A Compendium of
Learning and Teaching Strategies for College
Tutor Pathway
Specific Learning Strategies
For each of the six categories of learning strategies presented below, begin by reading the descriptions of the strategies and the associated links found in the Student Pathway. The simplest thing you can do is point students to the Student Pathway on this website. They can then click on the Specific Strategies link. Ask them to read about a particular strategy and then ask you any questions they may have. You may gain additional ideas by reading about teaching specific strategies on the Faculty/Instructor Pathway.
Note Taking
Ask students to bring examples of their notes from class or from reading to the tutoring session. Review these notes and make suggestions about ways to improve note taking. Demonstrate or model what you are talking about. Ask students to apply what you have told them and bring back examples of notes using the new approach. Berry, et al. provide a systematic and structured approach to teaching listening and note taking. (Find the complete reference in Resources. ) The Berry et al. Instructor Manual is available for checkout at the SRJC Tutoring Center.
Gaining Knowledge From Text
A systematic and structured approach to teaching students how to survey a textbook is provided by Deshler et al. 1997. The complete reference can be found by clicking the Resources link below. A copy of The Survey Routine is available for checkout at the front desk of the Santa Rosa Junior College Tutoring Center.
Writing
A systematic and structured approach to teaching theme writing, including material about writing paragraphs, is provided by Schumaker and is called Fundamentals in the Theme Writing Strategy (see the complete reference at the Resources link below. ( The instructor's manual is available behind the front desk of the Santa Rosa Junior College Tutoring Center.
Giving a Formal Presentation
Here is a site that provides many good ideas that you can use to teach college students who are asked to make a formal presentation in class. https://ctl.wustl.edu/resources/improving-presentation-style-in-lectures/
Although directed at teaching younger students, the following site introduces many good ideas for teaching students of any age how to make in-class presentations. https://inspiredtogetherteachers.com/improve-student-presentations-teach-them-how-to-be-effective/
Test Taking
Review the discussion of test-taking on the Student Pathway. Another excellent list of the elements of successful test taking can be found here: https://www.trcc.commnet.edu/learning-resources/tutoring-tasc/tutor-training/test-taking-strategies/ Make your own list of specific tactics for test taking and share these with students. You may want to help students make cue cards they can use right before taking a test or during the test itself if the faculty member permits this.
You can find a systematic and structured approach to teaching test-taking here: https://sim.ku.edu/test-taking-strategy
Critical Thinking
When students are asked to write essays or make formal presentations in class, they must necessarily engage in critical thinking to succeed. This is especially true when students are asked to present arguments. Bulgren (2021) provides a systematic and structured approach to be used by classroom teachers when teaching argumentation skills. This can be adapted for use by tutors. See https://sim.ku.edu/teaching-cross-curricular-argumentation-routine The instructor's manual can be found behind the counter at Santa Rosa Junior College Tutoring Center.