COE TUtors provides free, online tutoring to more than 500 Maryland students
Program supports academic needs of local students, provides teacher interns hands-on experience
By Rebecca Kirkman on March 30, 2021
After a day of online learning, second- and third-graders Priya and Maya Hill are
excited to get on one last Zoom call—an hour of tutoring with two students from Towson
University’s College of Education (COE).
“They love it,” says Reshma Sinanan-Hill, whose daughters Priya and Maya attend Overlook
Full Spanish Immersion School in Prince George’s County and have been enrolled in
the COE TUtors program since fall 2020. “It’s perfect for what we need at this moment to supplement
what’s happening in the classroom.”
Launched in the fall, COE TUtors is a free, online tutoring program for Pre-kindergarten–12
students that meets the needs of TU education students as well as families throughout
the state.
The program matches students with pairs of TU teacher candidates, who design lessons
based on students’ individual needs with support and guidance from faculty members.
The tutors employ culturally responsive, evidence-based and provide feedback on student
progress weekly.
This spring, more than 500 students throughout Maryland have been matched with TU
tutors, an increase from the 350 who participated in the fall 2020 session.
“COE TUtors has allowed our teacher candidates a unique opportunity to teach students
across different districts around the state, as well as to communicate directly with
caregivers about their children’s learning,” says Laila Richman, associate dean of
the College of Education. “Given the positive impact the program has had on both teacher
candidates and P–12 students, we plan to continue COE TUtors as a permanent service
in the College of Education.”
The program offers a virtual alternative for field experience courses, where undergraduate
teacher candidates in their junior year typically spend an hour each week in a Maryland
public school classroom observing a mentor teacher.
With the help of Ty Velines, the virtual-based experiences project coordinator for
COE, teacher candidates in more than 20 field experience courses are paired up and
matched with P–12 students in subjects like literacy, mathematics and English language
support.
“In their applications, a lot of parents are saying virtual learning has just been
hard for their students. They know that their students will have to sit in front of
a screen for tutoring, too, but even having an extra hand and being able to support
them on their learning journey is something that they seek,” Velines says.
The online program has the flexibility to adapt to each faculty member’s needs for
specific courses, too.
“The instructors for each of these courses have different ideas about how they would
like to utilize COE TUtors and how they would like to engage the students that are
coming in and being tutored by their interns,” Velines adds.
Laura Ward, a lecturer in the Department of Elementary Education who teaches five courses with COE TUtors, says the program gives her students the
opportunity for more hands-on teaching experience and the chance to get comfortable
with new technology.
“When COVID hit, I was so nervous about what the loss of being in the classroom would
mean for my students. So it was such a blessing to have this opportunity,” she says.
“Our Towson interns are getting practice in writing high-quality lesson plans, putting
them into practice and learning to anticipate things that might change as they're
teaching. And they're working with a partner, so they're having some peer interaction.
I have found it to be so beneficial.”
So far, the program has had an overwhelming interest from families.
“After things shut down in spring 2020, the school day was very different and parents
were eager for any additional learning opportunities,” says Renee Whitby, COE’s partnerships
and placements manager.
When the link to register for the first session of COE TUtors was released, it was
shared to social media and received 1,100 applications in just 72 hours.
“When we planned for the second iteration in the spring of 2021, we really wanted
to target the kids that were most in need of this service,” Whitby says, adding that
the college contacted its professional development school partners and English as
a second language (ESL) teachers to reach families directly. Next academic year, the
project plans to add two additional components—community liaisons to better connect
with families and a website with resources to support families working with their
children at home in remote learning environments.
For the spring session, families from underserved populations made up about 50% of
the applicants.
The program is funded by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER Grant),
a federal grant for governors to support and assist educational entities with emergency
assistance due to COVID-19. It is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security (CARES) Act.
Elementary education and special education major Laura Marsico ’22 currently tutors two small groups of students in fifth and
second grades. Participating in COE TUtors has required her to be more flexible, collaborative
and engaging with students.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity that Professor Ward and Towson University has
given to our class,” Marsico says. “I was really disappointed when I learned that
I would not be able to do in-person teaching because of COVID-19. I think this is
something very special that I will take with me into my career. I have cherished every
moment I have gotten with these students. While being on Zoom and being in person
are different experiences, I am very happy that I got the opportunity to work with
students these last couple semesters. I think this experience is going to be very
valuable to me as I transition into full-time student teaching next semester.”
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