Researchers who have examined multiple tutoring programs found a few factors that influence the effectiveness of a Tutoring program.
Some of the factors were –
- coordinating the Tutoring activity with what the child is doing in school
- proper training for the tutors to confidently implement the good tutoring practices
- well structured tutoring sessions; most successful tutors often have well-rehearsed scripts for responding to student errors; this was especially found to be effective in math tutoring
- careful monitoring and reinforcement of progress; positive communication between Tutor and student increased the effectiveness of the tutoring activity
- frequent and regular tutoring sessions of up to 60 minutes; longer sessions may not necessarily improve outcomes; more sessions a week result in greater gains with an optimum of 2-3 times a week.
In conclusion, I would recommend all parents to make use of all resources that you have at hand, starting from yourself, spending time with the children. Other older family members or friends and relatives including older children are an excellent resource, even if it is for a short time. In our present day busy lifestyle, I can understand that it is not always possible to devote the amount of time as suggested and one may not have all the necessary skills to tutor. In such situations, I feel that parents should use the pointers given above to choose a good professional Tutoring program for your kids, sooner than later.\r\n\r\nBest wishes for success!
References :
- [Topping, K., & Whitley, M. (1990). Participant evaluation of parent-tutored and peer-tutored projects in reading. Educational Research, 32(1), 14-32.]
- [Morris, D., Shaw, B., & Perney, J. (1990, November). Helping low readers in Grades 2 and 3: An after-school volunteer tutoring program. Elementary School Journal, 91, 133-150].
- http://www2.ed.gov/inits/americareads/resourcekit/miscdocs/tutorwork.html