Benefits of Small Groups

Benefits of Small Groups

At Educate Tutoring, we are proud to have the opportunity to deliver a variety of packages tailored to every student’s needs. Included in these packages are options for paired or group tuition, which are extremely beneficial for students who experience learning difficulties. Students not only receive explicit and evidence-based instruction, but also reap the benefits of social interaction which plays a significant and fundamental role in the process of learning. These benefits include enhanced thinking, improved communication, peer support, and increased student engagement.

Studies have shown that student groups of various learning stages allow for longer, varied interactions when all students are given chances to engage, contribute and lead discussions and activities (Yule & Macdonald, 1990). As students interact with each other and their tutor, they have the chance to invest, take responsibility for, and feel involved in their learning. At Educate Tutoring, we take special care to express feedback that encourages a student’s understanding of a concept. We ask, “can you explain?” rather than, “do you understand?”

Interestingly, further research has shown that learning interventions with a ratio of three students per one tutor or more show increased academic performance rates, especially during grades 2 to 5 (Nickow, Oreopoulos & Quan, 2020). Additionally, academic performance and positive effects of learning intervention grow in correlation with the number of tutoring sessions per week (Nickow, Oreopoulos & Quan, 2020; Miller & Connolly, 2013; Miller et al., 2012).

Supporting ADHD

Supporting ADHD

How Educate Tutoring supports learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

  • Participating in daily physical activity based on age
  • Plan and structure activities
    • Keeping a routine and a schedule. Write changes on the schedule as far in advance as possible.
    • Have a place for everything and keep everything in its place.
    • Using homework and notebook organizers. Use organizers for school material and supplies.
    • Stress the importance of writing down assignments and bringing home necessary books.
  • Set clear boundaries. Give brief instructions and be specific. Instead of asking: “Can you tidy your bedroom?” say: “Please put your toys into the box and put the books back onto the shelf.”
    • Make sure everyone knows what behaviour is expected, and reinforce positive behaviour with immediate praise or rewards.
    • Be clear, using enforceable consequences, such as taking away a privilege, if boundaries are overstepped and follow these through consistently. This makes it clearer what students need to do and creates opportunities for praise when they get it right.
  • Praise and encourage children for even very small amounts of progress
    • Giving praise or rewards when rules are followed. Look for good behaviour and praise it. Instead of saying a general: “Thanks for doing that,” you could say: “You washed the dishes really well. Thank you.” This will make it clear that you’re pleased and why.
    • Set up your own incentive scheme using a points or star chart, so good behaviour can earn a privilege. Involve students in it and allow them to help decide what fair privileges will be.

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

One of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders that occur in childhood, ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and may present itself in three different ways:

  • Predominantly Inattentive Presentation:
    • Students may experience a high level of distraction and forgetfulness
  • Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation:
    • Students may be restless and impulsive in decision-making
  • Combined Presentation:
    • Students may experience an equal combination of both presentations as described above

Educate Tutoring supports students who experience ADHD through targeted and specialised instruction. This includes multisensory activities which incorporate educational tasks involving the different senses and kinetic learning methods, as well as a rigorous scope and sequence that provides highly structured lessons with comforting, clear and familiar routines.

Students are taught to express responsibility for their educational journey, and this includes being encouraged to stay organised in their work, presentation, and assigned tasks. Our educators are also trained to communicate explicitly by setting and reinforcing boundaries, as well as praising and rewarding positive and effective learning behaviours.

We believe in providing every opportunity possible for our students to excel, and we actively enable this through specific instructions and feedback. These methods are highly beneficial for learners with ADHD as they are provided with pathways to intake and process information in the most direct and straightforward way possible, allowing for mental energy to be expended towards successful task completion; positive and healthy social connections with their peers and instructors!

Don’t Wait!

Don't Wait!

Let’s close the gap together.

Struggling with your education can feel like a hopeless challenge but rest assured – there’s hope! Support is available to close the learning gap as soon as possible. In fact, studies show that the most critical learning years occur before Grade 4 and it is possible that there may be a further learning decline starting from Grade 5, continuing with the increase of grade level (Nickow, Oreopoulos & Quan, 2020; The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012).

However, tutoring can significantly benefit both struggling and succeeding students and can assist in creating skills that can benefit them for their entire life. It can help target difficulties by providing that much needed intervention, boost grades and performance, and even more so, introduce positive, lifelong habits, such as:

  • Addressing the social anxiety and stress of asking questions
  • Implementing and strategising study routines
  • Obtaining a learning method and speed that is best suited for each individual
  • Helping increase long-term memory and the amount of information one can retain by securing neural pathways (Palormar Collage, n.d.; Spalding Education Australia, n.d.)
  • Improving critical thinking skills in and beyond the classroom (Palormar Collage, n.d.)

There are also some commonly overlooked positives, such as increasing social skills and a greater challenge for understimulated and unmotivated students. This can lead to higher self-esteem as students finally realise that they can succeed in learning, and tutoring sets them on that path!

Addressing learning issues is something everyone might face at some point, and we are here to help. Face your difficulties now, as the earliest intervention possible is crucial and “the needle of academic achievement moves slowly, because essentially you are building knowledge and skills that develop over time” (Sparks, 2012). Together, we can work to build positive habits, lifelong healthy practices, and target learning needs!

