Tutor
A tutor is a person employed to educate others, either individually or in a group. The verb form "to tutor" means performing the task of tutoring. The term tutor may also be associated with a professional who gives educational instruction in or outside of a school setting for a given field or topic.
A private tutor is an individual who instructs and educates a single student or small group of students in a specific subject or skill. Such individual attention allows the student to excel and improve far more rapidly than in a classroom environment. Another factor may be that a child may not want to speak up in class when they don't understand a concept as they do not want to be embarassed in-front of their classmates. Private tutors may be found through the student's school, online or through an agency. The private tutor is usually hired privately by either an agency, the student or the student's parents. One-on-one tutor is often used to describe a private tutor.
Tutors may be needed for remedial students, home school students, students needing special attention and for exceptionally gifted or highly motivated students.
Academic coaches differ from most tutors wherby tutors aim to assist learners in fields or topics that they struggle in while academic coaches provide assistance with skills such as: study skills, test-taking tips, stress and time management, reading skills.
Characteristics of a good tutor include:
- Supportive and friendly: Some students do not perform well as they do not get on well with their teacher
- Experience: A tutor that does not know the subject material is usually quickly noticed by the learner
- 1-on-1: Tutors should avoid large groups as this negates the benefits of individualized tuition
- Preparation: A tutor should prepare for the lesson and know what they are going to teach before they teach it