Tutor

A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups.

Teaching assistance

In British, Australian, New Zealand, Italian, and some Canadian universities, a tutor is often but not always a postgraduate student or a lecturer assigned to conduct a seminar for undergraduate students, often known as a tutorial. The equivalent of this kind of "tutor" in the United States of America (U.S.) and the rest of Canada is known as a teaching assistant. In the University of Cambridge, a Tutor is an officer of a college responsible for the pastoral care of a number of students in cognate disciplines, as against a Director of Studies who is responsible for the academic progress of a group of students in their own discipline, with both Tutors and Directors of Study answering to a Senior Tutor. In the University of Oxford, the colleges fuse pastoral and academic care into the single office of Fellow and Tutor, also known as a CUF Lecturer.

In the U.S., the term tutor is generally associated with one who gives professional instruction in a given topic or field.

British and Irish secondary schools

In English and Irish secondary schools, form tutors are given the responsibilities of a form or class of students in a particular year group (up to 30 students). They usually work in Year Teams headed by a Year Leader, Year Head, or Guidance Teacher.

Form tutors take on these responsibilities in addition to teaching, planning, and monitoring their academic (subject) classes.

Form tutors will provide parents with most of the information about their child's progress and any problems they might be experiencing. Ordinarily, the form tutor is the person who contacts a parent if there is a problem at school; however, the Year Leader or Guidance Teacher may contact the parents, since the form tutor has full-time responsibility as a specialist subject teacher.

Private tutors

A private tutor is a private instructor who teaches a specific educational subject or skill to an individual student or small group of students. Such attention allows the student to improve knowledge or skills far more rapidly than in a classroom setting. Tutors are often privately hired and paid by the student, the student's family or an agency. Many are used for remedial students or others needing special attention; many provide more advanced material for exceptionally capable and highly motivated students, or in the context of homeschooling. Tutelage is the process of being under the guidance of a tutor. Tutoring also occurs when one adult helps another adult student to study a specific course or subject that he/she is taking to get a better result. The adult can also let the student work on his/her own, and can be there if the student has any questions.

Academic coaching

Academic coaching is an evolution of mentoring applied to academics. Mentoring implies the student is an empty vessel into which knowledge is poured. Coaching involves a more collaborative approach, assuming the student is already in the "game" of learning. Coaches help students learn how they best learn and how to operate in an academic environment. Tutors help students learn the material in individual courses while coaches help students learn how to be successful in school. In college, that includes such topics as: study skills, time management, stress management, effective reading, note-taking, test-taking, and understanding how to use a syllabus. Academic coaches meet with the student regularly throughout the semester, usually once a week. Coaches work with students in all kinds of situations, not just those who are struggling academically. Some highly motivated, high-achieving students will have a coach to improve their learning efficiency. Academic coaching also occurs to help students prepare for entrance exams to gain entry to schools or universities. Academic coaching is a huge industry in Asia. For example, in India, a majority of students, be it of any class or stream, visit a coaching center or a "study circle."

Academic tutoring

Students currently enrolled in a type of higher education passing down the knowledge to other peers in an academic field of study is known as academic tutoring. This is seen as important for students who are struggling to get help from others in an academic setting so that they can excel. A classroom setting is typically not enough for students to learn all of the material that they need to know in order to pass the test or to go on to harder classes. Academic tutoring from students at a higher grade level or experience (Ivy League Schools) in an academic setting can help to encourage and strengthen a student so that they do not fall behind.

Online tutoring

Online tutoring is a new way for a student to receive help, either scheduled or on-demand. Sessions are done through a proprietary application where a student and tutor can communicate. Common tools include chat, whiteboard, web conferencing, teleconferencing and other specialized applets which make it easier to convey information back and forth. For example, there may be a specialized applet designed specifically for mathematics which allow the use of symbols.

Online tutoring has been gaining popularity over the past couple of years due to the ease of being able to connect to a tutor at moment's notice when help is required. This is especially effective when a student is studying for a test that is scheduled for the next day at school and is stumped on a particular problem. Not all online tutoring companies offer an on-demand tutoring service.

Home tutoring

In-home tutoring is a form of tutoring that occurs in the home. It is also known as "Private Tutoring" or "Personal Tutoring" in some countries such as Singapore. Tutoring is receiving guidance or instruction by a tutor. Most often the tutoring relates to an academic subject or test preparation. This is in contrast to tutoring centers or tutoring provided through after-school programs. The service most often involves one-on-one attention provided to the pupil.

Comparison Table: In-Home vs. Online Tutoring

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Topic ! In Home Tutoring ! Online Tutoring |- | Tutor-Student Interaction | Face-to-face, in-person instruction. Often held at a physical location chosen by the student. | Instruction held on the computer, often involving multi-media devices such as webcams, video, audio and interactive materials. |- | Time of Tutoring | Less flexible. Typically held during after school hours, with the potential of anytime that the student and tutor agree upon. | More flexible. If material is pre-recorded, tutoring can be held 24/7. However, if held by an actual tutor, then hours are limited to the hours of the tutor. |- | Contact with Student's School | In home tutors are local to the area and so have the ability to work with teachers. This also means the materials covered can correspond to the subject matter taught in school. | Often located far away, there is little potential for the tutor to work alongside the student's teachers. Therefore, materials covered may not fully correspond to the subject taught in school. |- | Materials Required | A quiet location, paper, pencils, calculator and a table or desk. | A computer with the necessary multimedia programs. This may also include a microphone, headset and webcam. |- | Parental Involvement | Requires the parent to contact the tutor or agency to request a progress report. | Progress reports are available online 24/7 to parents. |}

Solution assistance

Solution assistance is a growing trend in the field of mathematics tutoring. This method of checking the accuracy of answers is particularly helpful for students without a computer or those students that live in remote areas.

Writing tutor

In Canada and the United States, writing tutor is the common term used for individuals working one-on-one with students in college and university writing centers. The terms tutor and consultant are often used interchangeably, and both terms are used with deliberation as they are seen to represent a specific relationship, role, or activity between tutor and tutee. For example, Griffin, Keller, Pandey, Pedersen, and Skinner in their 2003-2004 survey of North American writing centers describe a tutor as an expert providing a less expert learner with knowledge, implying a transmission approach. In contrast, the consultant, also expert, collaborates with the tutee in addressing the writing task, implying a social constructivist approach. Others who use the term writing tutor describe the tutor as facilitating learning through active listening, responding, as well as using silence and wait time. Taking the cue from the student, these writing tutors function much like the consultants described by Griffin et al., offering suggestions and working together on a given writing task. Regardless of the title, the intent and actions of the tutor are important to writing center practitioners. A tutor may say he/she is acting collaboratively with the student and unknowingly be enforcing her or his own agenda.

See also

Learning by teaching

Mentorship

Peer-mediated instruction

Teaching assistant

Tuition agency

Tutorial

Virtual education

References

Category:Education-related terms Category:Learning Category:Teaching