Even before the pandemic repeatedly locked us into our homes, tutoring was a booming industry. It still is, but its growth is now due, at least in part, to pandemic learning.
Everyone was concerned about the lockdowns’ effects on children. Doctors worried over kids snacking all day, mental health professionals fretted over how the isolation would affect them emotionally and educators wondered about the effectiveness of distance learning.
Parents didn’t wonder for too long how they would keep their kids engaged in their studies. They found their solution in private tutoring.
Covid-19 made tutors’ work more challenging, especially for those with long experience tutoring in the same room as their pupils.
Suddenly, rather than meeting at the library or in the student’s home, tutors were relegated to connecting with their learners online. It was much more difficult to pick up on body language clues that might indicate stress or anxiety, or to determine whether they fully understood what was being taught.
There was no way to give an encouraging pat on the shoulder, either.
The switch to purely online tutoring has caused tutors to become much more adept at reading their pupils. It might be harder to sense the tension in their posture via webcam but noting how often the student ‘makes eye contact’ helps tutors determine their students’ levels of comfort.
Likewise, fidgeting during the lesson could mean that something is not well understood and their tone of voice could indicate their degree of certainty that they grasp the concepts presented.
Picking up on signs that give away how students might feel in the moment leads to probing questions. Those questions, in turn, help the student feel less isolated and remote; they feel like they’ve been truly seen because the tutor is asking the right questions.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be a negative situation. If your pupil faces the camera head-on, with shoulders squared and speaking in firm tones, letting them know you’re in tune with their upbeat attitude has the same effect.
Picking up on those subtle clues is more challenging when tutoring online. So is collaborating, especially if the tutor is not familiar with online teaching tools.
“Picking up on those subtle clues is more challenging when tutoring online”
Teachers and some tutors set up their remote teaching areas so they could stand to teach and have a board to use, just as they would in the classroom. That proved an effective strategy to keep their students’ attention focused.
Many tutors quickly got familiar with interactive whiteboards and platforms such as Boom Cards and Quizlet to create interactive content for their students.
The whiteboard application was handy for use during the tutoring session but, if any student had to cancel a lesson, the tutor could direct them to the created content so they wouldn’t miss an opportunity to learn.
For many students, their private tutor provided them with continuity at a time when everything in their life went topsy-turvy.
Their regular teacher might not have noticed whether they were fully present for the whole lesson; it’s hard to remotely monitor so many students at once. However, students benefited from their tutor’s full focus during their sessions. They liked that their tutor noticed if something was off and took the time to ask about it.
And having scheduled lessons gave some structure to their lives.
Now that classrooms are buzzing again, students are unwilling to let go of the bond they forged when being around others wasn’t an option.
That’s why tutoring is still so popular.
About the author: This is a sponsored post by Sophia Birk of Superprof. Sophia grew up in France, Germany and the US. After earning her degree in Peace Studies, she spent seven years teaching English in China. Now established in Poland, she is a freelance writer, specialising in educational issues as well as leisure and hobby activities. When not exploring those topics, Sophia enjoys travelling, cycling and language studies.
