With Covid-19 changing the education landscape, many resources switched to being online. And it’s pretty clear that some elements of online learning are going to remain as elements of higher education.
So when students return to campus, how do services like tutoring shift again to comprehensively support students?
The answer is that now, many students have a choice for how to receive the tutoring that they need. Students on campus can attend in-person sessions at a tutoring center, opt for video sessions online, or participate in a hybrid of both.
Ultimately, higher education now has the opportunity to provide a wider range of tutoring services to students, and tutoring of any kind is very beneficial to students.
Here are two significantly important ways that tutoring helps students, whether they receive tutoring online, in-person, or both with a Higher-Ed tutoring management platform:
Early Intervention
Higher education coursework is not easy for every student. A lot changes at college and university. Many students are on their own for the first time and must learn to independently take the initiative and responsibility to attend classes, read, and study.
Other students have backgrounds lacking in academic discourse, and the jump to research and in-depth content is a struggle.
In fact, minority students and those who are the first generation in their households to attend college are those most likely to seek tutoring services (Cooper, 2010).
But one of the most highly perceived, significant contributions that personal tutors shared was their ability to help these students succeed (Walker, 2020). This benefit may rely on referrals from faculty and staff if students have not sought out tutoring on their own. However, it shows favorable outcomes, helping students academically who might otherwise have struggled or dropped out.
And whether a student is receiving tutoring online or in person, the tutor can provide this academic assistance. In tutoring centers, tutors can model methods on paper or whiteboards; online, tutors can use digital whiteboards and visuals to support the content.
Confidence and Growth Mindset
A trait with strong correlations to student success is a growth mindset (Sparks, 2021). Students who believe that their success is based on their ability to improve their knowledge generally perform better.
They stand in contrast to students who believe their intelligence is set.
Tutoring, by its nature, focuses on helping students improve both their knowledge and their skills. Through this growth, students who attended tutoring sessions were more likely than their peers to be in good academic standing (Cooper, 2010).
These students benefit from tutoring because they learn skills like organization, studying, and notetaking. They also supplement their knowledge, find new ways to retain and use information and learn about the resources available to them.
Ultimately, tutors can guide students to be successfully independent in their learning (Walker, 2020).
In essence, the sign of extraordinary tutoring is when a tutee no longer needs it and has the skills and confidence to succeed on their own.
This focus on building student skills and knowledge is not dependent on the mode of tutoring at all. While access, communication styles, and even a tutor’s training might depend on whether they provide in-person or online support, their ability to help their tutees gain confidence and a growth mindset do not.
Ultimately, both in-person and online tutoring services provide benefits to the student body. As students return to campus, institutions of higher learning can focus less on the method of delivery and more on the quality and outcomes.
