-students drawing stars next to their own work to show they’re proud of it
-high-fiving the webcam
-webcam “fist bump” of congratulations

(And, I have even had students pretend to feed me pizza through the webcam or offer me a chicken sandwitch! Seriously, I was not expecting that to happen!)

In all of this, I have learned that in the vast majority of cases, as long as the camaraderie and trust is there, it really doesn’t matter whether we’re in person or not. AND each kid has their own way of receiving congratulations and encouragement…even with the technology.

I don’t normally put testimonials on my blog — they have their own beautiful lil’ zone over on the testimonials page — but I wanted to showcase one of the BEST things that happened to me this past week — doing a video interview with one of my favorite clients of all time, Miranda Lynch, and her mom, Sheri Lynch!

Before we talked, I really didn’t know what Miranda and her mom were going to say. I had no idea that Miranda is now taking *two* math classes (because she wants to), and I also hadn’t heard about most of her other amazing results (like consistently getting straight As in math since we worked together–way to go, Miranda!!).

But what got me even MORE excited was hearing Miranda talk about how our work together helped her feel more comfortable solving any kind of problem. Amen, sister! It is not just about math!

AND hearing Miranda, who is a filmmaker, talk about how she is totally confident about applying to her dream schools for film — because her math skills are so strong, she had no worries about her applications — GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS!

An amazing healer who I am privileged to work with once told me that what she really does is remove obstacles. Many of my students come to me because they are experiencing obstacles to their learning… or math itself feels like an obstacle in their life. What we do together is remove the obstacle, lovingly, slowly, patiently, step-by-step… and in the process, my students learn to remove obstacles on their own.

This is something I think about, but don’t usually talk about with my students. It was amazing to hear one of my students express this to me herself.

Thank you, Miranda and Sheri, for taking the time to share your experience with the world!

*In other news, my website has a new tips page, which showcases some of my best tips all in one handy place.

Related posts:
Encouraging independent problem solving–subliminally?
Self-taught hero: Pearl Fryar
On being yourself while doing math

Apparently, there are certain things I tell my students over and over. One of them, with a twinkle in my eye and glee in my voice, is, “It’s eraser time!” (Whenever I say, “It’s eraser time!”, I think, “It’s Hammer Time!”, even though that was a hit long before most of my students were born.)

Then my student will jubilantly erase their mistake and then correct their work.

I didn’t realize how much I would say “It’s eraser time!” until my students started saying it *back* to me. Which made me ask myself–how did this become a permanent fixture of my teaching vocabulary? Why does “eraser time” work so well?

Three reasons:

1. Most importantly, “eraser time” normalizes error. It shows students that when they mess up, it doesn’t mean that THEY are messed up. Instead, making mistakes is just a normal part of the learning process.

2. “Eraser time” is fun, even at a moment when students have made a mistake. So it’s energizing, but doesn’t distract from the task at hand. It’s fun and silly but still leads them to what they need to do next — erase.

3. By being part of a special “math tutoring language” that we share, “eraser time” helps students feel like they belong. They are “in the know” because they get our special “insider lingo.” It helps create a culture of trust and camaraderie.

As usual, my students have taken eraser time and made it their own. Variations include an Eraser Race, where we both erase on the whiteboard as fast as we can. There’s also “Strategic Erasing” (careful erasing to remove what you don’t want but leave some previous work up for reference).

Another big mantra that my students started saying back to me is, “When in doubt, write it out.” I love this because instead of me nagging the student to write out the work instead of guessing, the student will happily say, “When in doubt, write it out!” and then go ahead and write out their work.

“When in doubt, write it out” works for the same reasons — it normalizes *effort* (it shows that it’s okay and normal to have to write it out and do the work); it directs them to the next step, but in a way that is fun and helps them “own” the process; and it creates a culture of fun and belonging.

Related Posts:
How to make it safe for kids to fail
The Rhyme and Reason of Making Mistakes
On optimal challenge
Self-made Heroes: the Dancers of Planet B-Boy
Five tips for a happy math year

Having students write about their anxiety before a high-stakes test, for 10 minutes, can reduce or eliminate the performance loss caused by nerves, a new study finds.

