What Are the Different Types of Students in Home Tuition
Each student learns in a unique way. The learning styles and aptitudes of individual students might differ in various ways. Every student has a different learning style and aptitude due to various circumstances, such as upbringing, personality, and experiences. As a home tutor, you will encounter a variety of students, and none of them will be just the same as the others. When creating your teaching style and approach, it is essential to know the type of student you will be working with.
Table of Contents
Why is it important to identify the type of student you’re tutoring?
Home tutors will find it easier to comprehend their students’ issues and difficulties and make necessary adjustments to the lessons once they are certain about the type of student they will be working with.
Most teachers adjust their style of instruction in a classroom to fit the needs of most of the pupils. Naturally, this will give other pupils the education they require. Not everyone has success with this, though. Additionally, a student will in some way miss some lessons. This is when most parents decide to hire a home tutor for their children. Since they will have struggles with learning or catching up in class, it is your duty as a home tutor to adapt your teaching style to their needs and what works best for them.
What are the different types of students in tuition?
There’s no easy way to categorize students. However, there are generally six types of students you will meet in home tuition.
1. The Struggling Students
These are the most typical students that a home tutor works with within their time as a tutor. They are the most evident kind of students and the easiest to identify. They possess attributes like the following:
- They find school difficult and have trouble understanding lessons.
- They are often left behind during lessons and have trouble catching up at the same pace as their peers learn.
- They lack confidence in their abilities in certain lessons and subjects.
They are also simpler to teach because they are simpler to recognize. The most frequent cause of their difficulties in a certain subject is that they don’t have a solid foundation in it. Any foundation they may have may disintegrate the moment they encounter some of the next lesson’s more challenging material since they haven’t fully developed their comprehension of the subject.
There are a few things you can do as a home tutor to help these students:
- Go back to basics with them – As they have weak foundations in a subject, it’s best to go back to the most basic concepts and help them master them before moving on to the next. The problem with these students is that they have been rushed in ways they are not ready yet.
- Don’t rush them – In relation to the first tip, teach the students at a pace they are comfortable with. Do not rush them into learning. If you do, it will be no different than what they’ve done in schools. Take this as strengthening their building blocks. Once they are rushed, one wrong move might shatter everything already in place. If they are comfortable with their pace, they will also be confident in the skills and knowledge they will acquire over time.
- Teach understanding – In struggling students, it’s best to teach them understanding instead of teaching them steps. For example, in Math, teaching a student the concept of algebraic expressions and helping them understand the variables, such as what are their functions, will help them develop answers more so than teaching them the steps in solving them. With this, you’ll not only be teaching them expressions but also foundations for the next lessons.
In light of this, it’s also beneficial to initially speak with the parents and let them know about the child’s difficulties. Some parents might believe that by having their child fall behind, they’ll be making matters worse since they lack firsthand experience. Fixing this would involve explaining to them the child’s lack of solid foundations and why he or she should learn the fundamentals first. Even though the parents won’t see the progress right away, they will eventually come to realize that it’s vital.
2. The Able but Unsure
These students, at first glance, will have many similarities to the struggling student. However, as a home tutor, we have to tackle first the reasons a student is struggling. You would be surprised how many students are actually able to perform well, however, they just lack the confidence to do so. In addition to being an intriguing challenge, this is frequently an extremely depressing case. These students are genuinely quite intelligent, but they do not believe in their own abilities. Sometimes, even after successfully doing a task, people still don’t think they performed properly. Their insecurity could have an impact on how well they do in class.
Like the strugglers, these are the things you can do:
- Simple and basic
- Like the strugglers, take them back to the basics. However, instead of teaching them things they don’t know like the strugglers, show them how much they already know.
- Introduce new concepts
- Once you see that they’ve also managed to see their abilities, this is the time for you to introduce new concepts to them. Use the inquiry technique to get these students thinking, and guide them in forming hypotheses, and later on, answers. Gradually reduce your support to them as their confidence grows. And then later, point out that they are doing the tasks on their own without your help.
