Northwestern's Literacy Center

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Virtual learning has become a key aspect of education since the beginning of 2020. Schools across the world went to teaching curriculum online to protect students from COVID-19. When school started back in the fall of 2020, many educational services continued virtual instruction. One such service was the Literacy Center at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

"The tutor works with the student consistently one-on-one, once a week.

By Caitlin Hofen

"The Literacy Center is a place where pre-K-12th grade students can come and hone their literacy skills with one tutor,” said Dr. Jennifer Oswald, Literacy Center director. “The tutor works with the student consistently one-on-one, once a week, in a way that helps them as an individual and meets their needs, while making it fun. It also serves our teacher candidates by preparing them for virtual instruction and how to instruct a child who may have trouble with reading.”

Oswald had to figure out a way for tutoring sessions to continue in spite of instruction having to go online.

“I honestly never anticipated the success we would see with a virtual program. I also didn’t expect to enjoy leading a virtual tutoring program as much as I have. My tutors have gone from hesitant and nervous about teaching virtually to pros who are sad when the last day of tutoring comes. It definitely is possible to not only provide literacy tutoring virtually, but to build positive relationships with the students we serve.”

“In Spring of 2020, I had broken-hearted tutors and students who never got to finish their tutoring sessions,” Oswald said. “For fall of 2020, I had to rethink how to provide tutoring services to ensure everyone got to finish no matter what. So we went virtual for the 2020-2021 academic year. Mikayla Edris, an early childhood education major, was paired with Ethan Podrizak, a third grader in Iowa. She said her ability to virtually tutor advanced her skillset in more ways than she imagined.

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“Online tutoring was one of the most beneficial opportunities I've had thus far in the education program,” Edris said. “I gained so many skills from this opportunity. Not only did I learn how to better use my computer and all the online resources that come with it, but I also grew as a future educator. I really had to take a step back to evaluate how I would interact with and teach my student because it was completely different than doing it face-to-face.

“Ethan was always ready to learn something new and had the best attitude. I will always remember our last session together. In the sincerest tone Ethan said: ‘thank you so much for tutoring me.’ His mom wasn't around so I knew it really came from his heart. As a future educator, I have learned to really find value in all the small moments and that is one I will never forget.” Tabatha Podrizak, Ethan’s mom, said, “Ethan’s semester with his NWOSU tutor, Mikayla, proved he had the skill and determination to advance in reading. Mikayla focused on Ethan’s strengths in order to build his confidence and challenge him in areas he needed work. In turn, Ethan’s reading scores improved in fluidity with near zero errors from the beginning of the year. We decided to enroll him in another semester with Dr. Oswald’s students in hopes it will provide the additional resources he needs to excel into grade level reading.”

"Thank you so much for tutoring me.

"Thank you so much for tutoring me. " "

With the significant investment from Ida Evans, Amanda Vermillion and, Darrell and Grace Wessels. The Literacy Center in the School of Education is making an impact on children across the nation.

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Oswald said she never predicted having to move the program to virtual, but it has only expanded the program for both teacher candidates and students.

“In 2019-20, we were in-person and served 10 students and had a waiting list of two. All of our students came to us from Alva with the exception of one who came from Burlington,” Oswald said. “In 2020-21 we were virtual and served 24 students and had a waiting list of 20. We served 12 rural districts in Oklahoma in addition to one student in rural Iowa and one in rural California. "

“One unforeseen benefit of the virtual component was that it allowed Northwestern students in Enid to participate as tutors in the Literacy Center, which is based in Alva. This allowed me to be more successful in recruiting tutors, which also boosted our numbers.”

With the success of virtual and in-person instruction, Oswald said she plans to expand the program even further with an increased number of participants and updated technology. “The hard part is always finding enough tutors for our waiting list, ” Oswald said. “There’s also the problem of our tutors not having the technology needed for virtual instruction. Laptops and computers with microphones and cameras are limited, so being able to expand our technology will help our tutors. " According to Oswald, what started as a way to help the children and parents in the Alva community, would not have been possible without the help of donors and volunteers.

“I saw a need in the community, ” Oswald said. “Kids were struggling with reading and parents would call and ask about a reading tutor. I thought that starting this program would be the best way to meet that need. In some form, the children read in every session. Whether it’s sight-words or a comprehension game, it’s based off the child and their area that needs improvement. "

“We started the program with nothing but a handful of supplies and tutors who were willing to jump in and figure it out. We’ve grown to having the materials and supplies that we need to offer our best. This program never would have grown without the help of volunteers and donors who stepped in. ”

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