ERIC EJ1117730: Learning Support Centers and International Tutor Training Program Certification: An Interview with Rick A. Sheets

2016·0.17 MB·English

by  ERIC

Learning Support Centers and International
Tutor Training Program Certification:
An Interview with Rick A. Sheets
By Luann Walker
Rick A. Sheets has Rick Sheets (R.S.): LSCHE (P.K.A., the Winter
been working in learn- Institute website) was developed and came
ing assistance, faculty online to support the annual Winter Institutes,
training, and technology a professional development workshop that Frank
support for over 30 initiated. LSCHE initially provided information
years. He collaborated and resources that Frank Christ had collected
with Frank Christ as for three decades and wanted to make avail-
the co-founder and able to learning assistance professionals. It also
webmaster of the Learn- provided a resource for colleagues to learn about
ing Support Centers many resources provided at the week-long Winter
in Higher Education Institutes. Overseeing the LSCHE website has been
(LSCHE) website, a and continues to be an exciting, challenging, and
resource established interesting process. The website opened in 1996,
in 1996 for learning written in HTML then Netscape Navigator then
The conference and event center directors, administrators, and faculty. In PageMill and then to DreamWeaver, a more
addition to being a past president of the College comprehensive website management tool. In
calendar items can be added Reading and Learning Association (CRLA), Sheets 2011, Frank Christ and I discussed the need to
served as coordinator of the International Tutor update the site, but the update was pushed into
to many online calendars
Training Program Certification (ITTPC) from late the future. As a legacy for Frank and our work
with a single click. 2008 until early 2015. Holding a B. A. and an M. A. together, LSCHE continues to support the needs
of education from Arizona State University, Sheets of colleagues in the field; however, LSCHE needs
continued his education through the National to be continually updated. In 2013, with the help
Center of Developmental Education’s Kellogg and support offered by the Tutor Matching Service
Institute before returning to Arizona State to earn (TMS) company, LSCHE’s new look was devel-
a Doctorate of Education. In 2010, he retired as oped, and all pages moved to the new format as
director of the Learning Support Center at Paradise a WordPress site.
Valley Community College. Over his extensive career,
Sheets has earned awards for training and employee L.W.: Sadly, Frank Christ passed away in 2012, and
innovations, CRLA recognition awards, and the many of those new to the field only know him as
National College Learning Center Association’s a figure in articles and books. Could you describe
(NCLCA) Innovation in Technology Award for his what it was like to work with Frank?
work on LSCHE. Lastly, in February 2015, he was
inducted as a Council of Learning Assistance and R.S.: Frank was truly a Renaissance Man. His
Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA) tireless energy, love, passion, excitement, and com-
Fellow, the field’s highest honor. mitment to the field and to the LSC professionals
were contagious to all who had the pleasure to work
Luann Walker (L.S.): The idea of a resource like with him. He was always pushing to help learning
Learning Support Centers in Higher Education assistance professionals realize the importance
(LSCHE) began in approximately 1965 “as a collec- of being a catalyst for change and innovation
tion of professional reading and conference notes in supporting learners. He focused on ways to
relating to postsecondary learning assistance with better support learning for all students and for
Luann Walker
a special emphasis on learning assistance centers” the staff and administrators too. He often spoke
Masters Program in Developmental Education
(LSCHE, 2015b). With Frank Christ, you developed about workshops or sessions he would provide for
Texas State University
LSCHE and continue to direct its operation today. administrators in time management and MBO
601 University Dr.
In March 2014, you unveiled LSCHE’s new layout. (Management By Objectives). Working with Frank
San Marcos, TX 78666
What caused its inception? was never dull. He was always looking at ways to
[email protected]
20 JOURNAL of DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION
help professionals in the field and saw technology sure, but all of the 5,000+ links have already been Associations (CLADEA) and its member associa-
as a valuable tool to reach more learners. updated. For example, the list of names for learning tions and centers. It has been a labor of love for
centers in the “about” page has now more than me, and the costs for me hosting the website and
L.W.: Frank Christ advocated for and helped doubled to 260 from 120. The chronological his- maintaining the domain have been low. LSCHE has
build many cornerstones in this field; he was a tory of learning assistance has been updated and been created and based on volunteer support by its
founding member of the College Reading and expanded to be more comprehensive. In addition, founders, advisory team, team leaders, interested
Learning Association (CRLA) and the first author new technologies and practices have been added to leaders in the field, and organizations like the
for the Journal of Developmental Education’s (JDE) help keep resource links up-to-date (i.e., a broken Tutor Matching Service, who volunteered time
“TechTalk” column. How do you believe Frank link checker designed for WordPress sites). and resources to update the look and functionality
would perceive the latest iteration of LSCHE? of LSCHE.
