AVID Tutorials and AVID Tutors

Tutorials and tutors play a vital role in the AVID Elective class, while also benefiting other content-area classes in a school. As a key component to the collaboration portion of the AVID System, tutorials are a time and place where students come with complex questions from any content class and get guiding support to confront tough problems and solve them within their own means.

Using their knowledge and experience, AVID-trained tutors are able to conduct collaborative tutorials that lead to increased student participation and success. Trained tutors are able to create an environment where students feel comfortable asking the questions that they might be embarrassed to ask in their content-area classrooms. Training tutors is critical for effective tutorials, and AVID Center offers many opportunities, including the Tutorology strand at Summer Institute, for site team members to learn the proper techniques for training their own tutors.

Tutors are essential to the success of AVID, acting as a resource and role model for AVID students both academically and socially. AVID alumni who continue their education in college often return to AVID at local schools or their alma mater as tutors to continue their involvement with the AVID family.

What are Tutorials?

What is a tutorial?

Small group tutorial sessions are held twice a week, Mondays through Thursdays, during the AVID elective class. During tutorials, the AVID elective class is divided into several tutorial groups. Under the direction and supervision of the AVID elective teacher, an AVID-trained tutor facilitates the discussion and work at each group.

What is the purpose of tutorials?

* Create deeper understanding of concepts covered in core content class

* Develop skills necessary to become self-directed learners.

* It's not just homework help.

What are the goals of the tutorial process?

* To push each other's thinking. AVID tutorials use an inquiry process.

* Tutors do not give the answers. They facilitate the groups' learning process.

* Tutors don't teach the answers. They ask more questions. This is called the Socratic method.

How do AVID tutorials differ from traditional "tutoring?"

* All students must arrive at the tutorials prepared with pre-work completed and specific questions written in a Tutorial Request Form (TRF). If they believe they have no questions regarding any homework, school work, quiz or test in any of their classes, they must still attend the tutorial with a completed TRF in which they ask a question that further explores the material they are studying in any of their classes.

* Questions are high level thinking questions.

* Students work and discuss in collaborative group.

* Students must reflect on their own participation in the groups and on how the group worked together.

How & Why Did AVID Tutorials Start?

The next video is a 360 video. Once it starts playing in the top left corner is a dial that you can use to flip the camera so that you can also see what the student in the front can see. This is typical what you can expect to see in my AVID elective class.

AVID Tutorials 360

SanLee Middle School

AVID at SanLee

AVID Elective @SLMS

What are AVID tutorials?

What is the AVID Elective