by Emma Fleming
Parkland’s peer tutors, located in The Center for Academic Success (CAS), were recently certified as top-level tutors. Peer tutors assist students in a wide range of subjects including mathematics and statistics, physics, chemistry, computer science and information, economics, accounting, biology, psychology, sociology, and Spanish. The College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) Certification ensures that each tutor can instruct to the best of his or her ability. Parkland’s peer tutors received an ITTPC (International Tutor Training Program Certification) CRLA Certification. According to CRLA.net, ITTPC “provides professionals with the opportunity to create, improve, and expand tutor and mentor training for a campus’ unique program. CRLA-certified programs demonstrate high standards.” CRLA enables peer tutoring programs to meet certain guidelines and requirements that make the programs successful.
According to the Parkland website, the tutors received Stage 3, Level 1 certification. Omar Adawi, professor of mathematics and coordinator for the peer tutor program, said that “Level 3 means re-certification of the program, and Stage 1 means that the tutors are trained in the basics of tutoring. Most tutors work for an average of two semesters and would not be at Parkland long enough to go to Stage 2.” Adawi mentioned that the peer tutors train for the first semester they tutor, and that peer tutors must be re-certified every five years in order to maintain top-level status.
Adawi played a major role in the peer tutor certification process. “I trained the tutors and provided all of the documentation to complete the online application,” Adawi said. Adawi emphasized that the certification is important to how well the tutors instruct, and how well students respond to the peer tutor instruction. “The purpose of the certification is to demonstrate that the peer tutors are trained using nationally recognized guidelines. The tutors enroll in a one credit hour peer tutor training course during the first semester that they tutor,” Adawi said.
Mason Edwards, one of CAS’s peer tutors who specializes in tutoring mathematics and statistics, also commented on the importance of the CRLA Certification. “It’s tedious reading,” Edwards said. “But it gives us strategies on how to approach teaching people, and it gives us tips on how not to be bad tutors.” Each tutor was selected for the peer tutor program based upon his or her academic standing and interest in helping others succeed academically. Peer tutors Edwards, Berjaude Muamba, Taimur Khurso, Wonjun Lee, Soungwan Jo, Patrick Kamba, Konstantin Ilin, Dylan Royer, Nathan Tuala and Hui Qui are all nationally certified by CRLA.
The certification process involved a mix of instruction from Adawi and educational videos from CRLA. “We had two meetings with Omar and we discussed the types of people who come in [CAS] and how to talk to them about different problems,” Edwards said. “And we would watch tutor training videos that had both helpful and informative aspects to them.” Edwards also mentioned that the peer tutoring certification helped the tutors better understand how to work with people of different ages and backgrounds. “It [CRLA] is helpful because it helps us understand how to work with other people,” Edwards said.
According to the Parkland website, Parkland’s peer tutors are skilled in assisting with developmental math. The CRLA committee commended the peer tutor program for its focus on developmental courses. “The peer tutor training is an evolving process,” Adawi said. “Modifications have been implemented in response to Parkland student needs.” CRLA Certification provides the peer tutoring program with the proper skills and techniques to instruct students in both developmental and college level courses. The peer tutors’ dedication to academic excellence and drive to help others allowed the program to achieve top tier certification.