Becoming an Outstanding Personal Tutor

Andrew Stork is a lecturer in marketing, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and co-author of the highly regarded book Becoming an Outstanding Personal Tutor: Supporting Learners through Personal Tutoring and Coaching. As well as presenting at national and international conferences he has published research in personal tutoring and coaching. He has held the roles of cross-institutional quality lead for personal tutoring and student experience, course leader of the postgraduate certificate in education course, and a variety of curriculum leadership, quality and staff development positions. He is a chartered marketer and, prior to working in education, worked in marketing management and consultancy roles.Ben Walker has co-responsibility for the personal tutoring and coaching of learners at The Sheffield College and is an English lecturer and teacher trainer. Prior to this he was a full time English lecturer for several years and then head of department for English. Through teaching on the PGCE and certificate of education courses and being an observer, he has experience training, mentoring and supporting teachers and personal tutors. He has undertaken recently published research into how coaching conversations help students learn through the Education and Training Foundation and working with The University of Sunderland’s Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training,Susan Wallace is Emeritus Professor of Education at Nottingham Trent University where, for many years, part of her role was to support learning on the initial training courses for teachers in the FE sector. She has researched and published extensively on education, training and management of behaviour, and is a popular keynote speaker at conferences. Her particular interests are in mentoring and the motivation and behaviour of students.

I liked the more personalised narrative at the start which thinks through the experience of becoming a personal tutor through the lenses of new teacher. That led to a sustained conversational tone which ensures the book is engaging as well as informative. The reader is encouraged to explore their own definitions, practices and aspirations i.e. through examination of case studies and triggered critical reflections. Tables and diagrams provide useful further explanations – very helpful to those who are less experienced, and helpful to those who are more experienced as a point of reflection on their experiences and practices. Through the book, the voice (co-authored) is that of practitioners with direct insight in to the jargon surrounding personal tutoring and its policy and practice context. The variety of approaches to support critical reflection (including fictional dialogue) and the very accessible layout and structure of the text make this a very useful resource to dip in to again in the light of new experiences. - Dr. Victoria Wright, Head of Post Compulsory Education, University of WolverhamptonThe book is very clear, well laid out and relevant to a number of different people. - Matthew Lowden, University of Winchester

• Foreword Introduction Chapter 1: What is a personal tutor? Chapter 2: Core values and skills of the personal tutor Chapter 3: Setting boundaries Chapter 4: The Learner Experience - key activities Chapter 5: The Learner Experience – key procedures Chapter 6: Using solution-focused coaching with learners Chapter 7: Observation Chapter 8: Reflective practice Chapter 9: Measuring impact Chapter 10: What next? Index