Socrato Learning Analytics Blog » Teaching

“Six Word Essay Contest” Honors Great Educators

Scott Cronenweth — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:45:13 +0000

Standing squarely on the front lines of education, teachers and tutors are an easy target for blame and criticism around poor student performance. Between layoffs, pay-for-performance, school budget cuts, standardized curriculums, school closings and reconstitutions, and even the potential privatization of public education by corporate interests, this is a tough time to be a teacher.

Against that backdrop of unrelenting public criticism, media scrutiny and economic jeopardy, an essay contest might not seem like much of a counter-force. But for an educator who is feeling overworked, underappreciated and out of sorts, kind words of admiration and approval might be just what is needed.

On January 18^th, the grassroots education reform nonprofit StudentsFirst launched its “Six Word Essay Contest” on what it means to be a great teacher. The idea behind the contest was to present an opportunity to celebrate those teachers who had a significant impact on our lives, and “to remind our country of the value of a great teacher.” (And the winner will receive an iPad 2 and a $500 gift certificate to buy school supplies for the classroom of their choice.)

What’s especially fun and inspiring about these essays is that they are all only six words long. They’re quick to read and easy to share: a little lift of heartfelt, positive energy that many teachers and tutors would probably enjoy, as the end of another semester draws closer. Certainly they do an amazing job capturing the value and essence of great teaching, and the impact teachers can have on students.

StudentsFirst received over 28,000 of the six-word essays from over 25,000 of its members. After what must’ve been some frantic judging, on February 2 they announced the 30 finalists. Everyone is welcome to vote for his or her favorites. You can even check out what famous athletes, authors and entertainers say about the great teachers in their lives.

Here are a few of my favorites from among the 30 finalists:

Planting the seed of I can. — Sinora W., Illinois

Handing out keys to the world. – Ann Marie O., Michigan

She said I can be anything. – Yuji N., New Jersey

Watch them soar, then demand more. – Pancho S., Oregon

Point out the stars. Provide rockets. – Adam L., Illinois

Teaching is a vitally important profession that powers the core of our society. In fact, a recently published long-term study by economists at Harvard and Columbia shows the staggering economic and social impact of competent teachers. Looking at the lives of 2.5 million students over 20 years, the study found that students who had highly effective elementary and middle school teachers went on to have much better “outcomes in life” – higher earnings, nicer houses, fewer teen pregnancies, and so on – than students who had lower-performing teachers.

Obviously teachers and tutors need to be supported via public policy, not just honored with words. These little essays rise above the polarized policy debate to shine some light on what really matters: the value of our teachers and tutors.

SAT vs ACT: Choosing the Right Test [NEW EBOOK]

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Our free 20-page ebook is a step-by-step guide on how to select the right test for your student. Learn everything you need to know about using the PLAN and PSAT to improve student scores, how to leverage learning analytics to select one test over the other, and other tips on how to take the guesswork out of selecting the ACT vs the SAT.

4 Tips for Connecting with New Learners

Scott Cronenweth — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:24:37 +0000

Whether we’re tutors, bakers or candlestick makers, we’re all forming and making “first impressions” every day. Human beings are masters of verbal and nonverbal communication, and it only takes between a few seconds to perhaps three or four minutes to evaluate someone and form an opinion based on their appearance, body language, demeanor, mannerisms and “energy.”

First impressions might be quick to form, but they’re slow – if not impossible – to change. Thus, the time we spend connecting with someone when we first meet him or her is important. This is especially true for tutors because your tutees’ first impressions can positively or negatively influence their subsequent learning performance.

The goal is to make your first meeting with a tutee a positive experience! You want to establish a genuine, open rapport. You can find basic “make a great first impression” tips (be on time, be courteous, etc.) in dozens of places online. Here are some tutoring-specific tips on first impressions gleaned from these simple-but-effective online tutor training materials offered by the Learning Assistance Center of City College of San Francisco.

Tip 1: Listen effectively

Start by greeting your tutee and giving them your undivided attention. One of the most important ways to create a good rapport with learners is to listen patiently to what they have to say, ask open questions, and be open and nonjudgmental about what they’re saying. Listen with your body by facing the speaker squarely, smiling and nodding your head.

Nonverbal messages are oftentimes the most potent form of communication. If you’re unsure about how your communication style and skills might be affecting your interactions with others, try taking an interpersonal communication skills test. This one with 34 questions from Queendom.com (the Land of Tests is recommended.

