On Tuesday, January 24, Rebecca Shields (Member At Large) and Melissa Morgan (Middle School/All-Subject Centers Representative) hosted a Digital Roundtable for directors interested in learning more about all-subject learning centers. Much of our conversation centered around gaining institutional support from both administration and students for a learning center. We also addressed tutor training and tutor recruitment during our discussion. In attendance were Rebecca Shields, Stanford OHS Writing & Tutoring Center, (CA); Melissa Morgan, West Springfield High School Peer Tutoring Center (VA); Stacey Hahn, Amsterdam High School (NY); Lisa Silverman, Wolverine Peer Tutoring Center (PA); and Katie Sutcliffe, Episcopal Writing Center (LA).
The following notes were generated from our conversation.
How might you transition from a writing center to an all-subject center?
- At least one of the centers was considering transitioning from a writing center to a learning center. Since no one in the group had been through the process from the beginning, Jenny Goransson’s article, “When a Writing Center Becomes a Learning Center,” was shared in the chat for participants to review.
How do you gain and maintain institutional support for your all-subject learning center?
- Presentations for administrators either by the director or a tutor leadership team.
- Start-of-school student and parent orientations. Parent orientations have been particularly helpful to gain parent buy-in.
- Provide post-tutoring session reports/summary to instructors to foster an awareness of the work that is done..
- Aim to professionalize the work that tutors do through data collection, student and instructor surveys, performance reviews, observations, announcements, etc.
- Have a tutor course liaison for each content area/course offered at the school to build awareness of peer tutoring for these subjects. This is particularly helpful when transitioning from a writing center to a learning center.
- Create flyers – hard copy and digital – to share with teachers to post in their classrooms and on their LMS platform. Share links and copies of the flyer for administrators, counselors, and special education case managers to share with students and parents during meetings.
- If your center has a digital component – e.g., website, electronic sign-up – link to that in your email signature.
What tutor training processes have been successful for your all-subject learning center?
- Draw on the expertise of instructors and experienced peer tutors across all-disciplines. The director does not need to be an expert in all subject areas in order to effectively train tutors for a learning center.
- Address topics that are applicable to all tutors in general sessions – e.g., the anatomy of a tutoring session, the difference between teaching and tutoring, and dealing with difficult situations.
- Use small group discussions for discipline-specific tutoring led by mentor/experienced peer tutors; invite instructors to contribute to the discipline-specific tutor training.
What is your current tutor recruitment process? How do you recruit tutors from across disciplines?
- Instructor recommendation/nomination.
- Posts on the center’s social media accounts and LMS site.
- Classroom visits by current tutors to attract prospective tutors.
Are there other challenges that we have not yet touched on related to establishing or running an all-subject center?
- How, as a director, do you present to a group of administrators who have no idea of the work that you do?
- Ask to get on their calendar and schedule a meeting.
- Ask for time to present during an admin leadership team meeting.
- Invite administrators to come to your center and see the work that is being done.
- How can I increase the activity within my center? (Drop-offs due to COVID, students becoming increasingly reliant on cell phones, support stigma, general lack of awareness)
- Unfortunately, there is no specific answer to this. Ideas that have worked with other centers that were discussed included: classroom visits, center contests that are open to the whole school (math problem of the week, riddle of the week), and competition among tutors to see who can bring in the most tutees/clients.
Resources Shared:
- Journal for Peer Tutoring in Secondary Schools (JPTSS), Secondary Schools Writing Center Association
- Rowman & Littlefield Guide for Peer Tutors, Daniel R. Sanford (2020) – see book review in JPTSS vol. 1 issue 1
- Meeting the needs of different discourse communities in one writing center by Andy Bourelle.