Math

Why does facilitation matter?

Facilitation is what keeps a student engaged and on-task throughout a tutoring session. Effective facilitation requires thorough planning: not just around what concepts and skills to work on, but also around the routines, directions, and logistics of the tutoring session itself. Time the tutor spends thinking these things through ahead of time maximizes the time the student spends actually learning during the session, rather than getting situated or resolving confusions.

Implementation Checklist

• Tutors reinforce the academic language and procedures of the classroom and hold students accountable for doing the same.
• Tutors appropriately use open-ended questioning to ensure students are articulating their understanding of the content.
• Tutors facilitate content clearly, correctly, and at an appropriate pace.
• Students engage with content using a variety of learning tools that promote productive struggle given their unique needs.
• Students experience multi

Why establish a consistent tutoring session structure?

When students know what to expect, they can better internalize what is expected of them. If each session has a consistent rhythm, students will feel safer and more engaged, and tutors will deliver more consistent and effective sessions. Instead of spending prep time internalizing directions and pacing, they can focus on content.

Implementation Checklist

• Sessions have a consistent structure with space for relationship-building, independent practice time, and formative assessment.

Implementation Tools

(Click on the links below or visit the pages on the lefthand navigation for more information.)

Example Tutoring Session Structure

Implementation Checklist

• Sessions have curricula with high quality materials that maintain rigor.
• Session content complements classroom materials to support student mastery.
• Sessions focus on targeted learning goals informed by grade level standards, assessment data, and family and school input. 
• Sessions have a consistent structure with space for relationship-building, independent practice time, and formative assessment.
• If Delivery Mode is Blended: High-quality research-based software

What is Blended Learning in a Tutoring Program? 

Blended learning is a delivery mode that combines live instruction with digital learning tools for independent practice. High-quality blended learning supplements live tutoring (either virtually or in person) with adaptive software, which modifies the presentation of material in response to student performance to support student learning.

Why should you create data-informed student groups?

If your Student-Tutor Ratio is Small Groups instead of one-on-one, the composition of these groups will influence session effectiveness. If students are grouped haphazardly, without regard for their academic strengths and struggles, then tutors will find it much more challenging to meet the individual needs of every student in a group.

What is Accessibility?

Students all learn in different ways: some of these differences are obvious, while others are more subtle. However, this seemingly simple truth is surprisingly difficult to internalize in practice. Most learning experiences are designed with only one kind of learning in mind, and thus optimized for only one kind of learner.

Why should tutors personalize their tutoring sessions?

The most effective sessions are personalized to meet an individual student’s needs. Student productivity and growth will increase if the tutor can identify the missing or incomplete skills that are holding a student back and focus on those specific skills. Identifying and addressing these skill gaps requires tutors to use both quantitative and qualitative data to shape the content they include and the approach they use during sessions.