Assessments: A Starting Point!

Assessments: A Starting Point!

Educate Tutoring is pleased to provide a series of literacy and numeracy assessments for all our students. All our academic intervention tutorial programs commence with a formal subject-specific comprehensive assessment which allows tutors to plan and deliver lessons centred around a student’s individual needs.

Our literacy assessments provide us with knowledge regarding a student’s approximate learning age in the areas of spelling and reading, while our numeracy assessments provide an indication of learning grade level, and their capacity to perform at their current grade and cognitive ability. Throughout an ongoing tutorial program, students are reassessed regularly, providing quantitative data which allows tutors to track progress and areas of potential difficulty.

Included in our assessments are the David Kilpatrick Phonological Awareness Skills and Screening Test, Oral and Written Phonogram Assessments, Morrison McCall Spelling Scale, Waddington Diagnostic Spelling Test, South Australia Spelling Assessment, Burt Word Reading Test, Holborn Reading Test, and the Waddington Diagnostic Reading Test. Our numeracy assessments include the KeyMaths-3 Diagnostic Assessment, the Schedule of Early Number Assessment 1 and 2, the Mad Minute Maths Facts, and the Waddington Numeracy Modules.

At Educate Tutoring, we employ a wide array of assessments, due to the great importance we place upon tracking the progress of our students. Assessments not only inform us of a student’s individual ability and understanding, but they also inform us of a student’s potential and are an encouraging tool to visualise hopeful future steps (Department of Education, Government of Scotland, n.d.). Our team delivers our lessons with great intentionality regarding educational goals, and assessments help reinforce and monitor pathways towards those goals.

We approach the documentation of these assessments with strategy, consideration, and purpose (National Association for the Education of Young Children USA, n.d.). It is our belief, however, that assessments are a building block towards a result that is best achieved by ongoing tuition, which fosters and encourages continuity in educational progress. Assessments are an integral tactic which develops regular intervention or coaching, depending on the student’s needs. Initial assessment results may be difficult, especially for students experiencing learning difficulties (Moats, 2016), and the importance of support following the obtainment of these results cannot be understated. Our hope is to be able to provide this support for all our students, being ever ready to provide knowledge, skill and insight despite any difficulties regarding assessment results, and to equip students and families with informative and individualised services.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia

One of the most common neurobehavioral disorders worldwide, dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects an individual’s decoding skills and hampers their ability to read, spell, write, and respond adequately to reading instructions (Odegard, 2019). It can affect both children and adults. While some experts state that the prevalence rates range from 5-10 percent, other studies have shown that it can be as high as 17 percent.

If you suspect that you or a loved one may have dyslexia, here are a few ways to help identify the disorder:

  • Early Screening: Early screening is the best way to identify dyslexia. A child who is struggling with reading, writing, or spelling in early grades should be screened for dyslexia.
  • Assessment by Professionals: A formal assessment by professionals such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or neuropsychologist can help in identifying dyslexia. They can conduct a series of tests to evaluate the child’s reading, writing, and spelling skills.
  • Observing Common Symptoms: Common symptoms of dyslexia include difficulty reading or decoding words, slow reading speed, poor spelling, difficulty remembering names or numbers, difficulty following instructions, and difficulty with organization and time management.
  • Family History: Dyslexia has a genetic component, and children with a family history of dyslexia are at a higher risk of having the condition.
  • Response to Intervention: Children who show little progress despite targeted intervention or instruction may be at risk for dyslexia.

Overall, it is essential to identify dyslexia early to provide the appropriate support and accommodations to individuals with dyslexia. This can help them succeed in academic and personal settings and achieve their full potential.

However, being diagnosed with dyslexia doesn’t mean an individual lacks motivation or intelligence! While it can’t be outgrown, there are teaching approaches and strategies that can help students combat the challenges that they face.

Tutoring is an intervention for dyslexia which prioritises the student’s needs, basing the learning approach around the student rather than the student struggling to shape themselves around a rigid curriculum. As dyslexia presents mainly through difficulties in the connection between visual representations of letters to their correct sounds, the tutoring method is successful as it integrates spelling, writing and reading. Research has shown that “We must implement excellent, systematic, informed reading and language instruction over a sufficient length of time” (Moats, 2016).

This is skillfully executed through systematic and sequential tutoring using explicit, interactive and diagnostic instruction. Dyslexia is a hurdle that can be overcome with screening, early intervention and skillful and intensive instruction as we give tutors and students a chance to “maintain the effort for as long as it takes” (Moats, 2016). Trust is of vital importance and belief in the student should be paramount as they are nurtured in their aptitudes and interests (Moats, 2016). By connecting extraordinary young people with our extraordinary grown-ups, tutoring allows the facilitation of learning and growth through nurturing socioemotional resilience. Improvement can be seen in the areas of self-esteem, coping strategies inside and outside of the classroom, and an understanding that their intelligence can grow and expand despite the difficulties they face (Brady, 2019).

References

  • https://dyslexiaida.org/louisa-moats-debunks-five-popular-myths-about-dyslexia/ (Moats, 2016)
  • https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=13959&i=572951&p=6&ver=html5 (Odegard, 2019)
  • https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=13959&i=572951&p=14&ver=html5 (Brady, 2019)