Online Tutor Training

An ongoing conversation about online tutoring of tutors is happening on Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals [LRNASST-L@LISTS.UFL.EDU] and I thought that you might be interested in it.
Nichole Bennett-Bealer, PhDAssistant Director/Writing SpecialistClaude J. Clark Learning Center SUNY College at Plattsburgh518-564-2265 At SUNY Plattsburgh we have trouble meeting our "modest" goal of all of our tutors (we had 234 student employees this past semester with an estimated 144 students returning in the fall) achieving CRLA Level I certification. I am working on a spreadsheet to track the courses our current tutors did well in so we can meet requests for courses from within our ranks and limit the number of new tutors we hire in the fall.We do realize that a large part of our problem with CRLA certification is the number of students we employ. We also acknowledge that many of our tutors simply cannot attend the Tutor Training course to become a content tutor. All Writing Tutors must complete ENG390 before beginning to tutor; a policy we cannot equally enforce with our content tutors as we often receive requests for tutors in new courses after the Tutor Training course has begun or run (it is only 5 weeks long and starts the second week of each semester). Those content tutors who cannot complete the Tutor Training course are required to meet with the Grad Assistant for a two-hour overview, mostly policies and procedures with some discussion of tutoring strategies.To address the problem with training, we are considered online training modules. We are aware that CRLA limits the number of online training hours that will count towards certification and we will stay within those limits, but we want to make sure that our online training provides the best possible alternative experience for our tutors. Especially as many would be able to achieve CRLA Level I certification by attending the two hour overview, attending the required six hours of staff meetings (which we calculate to equal two hours of CRLA training as we do mini-training exercises during the meetings, i.e. Learning Style Inventories and discussions, sticky situations, etc.), and completing the maximum number of three online training hours CRLA allows each semester (or so I have been informed).So after that long-winded explanation, comes my request. Do any of you use online training modules? And if so, would you be willing to share your advice/experiences with such training? Sample modules if available would also be much appreciated. Thank you! Nichole

Christopher S. GloverTutorial Program CoordinatorLearning and Academic ResourcesLong Beach City College Office: E-08-LEPhone: 562.938.4669Email: c2glover@lbcc.edu
I would like to piggyback off (on?) Nichole's question: in achieving the proper, CRLA-mandated balance between F2F and online training, how does one know how much time online training takes? I know how much time 6 hours' worth of meetings takes--6 hours. But I don't know how long 10 online modules take. Maybe they take as long as I say they take? (In other words, if CRLA wants no more than 3 online training hours, then maybe that's how long my online modules take to complete!)That said, though, someone said here not too long ago (and my apologies to whomever it was who said it; I've forgotten who it was) that these CRLA restrictions on online training ignore or dismiss the power of online communities and peer groups to result in real learning/teaching opportunities. Tutors-in-training aren't simply pressing buttons and interacting with a computer or even just the web; rather, they are engaging in fruitful discussions with their peers and mentors, discussions that would be much harder to have in a more strict environment bound by time, schedule conflicts, etc. They are also learning via a medium with which they are comfortable and may evenprefer. How might this situation be addressed? Christopher

Karin E. Winnard, Tutorial ProgramLearning Assistance Resource CenterSan Jose State University San Jose, CA 95192 (408)924-3346
This is an interesting conversation that I believe has been brought up a few times since I have been on this listserv. So I will do my best to make my response brief.
*Since our tutors work with students face to face, I feel that training in the classroom, face to face, is imperative in developing the interpersonal and communication skills of our tutors. Role-playing, a key-part of tutor training, provides very different results when it is part of the face to face training session/class than when it is used as part of on-line training.
*Being exposed to nonverbal and verbal nuances in tutor training that tutees will use in their sessions, are best used in face to face training.
*As a trainer, I look at the non-verbal cues of my tutors to adjust my training to meet specific needs that may be missed as part of online training.
*I think team-building is a huge part of tutor training which also helps to minimize the isolation that some tutors feel when they work with their students.Having said all of this and clearly being in favor of face to face tutor training (and hiring tutors only at the beginning and end of the semesters and not mid-semester... but that is another conversation) I understand why some trainers are in favor of on-line training. My only hope is that, as we look as tutoring as supplementing instruction rather than replacing it, that we look at on-line training as supplementing face to face training rather than replacing it. Have a good one! Karin

Penny Turrentine, Ph.D.Director, West Campus Learning CenterITPC Interim CoordinatorCertified Learning Center Professional-Level 4Pima Community College2202 West Anklam Road Tucson, AZ 85709-0001Phone: (520) 206-6796 or 206-3196Fax: (520) 206-3119 I just got the opportunity to read all of the postings about tutor training and CRLA requirements. Please know that CRLA is closely examining this issue and you will be seeing some changes made in the very near future. I am very excited about the number of possibilities in terms of eliminating some of the problems that the 60% face-to-face training requirement poses. All I can say is, please stay tuned. Penny