Shortly after the start of the COVID pandemic, PLC pivoted to change its focus to an online training model, using Zoom, with its first fully online tutor training beginning in September 2020. Now, over the past two years, PLC has continued to extend the reach of the program to include students beyond the Portland area, from underserved rural areas like The Dalles, to students from the Tacoma Literacy Council, and even students from the east coast and California. This past Winter, PLC continued to run successful Online Tutor Trainings: the two most recent in January and March, 2022.
Although the pivot to an all-online tutor training model has been challenging, the PLC volunteer instructors have seized the opportunity and the program has excelled. Specifically, over the past two years, PLC's trainers have transformed PLC's online training into a truly interactive learning experience. For example, trainings include several break-out sessions, led by volunteer tutor trainers, with class sizes limited to 25 students, with five Instructors who volunteer to assist with the training and who offer more personal feedback, and answer questions. Also key to the success of the program has been the use of PLC's tutor training workbook, which PLC's Board Members and instructors spent several years creating and refining. As PLC Board Member Linda Rountree put it: "Tutor training is only as good as its instructors and the curriculum."
After receiving positive review of its class offerings from online students, PLC has determined that it will continue to also offer an online learning option for both its "Online Tutor Training" as well as its "Awesome Tutor Workshop," even after Portland Community College re-opens its campus to in-person learning (currently scheduled for Spring 2022).
