Whether you are a parent preparing a tutoring program for your child, a new tutor learning the trade, or considering one of our programs, we hope this helps. Running a great program doesn’t require a teaching degree or any subject tutoring certifications. Providing a good program especially in this age of virtual learning requires intuition, creativity, and a little patience. When these three are combined, our students can really learn, grow, and become independent. Let’s dive into what takes a tutoring program from good to great.
Creating A Great Tutoring Program Requires Intuition.
Intuition when it comes to tutoring programs may be a bit vague. Google tells us that intuition is the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. How does that apply to virtual learning and subject tutoring? Well, we have all gone to school at some point in our lives and know that there is more than one way of learning. Providing a great tutoring service means recognizing all of the available resources and tools that could work for any specific subject tutoring scenario and applying the one that works. This is where intuition comes in. Every student is unique in their own way.
A great tutoring program is adaptive to each student’s struggles and provides the best individualized tools that work for each student. Intuition comes with experience, but with experience some may tend to be stuck in their ways. Don’t forget that the best tutoring programs are open to change when the student calls for it.
Creativity Will Make And Break Any Tutoring Program
For some students, a traditional tutoring program will do the trick. They just need to be shown the steps, practice it, and teach it to really get the hang of it. However, what if it is a difficult topic or your teaching method isn’t making sense to your student? Worst, what if they hate the subject you are tutoring? One of the biggest mistakes in providing a tutoring service is assuming that if it makes sense to me, it should make sense to my student. Tutoring programs need to be creative with their teaching. Some students need it drawn out, some need a song that goes with it, and most students need real life applications or analogies. Every tutoring program should aim to make learning fun and relatable for the students. Fun, not in the traditional sense, but inspirational way. Students should walk away from every subject tutoring session excited to apply what they have learned. Our ultimate goal is to use our creativity to spark curiosity in our students. When they are curious, they will have more motivation to take advantage of our virtual learning environment and “Google it.” As a tutor, creativity is even more important in the virtual learning world. There are so many resources, so many fun ways to learn. Find them and apply your own creative twist when designing your tutoring program.
Having Patience In Your Tutoring Program Will Lead To A Student’s Independence
The ultimate goal of any tutoring program is for our students to no longer need it. How do we build independence in their learning while making sure they don’t fall behind? This is the question that drives tutors for math or any other subject tutoring crazy. Oftentimes when a tutoring service is needed, it is usually triage work. A student is really behind and both parents and teachers have tried all they can to help. This situation is very sensitive and patience is key to success. We want to remember that a tutoring program is meant to help fill in the gaps with the teacher, student, and or parent. A great tutoring program will incorporate help from all aspects and encourage the student to advocate from all their resources. In a triage situation, create a tutoring program that catches them up, but also motivates them to get help from their resources. This will help students build strategies for the future. Remember, most students do not want to fail, so the most important part comes after getting them back on track. When the worst is over, we want to work with the student to understand what really happened and build strategies to prevent this. This part of the tutoring service is the most important and difficult part. Patience is key. Let them make mistakes. Take notes to improve your tutoring services for them. Be the rocket that propels them forward, but also the safety net that catches their falls. With patience incorporated into your tutoring program, your student will become independent and thrive.