Before Test 2, the students either sat quietly for 10 minutes or wrote about what they were feeling. The nonwriters “choked,” the researchers said, with their scores dropping by 12 percentage points. But those who wrote about their anxiety raised their scores by four percentage points. Also, in field studies in real high-school biology classes, students with high text anxiety scored the equivalent of a B-plus on a final exam when they did the writing exercise, and B-minus when they didn’t. “Writing About Testing Worries Boosts Exam Performance in the Classroom,” Gerardo Ramirez and Sian L. Beilock, Science (January)–(From the Wall Street Journal (January 22-23, 2011))

The fact that it would actually help students’ grades to write about their anxiety for a full TEN minutes RIGHT BEFORE taking a test completely flies in the face of the standard advice in our culture to “think positive thoughts” and “visualize success.”

While I believe this advice is well-intentioned, what seems to happen is that people start to hate themselves for feeling afraid, or become even more nervous because they are nervous! Attempting to control your own thoughts just causes people to pathologize their own minds.

Many students believe if they hide their fear, it will go away, or at least, no one else will know. In my experience both as a tutor and as as student, this does not work at all. Openly discussing your anxiety–or even just admitting it to yourself–makes it possible to release it. (I used to get totally stressed out about math growing up, and when one of my best friends in high school shared this article with me about math anxiety, it made me so relieved. There was a name for what I struggled with! And I wasn’t alone! Phew!!!)

So this study really resonates with me. A lot of the students who come to work with me have some kind of anxiety about math–and don’t even know that it’s something that happens to other people, too. Part of our work together isn’t just mastering the material, but also openly discussing their fears and how to deal with overwhelming emotions when working on challenging material under pressure. The only way we can work on this stuff is if we talk about it together.

And now, it’s amazing to see that students can get such good results from writing about it on their own at such a crucial moment, right before taking a test.

Now that technology allows kids to work online with tutors anywhere on earth, parents and kids face a whole new set of questions. How can you find a reputable online tutor if you might never meet face-to-face? Is online tutoring safe? Will it actually help?

When you evaluate potential tutors, you’ll want to assess the tutor’s personal qualities—their trustworthiness and their capacity to mentor your kid. You’ll also want to choose someone who uses technology that puts the human connection center stage. Here’s how.

Look for an individual. Even if you choose to go through a large tutoring company, look for online tutors who provide a photo of themselves and a bio. This information about their personality, experience, and approach can give you a sense of whether they’ll work well with your kid before you actually book a session. If possible, see if they have testimonials or case studies on their website. Check for recommendations on their LinkedIn profile or other review sites.

Talk to the tutor. Look for tutors you can talk to before you hire them. Give the tutor a call to discuss your situation, ask questions, and see if they’d be a good fit before making a decision. A trustworthy online tutor will be happy to have this discussion with you free of charge. In fact, they’ll probably want to have a “get to know you” conversation to evaluate whether you’re a good client for them before they decide to work with a new student.

Look for a setup where the same tutor works with your kid every time. Working with a company that gives you 24/7 access to a randomized pool of online tutors means your kid will be able to get help around the clock, and you won’t need to book appointments in advance. These unlimited access plans are also usually less expensive than working with an individual.

However, though the tutors in this setup will probably be able to help with the issue du jour, there’s no way they’ll be able to see how today’s work fits into your kid’s bigger academic picture. It’s like going to a walk-in emergency clinic. The tutors may be qualified, but they just won’t have the perspective that comes from a long-term mentoring relationship.

A good tutor will keep track of your kid’s long-range academic goals and challenges, and keep them in mind as they manage each session. They’ll help your kid plan ahead to minimize academic emergencies, and address gaps in knowledge before they become major issues. So even if you go with a big tutoring company, seek out a situation where you can ask for the same tutor every time and book that specific tutor in advance.

Look for live voice communication. It’s essential that your kid be able to ask their tutor questions out loud and hear their tutor’s voice. Instant messaging-style tutoring lacks the nanosecond-to-nanosecond communication that is the foundation of all great teaching.

