Advancing AVID tutoring: blended professional learning for college tutor/mentors in AVID

In an effort to better prepare K-12 students for college and career readiness, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) has created a college and career readiness system that is implemented in schools across the United States and in many international locations. Part of this system of schoolwide transformation, is the AVID Elective class, designed for students in the academic-middle. In the AVID Elective, students are supported in their efforts to attend four-year universities. A critical aspect of the AVID Elective class is the weekly implementation of AVID Tutorials, ideally led by trained college tutor/mentors.

The purpose of this action research study is to investigate support structures of AVID Tutors beyond the current tutor training system, in order to see how additional methods can contribute to continual improvement of the tutor training system. Findings from this study indicate that expanding current tutor-training practice to include a blended-learning, on-the-job model, might be beneficial for AVID Tutors and AVID Students.

Through a mixed methods action research study, both qualitative and quantitative data collection tools were employed to help understand the effect of additional tutor training supports. Interviews, tutor assignments, observations of tutorials, and pre- and post-tests provide the bulk of the data studied. Further, this study could provide critical information for key AVID stakeholders who seek to offer training to tutors in AVID.