Every student has a different learning capability. Some are fast learners while others take the time to understand the concepts and struggle to learn new things. Tutoring has been proved successful in helping students who need extra support in their learning journey. Tutoring has mostly been conducted in-person or in separate classrooms with smaller groups of students. But in this digital domain, online tutoring has also created its place in the education industry. The advent of the pandemic has further fuelled online tutoring’s growth.
If you are planning to hire a tutor for your child or starting a tutoring business, then you might be thinking about which one is better. Both the online and in-person tutoring have their pros and cons. You can choose anyone based on what’s best for you or your child. In this article, we have compiled details about both online and in-person tutoring so that you can make an informed decision.
Online tutoring
Online tutoring is a different ball game altogether. It provides a lot of flexibility to students taking the course. Let’s have a look at its pros and cons.
Pros
1. Multiple timelines:
Online tutoring has a lot of teachers from the global community teaching students. Thus, scheduling a session is easy. Your child can opt for a session at any time based on his or her school schedule.
2. Specialists:
There is an abundance of teachers in the online tutoring industry due to its global outreach. You can easily find specialists for subjects, so your child gets a better education through online tutoring.
3. Less travel:
The online sessions can be taken from the comfort of your home. You don’t have to drive your child to a tutoring class. An online connection with good bandwidth is enough to attend the classes.
Cons
1.Technology issues:
Online tutoring depends heavily on digital technology. Any malfunction of videoconferencing software or any other teaching tool can spoil the session and the time goes waste.
2. Personal touch:
The online sessions can be engaging for students, but they miss part of the physical presence which is sometimes needed for a student to focus. Correcting students is difficult in online tutoring.
In-person tutoring
In-person tutoring subjects are taught to a smaller group of students in classrooms after school hours. Let’s have a look at its advantages and disadvantages.
Pros
1. Better engagement:
Since both the teacher and student are at the same physical location, it becomes easy for the tutor to keep students engaged in the class. The tutor can easily take a hands-on approach and teach the subject by the approach of experimentation. It is also easy for the tutor to supervise these experiments which cannot be done in an online setting.
2. Better guidance:
Physical presence makes it easy for the tutor to correct a student’s mistake instantly. The feedback is immediate and course correction happens almost instantly. This helps in creating a connection between the student and the tutor. Online tutoring calls for more attention from parents in terms of tracking their child’s progress.
3. Student groups:
In-person tutoring can be one-on-one or in small groups. Students taking tutoring are from different schools of background. A child gets to make new friends and socialize with new students. They also work together in some assignments and thus teamwork skills also.
Cons
1. Commute:
In-person classes are mostly held at a different location than your house. Your child will have to commute to that location to attend the classes. If you are a tutor taking in-home tutoring, then you will have to travel. A lot of time is wasted in commuting and it’s stressful also. There can be delays in starting the classes on time.
2. Limitations:
In-person classes can only be conducted once school hours are over unless it’s a holiday or a summer break. This leaves very little time for the tutor and the student to adjust to the tutoring schedule. Moreover, good tutors also get booked faster so you might end up without a tutor for your child. There are zero to minimal global exposure to the students taking in-person tutoring.
Which one to choose?
The needs of students are different. So you will have to pick the one that suits your child and is convenient for him or her. This is just a glimpse of what to expect from the two tutoring methods. Do share your experiences in the comments section below.
