Tutoring someone who really wants to improve their skills just has to be one of the most rewarding occupations around. The warm glow one gets when a student suddenly gives a broad smile of 'got it!' is like nothing else in the world.
It doesn't matter whether the student is a beginner or nearing the end of a course; it doesn't matter whether one is teaching reading, writing or 'rithmetic - or anything else for that matter! It is a wonderful feeling.
Mind you! Tutoring is also often a great deal of hard work, not just while faced with a group of one or more students. Tutoring involves other things such as -
- Course development There is always need for new courses because of the widely different backgrounds of our students. Tutoring is never a 'one size fits all' exercise.
- Research for resources Once you have decided what needs to be taught and the approach you want to take, there can be many hours spent in finding or even inventing teaching resources to go along with your design.
- Developing individual plans Every student is an individual and, particularly if you are working one-to-one with a single student, you will need to modify your approach to the student on the day you meet!
- Student assessment This too can be a really challenging exercise. It is not just enough to have a feeling that a student knows something. Wherever a student needs an external qualification of some kind then it is necessary to develop material for formal assessment - and to have it properly moderated by a colleague or external moderator.
- Keeping up to date Like almost everything else in the modern knowledge-based world, things to do with literacy, numeracy and friends change too. New ideas abound, new techniques are discovered, new resources become available. Time is needed to make sure that you - and your colleagues - keep up to date.
Becoming a Tutor
If the above notes haven't managed to put you off being a tutor then you really must have that "fire in your belly" to help others overcome their failings and lack of skill. Please contact us when you have read the rest of this document.
Tutors are encouraged to undertake a training course. The 'Certificate of Adult Literacy Tutoring' is an NZQA approved Level 5 qualification which aims to ensure that intending tutors are equipped to provide an excellent standard of tuition across the country. As and when ALPN is invited to carry out contract tuition or provide training for some formal qualification, we are likely increasingly to be required to use only fully qualified tutors.
The tutor training programme is generally taken as a a part-time course - two or three days a week over a month or so. It comprises four sections totalling 40 credits, covering -
- Historical and contemporary contexts of adult literacy in New Zealand.
- Adult learning and tutoring.
- Literacy tutoring strategies.
- Planning, assessment and evaluation.
In order to undertake this course you must either be a New Zealand citizen or have Permanent Resident status.
The cost of this course can be met either by an internal scholarship from Literacy Aotearoa, committing the qualified tutor to a minimum of 50 hours volunteer tuition, or by direct payment of $1300.
Still interested? Then do contact us by phone, post or e-mail - or just turn up on the doorstep during office hours. You will always be most welcome.
