Reflections on Pathway Tutoring’s First Summer Program
Updated: Jul 17, 2022
Our highly anticipated first Pathway Tutoring Summer Program was concluded on July 9th. We are happy to say that it was a very successful week, with many positive comments from students, parents, and tutors. The overarching consensus was that everyone had all gained something valuable from the experience, and the tutors were proud to have contributed to the academic journeys of the bright students.
To celebrate the accomplishments of the tutors that gave their time to make this educational service possible, Pathway Foundation held an event in the Bellevue City Hall to recognize and reflect upon the summer program.
The event began with free pizza being served and an opening presentation by the Tutoring Administrative Team (Andrew Ho, Jacob Qian, Kevin Xiao) that covered the past year of Pathway Tutoring and the process of getting the summer program up and running. The tutors then reviewed feedback from the parents and participated in a Socratic seminar where they shared their teaching experience. City Councilmember Conrad Lee gave a concluding speech.
Here are some of the experiences shared by the tutors:
“The pathway tutoring summer camp was like none other! I enjoyed meeting the students and getting to know their learning style. As a tutor, I believe that it is extremely important to familiarize yourself with your student's knowledge and skills, so that way you can provide them with the best tutoring experience possible. Overall, I was able to make an impact on a couple students, and many of them felt that their reading and math skills significantly improved.”
- Ani Rao (7th grade math and language arts tutor)
“As the camp progressed, we were able to make a very good bond with each other. On the first day, the conversation was very limited, but soon we were able to make the class more welcoming and appreciative of curious questions, and students found it more comfortable to ask questions and participate.”
- Shravani Bhujbal (Geometry Tutor)
“I think I helped my students be more confident in their math skills. Both of them definitely have the ability, they just needed the practice to confirm how good they already were.”
- Ryan Tyo (Algebra 1 tutor)
“I picked the units that I felt were the most critical in the course that the students were going into next year. Additionally, I also made sure to fill any gaps in understanding of previous math levels that they did not understand so well. Most importantly, the students are able to continue their academic journeys in math with more confidence in themselves.”
- Kevin Xiao (Grade 6 math and Precalculus tutor)
“I was able to use many resources to teach my students including textbooks, WKS, and websites. These all came in handy to diversify the curriculum. Though my student did not have a computer to use Readworks efficiently, I was able to share my screen and go through the content that way.”
- Ryan Tang (Grade 6/7 reading tutor)
“Despite one of my students struggling with language barriers, I was able to coordinate with her sister to carry out live translation during our lessons. Both of my students also made full use of online tools such as google docs and digital textbooks to review homework. The students listened to me and I listened to the students, which helped form a connection that they would like to carry on.”
- Andrew Ho (High school English tutor)
Our seminar discussion was helpful not only for gaining insight to how each tutor taught their lessons, but also for learning how to improve for similar projects in the future.
We also shared out information about parent feedback. The tutors were very happy to see that a vast majority of their feedback was positive, as the parents could all see progress being made in their child’s progress regarding the subjects they wanted to learn. We also reviewed the constructive criticism and noted things to change for next time.
Here is some feedback provided by the parents:
“[My son] understood the concepts. The tutor communicated with him well and showed up on time. I was given a summary each day and the homework practice problems helped. I saw noticeable improvement from my child’s learning.”
- Parent of 6th grade math student
“[My son] found the program very helpful because it was a focused session and tutor to student ratio was good. He liked the lessons because all his questions were answered. The tutor was patient and helpful”
- Parent of 7th grade math student
“The communication with the tutor was quick and smooth. The digital tools they used were helpful for learning. My child learned a lot about adjectives and pronouns. The tutors worked hard to help the students.”
- Parent of high school English student
We at Pathway Tutoring and Pathway Foundation look forward to continuing our efforts and doing our part in reducing educational inequity.
- Tutoring Administrative Team (Andrew Ho, Jacob Qian, Kevin Xiao)