THE BROKEN SPOON
INDEPENDENT LEARNING
M.E. McWilliams, AARC 2009
M.E. McWilliams
Academic Assistance and Resource Center, Director
mmcwilliams@sfasu.edu
McWilliams, 2010
sfasu.edu
AARC
Academic Assistance and Resource Center
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, Texas
McWilliams, copyright 2009
SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

If you were a client,
what would you want
from your tutor?
McWilliams, 2010
THE STORY OF THE BROKEN SPOON
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BROKEN SPOON PHILOSOPHY

We believe that the guiding principle for the existence,
knowledge, and conduct exemplified by the AARC is the theory
of student involvement: The amount of student learning and
The amount of student learning and personal
development associated with any educational
program is directly proportional to the quality
and quantity of student involvement in that
program. (Astin, 1984)
personal development associated with any educational
program is directly proportional to the quality and
quantity of student involvement in that program. (Astin,
1984).

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We believe that the more we can encourage our tutors to
actively engage in the art of tutoring and the more we can
actively engage our clients in the process of studying, the more
we can expect our tutors to develop professionally and our
clients to learn.
McWilliams, copyright 2009
BASIC TUTOR TRAINING SKILL SET
INTERPERSONAL
The tutor will be able to
create responsive,
supportive interpersonal
communication.
COMMUNICATION
TIME
MANAGEMENT
The tutor
reinforces some
effective ways for
the client to better
prepare for
assignments and
tests.
Facilitated by: tutor training
workshops and individual
coaching with Program
Directors
MOTIVATION
ENGAGE
THE
CLIENT!
STUDY
STRATEGIES
The tutor will be
able to motivate
the student to
engage in
learning.
INDEPENDENT
LEARNING
McWilliams, copyright 2009
The tutor will be
able to facilitate
independent
learning.
ITPC CERTIFICATION

LEVEL 1
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GUIDE-ON-THE-SIDE THEORY
The one doing all
the work is the
one doing all
the learning!
(Wong & Wong, 2004)
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GUIDE-ON-THE-SIDE THEORY
INTERACTIVE
ACTIVITES
COACH
MENTALITY
PROCESS
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BROKEN
SPOON
BROKEN SPOON OVERVIEW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWPzDXmTA34
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SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

If you were a tutor,
what would you gain
from a client’s
dependency?
McWilliams, 2010
1. LEAVE IT INCOMPLETE!
PARTIAL HANDOUTS
CONCEPT MAPS WITH EMPTY BUBBLES
NO ANSWER KEYS
CROSSWORD FORGE
QUIZ MAKER
McWilliams, copyright 2009
LEAVE IT INCOMPLETE
 CROSSWORD FORGE
http://www.solrobots.com/crosswordfo
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rge/index.html
LEAVE IT INCOMPLETE

QUIZ MAKER
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http://www.proprofs.co
m/quiz-school/
SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

Name some adjectives
that describe one of
your best tutor’s
sessions?
McWilliams, 2010
2. PLAY GAMES!
BOARD WARS
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
JEOPARDY
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PLAY GAMES
McWilliams, 2010
PLAY GAMES
A contract between the
people and the
government that sets out
the limits of political
authority
A 100
SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

If I were to be a fly on
the wall at your
tutoring center and
watch your tutors tutor,
how would I know
which ones are the
tutors?
McWilliams, 2010
3. ASK QUESTIONS!
FROM SIMPLE RECALL TO ANALYSIS
WAIT 7
DETERMINE ERROR OF INCORRECT ANSWERS
REPEAT CORRECT ANSWERS
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ASK QUESTIONS






Create the story of Goldilocks and
the three fish.
Do you think Goldilocks was good or
bad?
Compare Goldilocks to Little Red
Riding Hood.
If Goldilocks had come to your
house, what might she have liked?
(Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Why did Goldilocks like the little
bear’s chair best?
What did Goldilocks eat in the Bear’s
house?
McWilliams, copyright 2009
ASK QUESTIONS

Only by wrestling with the
conditions of the problem
at first hand, seeking and
finding his own way out,
does he [the student] think.
(Dewey, 1916, p.159-160)
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SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

Tutor Tom’s SI Group
ends at 7:00 p.m. but
you always see him
staying to help clients
on his own time until
8:00 p.m. And you
caught him doing extra
sessions on Sundays
just to be nice. What
do you tell Tom?
McWilliams, 2010
4. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE POT!
PUT PEN AND MARKER IN HANDS OF CLIENT.
ALLOW CLIENT TO RECOGNIZE HIS OWN
ERRORS.
ALLOW CLIENT TO MAKE HIS OWN
CORRECTIONS.
McWilliams, copyright 2009
KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE POT!
McWilliams, copyright 2009
KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE POT!


