Tutorial Support

Tutorial Support:
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Tutorial Support
Hours for the Learning Resource Center are:

Monday through Thursday 8:00 AM to 7:45 PM

Friday 8:00 AM to 3:45 PM

Saturday 9:00 AM to 5:45 PM

To request Tutorial Assistance for your classes:

It's generally best to start with your chair to find out what sort of allocation your department has received. Often a department will have a standing allocation that is distributed among faculty within the department. Some faculty have developed specific methods for using tutors (e.g., small group tutorials, larger pre-exam review sessions, tutor review of notes on text books, the majority of which take place in the LRC).

Generally, a single faculty member will be allotted as much as one or even two hours of tutorial assistance per week, depending on availability of tutorial funds.

Once you have spoken with your chair, you should then locate a worthy candidate to hire as a tutor (often a student who has performed well in the course from a previous semester).

The student should then be directed to Ella Markham's office in the Learning Resource Center (Markham@sbcc.net or call X2667). Her office number is LRC 120, and her office is the first door on the left as you enter the Learning Resource Center.

Not all students are eligible to work as tutors for a variety of reasons; therefore, it is important that all candidates see Ella Markham immediately.

Also, the process of applying takes some time; therefore, the sooner it starts, the sooner the applicant will be able to tutor.

Once the paper work has been completed and it has been determined that the student is eligible to work, the student may begin tutoring.

To refer students to Existing Tutorial Services on Campus:

The most popular way to determine tutorial availability and schedules is to visit the Tutorial Center and ask Ella Markham, the helpful and well-informed coordinator of tutorial services on campus. Her office is #120 in the Learning Resource Center (first door on the left as you enter the LRC) and is open from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

There are several standing tutorial service areas that should be mentioned:

The Writing Lab is located in the Learning Resource Center. It is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:45 PM and on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:45 PM. The Writing Lab is coordinated by Gloria Lovano (lovano@sbcc.net) and is staffed by trained tutors, many of whom have advanced degrees in English.

If you would like a representative from the Writing Lab to visit your class and give a brief presentation on services available there, email Gloria Lovano at lovano@sbcc.net.

Some departments have their own tutorial facilities on campus (e.g., Math and ESL/Foreign Language)

Call X2300 to reach the Math 1 or the Drop-In Lab (located in IC 102 and 103, respectively, or X2473 to reach the Math computer lab in IDC 109.

Math 1 Lab hours: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM Monday through Friday and 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Tuesday and Thursday.

Drop-In Lab hours: 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Friday.

Math Computer Lab hours: 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 9:00 AM to 2:00 Pm on Friday.

Call X2897 to reach the ESL/FL computer lab

The majority of tutoring, however, takes place in the Learning Resource Center.

Another way to find out who's tutoring what (and when and where) is the LRC tutor schedule data base http://fmpro.sbcc.net/nonsecure/tutorialctr/index.htm . This may be searched by subject area or by day of the week.

To refer students to Online Tutorial Assistance:

Students may get help with their writing online by logging on to the Online Writing Lab (OWL): http://lss.sbcc.net/links/owl/index. This is an excellent service to students, particularly those taking online classes, though the OWL is available to all SBCC students. Tutors will not proofread (students should be informed of this in advance); although, tutors will help students develop better writing/editing skills. Also, the very process of submitting a paper encourages good writing (and tutoring) practice. You might want to submit a short student paper to get an idea of how the process works.

Currently, SBCC has a temporary contract with Smarthinking (http://www.smarthinking.com) online tutorial service. They offer real time online tutorial assistance in a variety of subjects. If you are teaching an online course and would like to set up accounts for your students, call Dean Michael Gallegos at X2914.

For students who need a brief introduction to online navigation, data retrieval and saving, refer them to the Online Orientation at http://lss.sbcc.net/orientation/index.htm. Here students will learn fundamental skills (e.g., how to access a web site, how to copy and paste text or graphics from a web site, etc.). This orientation has received very favorable reviews from users at SBCC as well as from other schools.

