Volunteer tutoring program helps hundreds
When her son’s Grade 5 classes were cancelled in mid-march due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Denise Mcalpine had to adopt the role of teacher while still caring for her two younger children and working a full-time job from home.
She discovered that she and her son, Landen, have very different learning styles, and they struggled to find a rhythm that worked for their new normal with home becoming a classroom and an office. So, Mcalpine signed him up for a volunteer tutoring program hosted by the University of Calgary’s school of education to help students who are now learning from home.
“He does a lot better with an instructor-led curriculum, so having that one-on-one interaction has been extremely helpful for him in being successful in his assignments,” said the single mother.
“Our tutor was able to adapt the curriculum in a way that my son can grasp and learn. It helped the overall attitude in the whole household because it got quite stressful for sure.”
After the sudden decision was made to cancel classes across the province due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, the online search for tutors spiked. Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, even warned parents to be cautious as they scrambled for childcare and tutors.
The University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education set up a volunteer tutoring program of 224 education undergraduates who have helped more than 400 Alberta students in primary and secondary school. Each of the pre-service teachers has been matched with one to four students and they meet virtually for up to three hours a week.
Jenny Yuen was on the verge of completing her final education practicum when she volunteered for the program to put her free time to good use.
One of the students assigned to Yuen is a Grade 1 student and a “walking encyclopedia of outer-space knowledge,” so she’s been catering the lessons around space so it clicks and they’ve gone on virtual field trips together into the cosmos.
“This has really helped us develop our teaching styles. Seeing how engaged the kids are in these sessions and helping the parents by lessening their load while we’re in these tough times, I think this program has been very helpful,” said Yuen.
Student and youth facilitator Mike Holden said it not only helps the students but also the pre-service teachers, most of whom were near graduation when the pandemic closed schools.
He added that many of the families requesting assistance have identified their child as being on an individualized program plan or having specific learning, cognitive or physical disabilities.
Amy Burns, associate dean at the university, said the connections made with the students are another invaluable part of the program.
“Teachers in this province are doing an absolutely amazing job of providing learning but students are not seeing their friends as much; they’re not connecting in that faceto-face way all day with their teacher and they miss that,” said Burns.
The university intends to continue the tutoring program until the completion of classes but it is still determining if the initiative will be extended through the summer.