How do I motivate my students? (15 minute trainings!)
Coaches tell us all the time that their biggest challenge on UPchieve is keeping students motivated throughout their sessions. These interactive training modules will help you learn proven strategies to become a better coach. We created this training as part of a pilot with the PLUS project at Carnegie Mellon University.
GIVING EFFECTIVE PRAISE: Praise is a key tool in boosting student confidence, but it has to be meaningful. This interactive training shares scenarios that could really happen on UPchieve and gives you the tools to deal with them effectively. Take the training now!
RESPONDING TO STUDENT ERRORS: Student errors happen every day. Responding to them gives you a chance to engage students more deeply or to demotivate them. Make sure you’re using the most effective strategies. Take the training today!
LEARNING WHAT STUDENTS KNOW: Before you start tutoring, it’s critical to get an understanding of what students know already. Learn strategies you can apply in your next session to do this most effectively. Learn more now!
How can I get my students to participate more?
CONVERSATION BLOCKERS
: Ever feel like a student really isn't involved in a session or getting back to you quickly enough? There are many tactics that have been developed by psychologists and trained negotiators that we can learn to improve our text communications with students. This training focuses on Conversation Blockers, a set of common mistakes that tutors can make that lead to less productive sessions. Refining your messages in small ways can make all the difference! Check out the recording and presentation! Host: Steven Menking, Forum Math and Business TutorINCREASE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
: Getting students excited about schoolwork is tough. In this training we’ll explore how you, as a virtual coach, can leverage questions and feedback to help students create connections and build independence. Let’s kick student engagement to the next level! Check out the recording! Host: Bharathi Kurtz, High School Math Teacher and UPchieve Research FellowGROWTH MINDSET
: How do you as a tutor and the students you are helping achieve as much growth as possible? Putting key principles into play in your own life will allow you to transfer them more effectively to your students. This training emphasizes the Growth Mindset, how to develop it for yourself, and how to pass it along to students. Getting back to the basics and understanding why they function will help you move past platitudes to deep and enriching development! Check out the recording! Host: Steven Menking, Forum Math and Business TutorOVERCOME BARRIERS TO LEARNING
: Student learning is about more than just content. Learn about the social and emotional barriers your students might be facing and how to work through them. Focusing on the social emotional side of learning will not only help with your session, but will give your students skills to help them continue to succeed. Check out the recording! Host: Bharathi Kurtz, High School Math Teacher and UPchieve Research FellowMAXIMIZE STUDENT LEARNING 💪🏽
In the best tutoring sessions, students do most of the work. Learn how to shift the responsibility from you to the students you work with with small changes to your sessions. You’ll get practical examples of strategies like asking questions, giving feedback, and modeling examples. Check out the recording! Host: Bharathi Kurtz, High School Math Teacher and UPchieve Research Fellow
How can I help students with the college personal statement?
The personal statement is perhaps the most mystical part of the college application process. Students often approach it with a lot of questions and anxiety: How do I pick the right topic? What am I supposed to say? What do they really want from me? College essay specialist, Catherine Andre led a workshop to discuss how to answer these questions and more. She walked through a sample personal statement brainstorming session and answers common questions about how to approach the personal statement and the college application process overall. Check out the recording and presentation! Host: Catherine Andre, Forum College Counselor
Check out our plug and play work worksheets and templates to drop into your virtual classroom!
How can I help students prep for a math test?
Check out this workshop for tutors who can solve any trigonometry problem but have never been trained in the strategies most commonly used by test prep math coaches. Seasoned test prep educator Sara Rahman will walk UPchieve volunteers through a general approach to coaching SAT and ACT math, sharing her go-to tools and resources for teaching essential content as well as best practices for creating an effective tutoring session with limited time. Check out the recording and presentation! Host: Sara Rahman, Forum SAT, ACT, ISEE Tutor
How can I help students strengthen their essays?
Check out our plug and play resources in our Session Helper website. From ready-to-go outline templates to quick responses to the most common questions, we've got you covered!
How can I help students with a “DBQ”?
Many high school students in Advance Placement history classes will need help with a specific type of essay: Document-Based Question or DBQ. [Examples]
Key Features of a DBQ:
Students are presented with 7 documents offering various perspectives on a historical development or process.
Students assess these written, quantitative, or visual materials as historical evidence.
Students develop an argument supported by an analysis of historical evidence.
The document-based question focuses on topics from 1754 to 1980.
Structure of a DBQ Essay:
Introduction: Includes a thesis statement that directly answers the prompt.
Body Paragraphs: Analyze the provided documents, group them by themes or arguments, and use evidence from the documents to support the thesis.
Outside Evidence: Often requires incorporating additional knowledge beyond the documents to strengthen the essay.
Conclusion: Restates the thesis and summarizes the argument.
Grading Criteria: DBQs are typically scored using a rubric that evaluates…
Thesis and argument development.
Use of documents to support the argument.
Historical analysis and reasoning.
Contextualization and use of outside information.