Good listening is a vital skill for tutors – yet many tutors probably spend too much time talking, rather than facilitating learning by discussion. Here is some great guidance on effective listening.

Tip 2: Make sure you know why the learner wants your help

You need to know why someone wants your help so that you can better plan subsequent tutoring sessions. Some students know exactly why they need or want tutoring, while others are only aware of general trouble spots. Others can only say that they’re confused. Others may have had failures in the subject area in the past and are fearful or under-confident, and in need of emotional as well as academic support. Still others may have been directed to tutoring for a required subject, but have no real interest in it.

A good place to start is just to ask where the learner is having problems or wants to improve performance. Alternatively, you can start by reviewing the course outline and related materials like texts or assignments. Ask questions that support the learner to say what he or she understands or finds confusing about the material.

Tip 3: Ask the right questions

Good question-asking techniques are vital to successful tutoring. Even your choice of words is important. Try asking positive, open questions like: “What do you understand?” versus “What don’t you understand?” – the latter is much tougher to answer!

Another key to questioning is to wait respectfully for an answer. Don’t be too quick to answer your own questions. Instead, let your tutee reflect if they need to – even if the conversational silence seems awkward.

Keep in mind also that “leading questions” that leave lots of space for a range of responses are often more effective than yes/no questions. Leading questions are often more appropriate when asking a student to demonstrate understanding, for instance.

Similarly, “what-if” questions are great for expanding possibilities for learning. The Socratic Method – teaching through inquiry – is among the most powerful teaching techniques. What better way to learn than to figure things out for yourself?

Tip 4: Show you care

We all know that caring makes a great first impression. How does a student know you care about them? You greet them by name and pronounce their name correctly. You’re able to laugh with them. You commend their accomplishments. And if they test you with misbehavior, you don’t ignore it.

Featured photo courtesy of glennoi.

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Athletics and Academics – What Tutors Should Consider

Scott Cronenweth — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:07:47 +0000

As the new school year gets underway across the US, students of all ages are signing up for sports and getting into the swing of pre-season practices. Decisions about what sport(s) to participate in can be as challenging as decisions about what classes to take – and can potentially have a huge impact on the lives of students, their families, their college aspirations and possibilities, and more.

Does participation in athletics ultimately support or hinder academic achievement? What does the relationship between athletics and academics really come down to? As a tutor, depending on your relationships with the students (and parents) you work with, you may be called upon to offer opinions and advice. And like many teachers, possibly you’ve seen your students miss sessions, skip assignments or otherwise seem to slack off due to athletics.

Are commonly voiced prejudices around mixing academics and athletics justified? Here are some thoughts on the matter from the blogosphere.

Sports = greater self-confidence

Positive self-esteem enables people to feel good about who they are and what they can do, which gives them enhanced confidence to meet new challenges. Numerous studies positively correlate participation in sports with greater self-confidence in both girls and boys. This may be especially important during adolescence, when students are under intense pressure to deal with huge developmental and social changes – during which their self-esteem often declines.

This correlation supports growing evidence that academic participation “… has a positive effect on the lives of participating students, especially in an academic arena.” Many recent studies have found that student-athletes have higher career aspirations, better school attendance – which could likely improve academic motivation and performance.

Sports = better time management

Student-athletes are forced to find a way to fit in their classes, studies, time to eat, sleep, etc. on top of the demands of sports programs. Student-athletes self-report that this motivates them to stay organized and to schedule and manage their time efficiently. Whereas in the off-season they might be more inclined to let things slide, hang out and socialize more, etc.

Jeff Ward, Director of Athletics at Bowdoin College, looks at grades for pretty much all Bowdoin’s student every semester. He has an interesting view on the academic performance of the college’s student-athletes: “You would think in season there would be a slight drop-off [in grades]– that does not seem to be the case. From talking with students my sense is that their lives are a little more organized when they’re in season. As a consequence they do just as well and possibly even a little bit better when they’re in season.”

An “athletic subculture” = greater academic motivation

It’s hard to say which comes first: a competitive inclination that predisposes a student to excel in sports and academics, or greater drive that comes from playing sports. Either way, a number of studies, including one performed at UConn in 2008, have explored how the peer pressure of a competitive sports culture (which clearly exists in the US both in schools and in the wider culture) predisposes student-athletes to excel in academics also.