Doing the work for the client makes the client feel
on the tutor’s talents.
Doing the work for the client makes the client feel
about his/her own
abilities.
McWilliams, copyright 2009
SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

How is a tutor
different from a
teacher?
McWilliams, 2010
5. BE A COACH AND NOT A CRUTCH!
CRUTCH: JUST DOES IT FOR YOU
COACHING: GUIDES, HINTS, REMINDS,
APPLAUDS, CORRECTS
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BE A COACH AND NOT A CRUTCH
GRANDPA—THE COACH
YOUR GRANNY—AKA CRUTCH
Gives reminders, hints,
applause, corrections.
Give it to Granny and
she’ll do it for you.
McWilliams, copyright 2009
BE A COACH AND NOT A CRUTCH
1.
2.
3.
Demonstrate
Coach/guide while
client demonstrates
Step back and let
client demonstrate
alone
“You ARE doing it!”

SCAFFOLDING
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SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

When teaching
someone how to use
excel (or powerpoint
or whatever), what do
YOU do first?
McWilliams, 2010
6. THINK OUT LOUD!
THINK OUT LOUD
REVERSE MODELING
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THINK OUT LOUD
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THINK OUT LOUD



Break into parts
Analyze Parts
Expect Mistakes:
 Zig-zag
 Backtrack

Use the maps:
 Book
 Notes
McWilliams, copyright 2009
SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

What will you do first
to apply independent
learning techniques to
your tutor training?
McWilliams, 2010
7. FIND THE FALSE LIGHT BULB!
DISCOVERS WHERE STUDENTS SAY THEY
UNDERSTAND BUT REALLY DON’T!
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FIND THE FALSE LIGHT BULB
Did you get that?


Yes—because they really
believe they do!
Yes—because they are
embarrassed to say no.
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FIND THE FALSE LIGHT BULB






Explain that in your own
words.
What is the next step?
Can you give an
example?
How is __ not like ____?
Tell me more.
Why?
McWilliams, copyright 2009
The BROKEN SPOON
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Leave it incomplete
Play games
Ask questions
Hands off the pot
Be a coach and not a crutch
Think out loud
Find the false light bulb
SELF-ASSESSMENT!





INDEPENDENT/ACTIVE LEARNING
A. I do most of the work for the client.
B. I do almost all the talking.
C. I ask the client a lot of questions.
D. I really make the client think.
McWilliams, copyright 2009
ASSESSMENT
GOOD
GREAT
McWilliams, copyright 2009
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
INTERPERSONAL
The tutor will be able to
create responsive,
supportive interpersonal
communication.
COMMUNICATION
TIME
MANAGEMENT
The tutor
reinforces some
effective ways for
the client to better
prepare for
assignments and
tests.
Facilitated by: tutor training
workshops and individual
coaching with Program
Directors
MOTIVATION
ENGAGE
THE
CLIENT!
STUDY
STRATEGIES
The tutor will be
able to motivate
the student to
engage in
learning.
INDEPENDENT
LEARNING
McWilliams, copyright 2009
The tutor will be
able to facilitate
independent
learning.
SHOUT OUT!
Who are you? Give me
a shout out and name
your university and
learning center!

Everyone shout out all
YOUR good ideas!
McWilliams, 2010
SOURCES
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Cleveland, J. P. (2008). What Socrates would say to undergraduate tutors.
Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved on Dec. 31, 2008 from
http://chronicle.com/
Carino, Peter. “Power and Authority in Peer Tutoring.” The Center Will Hold: Cirtical
Perspectives on Writing Center Scholarship. Ed. Michael A. Pemberton and Joyce
Kinkead. Logan: Utah State UP, 2003. 96-113. Print.
Crockett, A. (2008). Executive function processes: Promoting self-regulated learning in
the classroom and in academic support programs. Presentation to the Annual CRLA
Conference. Oct. 23, 2008.
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of
education.
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). “A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview.” Theory into
Practice, 41 (4): pp. 212-18.
McWilliams, copyright 2009
SOURCES
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MacDonald, R. (1994). The Master tutor. New York: Cambridge Stratford Study
Skills Institute.
McWilliams, M.E. (2007). The Broken Spoon Video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWPzDXmTA34. New York: Jossey-bass.
Pintrich, P. (1995). Understanding self-regulated learning: New Directions for
Teaching and Learning
Svinicki, M. (2004). Learning and motivation in the post-secondary classroom. Bolten,
MA: Anchor Publishing.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher psychological
processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press.
Wong, H.K and Wong, R.T. (2004). The first days of school: How to be an effective
teacher. New York: Harry K. Wong Publications.
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