Let's Talk Tutoring!

2/15/2019

Welcome to the discussion! Use this space to discuss anything tutor related. Leave a comment. Ask a question. Share your stories. This space is for you, whether or not you are a member of the NTA.

15 Comments

Laurel Nelson-Cucchiara

2/28/2019 06:00:25 am

Hello!

I have been a Marketing Communications Copywriter for 18 years. Before that, I was a high school English teacher. At this point in my career, I would like to start giving back to people by becoming
a tutor and sharing what I have learned about writing for clarity and impact.

What advice can you provide about defining a path for reaching my goal?

Kind regards,
Laurel Nelson-Cucchiara
LNC Consulting

Joe Caniglia

3/4/2019 07:32:48 am

Hi Laura:

I commend you for wanting to assist others. You might also want to check out becoming a part - time tutor at one of the local colleges in you area. I too was a public school teacher. After a while, I went to work in the business world. I missed teaching, and wanted to re- enter the field, but at a higher level. I began tutoring at a local community college, where I am now a tenured Associate Professor. I hope this helps you.

Kaitlin Cruit link

5/10/2019 02:16:38 pm

Hi Joe,

I would love to become a professor but currently only hold a Bachelor's Degree. Were you able to become an Associate Professor with only a Bachelor's Degree? Or do you have a Masters or PhD? And do you have any recommendations for someone who would like to teach and tutor at the same time?

Thank you!
Kaitlin

Ishmael Brown Jr link

3/15/2019 08:32:20 am

Hi Laurel,

I am glad that you have considered becoming a tutor. It is considered a highly noble profession, and outside of the classroom, students are provided a significant amount of educational support to students of all ages.

Some questions you may want to address to yourself as you enter into the tutoring realm are:

1. What are my strengths and weakness as a tutor?

2. What am I comfortable with tutoring?

3. Do I want to tutor temporarily or long-term?

These questions will help you define your path. Once you answer these questions, you may have a better idea of how you would like to proceed. A suggestion is to start tutoring students at the level you comfortable with by "advertising" at the local schools or school district. You are not necessarily advertising (because that's actually against most school district policies), but some school districts have what is called a "private tutor list" which comprises of tutors and tutoring companies that parents can seek out for assistance.

Hopefully this helps. Welcome to the NTA, Laurel!

Brandy Daingerfield

3/4/2019 05:13:12 am

Hi, Laurel!

From my experience, students appreciate the connection of learning to real-world experiences. I've heard students groan about all types of writing saying things such as, "it isn't like I'm going to need this in the 'real world.'" Your extensive professional experience will be vital to students trying to connect their learning to its greater purpose as they grow academically and professionally.

As online learning has gained popularity (I'm an online student myself), so has the need for writing support. In the various online programs I've participated in, writing has been the primary method of illustrating learning objective achievement (through discussion board posts and weekly essay prompts, for example.) Helping students understand the importance of clear, concise writing in all forms, even everyday writing (i.e. emails, scholarship applications, discussion posts, etc.) will assist them in connecting their learning to their professional growth. Your experience with your clients could provide real-world examples of this so that your students begin to understand the "why" behind academic writing.

It is also important to never stop learning; students look to their educators as examples and all educators are lifelong learners. We continually learn through training, our own academic journeys, and our students. If your student recognizes that you are not only willing, but also excited, to learn from them just as they will learn from you, then you will likely (from my experience) connect to that student, thus building an authentic and safe learning environment.

A quick side note--I do not run my own private tutoring business, but I know several board members do have their own private programs and can provide fantastic information about how to market yourself as a tutor. Additionally, if you complete your training and certification through the NTA, you will be added to the NTA's database of tutors so that potential students can find you through the website.

I am sure the other board members will provide feedback as you move forward and define your path, but I guess my key bit of advice is to always remember to connect the student's learning to application in real-world scenarios and always be open to learning opportunities with your students.

Welcome to the NTA, Laurel!

Adrian N

6/4/2019 08:56:49 pm

Hello,

I am currently an undergraduate student undertaking studies in aviation. I have currently served one and a half years with my institution as a peer tutor, and I was hoping to further hone my skills in the summer through providing my assistance to students in the online world.

Upon browsing through the NTA's website, I am certainly interested in possibly applying as a member to undergo certification and webinar training. However, I am attending my flight training I am restricted to tutoring as a freelancer upon my own schedule. As such, I was hoping if there could be any advice from members before I commit to the NTA membership.

I understand that this is one of the better well known tutoring associations in the online world, and I would be glad to become a member.