Thoughts for tutors

What’s the bottom line for tutors on this issue? Your role as an academic support becomes even more crucial given the need for student-athletes to work and learn efficiently. Supporting better time management and organization could have a big impact on your learners’ success. The more flexible you can make your service delivery model, the better you can serve student-athletes. Finally: whatever your personal experiences and potential biases against mixing sports and academics, recognize that both endeavors are important.

What are your ideas and experiences on this issue? Please comment and share.

Featured image courtesy of Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

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Four-Day School Weeks – What Might They Mean for Tutors?

Scott Cronenweth — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:22:29 +0000

Driven by hopes of cutting transportation, heating and staff costs, more and more school systems are moving to a four-day school week. Small, rural school districts have been in the vanguard of this trend, but larger urban districts are also making the shift. Right now at least twenty US states have one or more school districts operating on a four-day week, including California, Arizona and Michigan.

Though shorter school weeks have been implemented from time to time in the US since the 1930s, and briefly became widespread during the “energy crisis” of the 1970s, definitive studies and reports on the impact of the shortened school week are few. This research brief is one of many that indicate that the change can often improve attendance and morale for both students and teachers.

Some proponents even tout improved academic performance; especially where cost savings might forestall teacher layoffs or larger class sizes. (Most evaluations indicate that there is no net effect on achievement, though some reports have shown reduced test scores.) Opponents raise concerns about how long, tiring days in the classroom will affect young children, and point to the burdens placed on working parents to find costly daycare.

What is the impact of the four-day week on tutors and tutoring? There may be some downsides the overall effect is likely to be positive.

Most encouraging is the fact that some districts instituting a four-day week are explicitly inviting students who need extra help to come to school on their “off day” for tutoring sessions. In some cases, schools are reinvesting the money they’re saving to create tutoring opportunities, such as hiring one-on-one tutors for academic underachievers.

Similarly, when the school system in Georgia’s Peach County moved to a four-day week, several community organizations (including Boys and Girls clubs and a church) began offering affordable tutoring on Mondays (their “off day”) for only $10 to $15.

Will students have less time and energy after school for tutoring on the days when they attend classes? Some tutors may need to shift their schedules to connect with learners on their off day or on weekends – possibly making for some intensely busy days for tutors. But most schools are pushing dismissal ahead by no more than an hour, while reducing lunch and recess times. So after-school tutoring opportunities might not be adversely impacted.

Tutors who connect with students online or “on demand” might benefit from an increase in business as learners move to fit tutoring into their new school-day schedules. For example, tutors who can support “digital learners” who want to learn anytime, anyplace, at their own pace, may take yet more business from traditional tutoring services due to the shorter school week.

The “bottom line” for tutors is that shortening the school week can potentially create new opportunities: first by opening up a “tutoring day” on Monday or Friday, and second through increased demand for services in areas where schools are hiring tutors. As always, those who can adapt their offerings to the changing needs of students and their families will be positioned to make the most of the situation.

Featured photo courtesy of Jean Valley.

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7 Tips for Turning Spring Fever to Your Advantage

Scott Cronenweth — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:59:36 +0000

The “up and out” energy of springtime is building – and so is the pressure of the final testing period. The end of the school year feels close enough to touch. For high school seniors, “senioritis” is epidemic and motivation for learning seems to have melted away along with the snow.

This is a demanding and often frustrating time of year for most educators. But nobody has it tougher than tutors, many of whom are engaging with kids who’ve already weathered a full day in a hot classroom.

How can tutors turn spring fever into learning excitement? Here are seven timely tips from the teaching trenches.

Bring the outside in

Since everyone’s attention is drawn to the explosion of life happening outdoors, find a way to align that focus with your learning objectives. Choose reading materials with summer themes, suggest writing about summer plans, or plan science “field work” studies in outdoor settings.

Channel creativity

Nature’s creative magic inspires creative expression. Whether through art or technology – or both – give that expressive energy an outlet through your lesson plan.

Let kids rule

Breaking routine is a great way to motivate students to embrace new challenges. Now is a good time to offer learners choices – let them suggest topics they’re drawn to explore, or pick a new way to engage with a topic. Perhaps you can work together to create “mini lesson plans” around their inspirations.

Preview coming attractions

Once exam prep winds down, students love an opportunity to sample the curriculum for an upcoming grade, or a college-level class. This can build confidence as well as get them excited about learning adventures to come.

Provide space for reflection

The end of the school year brings with it a heady emotional mix of freedom and farewell. Creating a lesson plan that gives students a way to reflect on the academic year can be beneficial to both them and you. Now might likewise be a good time to survey your students on your time together. Take the opportunity to share with them how far they’ve come and what you see as their strengths, and also offer suggestions for what they need to work on.

