"The most profound education that students can receive in tutoring is not about a specific subject but about understanding how to learn, and about their personal role in that process."
– Annette Gourgey
"A tutor should not be continually thundering instruction into the ears of his pupil, as if he were pouring it through a funnel, but, after having put the lad, like a young horse, on a trot, before him, to observe his paces, and see what he is able to perform, should, according to the extent of his capacity, induce him to taste, to distinguish, and to find out things for himself; sometimes opening the way, at other times leaving it for him to open; and by abating or increasing his own pace, accommodate his precepts to the capacity of his pupil."
– Michel de Montaigne
Benjamin Franklin said, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." How do you see your role as an adult literacy tutor? What brought you to tutoring in the first place? The answers are significant to how you approach tutoring.
Think of the most memorable teachers, tutors, coaches, and mentors you have had in your life. What made them have an impact on you? What characteristics did they have that helped you grow and learn?
Educators can play different roles depending on the learners and the context. When you signed up to become an adult literacy tutor, your program probably gave you a list of responsibilities that looked a lot like those of a classroom teacher: assess your learner, plan lessons, celebrate successes and be supportive during challenges, show up and stay committed, and so on.
However, as we think about how we fulfill these responsibilities, we need to also consider the role we play in the tutor/learner relationship and how that dynamic influences learning. Consider the idea that teaching is nothing more than showing someone that something is possible (a paraphrase of Coelho in The Pilgrimage). Do you agree with this idea?
Most experts advocate for a reciprocal relationship between the tutor and learner, wherein the learners are engaged as partners, rather than subordinates, in the learning process (O’Rourke, 2009). This means the tutor acts as a facilitator, a guide, or a co-learner, rather than a pedagogue. The foundation for this role is the strong, trusting, positive relationship between tutor and learner. Very few of us were taught like this, so it takes deliberate effort and practice.
To identify the type of relationship you typically build with your learners, think about the following questions about how you include learners in the learning process:
Do your learners help determine what and how they learn, or do you prescribe those?
Can your learner apply their strengths and experiences to your lessons, or are your lessons independent of their prior knowledge?
Are your learners able to contribute to the lessons as they go, or is their contribution simply to follow the plan you have created?
To get started learning, watch this video on What Not to Do as a tutor. What are the problems with how Paige approaches tutoring in this video? Then, watch The Tutoring Role and consider what she could have done differently.
Dig deeper with the resources below!
Tutor Tip
If tutors were only to provide the answers, how then would learners ever be able to solve the problems?
“Expert tutors often do not help very much. They hang back, letting the student manage as much as possible. And when things go awry, rather than help directly, they raise questions: 'Could you explain this step again? How did you... ? [What if we try …]’”
– Mark Lepper
Were you aware that tutoring is an ancient teaching method? In fact, it may be the oldest form of instruction in Western civilization, originating with Socrates in Ancient Greece, whose first student was none other than Plato! If you recall the Socratic method, you know that tutoring was based on thought-provoking questioning and dialogue between tutor and tutee that supported the student in critical thinking. CONTINUE READING
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.
Ready, Set, Go
Viewing the role of the tutor as more of a guide in a reciprocal relationship ties in strongly with research and theories about how adults learn best.
Adult learning theory (called andragogy) identifies instructional approaches that are supportive of adult learners. Applying these principles to tutoring can help students retain information and apply their learning in their everyday lives, and the spirit of these principles informs the role we take as tutors.
To learn the basic ideas of andragogy,
read this blog or watch this video.
For more detailed information about andragogy, read this article or this facilitators' guide.
What is one challenge you have faced in your tutoring and one or two strategies listed here that you might use to address this challenge?
Take a look at some challenges and high impact strategies for working with adult learners here.
To learn more about adult learning techniques, read this training manual or watch this video.
Consider these questions about your role as a tutor:
How does the process of helping others learn stimulate your own growth? In what ways do you learn from your students or with your students?
Many tutors say that they get as much from the tutoring relationship as they give. If you have experiences like this, please share them using this form.
Do you view your role as a tutor as being an expert giving knowledge to your students or as being a facilitator as your learner develops understanding? Which approach better supports adult learners?
For some additional thoughts on this issue, read the short blog "Expert or Facilitator-Which is Better?" or check out Adult Learning and Participatory Training for a deeper dive into adult learning.
Do your students take ownership of their learning journey, or do they rely on you for all of the structure and direction?
Skim through this presentation on "Encouraging L2 Learner Autonomy" to learn some strategies for supporting learner autonomy, or check out "Empowering Adult Learner Agency" for more detailed information.
Ready to dig deeper? Self-directed learning is one of the key principles of andragogy.
To learn more about self-directed learning, read this blog.
To see the connection to self-regulated learning, check out this fact sheet.
How might you adapt your tutoring sessions so your learner has more agency? Make a list of 3-5 ideas and try a couple of them out at your next session. Use this form to let us know how it went!
Critical pedagogy focuses on the potential of education for social justice. Thinking about tutoring through this lens can help us structure the relationship in a way that empowers students, rather than solely helping them with specific skills.
To learn about critical pedagogy, watch this video. For more detailed information, read this guide.
To investigate Popular Education based on Freire's ideas, check out Literacy Works' webinar on here (let us know if you are not sure of the password for NM programs).
The role of a tutor is similar to the role of a coach. Watch a video and learn more here about Motivational Coaching.
Share Your Thoughts
📝Share your experience, questions, and suggestions: Did you learn something new here? Try implementing it in your instruction? Let us know how it went or if you need further support using this feedback form.
🔎Would you like to learn about another topic? Explore the Instructional Learning Library or suggest a topic on the above form.