Student Staff Resources

PLEASE NOTE: This form is for SI Leader use only. Leaders may use this form to change or cancel scheduled SI sessions.

Access Form

Saint Joseph's University's Office of Learning Resources (OLR) offers peer tutors the opportunity to complete additional professional development to become eligible to be a Mentor Tutor. In addition to PEAK workshops, students can choose to complete some of the following options to fulfill their training requirements. Please note: Completed reflection questions should be emailed to Coleen Bennett at cbennett@sju.edu.

Fall 2024 - Please check back for Fall 2024 eligible trainings.

Ongoing trainings 

Communication options

OPTION ONE (2 paid hours of training) - Access the article entitled "Meeting the Needs of Linguistically Diverse Students at the College Level" here. After reading the article, answer the following three questions in short answer format (2-3 sentences):

1. Search online for SJU's current resources for ESL learners or international students. Name and describe one resource you found particularly valuable, based on what you read in the article.
2. Explore the OLR website. Name and describe one resource you found that we provide that could be helpful in serving the ESL population.
3. Based on what you read, propose an action that the university should take or a resource it should provide to better serve English language learners.

OPTION TWO (1 paid hour of training) – In their respective TED talks (6 and 14 minutes each), speakers Drew Dudley and Karen Eber offer perspectives on leadership and the power of storytelling. For this training, watch both talks: Drew Dudley and Karen Eber. After watching both videos, answer the following three questions in short answer format (2-3 sentences):

1. Share two things that you learned about storytelling from the lectures.
2. Can you think of a story (or a “lollipop moment”) about yourself or a friend at college that would be helpful to share with students in your tutoring sessions?
3. Think about the content that you tutor (accounting, math, etc.). How could you tell a story to connect content that you tutor to make it easier for students to remember (with an analogy, example, scenario, etc.)?

Study Skills Options

OPTION THREE (1 paid hour of training) - Access the Crash Course video about Planning and Organization here, and the video about Focus and Concentration here. After watching both videos, answer the following three questions in short answer format (2-3 sentences):

1. What is one example of something you use to plan and organize your assignments that you can share with tutees? (calendar, app, etc.)
2. Sometimes the amount of email college students receive can be overwhelming. Do you have any tips for organizing and staying on top of responding to emails?
3. What is one tip about focus and concentration that you can share during your tutoring sessions?

OPTION FOUR (1 paid hour of training) - In their respective TED talks (14 and 18 minutes each), speakers Anita Acai and Tesia Marshik dismantle the legitimacy of the idea of learning styles. For this hour of training, you are asked to watch both: Anita Acai and Tesia Marshik. After you watch the videos, please answer the following in short answer format (2-3 sentences each):

1. Both women debunk the idea of learning styles. Do you agree with their arguments? Why or why not?
2. Anita Acai discusses the importance of "mixing up" the learning. How can you apply this concept to a tutoring session?
3. Tesia Marshik asserts that it is important to match how you are teaching and learning to the task at hand. Think about a concept you have tutored. Based on what the student has to produce (quiz, drawing, etc.), what do you believe is the best way to teach/tutor that particular material? Why?

Special Topics / Electives

OPTION FIVE (1 paid hour of training) - Access the "How Difficult Can this Be?" learning disability interactive workshop video. This is a fantastic video, but be forewarned that it was taped in the late 1980s and features the appropriate hair and shoulder pads of the time. Rest assured that the content is worth it. Watch the video from the beginning through minute 31 (stop at "Visual Motor Coordination"). Play along with the activities and, when you are finished, complete the following three questions in short answer format (2-3 sentences):

1. After watching the Processing section, how can you implement one of Rick Lavoie's suggestions in a tutoring session?
2. After watching Risk Taking, how can you encourage your tutee to take a risk when asking a question in a tutoring session?
3. When completing the Reading Comprehension section, did you better understand Passage 1 or Passage 2? Why do you think this is?

If you like this video, please see the second half of the training below.

OPTION SIX (1 paid hour of training) - Access the "How Difficult Can this Be? learning disability video linked in Option Three (above). If you are only completing this second half of the video, start with the first four minutes of the video, which explain the premise. From there, you may skip to "Visual Motor Coordination," which begins at minute 31. You will watch from there to the end of the video -- roughly 32 minutes. Once you have completed that task, complete the following three questions in short answer format (2-3 sentences):

1. During the dysnomia activity in which the participants create a round robin story, stop the video and attempt one of the sentences in Round Two. Record your sentence as your answer to this question and write a sentence or two about the process of creating that sentence.
2. In the same section, think about Rick Lavoie's comments on time. How can you apply what he has said in a tutoring session?
3. In the ending commentary, one woman comments that she "did not want people to think [she] was stupid." Assuming you may be working with a student with a learning disability (and may or may not know this), how can you help a student who is being self-critical of his or her own "stupidity"?

OPTION SEVEN (1 paid hour of training) - In the Theory of Everything PEAK training, we discussed the idea of growth vs. fixed mindsets. For this training, you are first asked to watch Carol Dweck's TED talk, entitled, "The Power of Believing That You Can Improve." Once you are finished, please watch the 5-minute Sprouts video about growth vs. fixed mindsets. Once you are finished, please answer the following in short answer format (2-3 sentences each):

1. Thinking about Dweck's concept of "not yet," how can you incorporate the idea of "not yet" into a tutoring session?
2. Dweck talks about the importance of praising wisely. Give an example of something specific you could say to a tutee that would be an example of praising wisely.
3. The Sprouts video asks (at the end) if you believe a total switch from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset is possible. Do you? Why or why not? Defend your answer in 2-3 sentences.