Sam Chapman began tutoring midway through his college semester, because he was struggling in his Algebra 2 class. His family encouraged him to give tutoring a try, as they could see he was becoming frustrated. Sam agreed, knowing that the extra help was needed.
Plan of Action:
Initially, Sam’s tutor mostly focused on helping him recall concepts he had learned back in Algebra 1. Some of those foundational concepts had faded, and were making it more difficult for him to build on his knowledge in Algebra 2. He also struggled with understanding why certain processes worked a certain way. He could go through the motions, but didn’t fully understand the thought behind them. This led him to struggle with more advanced questions, and make small mistakes due to false starting assumptions about the content of certain questions.
As Sam’s previous knowledge from Algebra 1 started coming back to him, he was able to pick up on new concepts much more easily. He successfully applied many of those concepts to subsequent concepts and classwork, his knowledge building on itself. He still struggled with fully understanding the reasoning behind certain processes; but his tutor has continued working with him to fill in those gaps, and to give him a more solid base of understanding.
After a couple months of tutoring, Sam has noticeably improved. His ability to quickly pick up on new concepts has served him well. And now that he is able to pair that with a good foundation of knowledge, he is able to maintain his understanding of those concepts, even as he learns new ones. With the one-on-one help he’s been receiving, Sam will continue to succeed throughout his college career!