Give ‘em a break

This one is a no-brainer. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and let students release stress and pent-up energy through a few minutes of physical activity. Take a break and spend a few minutes outside. Even just standing on a sunny sidewalk swinging your arms for a few minutes is a great way to ground and balance the energy in the body and feel refreshed.

Start where you are

You’re a professional, but chances are you’re not perfect. If you’re feeling stressed or frustrated by your students’ high springtime distractibility, start by acknowledging that to yourself, without judgment. Take a moment before and after sessions to ground and release tension. Doing something you enjoy with your students is another way to infuse your interaction with positive energy.

Inspiration for this post came from friends and family who are educators, as well as these blogs and articles:

Featured photo by christmasstockimages.com.

The Ultimate Social Media and Marketing Guide for Tutors

Shannon Sweetser — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:31:28 +0000

This last decade was a challenging one for marketers, but it doesn’t have to be for tutors who need online marketing know-how.

The arrival of social media, smart phones and growing connectivity to the internet changed all the rules for many marketers who were used to traditional methods of attracting business. Suddenly you didn’t need a huge marketing budget to make an impact and connect with prospective customers; you could make a pretty solid niche impact with patience and a grassroots, organic way of thinking.

It’s simply not enough to advertise to your prospective customers, many block those messages out and instead search through online recommendations and use Google searches to find what they’re looking for. For this reason, we created the Socrato blog. Though the core of our business is to help tutors prepare their students for standardized tests through our custom learning analytics, we also want to provide value to tutors beyond our products.

This blog has been our sounding board to discuss not only our special point of view of what is happening in the tutoring industry, but also a place where we could share our marketing expertise with the tutoring population and help them grow their business online. So far we’ve amassed quite a bit of content on this blog around the subject and I thought it would be helpful to put it all in one place as the ultimate marketing guide for tutors.

Enjoy!

Facebook Marketing for Tutors

5 Common Mistakes Tutors Make on Facebook and How to Fix Them

How to Add Color to Your Tutoring Brand Using Facebook [3 Examples]

3 Reasons Tutors Need a Facebook Page Today

FourSquare Marketing for Tutors

How Tutoring Companies Can Use FourSquare Specials to Attract Students

How to Build Your Local Tutoring Presence Using FourSquare

SEO and Local Marketing

5 Free Local Tools to Kick Start Your Tutoring Presence Online

4 Offsite Marketing Opportunities Every Tutor Should Embrace

How Tutors Can Use Long Tail Keywords to Get Found by Local Searchers

Marketing Strategy

Is Digital Darwinism Making Your Tutoring Business Obsolete?

Why Tutors Should Heed Google Experts Social Media Advice

How Tutors Can Build a Likeable Online Reputation

Blogging for Tutors

Transform Your Tutoring Blog from a Wall Flower into a Socialite

How to Build a Blog Your Tutoring Audience Loves

5 Simple WordPress Blog Tools Every Tutor Should Add Today

How Tutors Can Get More Leads from Existing Blog Content

Video Marketing for Tutors

Why Every Tutor is Ready to Start Publishing Video Tonight

6 Things Tutors Can Learn from Merriam-Webster’s Online Video Campaign

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SAT vs ACT: Choosing the Right Test [NEW EBOOK]

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How to Add Color to Your Tutoring Brand Using Facebook [3 Examples]

Shannon Sweetser — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:01:21 +0000

Though it may be a cake walk to create a Facebook business page, it’s not an easy venture to make it engaging to your tutoring prospects.

Fortunately you don’t need to learn how to do Facebook right all alone. There are many businesses who have paved the way before you to creating engaging and creative Facebook business pages, should you take some time to look for them. Using these pages it’s easy to glean some proactive moves you can make to help build a Facebook business page that attracts your prospects, engages them and keeps them interested in the months to come.

To help teach you these tips, I point you to a few successful Facebook pages which articulate the value of getting creative and colorful on your Facebook page. Enjoy!

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online

We’ve already talked about some of the fantastic video content that Merriam-Webster has been putting together, but how they’re using it on Facebook is even better. They’re actually embedding the videos straight into Facebook for their fans to enjoy without leaving the Facebook platform!

If you’ve yet to create a piece of video content and share it on your Facebook wall with your followers you’re missing out on a fantastic opportunity to stimulate their minds and foster some engagement. Don’t worry if people don’t react right away to your change of place, keep the video content interesting and post it during times when your prospects might be at leisure to watch a piece of video content.

