Tutor Training
Potential DSU OWL tutors are referred to the OWL directors by English faculty as well as faculty in other disciplines. Tutors then must agree to complete the OWL tutor practicum and volunteer a minimum of four hours each week to online tutoring. A Social Epistemic approach is used in the practicum and the tutors are encouraged to model this pedagogy in their online engagements.
The Practical Tutor by Emily Meyer and Louise Smith is the primary text used in tutoring training. A review of this text (after reaching our preliminary conclusion) reconfirmed our belief that neither the tutoring training approach nor the text promotes a Current Traditional pedagogy.
The tutors complete a 10 week practicum which includes class discussion, written critiques of the readings ( supplemental texts are used in addition to the content of the The Practical Tutor), journal keeping, assignment analysis, analysis of actual online tutoring transcripts, and practice in online tutoring.
Students begin online tutoring (with supervision) after eight weeks of training. Students who demonstrate satisfactory tutoring abilities are then added to the tutor schedule. Those who have not demonstrated adequate abilities are not added to the tutoring schedule as independent tutors until they have established satisfactory expertise.
