Which is better, in-person or online tutoring?

Tutoring is a growing need for many students of all learning styles. The literacy and math gap is growing fast, so more parents are seeking outside help to secure their child’s academic success. I often get this question: Which is better, in-person or online tutoring? Then I usually hear, “Well, My child learns better in person.” Sound familiar?

In this post, I’ll cover:

• What we do to engage our students with ADHD during our online sessions.
• Why tutoring online and tutoring in person can produce the same results.
• The different ways we use technology to make our in-person and online tutoring sessions more engaging and fun.
• What we do to help relieve student’s anxiety in our tutoring sessions

I want to dive into both tutoring formats to show how they are more alike than we tend to think.

Listen to this article on our podcast:

8 Things to do before getting an IEP – Raising Readers

In this episode, I'll cover the following questions: Key Questions Covered: How do you set realistic goals for your child before pursuing an IEP? What should you do while waiting for an IEP to be approved? How can you effectively communicate with teachers during the IEP process? Why is it important to track your child’s academic progress and behavior? How can outside tutoring or support help during the IEP process? When is extra time on tests helpful, and when is it not? What role do routines and study habits play in your child’s success? How can educational apps and tools enhance your child’s learning at home? And more! Looking for a tutor to help your child in reading or math? Check out one of the best tutoring services, based in Chicago, The Innovative Learners. 🥳 We pride ourselves on offering the best tutoring experience powered by our team of the best, most experienced, and passionate teachers.  Our approach revolves around personalized learning, where we tailor our methods to match each student's individual needs.  With years of experience and a commitment to excellence, our tutors create a supportive environment conducive to academic growth.  We understand that every student is unique, which is why we focus on providing personalized attention to ensure effective comprehension and skill development.  If you're looking for top-tier tutoring that prioritizes your success, click the link below to get connected with The Innovative Learners and our team of best tutors.  After three months in our program, your child will grow at least three grade levels! ✅ Connect with The Innovative Learners here:  https://theinnovativelearners.com/ Request a tutor: https://form.jotform.com/223615282943155 Click this link to schedule an in-person meeting with Gabriell at 6127 S University Ave #1286, Chicago, IL 60637: https://app.usemotion.com/meet/gabriell-gaiter/meetirl Have questions about IEPs? Click here to read my article:https://theinnovativelearners.com/parent-tips/how-to-determine-if-an-iep-will-benefit-your-child/ Is your child lacking their phonics skills? Click here to read my article about how to improve them: https://theinnovativelearners.com/reading/understanding-phonics/ Need help improving your child's reading habits? Click here to read my tips: https://theinnovativelearners.com/uncategorized/6-ways-to-improve-reading-at-home/

1. 8 Things to do before getting an IEP 17:32
2. How to Make your Back to School Season Easier 13:41
3. Why are schools using "new math"? 08:10
4. What most parents get wrong about online learning 16:23
5. 3 Ways to Increase Reading Levels this Summer (And Prevent the Summer Slide) 19:39

“My child learns better in person.”

I hear this statement a lot. Or my child has (insert nero-divergent learning need here), so they need to learn in person. My response to these statements is, “A bad tutor is going to be bad in person and online; a bad curriculum will be bad in person and online; and a bad teacher will be bad in person and online.”

The format doesn’t change the root of the problem. It doesn’t matter what format you use to facilitate learning. The only thing that matters is the material you use and the person who teaches it. Many parents are hesitant about online tutoring because their first experience was during the pandemic. For many teachers and schools, that was the first time they taught in that format, and many did a poor job at it, leaving a “bad taste” in parent’s mouths. However, others used it as an opportunity to expand their classroom in unique ways they hadn’t been able to before. There were online tools I used in distance learning that I incorporated into my in-person classroom. 

Any good lesson can be adapted both in person and online. You might feel like your child needs in-person tutoring, but that thinking could be based on your experience with an online lesson that needed to be more adaptive to your child’s needs.

For example, if your child has ADHD and gets distracted easily, you might feel like if they are in person, they will be more focused. However, there are online distractions and many more in-person distractions. ADHD will kick in whether you’re online or in person. A person with ADHD will become easily distracted if the lesson is not adaptable to their learning style, no matter the format. 

A boring lesson will bore a child online or in person. That’s why you have to find a teacher, tutor, or program that will adapt to your child’s learning style by embedding things that children with ADHD need within the lesson. At Innovative Learners, we incorporate timers, wiggle breaks, kinetic learning, and immediate engagement buttons for children with ADHD so they can engage and focus on being successful in the lesson. 

So, when thinking about which is better for your child, consider all variables, not just the lesson format but also who is teaching it, what the child is learning, and how the child is being taught.

Using technology for in-person and online tutoring

Technology is crucial to ensuring a successful lesson, whether your child is doing in-person or online tutoring. We use education apps in every lesson to adapt to different learning styles. Like “seasoning” in a good meal, we sprinkle technology in every lesson so it will “taste good” and resonate with our students. For both our in-person and online tutoring, we always use technology as a point of engagement and to check for understanding.

During our online tutoring sessions, students are encouraged to send “emoji” reactions while reading texts to engage with them. We utilize fun interactive games like Quizziz and Blooket to gamify our lessons and ensure students understand them. We also incorporate digital whiteboards so students can post their ideas and “like” other students’ comments or statements. These tools make learning accessible in ways that they are already familiar with. Students can communicate with each other while creating a “whole class buy-in,” meaning the entire class can participate at the same time instead of waiting for one student at a time.

In our in-person sessions, our favorite education app is Jeopardy Labs. We love to end our sessions with a fun game of Jeopardy, where students can test their knowledge “Jeopardy-style” while earning points and making teams with each other. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll end up on the show!

Overall, our students love to engage, contribute to the lesson, feel heard, and compete with each other. We live in a world that has easily accessible technology that anyone can use to reinforce learning and strategies they can use inside and outside of the classroom.

Students who struggle with Anxiety

In-person and online tutoring can be a place of refuge for students who may be struggling with social anxiety and bullying. Group tutoring can benefit students learning in a traditional school setting and homeschooled children. Students who struggle with anxiety or with selecting a good friend group will benefit from being placed in an environment where all the students are invested in learning and improving themselves. The relationship already starts on a positive foundation. Compared to traditional relationships built at school, where some students use school as a platform to seek positive or negative attention. 

Homeschooled children can also benefit from learning online or in person in groups because it allows them to interact with other students while learning. An opportunity they might not get when working at home. Our in-person and online tutoring sessions provide a haven for students because they feel more comfortable making mistakes. The social risk is a lot lower because, in the beginning, everyone is new!

This isn’t like school with tight cliques that have been close since elementary school. In Innovative Learners tutoring sessions, everyone meets everyone for the first time, which tends to break down many social barriers that cause anxiety.

There’s also no gossip because everyone is only together for an hour, and we utilize that hour to the max, leaving little opportunities for “downtime” to start drama. Our students actually end up creating lasting bonds that transcend from tutoring into other spaces. One of our tutoring groups plays games together online after tutoring! My highlight moment was hearing one of our students tell their group that he loved them right before he logged off.

Some of our cohorts have been working together for years, and they have created a tight bond and seen each other progress and grow. They even motivate each other in the groups! It’s a genuinely heartwarming thing to see and is one of the reasons why I love teaching so much.

Overall, if you want to know which is better, online or in-person tutoring, the answer is that they are practically the same. Your focus should be on the instructor and the curriculum. Those should be the deciding factors. Your child deserves an engaging lesson that is adaptive to their learning style while exposing them to different cultural backgrounds. We make sure every student has that experience at The Innovative Learners. So, if you’re interested in working with us, click here.