Tutor.com Online Tutoring for Military Families

If you’re only posting text updates to try to engage your tutoring prospects on Facebook, try to stimulate them with photos instead as Tutor.com Online Tutoring for Military Families has done. Photos are a great way to break up the monotony of your Facebook page and draw attention to your brand in the prospect’s feed. In the past year, Facebook has put even more emphasis on highlighting photos on Facebook, so if you haven’t experimented with creating visual content, now is a great time to start. If you’d like a comment about the photos to appear, I recommend adding a brief summary of the photos in your photo album (this will appear in the feed). If you upload a single photo at a time, then be sure to make create a description of that photo as well so the context of your photo appears in the feed, too.

Vocab Videos

One way to create content for your Facebook page and involve your fans is to feature a contest or showcase of talent from your fans. One educational business on Facebook that does this well is Vocab Videos, a SAT prep service that creates humorous vocabulary videos to help students learn difficult SAT words easily. They often feature student created contests on their various social accounts which lead to a lot of repeat engagement from Facebook fans while getting word out about the contest through showcasing each individual submission.

featured photo by Capture Queen

SAT vs ACT: Choosing the Right Test [NEW EBOOK]

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Tutor’s Dilemma: Meet the Needs of the Student or Make Parents Happy?

Shannon Sweetser — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:54:25 +0000

As I was doing my usual rounds on the internet to discover what nuggets of educational joy I should base my bi-weekly blog post on, I discovered this thought-provoking post by Mark Sklarow, Executive Direct of the Independent Educational Consultant Association which discusses the obligations that IECs have toward the students, parents, school, college and program. In it Mark does a good job emphasizing the responsibilities of keeping parents informed, giving good advice based on solid information and reflecting the child’s actual abilities and challenges in a way that doesn’t patronize, cover-up or exaggerate.

Putting Ideals into Action

However, in practice it’s harder to put these ideals into action when you have a parent who “has paid good money” to see results for their child, or has unreasonable expectations. These pressures can be especially tough on tutors who, according to some horror stories I’ve heard, often been expected to package the child like a product to pitch to the parent’s alma.

Though most parents might not be the horrible monsters that these stories make them out to be, these tales do have the same effect as an Aesop’s fable. They inspire us to think on our moral rights and responsibilities professionally. Even if a parent never asks you as a tutor outright to write an essay or get their student into a highly competitive school that the student simply doesn’t have the capacity for, you may at some point have to decide if your job is to serve the parent or the student. However, to run an ethical and helpful tutoring business, you really have no other choice but to represent the needs of the student to the parent fairly and perform the actions that best meet the student’s needs rather than the parent’s desires.

How Tutors Can Better Manage Parents

There are a few ways that tutors can manage the relationship with parents while serving the student. For one, if you’re a tutor who offers SAT and ACT prep services to students, you could use testing data to establish a firm baseline for the student and communicate what can be done for the student in a realistic way. In this way, tutors could take a tip from marketers and underpromise and over-deliver on results. Avoid telling the parent what they want to hear, instead tell them what they need to hear.

You should also be sure to use learning analytics (such as the learning analytical software by us at Socrato) to firmly ground the parent into the reality of how the student is currently performing. Parents too often see their children as they want them to be, not as they actually are — though this is often the sign of a loving, parental mind, it can often lead to a lot of pressure on the student to reach goals that are often loftier than they can obtain.

Another way to better meet the needs of your student while managing the parental relationship is to offer the parent a way to easily track their child’s progress. You should also keep the parent informed of what they can do to help strengthen their student’s performance.

featured photo by ragardner4

SAT vs ACT: Choosing the Right Test [NEW EBOOK]

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6 Must-Download iPad Apps for Tutors

Shannon Sweetser — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:41:12 +0000

While you may lean on traditional teaching methods as the foundation of your tutoring business, the world is moving quickly in the other direction.

As a tutor who is dealing with a generation of students who grew up around computers, it’s your responsibility to break through the technological clutter of their daily lives and help them focus on the task in front of them. However, it sounds simpler than it actually is in practice, more often than not you may have to use the tools that are familiar to the student to help them connect with the study material. Instead of forbidding technology that distracts students, bring that technology in as a teaching tool.

There are a lot of teaching tools out there you could use during your tutoring sessions, but none is as portable, as powerful and useful as the iPad. Here are a few must-download iPad apps for tutors that you can use to make your tutoring sessions more stimulating for your student without losing site of the traditionalist inside you.

