Tutor Training Helps Students Become 
Leaders as well as Effective Tutors

Background / The Challenge / How Lab Works / Hiring Tutors /
Training Tutors / Evaluation / Student's Story / 
Certification, Templates & Resources 

Six-hour workshop; then monthly sessions
     A six-hour workshop at the start of each semester focuses on patience, listening skills and being "sensitive problem solvers." Focus includes guidelines in confidentiality, attendance and accountability (be there on schedule, etc.) "This position, in spite of the pay, requires a professional attitude that is separate from whatever personal relationships tutors share with others," says McLaughlin. "Tutors represent our program on campus and cannot participate in criticism or personal comments; they also act as role models for our students so they must maintain high standards."

Focus less on "providing answers"
     McLaughlin's training focuses less on "providing answers" and more on "helping students gain confidence that they can find answers." What exactly does the student need to know? Guide the student back to the book to restate specifically what is required. She emphasizes the need to communicate with students in a "positive caring way." Tutors learn to help students control their own learning by working through the task while the tutor listens and provides feedback. "Our learning philosophy is that the tutor's goal is to act as a facilitator for the student who is ultimately responsible for his or her own learning.    
     "In working with academic tasks, I try to increase awareness of the power they have as a facilitator. I emphasize the need for listening and assure them that if the student is talking about how to solve the academic task, learning is taking place. The facilitator can help students discover what the problem/task is and guide them as they work."

What characteristics do tutors value?
     Also at this first workshop each tutor is asked to prioritize characteristics they value when being tutored themselves (see below.) "As we share the list, we are always surprised to see how much we value human interaction as we help someone solve academic tasks."
     Tutors are asked to checkmark which of the following qualities are most important to them:

Role playing: "Student comes in huffy and complains"
     Subsequent training focuses on learning styles, study skills or other topics of general interest. Tutors and tutors-in-training also engage in role playing exercises to help prepare them to solve problems. Examples: "Student comes to a math tutor and yells at her because he had the wrong answer on a test." Or "Student comes in huffy and complains that the instructor is terrible." Or "Student is trying to understand math and complains that it is too noisy to study." Tutors are asked, in each case, to identify the problem and suggest solutions. "We have a lot of fun with this," says McLaughlin. "I don't have stock answers. It is important for the students to come up with the answers, to practice problem solving."

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"If the student is talking about how to solve the academic task, learning is taking
 place. "