With significant improvements in technology, online tutoring is a convenient way for students to get extra academic assistance. With access to great tutors worldwide, excellent teaching materials and recorded online one on one classes, students couldn’t ask for more. Think about it. Having a personal biology tutor or a calculus tutor to take classes from the comfort of your room, at a convenient time. Could it get any better? Yes it can. Here’s a few ways you can make the most of online tutoring.
- Mark tough topics beforehand: Make a habit of marking or listing stuff you don’t understand in your note book or text during school or while studying. Then show them to your online home tutor. This way you save time and get all your questions answered.
- Learn or read up before class: It’s not always possible, but it’s great if students can familiarize themselves with the topic prior to a class. For instance, learning up calculus formulae, or definitions from that topic speeds up the learning process and you can get a lot more done during that calculus tutoring session.
- Request for a worksheet: At the end of a tutoring lesson, a tutor usually provides a worksheet to the student which should be completed before the next class. If not, request for one. Needless to add, solve the worksheet and email the same to the tutor for a fair evaluation.
- Find out the topic for the next session: Again, this is not always possible. This ensures that you are ready for the next class and time will not be wasted learning the basics or revising old concepts.
- Interrupt if you have to: Don’t hesitate to stop an online tutor or for that matter even a home tutor in the middle of their lesson and ask a question if and when you have one. Because if you wait till the end of the lesson, it’s very likely that you will have not understood the rest of the session. Remember, that the teacher is there for the student’s convenience, and not the other way round.
- Ask for a replacement: Sometimes a particular student may not be comfortable with a teacher. Whatever the reason is, ask for a change of home tutor immediately and without hesitation. If you think your calculus tutor is going too fast or your biology tutor is not giving you a proper explanation, ask for a replacement. With companies like Etutorworld, the transition is seamless, since they maintain individual student progress reports.
- Keep the teacher informed: If you feel that your home tutor is going too fast, or too slow. If you feel that the worksheets are too easy or too tough, or you need more worksheets, just let your teacher know. This promotes a healthy learning relationship between teacher and student. Constructive feedback breeds efficiency.
- Be punctual: Usually with face to face tutoring, a few minutes here and there are acceptable. But online home tutors are usually busy with many students to be handled individually, so if you join late, your class time will be cut short.
- Avoid unnecessary questions or chatter: Try to stay with the topic. Digressing from the topic, or asking off topic queries not only wastes time but also breaks the rhythm of the lesson. Basically leave out stories of your pet, your vacation and so on., unless it’s pertinent to the topic.
- Email your homework in advance: Sometimes if you want your calculus tutor or a chemistry or biology tutor to help with homework, just email them the homework before class. The teacher can then look at it or download it beforehand. Saves loads of time. Also try and compress large files before emailing.
Here’s hoping the above tips will help you to make the best of your online home tutoring!