UVic SOS Tutor Preparation Guide

Exam-WHAT?

• First, you should know that we call our review sessions “Exam-AIDs”

• Thus, you are an “Exam-AID Tutor”!

• Now let’s talk about what an Exam-AID actually is…

Anatomy of an Exam-AID:

Well-prepared Tutors

Quality review materials

SOS T-shirts provided for you

General Volunteers collect donations at the door

Lots of students!

The Big Picture:

- Tutors just focus on preparing, practicing and presenting their sessions. (of course you can help out with marketing them too if you like!)

- The VP Academics will work with you and the Course Coordinators (if applicable) to oversee preparation of your sessions.

- The VP Marketing and General Volunteers will advertise Exam-AIDs to students and will be cashiers at the review session.

Components of an Exam-AID

Here’s how your session will run:

• 5-minute introduction about SOS • 1 hour of content• 5-10 minute break• 1 hour of content• 5-10 minute break• 1 hour of content

Let’s look at the whole session in more detail…

Welcoming Students

• Before the session begins, one tutor should stand by the door to welcome students and introduce themselves.

• Is this really necessary?• Yes, it helps “break the ice” so students are more willing

to answer your questions in class!

Introduction

• Ask Co-President Sean or Michel for some intro slides to put at the start of your session. One of them will be present to give an overview of SOS and they will also introduce you, the tutors.

• In the event you are introducing the session, be familiar with the intro slides and be able to describe the SOS charity runs in 1-2 mins.

• You can make a fun intro slide about yourself if you like!

• This video can also be used to start a session*: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b3A9tkKw43A (Youtube: Students Offering Support Info Video)*make sure someone brings computer speakers if playing the video or anything with audio

OK, now to the content of your session…

Exam-AID Content

• Focus on explaining the key concepts; make sure to fit all the testable chapters into 3 hours!

• Include about 2 example questions along with each topic.

How to Present the Content?

• This is up to you, but most often it is with a PowerPoint.

• Remember you can also use the chalkboard if you would prefer to write out calculations, draw diagrams, etc.

• You can use the overhead projector if feeling old-school, but the document camera is not available to us.

PowerPoint Development

Here’s my suggested approach…

(the slide backgrounds can be found on the SOS Portal

www.studentsofferingsupport.ca/portal > login >

select Tutor from the left menu)

Topic 1

• Start by putting your slide headings for each topic.

Topic 2

Topic 3

• This will give you an idea of how big the presentation (or your section of it) will be.

• Keep in mind that you have to fit all your topics in the allotted time.

Topic 1a

• Go back and start adding in your mandatory content for each topic.

• Chances are you will need to make more slides to split up that topic

Topic 1b

• If you find there is a lot of text on a slide, you can solve this by splitting it into two.

• Additionally, you do not need to write everything in full sentences.

• Remember to use fairly large text (24 pt.+ font) so people in the back can read it.

• Watch this…

Topic 1b

• Too much text on a slide? Split it!

• Point form can be cleaner

• Larger text is easier to read

• Key Point: Did you notice this was the same info as the last slide, but it looks way easier to digest.

Index

• Now is a good point to make an index

• Topic 1a• Topic 1b• Topic 2• Topic 3

• This will also help you double-check that you covered all your topics

What’s Next?

• Now that you have your content, let’s add some sample questions for each topic.

• If you know how the prof tests, follow their style (usually multiple choice)

• A good approach is to demo how to do problem 1, then let the students solve problem 2 on their own before answering it.

POP QUIZ!

What pair of results is closest to our actual results last year?

a) 100 students, $2000

b) 200 students, $4000

c) 300 students, $6000

d) 400 students, $8000

Sample Question / Example / Pop Quiz / Practice Problem

POP QUIZ!

What pair of results is closest to our actual results last year?

a) 100 students, $2000

b) 200 students, $4000

c) 300 students, $6000

d) 400 students, $8000

POP QUIZ!

What pair of results is closest to our actual results last year?

a) 100 students, $2000

b) 200 students, $4000

c) 300 students, $6000

d) 400 students, $8000

Once you have sample questions for all your topics, the next part gets more fun!

By incorporating some fun into our review sessions, we can make the large amount of information a

lot more appetizing!

• Whoa, that picture just made you a lot more interested!

• Incorporate some related pictures into your show

Ryan is not friends with Ochem!

To make your sessions fun, try adding:

Eye-catching slide photos

Colours!

Audience Interaction, integration or participation

Analogies can be hugely helpful if they work

A semi-related joke or funny/personal story

A real-world example/application

Emotional story or example

An outside-the-box example!

A short YouTube Video

Review

• Make sure to do occasional mini-reviews.

So far your session should have:

Content

Example problems

Some fun aspects

Index

Occasionally referring back to your index helps map the session so the students know where they are:

1. Exam-WHAT?

2. Starting your PowerPoint

3. Incorporate Fun

4. Conclusion Oh look, we’re almost done!

Conclusion

• Yes, being an SOS Exam-AID Tutor is a lot of work; however, I think you will find it extremely rewarding!

• You get unmatched teaching experience, help many other students, and raise money for projects that enhance education in developing countries!

“Definitely worth the fee, especially considering it is for a charitable cause.”

“This is a really great program. I find this more helpful than the review sessions put on by the professors.”

“Loved how it was a full overview of the course in such a short amount of time and cheap!”

“Awesome explanations and examples.”

“I feel much more confident in the material.”

“Keep it up. This was really helpful”

Quotes from Students