The Role of the Tutor

Well, what exactly is a tutor? It may be helpful to understand what a tutor is not. A tutor is not a full-time teacher, sage on the stage, lecturer, problem-solver or corrector, therapist or counselor, parent, financial advisor, best friend, nurse, or driver! (If a learner needs one of the above, the tutor can be in the position of referring the student to someone else for that particular need.)

The dictionary definition of tutoring is teaching or guiding an individual or small group who may need special help for a specific purpose. Tutoring facilitates or supports learning tailored to the learner’s goals, knowledge and skills, experiences, interests, strengths and challenges. A tutor’s purpose has been described as helping “students help themselves, and to assist or guide someone to the point at which they become an independent learner, and thus no longer need a tutor” (Halina Goetz). 

Yet, these are not enough to describe the tutor’s role. The most important aspect of the role is the development of a positive, reciprocal relationship with the learner so that the learner can, in fact, learn. There must be a safe, welcoming space for any learning to happen, wherein the tutor and learner build a relationship free of judgment, criticism, and impatience. Both the tutor and the learner bring expertise to the tutoring, and both have an opportunity to learn. 

Of course, the tutor must have literacy knowledge, but they also must recognize the adult learner’s vast experience, skills, complexities, and knowledge, just as the learner recognizes those aspects of the tutor. The tutor does not know everything, and it is helpful for the tutor to show that it is okay not to know everything, that mistakes are a part of the learning process, and that the tutor and learner can work together to overcome challenges. In doing this, the tutor helps the learner learn how to learn, including in areas like finding resources, creating a learning plan, knowing when to ask for help, and continuously improving.

There is a beautiful Tutor Handbook (or Intro to Tutoring 101) from Penny Feltner and James Gapinski (2021), available on OpenOregon Educational Resources, that discusses this open philosophy of tutoring, which actually relieves anyone of the need to be the know-all expert and be-all problem-solver for students. That is not the case at all. The tutor is a guide who at various times might also be a coach, mentor, instructor, collaborator, listener, motivator, resource/ resource finder, or facilitator. It changes based on what the learner needs, so three key characterisitcs of strong tutors are patience, humility, and flexibility.

In addition to thinking about what you bring to the relationship as a tutor, it's important to consider what you hope to gain from it. Tutors gain just as much from the reciprocal  relationship as learners do. Ater all, “tutoring is one of the most beneficial things you can do as a learner” (Lake Tahoe Community College). 

People may choose to tutor for all kinds of reasons: To interact with a wider variety of people, make a difference in someone’s life, share in other people's joy in learning, gain experience teaching, hone their skills, feel useful, gain experience, develop professionally, etc. There is no "wrong" reason for choosing to tutor and many benefits, but whatever the reason is, it is helpful to articulate it. By doing so, one is more likely to achieve their goal and less likely to fall into the trap of seeing tutoring as a one-sided relationship in which the tutor is there to do everything and "save" the learner. This not only leads to burn-out for the tutor, but it also interferes with the tutor's role in helping the learner develop the empowerment they're striving for.

So consider: Why did you choose to become a tutor? 

Within this reciprocal relationship we are discussing, there is a shared approach to learning with responsibilities that depend on the program tutors are working in and in what context they are tutoring, but typically they include the main areas here:

• Developing a relationship built on mutual trust and respect and getting to know the learner–background, goals and interests, needs and strengths, perspectives and learning pace–and meeting them where they are, including recognizing barriers they face

• Using observation, providing feedback, being a positive motivator: showing the learner exactly what they can take away from the session and how they can use it in their life

• Modeling content-specific skills as well as overall learning skills, problem solving, and critical thinking and connecting new material with what the learner already knows

• Practicing the power of patience through questioning, listening, and waiting (answering questions with questions!) 

• Involving the learner in the process through helping to set realistic goals, offering choice, planning together, asking and encouraging those questions, checking in often, involving them in selecting activities and strategies, and so on

• Documenting sessions and celebrating ALL successes, no matter how small

When literacy tutors act as teachers, the development of the individualized content is based on the learner, not the tutor. Alisa Belzer calls this distinction shared “lesson management” meaning that the learner takes authority over their own learning. This means collaborative and active discussion about the learning process and what and how the learner wants to learn and do and use. For a student to put themselves forward with this kind of agency, there has to be the established expectation and reciprocal relationship. It is often difficult for students to do this, hence the importance of the trusting relationship, and it makes sense to intentionally and gradually scaffold how to actively engage in one's own learning. (See the resources on learner agency below for ways to encourage this.)

None of this happens overnight, of course! Tutoring, like anything, takes practice and time to grow and develop. The beautiful thing is that every session is a new session, and that session is shared. 

Try This: Consider the following scenario:

Newly trained adult literacy tutor Maria started working with Ruben, who recently lost his job and had the goal to read and write better so he could get a better one. At first, Ruben was enthusiastic and hopeful. Every week, Maria tried new materials and new strategies that she brought from the program's library and training, but every week Ruben seemed to struggle more and grow more distant. After several weeks, he started missing sessions often and wasn’t doing any work on his own. Maria worried that he would stop attending completely.

What would you do in Maria’s shoes?

Read more about the role and characteristics of tutors in Demystifying Adult Literacy: Volunteer Literacy Tutors by Charlene L. Ball of Literacy Partners of Manitoba.