29th November 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A tutoring programme in the US has received recognition by being awarded the level 1 International Tutor Program Certification (ITPC) by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). The TSTC Student Success Center has a motto: ‘push for excellence’, and the award comes after two years of developing materials to train tutors to teach.
The programme is mainly concerned with training tutors who are existing students, so that they can help their peers. Christine Kinslow, who works in the TSTC faculty says that the goal is to learn skills to make people more effective tutors. The training helps tutors to deal with different learning styles, and adjust their lessons accordingly. Tutors are also taught how to improve their lessons for students with learning difficulties, and even disabilities, Kinslow said. Overall, the course is designed to maintain the natural teaching skills that a tutor has, and make them ‘more rounded’.
Obviously improved tutoring ability is a means to an end, and the overall goal is to help students complete a course, or a number of courses that they otherwise wouldn’t, which will increase a student’s chances of graduating. Kinslow said that this remains the centre’s main focus, and the programme has developed out of the proven success of students being tutored by their peers.
Yvonne Williams, assistant chair of the behavioural sciences department, and who is very involved in the tutoring programme, said that her department was thrilled at the news of the award, and they may consider applying for the level 2 certificate next year, which places a greater focus on peer mentoring.