Talk and explain to their parents first, just like the struggling kids do. Assist them in comprehending the challenges faced by the student and how they can contribute to his or her confidence-building efforts both inside and outside of the classroom. Furthermore, don’t give too many compliments. Teachers of successful students may find it tempting to take credit for their students’ accomplishments, but to gain confidence, they must acknowledge that their accomplishments are entirely their own.
3. The Drifters
This is another typical kind of learner that home tutors might work with. Although they are normally ordinary students, they are capable of so much more. Their average skills mean that they get overlooked in class. Although the majority of these kids are pleased with their average marks, they have greater potential to get higher ones. But they are not motivated to perform better.
These pupils don’t have any drive. Getting children to speak is the first step in providing them with instruction. Learn from them. What kinds of things interest them? What motivates them to learn? Which themes pique their disinterest? You can base your teachings around what they are interested in by chatting with them and finding out what fascinates them.
Teachings ought to stimulate their curiosity because they are unmotivated. Encourage them to feel pleased with themselves for completing a task. Like other students, they will desire feedback from adults, but if they do it right, they might feel accomplished on their own before they have to wait for your approval. Show them how much more they can accomplish if they set their minds to it.
4. The Poor Learners
They represent the most challenging group of students that home tutors may come across. Due to their learning difficulties, these students may be challenged to teach. They never grasped the concepts in the first place; thus, they are not students who have trouble grasping them completely. This means that they have never developed the skills they need in studying. They might focus more on getting the right answers without actually understanding the lessons. The common problems they have in classrooms are as follows: they can’t concentrate in class, they don’t engage in lessons, they have trouble learning on their own, and they find it difficult to sit down and start working.
Speaking with the parents of these pupils is the first step in handling them. Parents typically want evidence of their child’s development, like grades and test results, but we also need to help parents realize that soft skills like focus and taking notes are just as crucial. They ought to be able to comprehend that learning will take precedence over exam performance for students.
For these students, a large portion of their home tuition will be devoted to demonstrating the task and going over how to accomplish it. Have a conversation with the student about strategies for understanding the material, practical skills they can learn, and supplementary materials.
Because of this, home tutors want to provide their students the freedom to apply their newly acquired abilities in addition to the subjects they are studying. Additionally, home tutors should provide their students with coping mechanisms for when they get stuck, such as asking teachers or peers for advice or accessing resources.
5. The Aspirational Able
These are the pupils who want to improve by achieving the highest grades even though they are currently performing well in class. Their parents typically hire a home tutor because they want their children to succeed more and get better marks. The majority of them are looking for a deeper understanding of a subject or want particular exam advice for important exams.
Before starting individual lessons, find out what their objectives are, and tailor your instruction accordingly. Parents of some pupils may wish for their children to receive additional exam preparation. In this instance, the emphasis of the lesson plan will be more on the students’ pre-assessment of their strengths and shortcomings and on what they still need to improve. Others will want a deeper understanding of the subject. In cases such as this, you can share your passion for the subject as a tutor and encourage them to think about their own interests and topics they also find fascinating.
6. Students with special educational needs
This refers to students who have learning disabilities and require a specialist’s approach. With students like this, talk with the parents first about the student’s conditions. Ask them about the diagnosis and ask them about the strategies the school and they have found to work best with the student. With this, you can use the strategies to build your lessons using them.
Furthermore, conduct further investigation. It is preferable to be knowledgeable and ready. Look up strategies that other educators employ or suggest.
Conclusion
Mixing students will unavoidably cause some to fall behind and others to disappear completely. Knowing a student’s learning preferences and skills makes it easier for home tutors to support them. As a home tutor, you must always keep the requirements of the student first. Make sure you speak with the parents and outline your strategies and how they will benefit the student. Don’t forget to pace at a comfortable speed for your pupil. Every learner has a unique way of learning. It is your duty as a home tutor to determine how best they can.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
