Coaching and Modeling

Volunteer tutors working one on one or in small groups with adult foundational learners must incorporate active coaching and modeling of strategies and activities that support literacy and foundational skills development.

Coaching is the process of teaching a new skill and encouraging participants as they learn and practice that skill. Modeling is a teaching technique that encompasses the principle ‘do as I do.’ (CALP Policy Manual)

Before a Match

Feeling Overwhelmed? Of course, feeling overwhelmed is a natural and common reaction for many new volunteer tutors. It is also a very relatable feeling for many CALP staff – new and experienced alike. Regardless of who is feeling overwhelmed, the following are effective strategies for managing: Ask for help Rely on policy and procedures Use authentic literacy materials Trust your instincts You are not expected to know all the resources, pick a few that you like and build from there Be transparent, like the adult foundational learner, you are learning too Remember experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for adult learning

To begin, much of your work with a volunteer tutor will be coaching and modeling. Following orientation and training, a volunteer tutor can feel overwhelmed. This is often a case of the volunteer tutor imagining every possible learner scenario and all the foundational learning needs introduced in volunteer training combined into one fictional learner. Other volunteer tutors feel anxious to begin working with a learner immediately and can be discouraged by the wait time that is often required to create a successful match. In either case, the volunteer coordinator will provide encouragement, reassurance, modeling and coaching to new volunteer tutors.

While hardly comparable, the fear and impatience that a volunteer tutor feels at the prospect of beginning the program can powerfully connect them to the adult learner.

Remind tutors that they have a unique opportunity to help their learners navigate and ultimately overcome feelings of helplessness, self-doubt and non-confidence as they begin their own learning journey.

During a Match

Typically after a volunteer tutor is matched with a learner they meet one on one with the volunteer coordinator – either in person, by telephone or online – to discuss in detail how the match is working out. At this time, the volunteer coordinator can highlight specific resources and instructional strategies that would be beneficial to the learner.

Coaching and modeling continues through the duration of a volunteer tutor and learner match. It is important that your CALP program include time for the program coordinator to meet with tutors on an ongoing basis. Successful volunteer tutors use the ongoing support of a volunteer coordinator to:

• Express satisfaction – or dissatisfaction - with their match
• Reflect on their own practice by identifying what they are doing well and where they want to improve
• Discuss the evolving learning needs of learners
• Share resources that have provided successful learning interactions and those that have not
• Request new resources and instructional strategies

 

 

Safe and Welcoming Space “Low literacy is very much related to feelings such as shame, fear of being ridiculed, a negative view of life, embarrassment, hopelessness etc. It is often hard for these adults to disclose their struggles, seek help and persevere with their learning efforts.” (Retrieved from Rising to the Reading Challenges of Adult Learners – Practitioner’s Toolkit, CanLearn Society 2017) As you build relationship and rapport with volunteers and tutors they may share private and personal information. In addition creating a safe and welcoming learning environment, the program coordinator will also model appropriate boundaries within the context of the tutor program: Build relationships with reciprocal sharing and storytelling when appropriate Maintain the time commitment indicated by the volunteer tutor position description Limit involvement with learners to their literacy and foundational learning needs

Likewise, the program coordinator will want to be equally available to the adult foundational learners. Learners need to feel comfortable to approach the program coordinator to discuss their:

• Relationship with their volunteer tutor
• Learning plan
• Meeting space

There are a number of different ways a volunteer coordinator can create time for regular check-ins with volunteer tutors and learners. Suggestions include:

• Office hours
• Email or telephone
• Drop in to a session
• Arrange to meet at a local coffee shop

Any of these strategies allow a volunteer tutor and/or their learner to discuss their successes and challenges within the program. It is important that the coordinator provide a safe and welcoming space for them to do so, either together or independently. It is equally important that the coordinator establish the process of regular check-ins at the beginning of a match. Explain that these are opportunities to share ‘just in time’ resources and ideas, discuss concerns before they are insurmountable and determine their satisfaction with the program.

The process of checking in should be included in both your CALP’s volunteer training and learner intake processes. Ideally, volunteers and learners know that the program coordinator is available to them at any time but that there is a regular schedule for checking in established by the program.

At the End of a Match

It is never easy to end a match and it is especially difficult to do so when the volunteer tutor and learner have developed a strong relationship. Regular evaluation of the pair helps the volunteer coordinator intervene when it is clear that the learner:

• has moved beyond foundational learning needs
• can no longer attend their weekly meetings with their tutor
• has progressed to a level of foundational learning that falls outside the volunteer tutor’s skill and/or comfort level
• and volunteer tutor have developed a friendship and their weekly meetings no longer prioritize literacy and foundational learning

Similarly, a volunteer tutor might need to exit the match because of schedule, health or personal reasons. Regardless of the reason, it is important to end all matches positively and with a recognition of the tremendous time and effort contributed by both the volunteer and learner. This can be achieved in a variety of ways: small celebration within your CALP office, certificate of learning, card, token of appreciation, coffee, lunch or a photo of the pair.

Both the learner and volunteer tutor should be reminded that your Community Adult Learning Program door is always open should they want or need to return to the program in the future.

• Too often a volunteer coordinator hears that a match has dissolved over circumstances that could have been avoided. It is easier to rematch a volunteer and a learner before a match dissolves but can be difficult to bring either individual back to the program after the fact.
  
  
• Remember that learners can feel so grateful for a volunteer’s time that they may hesitate to express their learning needs. The program coordinator can help learners to advocate for their needs within the context of the volunteer tutor program.
  
  
• It is appropriate to rematch a learner with a new volunteer tutor when their learning needs require a skill set that falls outside the comfort level of the current volunteer.
  
  
• CALP staff will want to stay connected to matches to capture their successes for the CALP Final Report. This anecdotal storytelling can be a great form of advocacy for the program. Does your CALP have a way to share these stories with your board and community?