Continuing Ed. Class for Tutors - February 18

Tutor Training Tune-Up with Holly & Randy
Thursday, February 18, 2010
6:00 - 7:30 PM
Main Library -- Latino-Hispanic Meeting Room, Lower Level

A rare chance for follow-up time with your co-tutor-trainers Holly Fulghum-Nutters and Randy Weaver. Bring your questions, observations, and inquiring mind. They'll give you more strategies and food for thought than you can shake a dictionary at.

Please call 415-557-4388 if you plan to attend.

Notes from January 5th Tutor Roundtable

At the January 5th Tutor Roundtable meeting, four Project Read volunteers discussed a number of pertinent topics. Here are just a few...

• A newly-matched tutor mentioned that her learner missed 3 out of 5 scheduled tutoring sessions in December. Although she seems motivated, the tutor is concerned about the developing pattern.

One long-time tutor and current Tutor Contact said that from her experience many pairs have difficulty getting together during the holidays. The Tutor Contact also suggested that the Project Read staff may need to call the learner and make sure she is serious about making a commitment to the program.

• Another tutor spoke about the work she and her learner are doing to improve comprehension. Her learner has chosen a biography to read and as he moves through the book, the tutor is asking various questions to check for understanding. She asked the fellow tutors for ideas about what to do when the learners answers are incorrect.

One suggestion was to ask the learner to point to the portion of the reading that supports his answer to the question. Also, there might be some value to discussing the types of questions which we ask when checking for understanding--literal, interpretive, and active. Other suggestions for teaching comprehension included using the free Wednesday Night Readers book selection which includes comprehension questions, and using the New Readers Press publication News for You which provides comprehension checks for the easy-to-read weekly news articles.

• The Tutor Contact attending the meeting was asked to offer a few suggestions for new tutors based on her years of experience answering questions of Project Read tutors.

She said that from her experience, the relationship that develops between the tutor and learner is crucial to the success of a match. She believes that the learner must develop trust in his or her tutor and also needs to feel that the tutor is a friend.