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Online Tutoring: Two Basic Processes Used

Everyone knows that no two students learn in exactly the same way. This makes classroom teaching a real challenge, since teachers and their aides do not have the time or the resources to provide a different lesson for every student in the class. This is where online tutoring services can be beneficial – through individualized tutoring!

However, even tutors cannot be everything for everyone. They follow a process when tutoring students having difficulty or needing more challenging curriculum. Here are some ways that an online tutor may work with you:

Traditional Explanation And Lecturing Techniques

For some, this is the quickest and easiest way to attempt to teach a subject. This technique is especially important for tutors when they need to make clear aspects of a subject area or to explain key points needed for understanding. However, since this is the method most students are getting in their classrooms online tutoring services tend to ask their tutors to keep this method of teaching to a minimum.

Asking Questions And Evaluating Student Answers

More important than the concepts of a subject is the understanding of those concepts by the student. Online tutoring services can easily use a question and answer technique when providing assistance to students.

When using this method of tutoring, the professional educator should be sure to follow these guidelines:

• Always keep the questions asked open-ended

• Avoid questions with a simple “yes” or “no” answer
• Make the student think – have them decide how to tackle a problem and tell the steps required to reach a solution

• Rephrase questions when you see a student is faltering

• Simply rewording an existing question can cause a light bulb to illuminate in a student’s mind

• Break up existing questions into smaller parts and get the student to answer each part individually.

The key to this online tutoring technique is actually quite challenging, as the tutor cannot hear how the student is answering. The tutor cannot see the body language or facial expressions of the student, either. The tutor can only read a cold response. An online tutor has to be skilled at “reading between the lines” and getting to any difficulty the student is having.