Voice communication allows a tutor to hear if the student’s tone of voice is confident or bewildered and whether or not they’re “getting” the material. The immediacy of talking either on the phone or over VoIP allows a student and tutor to synchronize in a way that just can’t happen over IM. Plus, many students feel more comfortable talking out loud about what’s stumping them instead of having to type it out.

Look for handwriting. Seek out a tutor who uses technology where both the student and the tutor can write their work out by hand instead of typing. If a student is already confused enough to need a tutor, the interface should be as intuitive as possible. Having to worry about how to type your math problem, for example, doesn’t help you learn how to solve that problem. There are several innovative ways to integrate handwriting and online tutoring, and different tutoring companies use different methods.

In conclusion… At its best, great tutoring isn’t just about helping a kid learn a skill or pass a class—it teaches your kid to learn independently and rely on themselves to find answers. To maximize the positive impact of online tutoring, seek out an individual who you’ll work with consistently and who uses technology that puts the human connection front and center.

Related posts:
How to find a good math tutor
How to incorporate a tutor into your homeschooling or unschooling environment
How handwriting helps us learn (or why I use handwriting instead of typing)
My Tutoring Technology (4): Why I use handwriting instead of typing

If you’re an educator (math or otherwise) & you’re lucky enough to be in the San Francisco Bay Area next week, my wonderful colleague, Linda Akiyama, is offering some workshops in physicalizing math using body music. I had the pleasure of meeting Linda and experiencing her work in person last year, and her work is a delightful, fun, and deep multisensory way of helping kids learn math and understand it in every cell of their being. (Using rhythms to find least common multiples, anyone?)

If it’s geographically possible for you, go, go, go! And take your friends! Details follow.

Crosspulse & THE 4th INTERNATIONAL BODY MUSIC FESTIVAL present

ALL NEW TEACHER TRAINING WORKSHOPS

Integrating Arts & Academics: Physicalizing Math using Body Music

• Learn Rhythm Blocks, an easy yet effective rhythmic approach for teaching essential math concepts & skills

• Create instructional activities that motivate and inspire your students through arts integration

• Discover how to use Body Music to fully engage your students in math learning and beyond

• Basic Rhythm/Basic Sanity – learn to cultivate calm in the classroom

Tuesday, November 1
San Francisco School
300 Gaven St., SF
4pm-6pm, $25
Terry, Akiyama, Goodkin

Thursday, November 3
First Unitarian Church
685 14th St @ Castro, Oakland
4pm-6pm, $25
Terry, Akiyama, Santi Owen

Instructors:

Keith Terry is the Artistic Director of the IBMF, and has developed a Body Music methodology well-used by classroom and music teachers for a host of applications throughout curricula. Keith has two instructional DVDs on Crosspulse Media, with the third DVD and accompanying book due out in 2012.

Linda Akiyama has 25 years of experience teaching in public elementary schools and has taught science education courses through the SEP program at UCSF. She uses rhythms, chants, and rhymes extensively to support the teaching of academic subjects.

Doug Goodkin teaches music based on Orff Schulwerk to children 3 yrs – 8th grade at The San Francisco School. A director of the prestigious San Francisco Orff Course and author of many books on music education, Doug travels extensively internationally giving courses on Orff Schulwerk.

Jim Santi-Owen has taught for nearly 20 years in public and private schools as a music specialist. Trained by some of the top percussionists in the world, and a certified Orff instructor, Jim is currently the Music Director for the San Francisco World Music Festival where he also directs the Festival’s International Youth Orchestra.

To reserve a space, purchase advance tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets also available at the door.

For more information on IBMF concerts and workshops, including a Family Matinee Sunday Nov 6, visit www.internationalbodymusicfestival.com

Yesterday, I was working with a seventh grader on translating words into equations.

While translating the statement “three diminished by twice a number is eight,” he wrote this:

Wow, I guess he really was enjoying what we were doing! It’s the happiest eight I’ve ever seen! Hooray for kids customizing their math, expressing themselves, and having a good time while learning something challenging!

Related posts:
How to help kids be okay with things being hard
Algebra tears
Five Tips for a Happy Math Year
A Cosmic Imperative to Customize