Institute/Session Summary:

The definition of codependency for the purposes of this workshop is "the need to take care of, rescue, fix, or control another person or situation. It can occur when we value the needs and goals of another person or persons more than we value our own. It happens when our identity and self-worth is largely dependent on our need to be needed. And it occurs when the helping behavior being offered becomes a pattern and continues in light of negative consequences. Lastly, codependent behavior deals with the inability to set limits or boundaries. Setting boundaries means there are specific consequences to not following program guidelines or policies." (Winnard, 1996)

The relationship that develops between the tutor and the student is very different from that of a college professor and the student. Whereas the instructor is primarily responsible for imparting knowledge, it is the tutor who is primarily responsible for assessing the tutee’s level of comprehension as it pertains to the course material and then “helping/assisting/guiding” the tutee to understand the concept(s)and determine the answer. In so doing, the "helper-helpee" dynamic can occur bewteen the tutor and tutee unless certain strategies and parameters are put in place to ensure a healthy and empowering session for them both.

The purpose of this conference session is to present participants (program directors, trainers) with a training and programmatic framework that can easily be completely or partially adapted to any program/center in any institution in this country. Participants will learn what codependency is, how it is manifested and perpetuated (if at all) in their programs and their institutions, and what they can do to minimize its occurrence and replace its presence with strategies, structure, and policies that empower students, tutors, and staff to become independent learners and empowered practitioners.

The theoretical basis for this presentation is based upon the article “Codependency: Teaching Our Tutors Not to Rescue” (Winnard) published in From Access to Success: What Works Best in College Learning Assistance. Editor: Martha Maxwell, H&H publishing Company, 1994 and Journal of College Reading and Learning. Volume XXIV, No. 1: 1991: pp. 32-39. This CRLA presentation is an all new updated version of this concept (power-point and all!) which was first introduced by this presenter/author at a conference in 1989 in southern California. Supporting our colleagues to “assist” or “empower” our students and staff rather than to “help” them (otherwise, why aren’t we working in “learning helping centers?”) is central to this thesis and this proposed presentation.

Participants will learn what constitutes codependent and empowering behavior, what tutoring strategies can maximize the independent learning/high self-esteem model in the tutorial session, and ways in which to impart this information using role plays, interactive training methods, and establishing codependent-free program guidelines/policies, structures, and procedures. Training exercises, handouts, and a role-play will be used to engage the participants with the presenter and each other throughout this session. A power-point presentation will guide the session from start to finish with the focus of the session being on the new paradigms that participants can bring back to use in their programs.

Participants will receive handouts of the JCRL article and power-point slides, one or two role-play scenarios, and a chatchki or two.

I’ve been talking about codependency in relationship to tutorial programs for over 15 years. I have spoken at a number of conferences and consulted with organizations about this topic in relationship to their own programs/institutions. Last year was the first CRLA conference that I have presented in more than 10 years on this topic.

Presenter1 Name: Karin Winnard
Presenter1 Institution: Bryant University
Presenter1 Bio: Karin Winnard has over 20 years of combined experience in the fields of learning assistance, student development, and first-year curriculum development/teaching in higher education. Karin has extensive experience as the director of tutorial and first-year programs. She is the former president of the Association of California Colleges Tutorial and Learning Assistance (ACCTLA) and has been an evaluator for CRLA's International Tutor Certification Board since 1988. Karin is the author of "Codependency and Tutoring: Training Our Tutors Not to Rescue," which appeared in both The Journal of College Reading and Martha Maxwell's From Access to Success. She is the author of The Tutor Revue and the First-Year Revue and is currently collaborating on a project developing training materials for practioners to use in the field of higher education.