10 PRINCIPLES OF A*STAR TUTORING
A*STAR Principle #1: The tutor understands
the central concepts, tools of inquiry, structures and curriculum requirements
and changes of the subject(s) he or she teaches and can create learning
experiences that make these aspects of subject matter clear and meaningful
for students.
A*STAR Principle #2: The tutor understands how students
learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support
their intellectual, social and personal development.
A*STAR Principle #3: The tutor understands how students
differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are
adapted to diverse students.
A*STAR Principle #4: The tutor understands and uses a variety
of instructional
strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking,
problem solving, and performance skills.
A*STAR Principle #5: The tutor uses an understanding of
individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment
that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning,
and self-motivation.
A*STAR Principle #6: The tutor uses knowledge of effective
verbal, nonverbal,and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry,collaboration,
and supportive interaction during the tuition lesson.
A*STAR Principle #7: The tutor plans instruction
based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and
curriculum goals.
A*STAR Principle #8: The tutor understands and uses formal
and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous
intellectual, social and physical development of the student.
A*STAR Principle #9: The tutor is a reflective practitioner
who continually
evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students,
parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively
seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
A*STAR Principle #10: The tutor fosters relationships with
parents, guardians, fellow tutors, schools, libraries and agencies in the larger community to support students'
learning and well-being.
A*STAR Principle #1: The tutor understands
the central concepts, tools of inquiry, structures and curriculum requirements
and changes of the subject(s) he or she teaches and can create learning
experiences that make these aspects of subject matter clear and meaningful
for students.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands major concepts, assumptions, debates, processes of
inquiry, and ways of knowing that are central to the subject(s) s/he teaches.
The tutor understands how students' conceptual frameworks and their misconceptions
for an area of knowledge can influence their learning.
The tutor can relate his/her subject knowledge to other subject areas.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor realizes that subject matter knowledge is not a fixed body of facts
but is complex and ever-evolving. The tutor seeks to keep abreast of new ideas
and understandings in the field.
The tutor appreciates multiple perspectives and conveys to students how knowledge
is developed from the vantage point of the knower.
The tutor has enthusiasm for the subject(s) s/he teaches and sees connections
to everyday life.
The tutor is committed to continuous learning and engages in professional
discourse about subject matter knowledge and student's learning of the subject.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor effectively uses multiple representations and explanations of subject
concepts that capture key ideas and link them to students' prior understandings.
The tutor can represent and use differing viewpoints, theories, "ways
of knowing" and methods of inquiry in his/her teaching of subject matter
concepts.
The tutor can evaluate teaching resources and curriculum materials for their
comprehensiveness, accuracy, and usefulness for representing particular ideas
and concepts.
The tutor engages students in generating knowledge and testing hypotheses according
to the methods of inquiry and standards of evidence used in the subject.
The tutor develops and uses curricula that encourage students to see, question,
and interpret ideas from diverse perspectives.
The tutor can create interdisciplinary learning experiences that allow students
to integrate knowledge, skills, and methods of inquiry from several subject
areas.
A*STAR Principle #2: The tutor understands how students
learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support
their intellectual, social and personal development.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands how learning occurs--how students construct
knowledge, acquire skills, and develop habits of mind--and knows how to use
instructional strategies that promote student learning.
The tutor understands that students' physical, social, emotional, moral and
cognitive development influence learning and knows how to address these factors
when making instructional decisions.
The tutor is aware of expected developmental progressions and ranges of individual
variation within each domain (physical, social, emotional, moral and cognitive),
can identify levels of readiness in learning, and understands how development
in any one domain may affect performance in others.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor appreciates individual variation within each area of development,
shows respect for the diverse talents of all students, and is committed to
help them develop selfconfidence and competence.
The tutor is disposed to use students' strengths as a basis for growth, and
their errors as an opportunity for learning.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor assesses individual and group performance in order to design instruction
that meets students' current needs in each domain (cognitive, social, emotional,
moral, and physical) and that leads to the next level of development.
The tutor stimulates student reflection on prior knowledge and links new
ideas to already familiar ideas, making connections to students' experiences,
providing opportunities for active engagement, manipulation, and testing of
ideas and materials, and encouraging students to assume responsibility for
shaping their learning tasks.
The tutor accesses students' thinking and experiences as a basis for instructional
activities by, for example, encouraging discussion, listening and responding
to group interaction, and eliciting samples of student thinking orally and
in writing.
A*STAR Principle #3: The tutor understands how students
differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are
adapted to diverse students.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands and can identify differences in approaches to learning
and performance, including different learning styles, multiple intelligences,
and performance modes, and can design instruction that helps use students'
strengths as the basis for growth.
