4 Steps to Personalize Tutoring for Your Child

4 steps to personalize tutoring for your child are as follows: Step one, decide whether your child needs a tutor. Step two, decide on the tutoring method, that is private, online and centers. Step three, find the right tutor. Step four, choose the best tutor. Read on to find out more on these four steps to personalize tutoring for your child.

The tutoring needs of children are varied and often complex. Your child is an individual; different from their 70 million piers in the US. Perhaps you and your child are preparing for challenging placement and qualification exams in order to be accepted into an Ivy League school. If you’re fortunate and your child is gifted and talented then you may be looking for a tutor to achieve their full potential.

Perhaps your child is having trouble with science or concept in mathematics. Don’t fret, disabilities in math can be resolved and are ubiquitous today; 5% to 8% of school-age children are identified as having some kind of disability in mathematics.

Another common occurrence these days is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Should you child suffer from ADHD you need the extra attention from a tutor who specializes in learning disabilities (LD)? Also, since 2008 more parents are struggling financially and can hardly afford a private tutor. Don’t worry; the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that low-performing low-income schools must provide free tutoring services to children who qualify.

Step 1: Decide on whether your child needs personalized tutoring.

Give personalized tutoring a go if one of the following criteria is true for your child.

• Child is struggling with homework exercises.
• Your child’s teachers expressed concern.
• Your child exhibits a drop in assessment results.
• There is a general concern from your child regarding their studies.

While not urgent, you may want to consider hiring a private tutor for your child in order to:

• Increase confidence in his favorite subject
• Supplement classroom teaching amidst educational budget cuts.
• Ensure the optimal assessment results in preparation for university applications.

With the public education system strained to its limits, the college admissions requirements ever rising most parents opt for tutoring. Occasionally, it is the students themselves who ask for tutoring in order to feel ever more confident in class.

The short answer to step one is that every child can benefit from personalized tutoring. In fact, as a professional tutor, and CEO of TutorZ I have never seen a child who did not profit from tutoring. Even overachieving students benefit from personalized tutoring as in the process they will achieve full potential in their gifted areas. Moreover, gifted students are encouraged to overcome some weak spots. No matter what your reasons are for hiring a personalized tutor it is important to discuss the decision with your child.

Now that you have decided to give personalized tutoring a go we need to consider the method of tutoring.

Step 2: Decide on the most appropriate method of tutoring.

Knowing your child’s innate preferences, your budget limitations or convenience is is now time to selected the most appropriate method of tutoring.

Private tutoring is the most common type of tutoring and, perhaps, the most desirable for younger children and those with learning disabilities. Conveniently, private tutors come to your home or – should you prefer so meet you and your child at school or another public location. Typically private tutors have years of tutoring experience and know their tutoring subjects very well. Sometimes private tutors are still in college and know the teachers, text books and curricula will which enhanced the quality of tutoring seasons.

Online tutoring has become main stream with the proliferation of the Internet. The reasons for deciding to go for online tutoring are compelling:

• You are unable to find a tutor near home.
• You’re looking of a true expert in the subject.
• Need tutoring help with an uncommon subject such as thermodynamics or knitting.
• Your schedule makes attending regular sessions difficult.
• Need to save gas money by not having to commute to the meeting place.

Online tutoring allows your child to work with a teacher in real time over the Internet. Communication between student and online tutor is usually done using headsets. This way the child’s hands are free to type or to write on an electronic pad. There are many applications available that offer video conferencing, so child and tutor interact face to face. I recommend Skype as it is fully featured and free for one-to-one connections. Subjects like reading, math and programming are well suited for online tutoring. Hands-on subjects such as knitting or learning to play the guitar fail typically for obvious reasons. Even for subjects like social studies for an eighth-grader, you’ll probably want to stick with private or school-based tutoring.

In general, the younger your student is the harder it is to make online tutoring work. If your kid is distracted or sufficiently undisciplined to sit through an online session opt for private tutoring.

The most important consideration of online tutoring is whether you child is disciplined to being tutored over the Internet. On the Internet there are so many tempting distractions. We found the online tutoring works best for kids when their parents accompany the sessions. But not always can parents make the time for it, so they are left with tutoring centers.

Tutoring centers are companies that employ tutors with various kinds of experience. Some centers use standardized materials and methods. They may offer diagnostic testing to help them develop a learning strategy for your child. Your child will be placed with a tutor for sessions one or more times a week, usually after school or in the evening. Some tutoring centers offer group tutoring, which can be less expensive than individual tutoring. However, you’ll need to decide whether your child will work better in a group or one-on-one.

Step 3: Finding the Tutor

Word of mouth is perhaps the best source of finding a tutor. Asking other parents who have used a tutor can be a good way of ensuring that the tutor is credible and good at their job.

If word of mouth is not an option it’s worth having a look at local newspapers or magazines, local bulletin boards in libraries, community colleges or even at the groceries store. Tutors tend to advertise their services there. However, these traditional methods tend to give way to online tutor referrals.

I feel today the quickest and most effective way of finding a personal tutor is online. Many tutors have their own websites and there are several tutor directories that list home educators by area. When searching for a tutor, think about the keywords that will bring up what you are looking for – what subject, level and area do you want to search. For example, googling for “math tutor in Houston, TX” will show you a dozens of good sites. Be as specific as you can in entering your google query. For example, if you in college and look for a calculus tutor then better enter “calculus college tutor in Houston, TX”. The search results will surely help to solve your difficult college math homework.

The Internet is a wonderful thing. While advertising ads on craigslist or backpage was state of the art during the Web 1.0 generation, today we are blessed with tutoring marketplace companies, such as TutorZ.com. These new type tutoring services maintain an eBay-like marketplace where tens of thousands of tutors are treated as independent contractors. These tutor contractors are rated and reviewed and have passed application tests. Moreover, criminal background checks can be purchased.

Thanks to these tutoring marketplaces, finding a tutor nowadays is as easy as ABC. Simply type in your search query (e.g. “calculus college tutor in Houston, TX”) into TutorZ’ search box and screen the in-person tutors nearby. Moreover, these tutoring market places sites protect parents from bad tutors and visa versa. Bad apples are everywhere, in the tutoring industry also.

Step 4: Choosing the Right Tutor

Choosing the right tutor presupposes choice. The choice offered by local classified tutoring ads or even craigslist listings is often insufficient. That’s where these Internet tutoring market places shine: They have dozens to thousands of tutors in your local area. TutorZ has an impressive selection of 40,000 certified and trusted tutors. Whether you prefer a female tutor for your daughter or an Ph.D. level math expert for a statistics research paper, a caring special education tutor for a child suffering from ADHD or simply a tutor who is affordable – TutorZ has them all.

While having a choice is a good thing, making the right match is the next thing. The research conducted by TutorZ has shown that through blending technology and human intelligence matches are made most easily and efficiently connecting the student with the perfect tutor. The important thing is to look for personalized matching and a tutoring consultation.

In summary, the tutoring needs of every student different. Virtually all children benefit from tutoring. Whether private or online tutoring we recommend to shop for tutors on new online tutoring marketplaces, the likes of TutorZ.com. There you are empowered through choice and personalized match making.