*This blog post provides a great summary of ‘The Power of One-to-One Tutoring’ chapter from our recently published book, Academic Success Formula: How Ordinary Students Get Extraordinary Results.
At Tutor Doctor, we believe that every student is unique. Everyone learns differently, and the instructional approach needs to be altered for each individual student’s learning style.
Some programs rely on specific educational requirements and traditional expectations, but we believe tutoring should be catered to a student’s own personal goals, needs, strengths, and challenges.
On that note, we’d like to share some information and benefits of one-on-one tutoring that we believe make Tutor Doctor’s approach truly “ahead of the curve”!
What is One-on-One Tutoring?
One-on-one tutoring is a private session consisting of only a student and a tutor. A session like this allows the tutor to focus specifically on their student and be attentive to their strengths or weaknesses in the subject or task at hand.
It’s a very effective way for the tutor and the student to set and reach goals with their learning and to help the student excel in subjects that they find difficult. This is something that you can’t find in a group tutoring session.
Why is One-on-One Tutoring Important?
In most cases, a classroom environment does not allow your student to gain an in-depth understanding of subject matter, especially if they are struggling. The teacher usually can’t dedicate all of their time and attention to helping just one student as there are 30 other students to help as well.
Group tutoring can bring up the same challenges, and you pay for the service, but it may not bring the best results as your student is one of many and their individual needs and learning styles are not accounted for.
This is why one-on-one tutoring is so important. It gives the student a chance to have their tutor’s undivided attention to clarify, ask questions and gain an in-depth understanding of a subject and this is something you just can’t find with group tutoring.
The Benefits of One-on-One Tutoring for Students
There are so many reasons as to why one-to-one tutoring has grown in popularity. Many parents have seen the amazing impact that this has on students.
We have many success stories that our tutors have given us to show the incredible results that our work has had. You can read one, here.
Now, let’s get into the benefits below.
1. Mentoring is key
One of the most underrated facets of one-on-one tutoring is the mentoring aspect. Students can largely benefit from having a positive role model to look up to, and when a student is motivated by their tutor, the learning process becomes even more fun and engaging.
This sort of unique rapport is only possible with one-to-one methods.
2. Compensating for learning differences
As we mentioned before, tutors have the ability to adjust their instructional style to fit the individual student’s needs. Everyone’s brains are wired differently.
Some students are visual learners and benefit most from visual aids. Some students are auditory learners and retain information best when they hear it explained to them. Other students are kinesthetic learners and may prefer a more active learning style with hands-on instructional materials.
Being able to cater to each student’s learning style is a huge part of what makes one-to-one tutoring so effective!
3. One-on-One tutor matching
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of one-to-one tutoring is the ability to choose a good match for their child. At Tutor Doctor, we try to match all our students with tutors that have similar interests, learning styles, and schedules as them.
When a student feels they have more in common with their tutor, a natural connection is formed that makes communication much easier.
4. Learning efficiency
Tutoring allows us to focus specifically on challenge areas.
Let’s say a student needs help reducing fractions. In a classroom setting, the teacher may have already moved past that point in the material – or is now introducing newer concepts. Even though the student really needed more practice in this area, these learning gaps too often get glossed over.
With Tutor Doctor’s one-to-one tutoring process, we can zone-in on problem areas and greatly aid the student’s overall progress.
5. Targeted instruction
One-on-one tutoring allows students to be taught at their current level of proficiency. Just because a student is in 4th grade reading class, it doesn’t mean they are reading at a 4th grade level.
In cases like this, students are often behind on important skills that were never fully understood when originally taught to them.
Private tutoring, on the other hand, allows us to go back and address these learning gaps. If a student didn’t retain the bulk of 3rd grade vocabulary, they cannot be expected to understand 4th grade material.
Education is always building on previous concepts!
6. Materials
In a one-to-one teaching situation, tutors have access to work with a multitude of materials that address the student’s needs.
For instance, some students may learn better on a computer, as opposed to traditional pen-and-paper instruction. For these students, additional online curriculum may be a better method of practice than, say, physical flashcards.
In addition, some students have trouble keeping their schedules (and backpacks) organized.
Our one-on-one tutors work with students to help them work on their agenda, plan out their assignments, and keep their materials organized through our X-Skills Program. Parents are often amazed by how neat folders and a clear agenda can make such a big difference in their student’s academic success!
Professional One-on-One Tutoring Services
Over the years, education has seen a trend towards individualization of instruction. It’s no surprise considering the benefits of one-on-one tutoring.
At Tutor Doctor, we’re thrilled to see this change! We truly believe that everyone learns better when the instruction has been tailored to their individual needs.
All students can learn – it’s up to us to figure out how they do it best!
To learn more about how one-on-one tutoring services help students succeed, get to know Tutor Doctor today.