Regards,

Adrian N

Brandy Daingerfield

6/20/2019 05:33:10 pm

Adrian,

I’m sorry I missed this! We are so glad you found our website and are happy to answer any questions you may have.
I personally started out with an NTA membership (over five years ago) and it was one of the best decisions I ever made! I think I had a membership for about a month before I took the plunge and started taking trainings. I set a goal of taking one webinar a month and I think I took them all within two months. LOL (I am an extreme overachiever….LOL) The webinars are easy to access through the website. I would recommend starting with the Basic Tutor Webinar; this would give you an overview of the fundamentals of tutoring and will serve as a foundation for the subsequent tutor trainings.
If you wanted to start with just membership—that’s great, too! Membership has a plethora of benefits including:

*Receive an official personalized membership certificate.
*Qualify to apply for NTA sponsored research grants and scholarships
*Ask for a professional mentor.
*Receive online access to the NTA newsletter
*Attend annual conference.
*Eligible to receive discounts on NTA products and services when advertised
*20% discount from Legal Shield
*One month free from Tutor Cruncher
*One free premium level membership from Cram.com
And much more! Check out this link for details: https://www.ntatutor.com/join.html

I hope this helps you in your investigation; if you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to me via this link: https://www.ntatutor.com/contact--board-of-directors.html and clicking the hyperlink next to my name.

Have a great night, and we hope to welcome you to the NTA family soon!

Brandy

Janellie

6/20/2019 04:23:29 pm

Hey there, I'm a little confused. I became a NTA member, yay, but I want to become a certified tutor. How do I go about that? Step one was to become a member, now step two is to take courses, however what course? Where would I take them? What are the costs?

:( Help, please.

Brandy Daingerfield

6/20/2019 05:09:03 pm

Janellie,

Welcome to the NTA family! There are basically six steps in the certification process. You've completed step one (YAY!!) Next, you need to take the training. The training you take will depend on the level of certification you seek. For example, if you want to become a Basic Level Certified Tutor, you would need to take the Basic Tutor Webinar and Learning Preferences: The Holistic Dialogue Webinar. Both of these can be accessed on the website here: https://www.ntatutor.com/recorded-webinars.html. Each webinar comes with an assessment; if you pass the assessment with an 80% or higher, then you will have successfully completed the training portion of the certification process. Next, you would complete the certification application form (found here: https://www.ntatutor.com/certification-application-form-and-checklist.html). There is a checklist so you can make sure you have all of the requirements for certification. :) Then, you upload the documentation required on the application checklist. Next, you would complete the background check form (and pay the associated fees) as directed on the certification application (use package code NG50). Lastly, you would pay the certification fee.

That's it! :) I think you will enjoy the webinars--I recommend starting with the Basic Tutor Level Webinar and then the Learning Preferences Webinar. These will give you a solid foundation on NTA training and are the fundamental learning objectives you need for all levels of tutor certification.

Good luck and, again, WELCOME! :)
Brandy

Constance

7/7/2019 02:16:21 pm

Hi, Brandy,

Once you complete your training in as a basic level tutor, can the school districts use these certifications to qualify for their positions?

Brandy Daingerfield

7/18/2019 12:19:59 pm

Constance,

Good question and I'm sorry I haven't responded sooner--I "unplugged" for our family vacation and am catching back up on what I missed while we were disconnected computers. :)

NTA certifications are nationally recognized and some school districts use these are requirements for their positions. However, I would check with your state/district/school board/etc to see what their requirements are. Where I live, tutor/coach/mentor certifications are encouraged, but not required for most positions, though some positions require a state educator's license as well as tutor/coach/mentor certification. I suppose it would depend on the position you are looking at and your state/district's specific requirements.

Having national certifications on your resume will illustrate to potential employers that you have specific training on tutoring and would not hurt your chances in the least! :) Check out this link on our website for 15 reasons to hire NTA certified tutors! https://www.ntatutor.com/fifteen-reasons-to-hire-nta-certified-tutors.html

Good luck and keep us posted!
Brandy

Janellie

6/24/2019 06:52:01 pm

Hi, would you guys know if there's any programs I can go by that will let me take the class for a lower price? I can't afford to become a certified tutor. :(

Allison Hester

7/10/2019 06:57:36 am

I have a student who requested personal one on one tutoring with me. She is from Italy and has a strong Italian accent. She said she does not want fluency or pronunciation help but wants to communicate more effectively with her coworkers and in everyday situations. She wants information on phrasal verbs and idioms and to understand American(me) when we speak. Any advice will be appreciated. I really think she needs some fluency and grammar help, as it's difficulty to understand her and she speaks word by word, stumbles over her words and she seems to believe this is ok.

Joseph Pascale

7/15/2019 08:08:53 am

Hi Allison,
I have worked with students in similar situations in the past. My experience has been that they tend to have a pretty good grasp of English, but there are little things that come up in conversation that they are unable to follow. Because of this, students have appreciated having someone with whom they can practice their conversation skills and ask questions. I would encourage her to keep a notebook where she writes down unfamiliar words or phrases she hears in conversation that she would like to learn. You could use free resources to develop lesson plans such as these: http://blog.tesol.org/6-websites-for-learning-english-idioms/ or purchase an English language learning workbook if you wanted something more structured to work from. It is always best to get as much feedback from your student as possible so that you can tailor your lessons toward what she feels will be helpful. Encourage her to bring in questions and topics to each session, and I suspect you will both find the tutoring sessions to be highly productive. Best of luck to you both!
- Joseph

Allison

7/18/2019 09:25:48 am

Thank you for your feedback. This is very help and the resources you mentioned are perfect.

Allison

LET'S TALK TUTORING!

Let's Talk Tutoring!

Leave a Reply.

Pete Conrad

Archives

Categories