Tutorial Obervation Tool
Tutorial Process Observation Checklist
The Unique Responsibilities Of The AVID Tutors
Success in AVID lies in a solid curriculum developed collaboratively by college instructors and high school teachers, in the Socratic tutorial method, and in motivational activities. Another very important key is the tutor as role model and as part of the supportive system for the students. Because students should be enrolled in AVID for all years of their secondary school experience, they form strong attachments to those who are part of the program. Therefore, each tutor's commitment to this relationship is important. AVID tutors must be dependable and, ideally, stay with the program throughout their college careers.
Tutors are advocates for the students' academic and social growth. The students learn to trust the tutors. The tutors need to share their enthusiasm for learning and for college. They need to share what they have gained through hard work and inspire students to overcome their own difficulties. Some tutors have volunteered to make their phone numbers available to students during specific evening hours to establish "tutoring hotlines;" others have gone to students' homes on weekends to work with them; many have continued to correspond with students through letters to the entire class after they have left for graduate school, or for other employment, so that the AVID students know that the caring doesn't end when the tutor can no longer be physically present. While none of this is required, it does demonstrate the kind of dedication tutors have had, which makes the program successful. Students look up to the tutors - tutors are truly their role models.
Tutors also have a very important relationship with the AVID coordinator. Since it usually has been several years since coordinators were enrolled in undergraduate work, college tutors keep the coordinator informed of the most recent college requirements, emphases, and trends. High school and middle school students will often tell tutors problems they are hesitant to discuss with the teacher. Tutors can constantly advise the coordinator of students' needs.
The AVID coordinator is responsible for delineating the tutor's classroom responsibilities and for guiding him or her in the tutorial process. The coordinator is also the tutor's buffer with the students and with faculty members. For example, the tutor is not the student's disciplinarian. The tutor should not be expected to answer to the faculty regarding AVID students. Any task with which a tutor feels uncomfortable needs to be discussed with the AVID coordinator.
Most AVID tutors do not intend to become teachers when they first take the job. They are usually recruited by the AVID coordinator because they have been former students who are recognized as being bright and liking to work with people. Nevertheless, many of the tutors have chosen careers in teaching because of the positive experiences they have had within the AVID classroom -experiences in planning lessons and discussing student progress with the coordinator and other tutors, experiences in working with students in an organized, effective manner, and in seeing the results of the work being done.
Part of the reality of being a teacher is that some time must be expended to type assignments, photocopy, enter grades in record books, clean rooms, etc. Although this work must be done, it is not "the stuff" of teaching and is not what allows tutors to enjoy their jobs. The majority of the tutor's classroom time should be spent with students.
Finally, research shows that most new teachers who leave the profession do so because they feel isolated, i.e., they don't take the time to practice collegiality. The AVID tutors truly become colleagues of the AVID coordinator. Be sure to set aside regular times to make plans as a group of tutors guided by the coordinator. It is participation in both formal and informal discussions with one another, setting goals together, and sharing the successes and failures of the students that make working in the AVID program so enjoyable.