Online Math Tutoring: Tips for Finding a Qualified and Effective Tutor
Kids sometimes need more than the traditional learning system to improve math. Thus, parents can sign children up for in-person tutoring or online tutorship to satisfy their needs. Unfortunately, there are 20 kids on average in each kindergarten class, so teachers may not find the time to reach out to each child to see their weaknesses. However, with online tutoring, a tutor has to focus only on your child during the learning period, which makes it easier to teach kids according to their own pace.
How to Find Tutors for Your Kids
There are many ways to find tutors for your kids; you can simply type “math tutors near me” and see a comprehensive list you can choose from. Before we move to the tips on how to pick suitable tutors, here are three options of how to find tutors:
Try online tutors
Online tutorship is the easiest way to get the best tutors for your kids. Online platforms are factory-fitted with brilliant professional tutors, fun videos, the best math games for kids, and other learning packages your kids will greatly benefit from.
The best part of using online platforms is that you can schedule sessions to fit your itinerary to make it possible to sit through the classes with the kids if you like. In your search for tutors, you need to pick someone who aligns with your values and your kid’s educational needs, and you can do that by getting online tutors for them.
Reach out to school counselors
If you want to find local tutors, the best option will be to try out your kid’s school. Some older kids understand the math concepts from your kid’s curriculum and need extra cash.
Talking to the school counselors can help you find such kids because schools have a list of students doing well enough to offer tutorship to younger kids. The benefit of using this option is its cost-effectiveness. More importantly, these students understand the curriculum in a way that most kids would not because they have learned from the same standards. They found their own way around understanding math.
Try peer-to-peer tutoring
Sometimes, all your kid needs is another child who understands math concepts better than they do, and they can get this from peer-to-peer tutoring. You have to get your kid’s peers and encourage math conversations among them by introducing a math game they can play.
The more conversations they have around math, the more kids sharpen their own math skills using the knowledge they have gotten from their classmates. Peers may not always be the most qualified tutors, but this teaching method is the most effective one for your child, especially because kids may speak the same language.
Talk to your peers
Sometimes, the right tutor is someone your friends already know and use, and you will never find out the best option unless you ask them. Ask your friends if your search for tutors is not yielding something fruitful after a long while. You will be surprised at the options that you get from just asking. More importantly, you can always trust a good reference when it comes to matters concerning education because there are always testimonials to prove how effective someone’s choice was.
How to Pick the Right Tutor for Your Kids
Knowing where to find qualified tutors is one thing; another thing is sieving through the list of tutors available on whatever platform and to pick the ones who will give your child the best. However, here are tips you can follow to make the right choice of a tutor for your kid:
Pick a tutor who understands the local curriculum
The goal is to ensure that your kid understands math better than when they started taking tutoring and not to give them a completely different idea of math. Getting a tutor who understands and works with the school curriculum ensures that your kid stays within the confines of that curriculum while getting better at the math concepts they need to learn.
Pick a tutor based on the learning style of your kid
One of the mistakes parents make when picking tutors for their kids is not getting the one who understands the learning style of their students. Kids have different learning styles, and there are ways parents can decipher what type their kids use. Therefore, when interviewing tutors for your kids, do so armed with the knowledge of your kids’ preferred method of learning so that your child does not struggle later on. When a teacher works with your kid’s learning style, they work faster, and more importantly, they work at the kid’s pace.
Pick a tutor who understands what it means to be supportive
Some tutors believe that their job starts and ends with teaching math, but that is not it. A tutor has to be supportive of their students because kids need to feel comfortable talking about the areas where they need help, and they need a tutor who supports them through that process.
Kids also need to trust the tutor who teaches them how to approach math problems they come across. Trust is an essential part of learning, and for that to happen, the tutor must be someone who can offer support instead of just doing the surface job of teaching. Finally, kids need to learn how to deal with the emotions of being unable to solve a math problem at a particular time or the frustration that problem may cause.
Pick a tutor who uses student-centered teaching
Many tutors are more interested in teaching students using their skills instead of teaching students in a way the latter can understand. Every student learns differently, and teachers cannot tailor the curriculum to fit each student at a time. However, a tutor has to do that to ensure that they give their learners the best education.
When you are interviewing tutors for your kids, find out how they intend to approach each math problem. For example, they are focused on just teaching rather than making sure your child will learn effectively. In that case, they are using a teacher-centered approach, which cannot work for you as that method would not give your child the best.
Pick a tutor who loves math
Knowing how to teach math and loving math are two different things. You can always tell when someone is doing the job for extra cash and when they are doing it because they like their occupation. When a tutor loves the job, they will be genuinely concerned about your child’s growth because they are not just teaching; they are imparting knowledge and spreading the gospel of math. A tutor in love with math will never get frustrated if your child takes time to learn an idea; they will be very patient.
Conclusion
Ensuring that your kid gets better at math is a journey that starts from early childhood. This usually involves getting a qualified and effective tutor for the learner. However, there are so many math tutors that knowing which one is suitable for a kid is just as crucial as getting the tutor. These tips help you sieve through the plethora of ideas you have in mind to help you find the right teacher for your kid.