The tutor knows about areas of exceptionality in learning--including learning
disabilities, visual and perceptual difficulties, and special physical or
mental challenges.
The tutor knows about the process of second language acquisition and about
strategies to support the learning of students whose first language is not
English.
The tutor understands how students' learning is influenced by individual
experiences, talents, and prior learning, as well as language, culture, family
and community values.
The tutor has a well-grounded framework for understanding cultural and community
diversity and knows how to learn about and incorporate students' experiences,
cultures, and community resources into instruction.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor believes that all students can learn at high levels and persists
in helping all students achieve success.
The tutor appreciates and values human diversity, shows respect for students'
varied talents and perspectives, and is committed to the pursuit of "individually
configured excellence."
The tutor respects students as individuals with differing personal and family
backgrounds and various skills, talents, and interests.
The tutor is sensitive to community and cultural norms.
The tutor makes students feel valued for their potential as people, and helps
them learn to value each other.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor identifies and designs instruction appropriate to students' stages
of development, learning styles, strengths, and needs.
The tutor uses teaching approaches that are sensitive to the multiple experiences
of students and that address different learning and performance modes.
The tutor makes appropriate provisions (in terms of time and circumstances
for work, tasks assigned, communication and response modes) for individual
students who have particular learning differences or needs.
The tutor can identify when and how to access appropriate services or resources
to meet exceptional learning needs.
The tutor seeks to understand students' families, cultures, and communities,
and uses this information as a basis for connecting instruction to students'
experiences (e.g. drawing explicit connections between subject matter and
community matters, making assignments that can be related to students' experiences
and cultures).
The tutor brings multiple perspectives to the discussion of subject matter,
including attention to students' personal, family, and community experiences
and cultural norms.
The tutor creates a learning community in which individual differences are
respected.
A*STAR Principle #4: The tutor understands and uses a variety
of instructional
strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking,
problem solving, and performance skills.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands the cognitive processes associated with various kinds
of learning (e.g. critical and creative thinking, problem structuring and
problem solving, invention, memorization and recall) and how these processes
can be stimulated.
The tutor understands principles and techniques, along with advantages and
limitations, associated with various instructional strategies (e.g. cooperative
learning, direct instruction, discovery learning, whole group discussion,
independent study, interdisciplinary instruction).
The tutor knows how to enhance learning through the use of a wide variety
of materials as well as human and technological resources (e.g. computers,
audio-visual technologies, videotapes and discs, local experts, primary documents
and artifacts, texts, reference books, literature, and other print resources).
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor values the development of students' critical thinking, independent
problem solving, and performance capabilities.
The tutor values flexibility and reciprocity in the teaching process as necessary
for adapting instruction to student responses, ideas, and needs.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor carefully evaluates how to achieve learning goals, choosing alternative
teaching strategies and materials to achieve different instructional purposes
and to meet student needs (e.g. developmental stages, prior knowledge, learning styles, and interests).
The tutor uses multiple teaching and learning strategies to engage students
in active learning opportunities that promote the development of critical
thinking, problem solving, and performance capabilities and that help student
assume responsibility for identifying and using learning resources.
The tutor constantly monitors and adjusts strategies in response to student
feedback.
The tutor varies his or her role in the instructional process (e.g. instructor,
facilitator, coach, audience) in relation to the content and purposes of instruction
and the needs of students.
The tutor develops a variety of clear, accurate presentations and representations
of concepts, using alternative explanations to assist students' understanding
and presenting diverse perspectives to encourage critical thinking.
A*STAR Principle #5: The tutor uses an understanding of
individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment
that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning,
and self-motivation.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor can use knowledge about human motivation and behavior drawn from
the foundational sciences of psychology, anthropology, and sociology to develop
strategies for organizing and supporting individual and group work.
The tutor understands how social groups function and influence people, and
how people influence groups.
The tutor knows how to help people work productively and cooperatively with
each other in complex social settings.
The tutor understands the principles of effective classroom management and
can use a range of strategies to promote positive relationships, cooperation,
and purposeful learning in the group tuition.
The tutor recognizes factors and situations that are likely to promote or
diminish intrinsic motivation, and knows how to help students become self-motivated.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor takes responsibility for establishing a positive climate during tuition and participates in maintaining such a climate during the tuition lesson.
The tutor understands how participation supports commitment.
The tutor values the role of students in promoting each other's learning
and recognizes the importance of peer relationships(for group tuition) in
establishing a climate of learning.
