Tutoring Lesson #1: Timing is Everything

Yes, timing is everything. The saying holds true, even in tutoring. And let me clarify here. I mean “timing” as in when the tutoring session actually takes place. That’s it. Simple thought process, but the application of it isn’t always executed when it comes to instructing the young as well as the older learner.

Now, my tutoring sessions take place with youngsters in elementary and middle school, but this same adage applies to students of any age.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING!

It makes a world of difference when tutoring sessions are crafted to cater to a student’s optimal time for taking on new or specialized instruction.

Let’s just take yours truly for example . . .

I know that my peak time for taking in brand-new knowledge (“new” to me) is in the morning and early afternoon hours. By late afternoon, I’m starting to wind down in mental energy and alertness — the kind of mental energy and alertness that’s needed to take on new information and concentrate on carrying out very thought-provoking instruction.

Now, it doesn’t mean that I can’t get any meaningful work done after 5:00p. It just means that the work I do or the knowledge I take on needs to be in the realm of something I’m already used to doing on a regular basis, something I have some expertise at and am very familiar with, and something that is simple enough to crank out without a lot of deep thought involved.

So, when I take what I know to be true to me and then apply that same understanding to how I deal with my students, here’s what I’ve found out:

It doesn’t matter how prepared you are or how fun and interactive your teaching material is, or how excited you appear before your students, they WILL NOT engage with you if you catch them during their “off” time. “Off” time, as in — they are not in a mode or mood to take in instruction or do anything with it.

And, I’m telling you with the utmost confidence that: you will ALWAYS experience unproductive time spent when trying to tutor a student during those “off” times. It just doesn’t work to force instruction when the one receiving the instruction isn’t ready to do so.

Now, there are some tactics you can use to try to warm your student up to the idea of learning a thing or two when you’re met with that subtle (or maybe not so subtle) opposition to the tutelage you’re trying to deliver.

You know it right off the bat — an unproductive tutoring session waiting to happen — when you see it. Student looks disinterested in what you have to say, student’s attention isn’t on you, student’s head is down on the desk/table, student is doing other things, student continuously interrupts you while you’re instructing, student asks to do something other than what you’re wanting him or her to do, student tries to deflect your attention away from what you’re instructing to run down the session time with inactivity, and the list goes on and on.

I’ve been on the receiving end of these behaviors a time or two, so I know from whence I blog.

And believe me . . . there are reasons that students exhibit the above behaviors. We’ll be talking about those reasons (and what to do) as the weeks march on.

Oh, and such behaviors are even harder to manage when students are in that “off” time mode and mood, if you’re tutoring them by way of the D – I – S – T – A – N – C – E    L – E – A – R – N – I – N – G method, a.k.a.: virtual/online tutoring/teaching. Just know, for us online tutors, it can be twice as hard to get a student to engage when the timing isn’t right.

So, save both your (and your student’s) time by making sure you’re giving your student instruction when it’s the most optimal time for him or her to take it in. It’s as simple as that.

Now, traditional classroom instruction won’t always jive with this philosophy, because students are going to receive the instruction according to how the schedule has been mandated for the day; but in private tutoring, you have more flexibility.

It’s like this: find the time of the day and days of the week in the student’s daily routine that allows him (or her) the best chance of willingly engaging in specialized instruction by:

• identifying when the student will have his or her highest levels of mental energy, when he or she is able to receive new or specialized instruction.
• identifying when the student is more likely to be engaged and ready to participate with the instruction.
• identifying when the student is able to focus (less distractions) on the lesson you’re delivering.

Then, tutor during those times more often than not. I say more often than not because schedules won’t always provide you with those optimal “on” times to instruct your student. I mean . . . I live in the real world, not a perfect world.

Ideally, it would be great if you could consistently catch your tutee in those “on” timeframes every time you have a tutoring session together. But, you and I still live in that real world I just mentioned.

So, what do you do when either you can’t get those “on” times in your student’s day, or you get the “on” times for instructing your student, but he or she is just having an “off” moment where timing isn’t the issue?

What to do? What to do?

Well, I look forwarding to sharing my thoughts on the matter next tutoring lesson.

Until then . . .