How do I know if I need a tutor?

If you have math anxiety, working with a tutor will help you. (See Do I have math anxiety?)
If you did poorly on your first math exam, you should meet with a tutor to help you do better on your next exam.
If you often feel like you don’t understand the material in this class, you should work with a tutor.
If you get two low grades in a row on your assignments, you should start meeting with a tutor.

How do I get a tutor?

BYUI offers free tutoring for online students. To schedule a regular weekly meeting with a tutor in Zoom go to the Math Study Center and click on "Schedule a Math Tutor in I-Plan."

How do I get the most out of tutoring?

Be Prepared—The tutor isn’t there to reteach the lessons each week. You need to do your part to read the textbook and complete your assignments. Try your assignments on your own before meeting with your tutor. Write down questions, ideas, or concepts you don’t understand to ask your tutor during your tutoring session.
You Set the Agenda—Let your tutor know what your needs are and bring your questions that you need to have answered. Make sure you ask the hardest question at the beginning. Pay attention and take notes.
Ask the Right Questions—You don’t want your tutor to do the work for you. You want them to help you see where you have gaps in your knowledge and teach you the things you don’t understand. If you ask the right question, this will help you and your tutor spend your time together productively.
- Questions you should ask your tutor:
  - What am I not understanding?
  - What concept am I missing?
  - How do I start this problem?
  - What’s the next step?
- Questions you should not ask your tutor. These questions encourage the tutor to do the work for you, which will not help you learn.
  - What am I doing wrong?
  - How do I do this?
Think Aloud—As you work on math problems think aloud so that your tutor can see where your gaps might be.
Be Honest—You need to be honest with yourself and with your tutor. If you don’t understand something, you should speak up. Also, let the tutor know what is helping you in the tutoring sessions and what is not helping.
Have a Good Attitude—Keeping a “can do” attitude will make tutoring a pleasant experience for you and for your tutor. And a good attitude about math can also help you increase your grade.
Keep Working—It’s very helpful to schedule your tutoring sessions so that when you’re done meeting with your tutor you can spend the next hour working on your math homework on your own and applying what you’ve learned. This will help the things you’ve learned to stay in your long-term memory.

References

How to Make the Most Out of Your Tutoring Sessions by The Brain Domain

Getting the Most Out of a Tutoring Session by Cowley College

How to Make the Most of Tutoring by Augustana College