Columbus Learning Center for Dyslexia

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Become a Tutor

E-mail Print PDF

The Center provides 28 weeks of tutoring in the Academic Term (from September to June) and six weeks of tutoring in the Summer Term (from July and August). The initial session of this year’s training for tutor/scholars is July 6, 2009.  Schedule details are in this years syllabus.

Every child receives one-on-one tutoring during the two 50-minute sessions per week. In general, children complete their tutoring in approximately two and a half years.

Tutoring Method – The Orton-Gillingham Approach

The Center tutors are certified in the Orton-Gillingham approach of treating dyslexia, which uses a variety of sensory data to help children understand the written word. For example, while sounding out a letter, a child might simultaneously use his index finger to draw the letter in a tray of sand. Another child might use her fists to pound out syllables on a table.

The Center tutors bring a high degree of skill, dedication and love to their work. As one tutor puts it, "When you teach children to read, you change their lives."

Tutor Scholarship Program

The Center Program offers training toward certification in the Orton-Gillingham approach. Initial certification requires 45 hours of classroom instruction and 100 hours of practicum. The practicum includes tutoring children at our Center under the supervision of qualified professionals. The Center also provides training for advanced certification.  Below you will find the Scholar Trainee Pack:

Syllabus Part 1 Syllabus Part 2
Adult Workers Profile

 

Testimonial:

I have just finished a year of tutoring students in the Orton-Gillingham method.  It was a year of learning for my students and for me.  Without this year of supervised tutoring, I cannot imagine my teaching skills growing as much as they have.  I spent 100 hours tutoring students as I learned how to use the Orton-Gillingham approach with Dyslexic children.  The amount of time spent in this practicum allowed me to hone and grow my skills in a safe and  wonderful setting.  During this lengthy practicum, I was given feedback from a master teacher, who was assigned to support me through the 100 hours of tutoring.  She mentored, coached, encouraged and provided constant feedback.  This mentoring consisted of reading all of my lesson plans, observing me during my teaching and providing suggestions for bettering my lesson planning, pacing, interventions, Socratic questioning techniques.  She also evaluated my progess as well as my students' progress.  A 100-hour practicum seems like a lot of time, and it is.  I believe, however, that it made me a far better teacher than if I had just been taught the basics of Orton-Gillingham. 

It may have taken me years of tutoring on my own to reach the level of understanding I now have after this extensive practicum.

Karen Veith

----------------

My experience as an Orton-Gillingham scholar was extremely rewarding. I was amazed by how much I learned about the educational process during my training. The presentation of the material was detailed, relevant, and so informative. The constant encouragement provided by the instructors was invaluable and proved to be a tremendous motivating factor. My only regret is that I did not have the opportunity to participate in such a worthwhile program at the beginning of my teaching career.

Nancy Case (retired from 30 years teaching 4th-6th grades in Parochial Schools)

------------------

My reading instruction has been enriched by training in Orton-Gillingham and Reading Recovery.  Each program teaches procedures to help children get to meaning while reading.  Both deliver instruction through individualized lessons that link what is known to the unknown,  In addition, these methods help make learning to read rewarding for teacher and student.

Sally Vincent – (Current scholar in the Initial Level OG Training Program at the Columbus Learning Center for Dyslexia, and a Columbus Public school teacher for 30 years)

-------------------

Having certification in Orton-Gillingham has opened up doors for me. It is what helped me gain my current position and is a top point at all interviews. While going through the process I learned more about the English language than my 12+ years in school. OG has taught me about the English language and it has made me a better teacher. I now use my experience with OG to teach daily multi-sensory lessons for students grades K-5. My students have made dramatic progress due to my multi-sensory background.

Patricia Kelly

-------------------

I am a parent of a dyslexic child.  I do not have a teaching background.  I entered the program to become an Orton-Gillingham tutor to understand the learning needs of my own child.  What started as a venture to become a better parent of a dyslexic, has grown to a satisfying and rewarding second career.  I have received my Initial Certification as an Orton-Gillingham tutor, I am working to complete the Advanced Orton-Gillingham program, I am a staff member at the Masonic Learning Center and I have started a private practice as a tutor.  The caring mentors and knowledgeable supervisors gave outstanding support during, and after, the initial training.  Without the extensive practicum and excellent course curriculum, it would have taken much longer to develop the skills and understanding of how to instruct the dyslexic student.

Peggy Hollenback