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How to Choose a Tutor (Or Other Education Service Provider)
By: Judy Shanley (2005)
When looking for a
professional to deliver tutoring services to your child, what
are some of the important questions to ask and issues to keep
in mind?
The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (CCLD)
offers the following suggestions:
Explain to your child why you think a tutor is needed and what
a tutor does. Talk about what you hope will be accomplished
with a tutor.
Ask your child's teacher or other parents for recommendations.
Consider interviewing several tutors with your child. (If your
child is a part of the process, he/she will be more open to
accepting help.)
Check the tutor's credentials. Ask about training, experience,
and references. It is important that the tutor is a certified
teacher or has expertise in the subject being taught. Find out
whether the person has experience working with students at
your child's grade level. If the tutor is working with a child
with a learning disability, it is essential that he/she has
been trained to use appropriate techniques that can address
the student's special needs.
Set clear goals for the tutoring and request a description of
the tutoring plan. Whenever possible, ask your child's teacher
to participate in the design of this plan so that it links to
school work. Try to create a partnership between you, your
child's teacher, and the tutor.
If possible, schedule tutoring for the times of the day when
your child is ready to learn. After-school hours are the most
common time for tutoring but this is also when students are
tired or distracted by other activities. Allow for much-needed
breaks from the school routine.
For students with a learning disability, consider scheduling
more than one lesson a week. Students with learning
disabilities often need practice and repetition to master
skills. Also, remember that it takes time to see improvement,
so do not expect a quick fix.
Observe your child working with the tutor. The session should
include hands-on learning and be very interactive. The tutor
should be guiding your child through direct teaching and
guided practice.
Request periodic reports from both the tutor and your child's
teacher. There should be noticeable academic improvement
within a few months.
The following suggestions for selecting a tutor come from LD
OnLine:
It is essential that a student with learning disabilities work
with a tutor trained to use the appropriate multisensory
techniques. Be sure to ask about training, experience, and
references.
There must be a good rapport between the tutor and student.
Give the relationship a chance to develop (about eight
lessons) but if it doesn't, look for another tutor.
Plan tutoring for the time of day that the student is fresh
and ready to learn. Tutoring is an intense learning experience
and you want to take every advantage of it. Many younger
students are at their best before school and many schools will
facilitate tutoring during the school day.
Set the goals of tutoring with the tutor. Be sure you are both
clear about whether you are focusing on remedial work, content
subjects, or how to study. Resist the temptation to try to
accomplish too much.
Schedule a minimum of two lessons a week. Students with
learning disabilities need practice and repetition to master
their lessons and it takes time to see improvement.
It is better to have lessons that are more frequent over a
short period than to spread the same number of lessons over a
longer period because the student will make slow progress and
become more discouraged.
If you do not know a skilled tutor, an organization dedicated
to working with the learning disabled will be able to find a
tutor with the right background and will have the resources
necessary to support the tutor's work.
Arrange to talk with the tutor periodically to monitor
progress, when the child is not present.
Ask the student's teacher to talk with the tutor. Teachers
feel reassured to know that someone is helping a student and
they are working toward common goals.
Tell your child why she/he is getting tutoring and what you
hope to accomplish so that she/he will feel hopeful rather
than stupid.
When does a child need a tutor?
There are many different reasons why children receive
tutoring. According to CCLD, hundreds of thousands of children
having difficulty with a subject in school are currently being
tutored in the United States. The following are among the
reasons:
Many students didn't master basic skills which need to be
re-taught to them.
Some have a learning disability which poses challenges to the
mastery of information and slows down progress in school.
Others have weak organizational skills which result in
difficulty with keeping on schedule with studying and
completing assignments.
Some students have medical, social, emotional, behavioral,
and/or family problems.
Some students still others simply desire to get ahead.
Whatever the reason, tutors can both reinforce subjects that
are taught in school and teach students how to work
independently. Students often become more self-confident after
working with a tutor.
What about Supplemental Educational Services?
Tutoring and afterschool programs may be considered
"supplemental educational services" under the No Child Left
Behind act. Students from low-income families who are in Title
I schools that fail to meet state standards for at least three
years are eligible to receive supplemental educational
services for free.
Judy Shanley, Ph.D. is co-director of The Access Center, a
part of the American Institutes for Research, funded by the
U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education
Programs.
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