The tutor recognizes the value of intrinsic motivation to students' life-long
growth and learning.
The tutor is committed to the continuous development of individual students'
abilities and considers how different motivational strategies are likely to
encourage this development for each student.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor creates a smoothly functioning learning community in which students
assume responsibility for themselves and one another, participate in decision-making,
work collaboratively and independently, and engage in purposeful learning
activities.
The tutor engages students in individual and cooperative learning activities
that help them develop the motivation to achieve, by, for example, relating
lessons to students' personal interests, allowing students to have choices
in their learning, and leading students to ask questions and pursue problems
that are meaningful to them.
The tutor organizes, allocates, and manages the resources of time, space,
activities, and attention to provide active and equitable engagement of students
in productive tasks.
The tutor maximizes the amount of tuition time spent in learning by creating
expectations and processes for communication and behavior along with a physical
setting conducive to tuition goals.
The tutor helps the group to develop shared values and expectations for student
interactions, academic discussions, and individual and group responsibility
that create a positive tuition climate of openness, mutual respect, support,
and inquiry.
The tutor analyzes the tuition environment and makes decisions and adjustments
to enhance social relationships, student motivation and engagement, and productive
work.
The tutor organizes, prepares students for, and monitors independent and
group work that allows for full and varied participation of all individuals.
A*STAR Principle #6: The tutor uses knowledge of effective
verbal, nonverbal,and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry,collaboration,
and supportive interaction during the tuition lesson.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands communication theory, language development, and the
role of language in learning.
The tutor understands how cultural and gender differences can affect communication
during tuition. The tutor recognizes the importance of nonverbal as well
as verbal communication.
The tutor knows about and can use effective verbal, nonverbal, and media
communication techniques.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor recognizes the power of language for fostering self-expression,
identity development, and learning.
The tutor values many ways in which people seek to communicate and encourages
many modes of communication during tuition.
The tutor is a thoughtful and responsive listener.
The tutor appreciates the cultural dimensions of communication, responds
appropriately, and seeks to foster culturally sensitive communication by and
among all students in the tuition class.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor models effective communication strategies in conveying ideas and
information and in asking questions (e.g. monitoring the effects of messages,
restating ideas and drawing connections, using visual, aural, and kinesthetic
cues, being sensitive to nonverbal cues given and received).
The tutor supports and expands student expression in speaking, writing, and
other media.
The tutor knows how to ask questions and stimulate discussion in different
ways for particular purposes, for example, probing for student understanding,
helping students articulate their ideas and thinking processes, promoting
risktaking and problem-solving, facilitating factual recall, encouraging convergent
and divergent thinking, stimulating curiosity, helping students to question.
The tutor communicates in ways that demonstrate a sensitivity to cultural
and gender differences (e.g. appropriate use of eye contact, interpretation
of body language and verbal statements, acknowledgment of and responsiveness
to different modes of communication and participation).
The tutor knows how to use a variety of media communication tools, including
audio-visual aids and computers, to enrich learning opportunities.
A*STAR Principle #7: The tutor plans instruction
based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and
curriculum goals.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands learning theory, subject matter, curriculum development,
and student development and knows how to use this knowledge in planning instruction
to meet curriculum goals.
The tutor knows how to take contextual considerations (instructional materials,
individual student interests, needs, and aptitudes, and community resources)
into account in planning instruction that creates an effective bridge between
curriculum goals and students' experiences.
The tutor knows when and how to adjust plans based on student responses and
other contingencies.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor values both long term and short term planning.
The tutor believes that plans must always be open to adjustment and revision
based on student needs and changing circumstances.
The tutor values planning as a collegial activity.
PERFORMANCES
As an individual and a member of a team, the tutor selects and creates learning
experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals, relevant to students,
and based upon principles of effective instruction (e.g. that activate students'
prior knowledge, anticipate preconceptions, encourage exploration and problem-solving,
and build new skills on those previously acquired).
The tutor plans for learning opportunities that recognize and address variation
in learning styles and performance modes.
The tutor creates lessons and activities that operate at multiple levels
to meet the developmental and individual needs of diverse students and help
each progress.
The tutor creates short-range and long-term plans that are linked to student
needs and performance, and adapts the plans to ensure and capitalize on student
progress and motivation.
The tutor responds to unanticipated sources of input, evaluates plans in
relation to short- and long-range goals, and systematically adjusts plans
to meet student needs and enhance learning.
