The Invisible Tutor:
Leona Whytus
(California Library Literacy Services Billboard at the corner of Van Ness & Turk)
Please keep an eye out for some additional posts coming your way which will highlight some of the neat things contained there.
If you missed the February 15th Continuing Education Class for Project Read tutors, you can simply click on the title page above to view the entire PDF presentation. This is part of our efforts to provide valuable tutoring curricula and materials, in down-loadable format, through the Project Read website (http://www.projectreadsf.org/.)
A tutor discussed the challenge of helping her learner break some old habits which were developed over many years of trying to get by with limited reading skills. For example her learner often guesses at words rather than taking the time to decode them.
We also discussed the use of a structured workbook to teach basic reading skills.
There was also a discussion of which dictionaries are easier for learners to learn to use.
Beginner's Dictionary of American English which not only has examples of the word used the context of a sentence. The downside of this dictionary is that it's missing many words found in other, more advanced dictionaries.
Webster's New World Portable Large Print Dictionary which is easy on the eyes but heavy in the backpack or book bag. It has simply written definitions with less detail than dictionaries having regular size font.
A discussion followed about the importance of repetition and ongoing reinforcement of basic skills in the tutoring sessions. For most learners, it is not enough to address an error on a one-time basis. Instead, the problem words should be worked on at each session until the tutor is convinced that his/her learner can successfully decode and spell the word. In this effort it's important for the tutor to utilize multi-sensory techniques so that the learner is not only seeing the word on flash cards but also hearing it, and working with it in a kinesthetic, or tactile way (Scrabble tiles, tracing letters on desk or in the air, etc.). As tutors we sometimes forget that learners have a lifetime of making the same errors over and over because they never learned the basic skills necessary to be successful readers and writers. We can't expect them to learn these skills if we only address them once in a while during the tutoring sessions. It's the tutor's responsibility to create a lesson plan based on the needs of the learner and to follow through with that plan, providing the necessary repitition and reinforcement, at each meeting.
One tutor suggested that she talk with her learner about getting involved in the Wednesday Night Readers Book Club. Even if some of the books being read are a bit challenging for the learner, she/he can also listen to the recorded book (also provided FREE to all learners) and still participate in the monthly book discussion. The learner-friendly environment of the book club is a wonderful opportunity for learners to express their thoughts about what they have read and hear differing opinions from their fellow learners. The book club experience can really enhance the reader's enjoyment of a book. Previous book club selections, both books and tapes, are also available in the Project Read office to be checked-out by tutor-learner teams. For the October 25th Wednesday Night Readers meeting, learners and tutors are reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (books & tapes still available in the office). For the November 29th meeting, the group will be reading God Rest Ye Merry Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story by James McIvor.
One excellent suggestion was to keep track of the basic skills that these work-related tasks involve and at some point sit down with the learner, look at the list, and prioritize which skills are most important to the learner and which ones he or she would like to start working on first. Then create a long-range plan to teach those skills and work through that plan at each tutoring session.
A tutor suggested this simple mental exercise that might help the learner understand the commitment needed to reach his or her personal goals. The suggestion was to ask the learner if she or he has ever decided to learn or accomplish something, worked hard at it, and ultimately been successful. This can include just about anything in life--learning to play an instrument, learning to fix a car engine, completing a rehab. program, etc. Then ask them to describe what they did to be successful--what commitment did they make, and how much time did they devote to reaching this goal? Then, the learner can think about applying the same time and commitment to the reading and writing goals that he or she has set.
One creative suggestion was to have the learner record himself as he tells a story, and then ask the learner to use the recording as a basis for completing a writing exercise. And don't forget to praise the learner for his excellent vocabulary and speaking skills. Spoken language, after all, is the starting point for all writing.
The September Round Table discussion was a great example of just how helpful and informative these sessions can be. Everyone attending offered their suggestions, based on their own tutoring experience, and helped their fellow tutors find new ways to address a variety of instructional challenges. So come by and join the discussion at one of these upcoming Tutor Round Tables -- October 3 and November 7 (6:00 PM in the Project Read Conference Room).
On Thursday, August 17, Project Read presented a continuing education workshop for volunteer tutors on the subject of helping adult learners achieve their financial literacy goals. This workshop focused on the learner-developed information (handbook and website) created by the Project Money team.
Highlights from the evening's workshop included:
A discussion of the barriers which prevent tutor-learner teams from working on financial goals. An excellent resource on this topic can be found on the Project Money website - www.projectmoney.org - in the Teaching Tools section. It's called "Feeling Comfortable Talking About Money" and it reviews reasons why adult learners may be sensitive about financial issues, and what tutors can do to make the learner feel safe in order to promote an open discussion of the topic. You can view this document at the following link: http://www.projectmoney.org/teaching/talking.html
We also discussed tools available on the website to help tutor-learner teams assess what the learner already knows about banking, credit, savings, etc., and what they need to learn: http://www.projectmoney.org/teaching/gettingstarted.doc (MS Word document) is a link to "Getting Started, a Self Assessment Tool". After working through this resource, you can go on to the next step of putting together a "Project Money Learning Plan": http://www.projectmoney.org/teaching/learningplan.doc (MS Word document).
Remember, the Project Money website has easy to understand information on many financial literacy topics. The information included on the site was researched and edited by adult learners themselves with the expert assistance of community advisors from financial institutions as well as volunteer tutors who then road- tested the instructional material.
