Tutor Training

THERE IS CURRENTLY no “standard” tutor training package in Ontario’s community-based literacy agencies.(22) Tutor training may be offered on a one-on-one basis as the need arises or the agency may offer group sessions at regular intervals. Some programs hold annual training updates while others host more informal tutor get-togethers as a form of ongoing training. Virtually all agencies include some training on assessment, usually during the initial training.

Assessment training is not always broken out as a separate unit or module in tutor training. Discussion might center around providing feedback to the learner and program staff, or there might have been some suggestions about reviewing previous lessons. Tutors are generally asked to observe and report on how the learner goes about learning a new skill or how he applies that new skill during a tutoring session. This is all ongoing assessment and is one of the tutor’s key roles.

Here are some samples from job descriptions and policies from programs in Ontario and beyond:

• People, Words & Change is a literacy program in Ottawa, Ontario. Its website (23) lists a number of volunteer tutor qualifications including a “willingness to keep records and give feedback on the learner’s progress.”

• The Handbook for Literacy Tutors suggests keeping records/notes and reporting to staff about activities and progress.(24)

• The Renfrew County Community Upgrading Program expects its tutors to “keep an ongoing record of the work done and progress made by the student.”(25)

• The Literacy Council of South Temiskaming in Northern Ontario asks its tutors to “keep written records of the student's progress and report regularly to co-ordinator with evaluation and recommendations.”(26)