If you are looking to hire a tutor, you may be confused about the best type to hire for your needs. But, to get the best learning experience possible and the best bang for your buck, you need to get the correct tutor for your specific situation. So, when interviewing a tutor, ask the right questions to determine whether the service they provide fulfills your requirements.
Here, we explore varieties of tutors to help you source candidates that could be a good fit for your specific circumstances.
Why Are There Different Types of Tutoring?
Before looking at what types of tutors there are, it can be helpful to understand why different kinds of tutors exist. Knowing why there is no one-size-fits-all tutor model will help you hire a tutor who excels in teaching you or your child.
Teaching Methods
The teaching methods tutors use can vary, especially considering recent technological advancements. Tutors can now teach online—an idea that caught on during the pandemic when so many schools and teachers had no other option.
Of course, tutors are still available in person. In-person tutoring may be in a classroom to support pupils with learning difficulties, or a tutor may come to your house to teach you or your child one-on-one.
Levels of Expertise
Students in college or university offer tutoring services to make extra money, and they can be a less expensive way of accessing one-on-one teaching. But, their level of knowledge may not be enough for your needs.
The expertise you require results in different choices of tutors. You may want a fully trained teacher who has years of experience imparting their most practical knowledge on a subject. You may also need a tutor who is considered an expert in the field, like a college professor.
Reason for a Tutor
Finally, why you want to hire a tutor significantly impacts the type (and cost) of the tutor you need. Tutors hired to help support elementary school children in general learning, for example, are different from tutors that support high school students in the run-up to their SATs. Therefore, before you hire a tutor, you need to be clear in your reason for wanting one in the first place so you can best align their abilities to your needs.
Varieties of Tutors
Online Tutoring
Tutors can now offer online learning. You may find a tutor who delivers one-on-one training through a video call, but other online tutoring methods are also available.
For example, students may find that a tutor has developed a teaching program they can access through an online portal. The advantage of this type of online program is that you can use it anytime, anywhere.
In-Class Tutoring
Some tutors are available for in-class support when a class teacher feels that a pupil is falling behind. A class teacher may not have the time or resources to dedicate to a struggling student and simultaneously provide high-quality teaching to other students.
In this case, hiring a tutor for one-on-one support within a classroom is a great option. In-class tutors can amplify students’ engagement, supporting them in their learning.
Supplementary Tutoring
There are times that even the brightest students find a concept challenging. Even spending hours researching and reading countless books, along with other relevant literature doesn’t seem to help!
It is possible to hire a tutor who can crack open these complex topics, shining a light on troublesome concepts. Unlike books, a tutor can use interactive teaching methods, making challenging educational obstacles more enjoyable to overcome, especially in times of comprehension difficulties.
Exam-Specific Tutoring
As briefly mentioned above, some tutors can help students during the run-up to an exam, which can be a more interactive experience and, therefore, a more effective learning method.
Tutors are also great for exam-specific learning as they can test a student and identify their areas of weakness. As a result, they can better target their teaching, so students can learn what’s necessary to ace an exam.
Expert Level Tutoring
There will be situations where people need to access expert knowledge to further their already extensive understanding of a topic. An expert-level tutor is required to help in these scenarios.
An expert-level tutor can help students advance their grasp of a topic and push the limits of their thinking. College students may need such tutors on undergraduate or graduate courses or professional qualifications.
Picking the Right Type of Tutor
Picking the correct type of tutor for your situation is one of the best ways to help yourself or your child access effective teaching. Different kinds of tutors exist for various needs demanded by those in widespread learning environments.
Whether individuals studying for challenging professional exams or kindergarten pupils learning to count, there will be a tutor best suited to a pupil’s needs out there somewhere, ready to help struggling students everywhere succeed.
