Unless you’ve spent your entire academic career being home educated, chances are you’re exceptionally familiar with the concept of being taught in a classroom. Whilst the rooms themselves may change and the equipment available may alter from school to school, the structure itself tends to remain much the same.
A teacher will stand, usually at the front of the class, and deliver content. This may be through a prepared lecture, a presentation on a white board, or be a combination of various elements. Students will then either work individually, in pairs or groups to produce work which may be handed in to the teacher for assessment or presented back in some way to the whole room.
It’s a system that’s been in effect for centuries, and to a certain extent works very well. For some, there is intense security and comfort in knowing how a real-life classroom scenario works, which is why the thought of moving to any form of online tuition may seem a little daunting.
Here at Tutorspot we are experts when it comes to tutoring online, and we fully understand the pros and cons of both face to face and virtual teaching sessions. If you’re thinking about working with online tutors, but have some concerns about the process, let us talk you through the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision on what might be best for you.
As we’ve already mentioned, the classroom is a familiar environment for the vast majority of people, so they know precisely what to expect. However, accessing tuition online comes with a degree of the unknown.
Whist familiarity is comforting, the reality is that working with someone who provides GCSE online tuition or A Level online tuition, for instance an online maths tutor, science tutor, chemistry tutor, physics tutor or biology tutor can quickly become a familiar experience, too. In many ways it’s not terribly different from working with a face-to-face GCSE tutor or A Level tutor. Instead of travelling to a specific venue, getting stuck in rush hour traffic and rushing back home to have dinner at a reasonable time, you can simply log in from the comfort of your own home.
Undoubtebly one of the benefits of working in a classroom environment is the possibility of having support from your peers. Working in a group can be a fantastic way to improve your knowledge as well as confidence around a particular topic as you share ideas and encourage each other.
However, having a room full of other students can be exceptionally distracting. Even students who are not playing the fool or being deliberately disruptive can still have an impact on your concentration or the flow of a lesson. Simply asking a question, no matter how pertinent, may take the session in a different direction that doesn’t seem entirely pertinent to you and your learning.
If you’re studying with a tutor online, for example an online science tutor, online physics tutor, online chemistry tutor, online biology tutor or maths tutor; they’re there to provide dedicated support to you, which means there’s no possibility of distractions from any other students. No one will be asking a question you already know the answer to, which means you can focus entirely on the questions you don’t know, and the areas you specifically need support with. In this way, you can achieve more in a one hour one to one session than you ever could in a class lesson with 20 or more other students.
Teachers operating in a classroom environment are under a certain amount of pressure to deliver content in a specific timeframe. It’s their job to ensure their students are provided with the right knowledge to ensure they’re ready to progress, whether that’s at the end of an academic year or via final exams.
In many instances, this means that lessons may move too quickly for some students. If you’re struggling with a particular concept and the class moves on, you may find it harder to absorb new information. Before you know it, you begin to fall behind, which impacts your confidence and overall enjoyment of the subject.
The good news is that when working with an online tutor this isn’t the case. Tutors don’t have lesson plans in the same ways that teachers do, instead they focus specifically on the areas that you need to focus on. As a result, if it takes an entire session to nail that one area, you’re unsure of, and you don’t move on to anything else, then it doesn’t matter. Taking the time to deep dive into one area to ensure understanding will pay off in the end. A tutor has the luxury of that time and flexibility, whilst unfortunately a teacher does not.
For many students, raising their hand and asking questions in a classroom environment can feel like a daunting task. It takes a lot of confidence to admit in front of a room of your peers that you don’t understand something or need further clarification, especially if you think you might be the only one who’s struggling. The reality is, very rarely will you be the only person unsure of something, yet we all tend to stay quiet and let the lesson progress.
Ultimately, what that means is you remain confused, and are likely to become increasingly unsure as time goes on. With a one-to-one tutor online there’s no risk of that. You can build a relationship with your tutor where you feel comfortable asking questions at any stage of the process as part of natural conversation and discussion around a topic. There’s no formal hand raising, but instead a far more relaxed interaction where your progress and comfort is at the heart of everything.
Getting into the habit of asking questions to further your own knowledge and understanding and seeing what an impact having those answers can have on your learning is a great way to increase your confidence. You may even find that, over time, you’re more prepared to ask questions in class and develop your knowledge that way, too.
Here at Tutorspot we have A Level Tutors and GCSE tutors who provide tuition in a number of subjects from maths and English through to science. Get in touch with us today by emailing us at info@tutorspot.co.uk or giving us a call or text on 07480637128 to find out more about the support we can provide you.
