Sunday, August 7, 2011

Having a Positive Online Tutoring Experience

Struggling to learn something new can be very frustrating. When a child tries and tries to learn something, but he just can't understand it, the child's motivation to learn can be affected. An effective way of getting a child the help he needs is a tutor, specifically an online tutor. But, as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. The same is true with children. Some don't seem to want to learn. So, though you want the best for you child, he often will resist help. With a bit of finesse, you can make sure he still has a positive online tutoring experience.

Online tutoring can be in many forms and many subjects. The key is finding the right one for your child. Does your child learn better from seeing or reading about something or hearing it? Different tutoring services are suited for different kids, and choosing the right one will help your child experience positive online tutoring. Some services offer voice-to-voice communication, and that is really helpful for kids who have weaker reading comprehension skills. But, a child that is a visual learner can be helped quite a bit by seeing the math problem, for example, be worked out.

Another important aspect for getting a positive online tutoring experience is to be prepared for the sessions. The more the student knows going in, the more he'll get out of the sessions. If completely unprepared, he will get less from the session as he is trying to learn the material for the first time. If, however, he as already seen some similar problem, but maybe is tripped up on one or two concepts, he will be in a better position to gain from a tutoring session. In addition, if he has already attempted to learn the material on his own, tutoring will greatly act to re-enforce the material--repetition is one of the best learning tools. As you can see, one of the keys to having a positive online tutoring session is preparation.

Lastly, and this is probably the toughest to do, is to go in with the right attitude. Attitude is another key component to getting positive online tutoring. If a child simply does not want to learn, it will be very hard to force him to. If, however, the child is convinced he is going to get something out of a tutoring session, he probably will. Undoubtedly, some kids will be embarrassed about having to get help, and others believe that they have mastered a topic, but their grades say otherwise. Positive online tutoring can help these kids, but only if they are willing to learn. Convincing a child to take the time to learn is something that is not only difficult but very tricky. However, once a child starts to see gains from 1 or 2 tutoring sessions, he'll be eager for more!

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