Fullmer Designing and Implementing a Tutor Training Program

24/F 3:30 PM Miller

Type_Presentation 90 Minute Concurrent session

PresentationTitle Designing and Implementing a Tutor Training Program

Presentation_description This presentation is aimed at tutors, tutor trainers, and administrators who would like to design and implement a tutor training program for professional and peer tutors. The presentation will include the following topics: engaging participants, pre and post testing, lesson plans, activities, resources, and tutor assessment through observation and self-evaluation.

Presentation_complement   The designing and implementing of a tutor training program and application for certification has been a major accomplishment of the Learning Resource Center of Lincoln University. The training of tutors has contributed to the improvement of services to students at the LRC. In this presentation practical information will be shared: collecting information through pre and post testing, lesson plans and activities, and observation and evaluation of tutors.

ProgramStrand_Primary     Learning Assistant Center Management

ProgramStrand_Secondary Research and Evaluation

Purpose

The purpose of this presentation is to share information, strategies and tips on designing and implementing a tutor training program.

Learning Objectives
• Participants will be able to understand the process in designing and implementing a tutor training program.
• Participants will become knowledgeable of the components of a tutor training program.
• Participants will be able to design a lesson plan for a tutor training session.
• Participants will become knowledgeable of the resources for tutor training.
• Participants will be able to design an observation and evaluation protocol for tutors.

Significance to the Field
A tutor training and certification process contributes to the credibility of a college tutoring program. Training ensures that tutors are skilled and contributes to improving services to students.

Relevance
One of the first objectives I developed as Assistant Director of the Learning Resource Center (LRC) was to provide training to the tutors and increase the credibility of the tutoring program. I would have welcomed a detailed template and structure when designing the training program. I want to share the design and implementation of the tutor training program at the LRC in order to assist tutor trainers and administrators who wish to develop their own training program that meets certification guidelines.

Content

Topic Explanation
Beginning the design: input from prospective participants Gathering information from tutors concerning what training topics they would like and integrating these topics into the CRLA topics for certification.
Timing Planning when and where to conduct training.
Pre and Post Testing Collecting information for an evaluation of the knowledge gained from the tutor training program.
Lesson Plans Organizing information for the individual training sessions.
Activities Developing individual and small group activities to engage the participants and encourage their participation.
Resources Researching informational resources for the training sessions’ topics.
Evaluation of sessions Reviewing an assessment protocol for each session.
Tutor Journaling Written reflection by the tutor trainees.
Tutor Observation Protocol Devising an observation protocol from best practices.
Tutor Assessment Creating a tutor self assessment tool.

Audience Interaction and Engagement
Methodology will consist of individual and small group activities in addition to whole group discussion and PowerPoint presentations. The following strategies will encourage audience participation and engagement:
• Ice breaker activity the type of which will be dependent on the size of the group.
• A one page journal will be offered to the participants for them to write down what they believe would be helpful and useful. In this manner the participants will be introduced to this strategy of tutor trainee journaling.
• A short pretest and posttest will be administered. The participants will again be introduced to this component of the tutor training program.
• Participants will be requested, as a whole group, to list on a flip chart what topics they would like covered.
• Participants, as a whole group, will be asked to list the components of a tutor training program on a flip chart.
• After presenting an outline of a lesson plan, participants, in small groups, will be requested to formulate a lesson plan for one of the above topics and present their plan to the whole group.
• Participants, as a whole group, will brainstorm where to find resources and activities on a flip chart.
• Participants, as a whole group, will brainstorm best practices for tutor behavior.
• Participants, in small groups, will devise an observation protocol and tutor self assessment tool to use as evaluation instruments.

PresenterBio                       Dr. Fullmer has completed designing and implementing a tutor training program at the Learning Resource Center at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. She has been employed at Lincoln University as Assistant Director of the Learning Resource Center since March, 2007 where she supervises the reading, writing and mathematics tutoring laboratories. Dr. Fullmer has taught at the University of Phoenix and Argosy University. She received a doctorate in innovation and leadership in education from Wilmington University in January 2006. An article based on Dr. Fullmer’s dissertation research, “Technology in a College”, will be published in the April-June issue of the internationally peer-reviewed Journal of Cases in Information and Technology.