If you are talking about walk-in tutoring, I join the others in saying a
6:1 ratio is about right. Our tutors are specifically trained to
facilitate collaborative and active learning. They are encouraged to
engage the group of students rather than focusing on one individual at a
time. There ARE times one-on-one has to happen due to a variety of
factors, however, the tutors have been successful at managing groups of
6-10 periodically.
I think something to consider is what type of training, discipline
content, communication and interpersonal skills your tutors have, will
assist in trying to balance quality academic assistance with effective
management of resources.
Tammy Pratt, Assistant Director
University of Missouri - Rolla
Academic Support Programs
- LEAD
203 Norwood Hall
1870 Miner Circle
Rolla, MO 65401
573-341-6655
http://campus.umr.edu/learn
-----Original Message-----
From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marsh, S. DR USMAPS
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 11:09 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Ratio of Tutors to Students
One semester I conducted an observational study, in which I spent 8-10
hours/week in a drop-in math lab, looking at traffic patterns, time on
task, tutor to tutee ratio, patterns of interaction, use of tutor
training topics, etc. In terms of ratio, I found that 1 tutor to 3
tutees was busy but quite manageable. Once the ratio was 1:4 or +,
tutoring was not as productive ... students waiting for help, tutors
feeling frazzled, etc.
The math lab was available to students in all levels of math, but most
were seeking assistance for pre-calc and calc I. One idea was to arrange
seating according to course, so students could potentially help each
other when a tutor couldn't get right to them. Most of the tutors were
unaware of how long they spent with each student - the average was
probably 5-8 minutes, but would occasionally be up to 40 minutes. This,
obviously, is not very efficient!
Additionally, noting the traffic patterns resulted in a solid bit of
information for scheduling justification.
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