Talent Search Literacy

The SDSU Talent Search Program includes a service-learning model in which full-time undergraduate students are recruited and selected to serve as volunteer tutors to keep at-risk-youth in school and increase their academic skills. Tutors are trained by educators from the Pre-College Institute (PCI) through their enrollment in Teacher Education 362, a three-unit service-learning course.

Training of Talent Search literacy tutors is a key to the success of the program. Training includes:

  • Behavior and attitude characteristics of adolescents.
  • How to motivate adolescents.
  • Factors that influence reading.
  • Tutoring to promote critical thinking.
  • Strategies and techniques to teach and increase reading comprehension.
  • Strategies to promote vocabulary development.
  • The Writing Process.
  • The Cornell Note-taking System
  • Instructional strategies for English Language Learners.

The course consists of lecture, group discussion sessions, role-playing activities, and supplemental training on instructional and tutorial methodology to prepare tutors to work with middle and high school students. These enthusiastic and highly motivated college students work as tutors in classrooms with cooperating teachers to provide literacy tutoring to students during regular school hours at one of the participating schools for a minimum of four hours per week for 10 weeks.