Would it exceed his expectations? L.W.: Rick, in the early years you were the main, if
not the only, person developing and updating the L.W.: Historically, LSCHE began with hard copy
R.S.: I feel it was exactly what he would have resources and links. With the growth LSCHE what documents from Frank Christ’s files. Making those
wanted, but he would immediately be pushing for additional staff has been incorporated to support articles available online was the initial phase of
even more options and venues to use the revised the maintenance of LSCHE? what is now a growing collection of supportive
website to reach even more learning professionals. resources for learning center professionals. Frank’s
Frank was always networking, discussing, sharing, R.S.: As cofounder and webmaster, I am overseeing legacy has paved the way for the new site; in addi-
listening, and making suggestions for colleagues the work and changes in LSCHE and currently tion to expanding the site’s focus on technologies
through conferences, webinars, email, and list- maintain the website. Alan Craig is and has been used in the field to support online education, what
serves (like LRNASST). co-editor in LSCHE for many years, and there are do you see as the future of LSCHE?
One area of LSCHE I think Frank would have now other informal contributors (Hunter Boylan,
been working to expand and develop is an addi- David Caverly, Brad Hughes, Lucy MacDonald, R.S.: I see a bright and exciting “work in prog-
tional focus on technologies available and used in David Arendale, Penny Turrentine, and Johanna ress” as LSCHE continues as an Open Educations
the field, especially in teaching and learning online. Dvorak, to name a few). In 2014, a formal LSCHE Resource (OER) web portal dedicated to learn-
Frank often focused on how important it was for advisory team was formed, consisting of Karen ing support professionals, CLADEA, and its six
learning centers to provide support for students Agee, Alan Craig, and Russ Hodges. We continued nonprofit national and international member
taking online classes. to update the site with informal support from the associations and centers. LSCHE is in the process
of moving from a comprehensive list of links of
L.W.: LSCHE has really been updated to integrate individual resources available on the internet to
How can such an expansive
even more outstanding resources specifically now providing more annotated links of available
designed for Learning Support Professionals. For and growing website remain resource lists maintained by colleagues throughout
those of us who have been using LSCHE for years, the Internet. These changes are already in process
active without funding from
in addition to the new appearance, how has LSCHE and will continue taking place over the next year
been transformed? or two.
its users?
One area just completed is an annotated list
R.S.: Easier navigation is now available throughout of links of more than 90 associations and orga-
the site. A breadcrumb trail provides easy naviga- interested practitioners, leaders, and experts in nizations of interest to learning support center
tion back through the site hierarchy, and main learning assistance and developmental education. professionals and developmental educators, which
category pages have a side panel with parent and We also have graduate students from Texas State includes links and descriptions to each of TRiO’s
child links. University researching, expanding, and updating eight federal programs. It begins with a listing of
The original 35 resource categories in LSCHE LSCHE resources. each of CLADEA’s organizations and centers. We
were condensed and combined into 12 major cat- have also recently posted a new resource called
egories on the home page, each as its own page. An L.W.: Unlike many of the websites we typically “Publications for the LSC Professional,” which
expanded view of the resources creates a site map encounter, which bombard viewers with ads, includes a list of publications of each of CLADEA’s
of the available resource links under each category LSCHE requires no membership fees or subscrip- organizations and centers and a list of suggested
heading. New technologies were incorporated tions nor does it request donations. How can such reading by CLADEA. Input and feedback is always
to support LSCHE, including better access and an expansive and growing website remain active welcomed on the site.
viewing on mobile devices. The conference and without funding from its users?
event calendar items can be added to many online L.W.: In addition to your continual work with
calendars with a single click. R.S.: Funding was initially needed to provide a LSCHE, for over 6 years you were the Coordinator
Responding to a request early in Spring 2015 domain and webhost. Maricopa Colleges and spe- of The International Tutor Training Program
for job postings, job postings web pages (LSCHE, cifically my campus, Paradise Valley Community Certification (ITTPC). The paramount purpose
2015a) were added under professional develop- College, agreed to provide web server support to of the CRLA’s tutor certification process was to
ment, and the number of listings has averaged 25-30 LSCHE as a folder on my learning support center set an internationally accepted standard of skills
posts at a time (posted for 3 months then moved (LSC) website. In 2009, CRLA agreed to host LSCHE and training for tutors (CRLA, 2015). How were
to archive pages unless additional posting time is as an additional and independent domain add-on. international best practices selected and incor-
requested). Furthermore, all of the 500+ pages were Finally, in 2012, as CRLA moved to a management porated into the selection of the current certifica-
moved and reorganized, and the process of updat- company for daily operation, LSCHE moved to tion’s content? Are there differences amongst the
ing information on all the pages began. Updating its own domain to better support the Council of countries, and, if so, how does training vary across
every page in LSCHE is a “work in progress” for Learning Assistance and Developmental Education different countries/cultures?