Graphing Calculator HD

With nearly all the functionality of a TI-82 (and 99% off the TI-82’s $80 sticker price) this little app is a great tool for students in algebra, calculus, trigonometry or other advanced mathematics.

Math Formulas

When your student is stumped on which mathematical formula to use this helpful app is a great studying tool to help get them back on the right track.

Flash-Me

Now you can use Cramberry (a stand-up online flashcard maker) on your iPad! With Flash-Me, you can create, edit and study your flash cards on your iPhone. You can also share these flashcards as studying tools with your student.

DropBox

Are you going a little crazy trying to keep track of all of your important tutoring tools, documents and important papers? Then you need DropBox. With DropBox you won’t waste precious time searching for a video or piece of content you need for your student, instead you can use DropBox to store all of your documents in one place, sync all of your computers and devices, and create public folders that you can share with your students to access.

Algebra Touch

If your student needs help visualizing Alegbra problems, this little tool could come in handy. The student can tap to simplify the equation, rearrange it, and draw lines to eliminate identical terms.

iAnnotate PDF

If you’re working on the SAT Essay portion of your tutoring sessions or doing a little comprehensive ACT prep, this tool could be helpful to you. Using this App your students can turn a PDF into a document that they can highlight, annotate, and scribble all over.

featured photo by jossfassbind.com

SAT vs ACT: Choosing the Right Test [NEW EBOOK]

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5 Clever SAT Preparation Videos to Share with Your Tutoring Students

Shannon Sweetser — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:00:50 +0000

Though you may have a defined strategy for helping your students achieve their best scores on the SAT, you may from time to time want to mix up your tutoring experience and connect with your students on their level.

Online video is a great way for tutors to connect and engage with students online and get their name out about their brand. Now that high quality video cameras are easily available to the public and online video software comes loaded onto our computers, creating video isn’t as difficult as it used to be. That means that a lot more teachers, tutors and students are creating helpful SAT preparation videos which millions of users can access 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

After spending a couple of hours on YouTube combing through some very bad and boring SAT preparation videos, I’ve unearthed 5 clever videos that really have the ability to engage and connect with students. You can use these videos to engage with your student, start a conversation about a new tutoring topic, or help your student relax before the big SAT test comes up.

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1. SAT Words in Real Life

by Knewton

Knewton SAT has a clever way to bring the SAT words which plague millions of high school students to life. Through these short less-than one minute clips students can learn how to apply the words they’re reading on flash cards to real life scenarios. It also teaches the student how to associate a story with a word as a memory device.

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2. SAT Reading Prep: Long Passages

by Prep Interactive

You’ll find a lot of SAT tips and trick videos online but I thought this one was particularly good at summarizing a strategy for reading long passages on the SAT. I also thought the age and look of the speaker was appropriate for high school students who may connect more with the video if they feel that the speaker is young, hip and attractive. The speaker almost looks like he stepped of the set of an MTV show or the set of Twilight. On top of that, the videos are controlled, easy to digest and thanks to the trust-worthy quality of the source, your pupils will be easily engaged with the whole series by Prep Interactive.

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3. Real SAT Stories: Living Up to Your Potential

by erpepper

If your student is having difficulty with staying relaxed and envisioning their potential, Karl Schellscheidt, CEO of ePrep, has a message for your student: stick it out.

Though Karl Schellscheidt admits that not every one is capable of getting a perfect test score, he does have a positive message for students who aren’t happy with the test scores they received after working so hard for them. It’s a positive message and an engaging store well worth sharing with your students.

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4. SAT Rap: “Relax” by Charter Squad

by Elka131

The week leading up the SAT can be a whirlwind mind suck for your pupil. When you spend so much time working with the student and trying to prepare them for test day it’s easy to forget to remind them to laugh, smile and do their best.

This awesome rap by the teachers at Believe High Schools gently reminds students of important SAT preparation tips and reminds them to get ready, but also to relax, too. This would be a great video to show your students as a “last tip” before test day.

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5. Guessing on the SAT is Wrong

by MysteryTutorVideos

The Mystery Tutor is just the sort of distracting and useful education that students crave. This mysterious tutor donning Groucho Marx glasses and a full on ninja bunny suit has a lot of fantastic tips for students on his YouTube channel.

Students will enjoy the initial weird of the video, but with less emphasis on the looks of the instructor, it places much more emphasis on the quality SAT prep content.

featured photo by Cordey