Tutor Training Sessions
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While mentorship skills are acquired through teaching experience, tutors can get a considerable head start by receiving some professional guidance early on. Thus, formal tutor training is highly recommended for all high school students new to music tutoring. While not required, almost all ALTO program tutors receive some form of tutor training.
Most programs have a music director or other professional musician serving as an advisor. Oftentimes, this professional will work with the Program Coordinators to host a Tutor Training Session (TTS) at the start of each academic or calendar year to all tutors (both new and returning) in the program. These TTS for individual programs can be held online or in person. Our team will help Program Coordinators and their music directors plan for their first TTS.
Alternatively, some programs choose to offer orientation sessions when a new tutor signs up. These are typically 30-60 min long Zoom sessions where the Program Coordinators and/or their advisor explain how to teach lessons, share their tips, and show them the logging/documentation systems. Oftentimes, programs that practice this method will send supplemental resources such as lesson video demonstrations before or after the meeting. While this method allows every tutor to immediately receive training/orientation, they can become rather time consuming for Program Coordinators. If your program decides to do this method, our team will work with the Program Coordinators to devise plans for the first few sessions.
The final option is to request a TTS from ALTO. These 60 min sessions are held whenever requested by Program Coordinators and will train all of the tutors in their program. The TTS will include information on how to teach students, what skills to focus on, how to plan lessons, how to keep students focused and motivated, how to communicate with parents, and how to maintain utmost levels of professionalism. Tips, tricks, and techniques to help students will also be shared by veteran tutors. A Q&A session and mock lessons will wrap up the session. ALTO TTS will either be hosted by a veteran ALTO tutor and board member (for free) or by award-winning conductor Mr. Angelo Moreno (for a small fee, which will vary depending on the complexity of the session). Click here to request a TTS for your program.