A*STAR Principle #8: The tutor understands and uses formal
and informal
assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous
intellectual, social and physical development of the student.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands the characteristics, uses, advantages, and limitations
of different types of assessments (e.g. criterion-referenced and norm-referenced
instruments, traditional standardized and performance-based tests, observation
systems, and assessments of student work) for evaluating how students learn,
what they know and are able to do, and what kinds of experiences will support
their further growth and development.
The tutor knows how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and
instruments appropriate to the learning outcomes being evaluated and to other
diagnostic purposes.
The tutor understands measurement theory and assessment-related issues, such
as validity, reliability, bias, and scoring concerns.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor values ongoing assessment as essential to the instructional process
and recognizes that many different assessment strategies, accurately and systematically
used, are necessary for monitoring and promoting student learning.
The tutor is committed to using assessment to identify student strengths
and promote student growth rather than to deny students access to learning
opportunities.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor appropriately uses a variety of formal and informal assessment techniques
(e.g. observation, portfolios of student work, tutor-made tests, performance
tasks, projects, student self-assessments, peer assessment, and standardized
tests) to enhance her or his knowledge of students, evaluate students' progress
and performances, and modify teaching and learning strategies.
The tutor solicits and uses information about students' experiences, learning
behavior, needs, and progress from parents, other colleagues, and the students
themselves.
The tutor uses assessment strategies to involve students in self-assessment
activities, to help them become aware of their strengths and needs, and to
encourage them to set personal goals for learning.
The tutor evaluates the effect of group tuition activities on both individuals and
the group as a whole, collecting information through observation of tuition
interactions, questioning, and analysis of student work.
The tutor monitors his or her own teaching strategies and behavior in relation
to student success, modifying plans and instructional approaches accordingly.
The tutor maintains useful records of student work and performance and can
communicate student progress knowledgeably and responsibly, based on appropriate
indicators, to students, parents, and other colleagues.
A*STAR Principle #9: The tutor is a reflective practitioner
who continually
evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students,
parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively
seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands methods of inquiry that provide him/her with a variety
of self-assessment and problem-solving strategies for reflecting on his/her
practice, its influences on students' growth and learning, and the complex
interactions between them.
The tutor is aware of major areas of research on teaching and of resources
available for professional learning (e.g. professional literature, colleagues,
professional associations, professional development activities).
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor values critical thinking and self-directed learning as habits of
mind.
The tutor is committed to reflection, assessment, and learning as an ongoing
process.
The tutor is willing to give and receive help.
The tutor is committed to seeking out, developing, and continually refining
practices that address the individual needs of students.
The tutor recognizes his/her professional responsibility for engaging in
and supporting appropriate professional practices for self and fellow tutors.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor uses tuition observation, information about students, and research
as sources for evaluating the outcomes of teaching and learning and as a basis
for experimenting with, reflecting on, and revising practice.
The tutor seeks out professional literature, fellow tutors, and other
resources to support his/her own development as a student and a tutor.
The tutor draws upon fellow tutors within the tuition community and other
professional arenas as supports for reflection, problem-solving and new ideas,
actively sharing experiences and seeking and giving feedback.
A*STAR Principle #10: The tutor fosters relationships with
parents, guardians, fellow tutors, schools, libraries and agencies in the larger community to support students'
learning and well-being.
KNOWLEDGE
The tutor understands individual and group tuition classes as necessary activities within the larger school
context and understands the operations of the relevant aspects of the system(s)
within which s/he works.
The tutor understands how factors in the students' environment outside of
tuition (e.g. family circumstances, community environments, health and economic
conditions) may influence students' life and learning.
DISPOSITIONS
The tutor values and appreciates the importance of all aspects of a child's
experience.
The tutor is concerned about all aspects of a child's well-being (cognitive,
emotional, social, and physical), and is alert to signs of difficulties.
The tutor is willing to consult with other adults regarding the education
and well-being of his/her students.
The tutor respects the privacy of students and confidentiality of information.
The tutor is willing to work with other professionals to improve the overall
learning environment for students.
PERFORMANCES
The tutor participates in collegial activities designed to make the tuition
session a productive learning environment.
The tutor makes links with the students' other environments on behalf of
students, by consulting with parents, counselors, fellow tutors and activities
within the tuition community, and professionals in other community agencies.
The tutor can identify and use community resources to foster student learning.
The tutor establishes respectful and productive relationships with parents
and guardians from diverse home and community situations, and seeks to develop
cooperative partnerships in support of student learning and well being.
The tutor talks with and listens to the student, is sensitive and responsive
to clues of distress, investigates situations, and seeks outside help as needed
and appropriate to remedy problems.
The tutor acts as an advocate for students.
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