Jolie Matthews

11/29/2016
ALE
Jensen Reflection
Eric Jensens seven critical factors are very crucial in the process of a student who is
learning new content. When I first started tutoring I had a bit of a rough patch but once I could
implement the seven critical factors in the tutoring sessions I know I would succeed as an
educator and my tutee as a learner. The critical factors of learning are; engagement, repetition,
input quantity, coherence, timing, error correction and emotional states. When reading Teaching
with the Brain in Mind one can assume that Jensen holds each factor with equal importance but
in my opinion I think that engagement and repetition are two of the most important.
Once I found my niche I used engagement in every one of my tutoring sessions. Before
starting the lesson, we were working on, I would have him do a brain activity to get him to ready
for the lesson we were about to do. I used this as my engagement tactic. Keeping my tutee
engaged and on track was a struggle in the beginning but once I began to do the brain activity all
he wanted to do was math. If we happened to finish the lesson early and still had a bit of time he
would ask to do another brain activity, which in the end was beneficial for the both of us; I did
not waste his time and he was learning.
Repetition was not a hard factor to meet, since I was working with an enrichment class,
repetition was a must. Every time the teacher and I would have a sit down the one and only thing
she would stress to me with the class was the amount of repetition she had to do for her students
to get the content. Now that almost seems as though she was not a good teacher but that is not
the case here, these students just could not grasp the content. So, a little advice she gave to me
about working with my tutee was there would be a lot of repetition with the work we were doing
but eventually he will understand the content.
Something I did eventually try, turned out to work very well with my tutee. We reversed
roles and he became the tutor and I the tutee. I found that this worked in a since that his selfesteem boosted, which in turn got him more engaged. Prior experience has proven to me that if
you can teach something you can master it, and in the end, he was benefiting from this
experience.
The last but of course not least factor I used in every one of my field experiences was
error correction. Error correction is very important in the since that it can either make or break a
student and it all depends on how and what you say. There were a few things I would catch
myself about to say thats wrong, try again, even though there is not much harm in that
sentience, but I found that if I just had my tutee reread the problem and ask if he thinks he that
answer is correct. Thats when it clicks for him and he can locate the mistake and fix it. Once
the correct answer is achieved we end the problem with a praise, usually just a verbal way to
go or good job and somethings it is a high five or fist bump.
Honestly, I feel as though the brain activities not only kept my tutee engaged but also
motivated and it worked for him. He could play a game but in reality, he was able to learn, and

Jolie Matthews
11/29/2016
ALE
have fun and at the 6th grade level having fun in a lesson can insure complete and total
corporation and motivation. He could stay on track and not just do boring worksheets as he
liked to call them. Like mentioned before I think these were very beneficial for him and from
the time we have working together, I hope he could find his niche in learning and continues to
succeed.
My overall field experience, was a blessing. I respect the fact that I could help a student
who was struggling and I was there to watch him grow over the limited amount of time we
worked together. One of my proudest moments while tutoring was when I had the chance to talk
with my teacher and she informed me that one of my tutees test grades were one of his highest
since we began working together, which I saw as an accomplishment for both my tutee and I.
That is a feeling that just builds you up as an educator to see your pupils succeed and it is
something that cannot wait to see happen in my future classroom. The only thing that really put
me out about the overall experience was when I asked my tutee if he enjoyed our tutoring and his
response was only when you get the answers right which kind of upset me but I was to turn
that little bump in the road into a positive and thats when I decided to reverse our roles and he
began to tutor me, and that is where we were able to make progress.
Applied Learning Experience Reflections
There are many classes that I have taken throughout my college career that have set me
up for this exact experience. The three that stand out to me that I can make direct connections to
would have to be college algebra, educational psychology and of course my communications
class. A combination of these classes has set me on the right path in properly communicating
with my tutee.
My educational psychology course has properly prepared myself for understanding my
tutee on new level. I was able to pick up and identify various key points in my tutees process of
learning. I was able to accommodate my learning style without affecting my tutees learning. This
is something I will 100% use when I continue my educational career.
My communications course has prepared me to communicate on a professional level with
the teacher I was working with as well as the principal that allowed me to come into their school
district. This is of course something that I will continue to use throughout my life and with any
professional path that I may be in contact with outside of the educational program as well as
inside the educational septum.
Math is one of my favorite core subjects so I was excited to learn that I would be working
with a 6th grade math class, but its has been years since I have been in one myself so I was rusty
with level 6 math. That I where my college algebra course came in good use. I use my prior
knowledge as well as that course to properly and fluently teach my tutee.

Jolie Matthews
11/29/2016
ALE
World/Global View
Academically our school systems are very competitive with each other, and according to
Jensen this has led to our teachers being required to teach even more content, in a limited amount
of time, and that is failing our students. The content is going in one ear and out the other. The
quality of the content is more important than the quantity of the content and if that would be
implemented into our educational system not only would our school systems prevail but they
would not be failing their students in the process.
The political side of our school system plays into the academic aspect. The politics of the
school system is what is failing our students academically and for those students it is not fair. I
feel as though the political side of the system needs to work hand in hand with the academic side
to ensure that the students are getting the education they deserve.
Culturally every classroom that I have ever been in has had a diverse array of students
which should always be seen and a positive learning experience for any and every one. Working
with students who have a different cultural background than yourself should be valued and
carried with you throughout your educational career.
Public schools are a petri-dish for social interactions which can have either a positive or
negative affect on a students learning ability. It is shown that students who have a positive social
experience in school do better academically than students who have a negative social experience.
Teachers should have a positive and safe social environment in their classrooms to ensure that all
students have a positive experience that they can benefit from.
Economics play a huge part in a students educational experience. It is seen throughout
many schools across the nation that many but not all, people who live in poverty tend to not
value the public-school system. People in middle class to wealthy economic status use the public
and private school systems to their advantage, but I still feel like that is failing our students and
society needs to approach our school systems differently to help our students succeed in every
way possible. That is what Erin Gruwell did in Freedom Writers and that is what I think we as
educators need to do in everyday life for our students and future students.