To refer students to Self-Paced, Tutor-Supported Instructional Modules designed to develop basic learning skills:

Learning Support Services provides self-paced 1-unit mini-courses in the following areas:

grammar: http://lss.sbcc.net/class/grammar/index.htm

study skills: http://lss.sbcc.net/class/studyskills/index.htm

spelling: http://lss.sbcc.net/class/spelling/index.htm

reading: http://lss.sbcc.net/class/reading/index.htm

vocabulary: http://lss.sbcc.net/class/vocabulary/index.htm

These courses are listed under English 104-108 in the class schedule

Courses are offered in two different consecutive sessions each semester; the instruction is primarily book-based, supported by tutors and a course coordinator.

Send students to the LRC to the first counter on the right as they enter the facility. The sign reads "Academic Skills Center." Students will receive details about course requirements. They also take a short skills assessment to help them determine the level of instruction best suited to meet their needs. They pick up add cards there, as well.

To refer Potential Tutors (students with good written or oral verbal skills) to the tutorial center for possible employment:

Encourage any of your good writers or speakers to come to the Tutorial Center and apply for a position as a tutor in the Writing Lab or the Academic Skills Center. They should contact Ella Markham (markham@sbcc.net or call X2667). Her office number is LRC 120, and her office is the first door on the left as you enter the Learning Resource Center.

Applicants take a skills assessment and are interviewed by the LSS staff, including in most instances the director.

Student tutors in these areas are required to take a short five-week tutor training course during one of two sessions offered consecutively during the semester (see Tutoring 199 below). Completion of this credit course also earns an internationally recognized certificate of tutor training from CRLA (College Reading and Learning Association) http://www.crla.net/Welcome.htm.

Student tutors who go through this process:

gain extremely valuable learning skills instruction and practice

acquire practical job application skills

make great strides in resume development through CRLA certification and professional skills gained in working one on one with students who are developing basic writing and reading skills.

To coordinate Sound Tutorial Practice with your own teaching strategies and goals:

It is helpful to consider how your classroom goals will be most effectively met through tutorial help, whether a tutor could be used in the classroom to assist with small group work, whether the tutor should be leading review sessions before exams or working one on one with students in the Tutorial Center-perhaps on specific content that you have worked out with them (e.g. key concepts, review of in class notes, etc.).

One quick and effective method for integrating tutors into your instruction involves making a quick list of objectives for the class, answering the questions: "What knowledge should students possess at the end of the course? and "What skills should they have as a result of this course?"

With this list in mind, ask: "What are my goals in using a tutor in this class?" "What sort of activities would I like him or her to engage or organize?" "What student goals might be met with a tutor's assistance?" This last question might cover such goals as better time management, better reading skills, better test-taking skills etc.

With these two lists of goals, one for the classroom and one for the tutoring, it will be easier to see where the common ground lies and how to plan tutorial practice accordingly.

Meet with the tutor on some regular basis and review the week's activities.

Find out how many students they have seen.

what sort of work they did

what sort of difficulties arose

what sort of progress was made

what questions that have come up that the tutor has found difficult to answer or engage effectively

Recommend strategies to help them deal with the difficulties and to encourage more of the successes they achieved.

Have tutors keep written records of these meetings for future reference.

Encourage your tutors to take Tut 199 (tutor training): http://lss.sbcc.net/links/199/index.htm

The course is listed under "TUT" in the class schedule.

This course meets twice in the fall semester and once in the spring. The classroom portion meets for two hours, one afternoon per week, for five weeks. Students must tutor for 25 hours to fulfill the lab portion of the class. Graduates of this course acquire practical skills and knowledge in the areas of:

learning styles

available services on campus and how best to make referrals

study, reading and time management skills

group learning strategies

learning paradigms such as Bloom's taxonomy

problem-solving strategies

communication skills

methods for cultivating independent learning
strategies in students

Students receive CRLA certificate (internationally recognized documentation affirming the rigor of their tutor training) as well as 1 unit of credit upon completion of the class.

Consult Jerry Pike (X2673 or pike@sbcc.net) if you have questions about guiding tutors toward more effective methods or if you are having trouble working with your tutor.

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