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Tutor Training

LAC Peer Tutors must complete at least 10 hours of paid training and tutor for at least 25 hours during their first year of employment in order to be certified as a Level 1 Peer Tutor by the LAC and the College Reading and Learning Association. The LAC also has been certified by CRLA to certify Levels 2 and 3 Peer Tutors, according to specified training guidelines.

Training is divided into two components:

  • Initial Training: 10 hours, to be completed during the first 6 weeks of employment.
  • On-going Training: over 10 hours, as a part of regular, mandatory Tutor Meetings, held every other Monday at 1:30 PM.

Initial Training

  • Who?: Since 1995 the LAC has trained over 80 Peer Tutors.During September 2004, we will train 20 more. The LAC also invites tutors from other tutoring programs on campus to participate in training.
  • What?: In training, we work with the following areas:
    • The History of Learning Assistance at Xavier and nationally
    • What all happens at the LAC (including what services we provide and how students receive them)
    • What is involved in Tutoring (including going over the complete job description and expectations, how to tutor, and various tutoring scenarios)
    • Learning and other disabilities
    • Learning Styles and how to work with a client's style.
    • Study Skills and how to incorporate them into content-area tutoring
    • Other resources on Xavier's campus (such as the Writing Center and Math Lab)
    • Office procedures and paperwork (including evaluation forms of each Tutoring session)
  • How?: We use a training manual written originally by Lynn Shanahan, a former LAC Graduate Assistant, and revised and rewritten by Marie Gasper, former LAC Assistant Director. This manual covers the necessary information and provides activities and worksheets for use during training.

The activities involved in training are diverse. There is of course some lecture time, but we also use role playing, discussion, a video, a scavenger hunt for LAC resources, an LD crossword puzzle, and interactive games to work with tutoring techniques and Study Skills material. There is also time to socialize with other tutors during break times and, during the Saturday session, while we eat lunch.

One video we use is called "How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop, presented by Richard D. Lavoie". It is a PBS Video, and runs 70 minutes. Depending on the amount of time we have, we try to watch all of the video. This video is an excellent discussion starter and does a good job of challenging perceptions.

On-Going Training

Every other Monday at 1:30 PM (Commons Hour), all LAC Tutors meet to discuss various office concerns and to do further training activities. Some of the training activities may include:

  • Team building and group work.
  • Brainstorming for ways to improve tutoring.
  • Discussions about current tutoring experiences between seasoned and new tutors.
  • Guest speakers on topics ranging from Learning Disabilities to Tutoring as Vocation.
  • Activities and video from "A Tutor's Workshop" package, created by Tyler (TX) Junior College, including additional training on how to tutor students with specific learning disabilities.
  • Other training topics as developed by the LAC staff.