VOLUME 39, ISSUE 2 • WINTER 2016 21
R.S.: I was not part of the team at its inception, than tutors (and authorizes those programs to cer- LSCHE: Learning Support Centers in Higher
though I remember hearing about it. From 1986 tify their tutors). Sister organizations developed Education. (2015a). Job postings for learning
support centers and related areas. Retrieved
until 1989, a team of interested CRLA members agreements to work together, maximize resources,
from http://www.lsche .net/?page_id=7353
and some current/former CRLA Board of Directors and reduce redundancy via CLADEA.
LSCHE: Learning Support Centers in Higher
officers discussed the need for tutor-training guide- Within the last few years, it became Education. (2015b). LSCHE-a “nearby
lines to provide consistent training procedures. The apparent that the name “ITPC” still required history.” Retrieved from http://www.lsche.
work paralleled the Council for the Advancement more clarification, and, as a result, the name net/?page_id=3954
of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) work. was changed to “International Tutor Training
Thus, when created, ITTPC followed the CAS Program Certification” (ITTPC) to include the
standards for tutor training in learning assistance word “training” in the title because it certifies
programs. The group researched and applied best tutor training programs. ITTPC is an extension
practices from presentations at national confer- of CRLA; therefore, the certification achieved by
ences throughout the development of the program. completing the ITTPC program is actually from
The content includes four aspects of tutor-training CRLA. Recommendations for making the name
program certification: (a) tutor training, (b) tutor- change were sent to CLADEA for input and sup-
ing experience, (c) tutor selection, and (d) tutor port before official action was taken, and ITTPC
evaluation. was chosen as the newest name for CRLA’s Tutor
Training Program Certification. A parallel pro-
L.W.: Tutors and tutoring programs provide sup- gram to certify peer mentors was created in 1998.
port for underprepared students in many educa- It is smaller and has grown slower than ITTPC,
tional settings across national borders (CRLA, but the CRLA Board feels strongly that the two
2015).How many countries are currently ITTPC
certified?
The topics we offer [in ITTPC
R.S.: Currently, more than 1100 programs are certification] and their
certified, including programs in seven different
countries outside the United States: Australia, requirements are flexible
Canada, Greece, Japan, Kuwait, Republic of Korea,
enough to accommodate
with Morocco as the most recent addition. It’s excit-
ing to have so many ITTPC-certified programs and cultural differences.
in so many places. Some countries specifically seek
to certify their tutor-training programs through
ITTPC to improve language skills within their certifications support and parallel each other as
institutions. The requirements follow the same much as possible.
guidelines, and everything is submitted in English, In January 2015, Roberta Schotka, a long time
but we can still support work in other countries. reviewer, accepted the role of ITTPC Coordinator
The topics we offer and their requirements are flex- and has been working diligently with Page Keller,
ible enough to accommodate cultural differences. Certifications Director; Lori Saxby, CRLA Past
President; and CRLA’s management company
L.W.: During your tenure and preceding it, there (TEI) to complete the development of a new
has been some change in the name and the process online application process for certifications. The
for tutor certification programs. Can you explain new process has been on the drawing board since
the impetus behind some of the changes and your 2009, and programming it actually began in 2012
role during that process? by CRLA’s management company. The new online
application process was unveiled at the 2015 CRLA
R.S.: The International Tutor Training Program conference in Portland, OR.
Certification (ITTPC) is a work in progress, con-
tinually seeking research and best practices to L.W.: Your insights are invaluable, thank you so
help programs identify how their program meets much for your years of service enriching student
a set of standards. The certification was initially learning via your work in learning centers, your
created as the International Tutor Certification historic and long-term contributions to the field.
Program (ITCP) in 1989. The status of “interna- LSCHE, supported in part by Texas State University
tional” allowed other countries’ postsecondary doctoral students, and ITTPC, with their over
programs to also participate. CRLA set certifica- 1,000 certified programs worldwide, undoubtedly
tion standards to focus on tutor training programs make huge impacts across the field.
so that other organizations’ certification initiatives
References
could endorse different aspects. The CRLA board
CRLA: College Reading & Learning Association.
clarified the name to International Tutor Program
(2015). About ITTPC. Retrieved from http://www
Certification (ITPC) to address concerns related
.crla.net/index.php/certifications/ittpc-
to clarifying that CRLA certifies programs rather international- tutor-training-program
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