Teaching students in tutor groups

Tutor groups are an effective way to provide group tutoring and small-group tuition to students. This type of teaching and tutoring allows for personalized instruction and an improved understanding of challenging concepts. In this article, we will explore the benefits of group tutoring and how it can improve teaching and learning.

Group tutoring, also known as small group tuition, is a teaching method where a teacher or tutor works with a small group of students. This type of instruction can take place after school or during designated class time, and it is designed to help students who may be struggling with a particular subject or who want to improve their academic performance. It typically involves a structured approach to teaching and learning. The tutor or teacher will first assess the needs of the group and identify any areas where students may be struggling. They will then develop a plan for instruction that addresses these areas and provides opportunities for practice and review.

During group tutoring sessions, the tutor or teacher will work with students on specific skills or concepts. They may use a variety of teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, or hands-on activities. Students will also have the opportunity to ask questions and receive feedback from the tutor or their peers.

Teaching the right group

As soon as there’s more than one student in a session, the relationship between the students becomes just as important as your relationship with them. If students don’t get on or are starting the sessions with very different attitudes or attainment, it can become difficult to work productively with them. Sometimes you can work around this – find commonalities, use different ability levels to encourage peer learning – but sometimes you might be better off rearranging the group.

This won’t always be possible, but often whoever is arranging the groups for you will understand the problem and work with you to find a better solution. If, for example, a group of three students has one student whose subject knowledge is a long way behind the others, the sessions might serve to weaken their confidence rather than strengthen it.

Whilst tutors should try their best to find a productive approach with every group, it’s equally important to voice your concerns with school and make sure you’re always working in the way that’s most beneficial for your students – thinking hard about the make-up of each group is a big part of this. 

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Fostering an attitude toward learning

Teaching students in smaller groups fosters imagination, ardour, and enthusiasm. It gives students the chance to forge their own academic identities and fosters group interaction and a sincere sense of engagement.

Finding creative ways to keep students engaged enhances learning and makes teaching more interesting, gratifying, and difficult for our instructors.

There are other steps you may take to increase motivation when working online, according to tutors who have been providing online tuition for some time.

Simple instructions are given, the class moves along at a steady pace, and the tutor frequently makes sure each student is doing okay and comprehends the lesson's material. For group discussions, roles are assigned to students so that everyone has a chance to contribute.

As for in-person sessions, you will find that these classes are easier to influence or inspire your students since you will have their complete and undivided attention. Make sure to keep the energy of the class high and make your session result focused.

A lot of resources go into providing in class support to students who need it.

When students begin to see their progress they will be all the more motivated to continue progressing even further!

Setting the room up correctly

Often overlooked by inexperienced tutors, the physical set-up of the room you’re working in can make a big difference to the session itself. Where are you sitting in relation to the students? Where are they sitting in relation to each other? How can you manage these variables to get the best possible environment for learning?

When new to in-school tutoring, tutors can feel as though they’re in someone else’s space. This means they won’t feel comfortable temporarily rearranging a room and might just put up with a room in the way they find it.

Given that students will sometimes opt for group tutoring sessions as a means of saving money rather than forking out for one-to-one services, it isn't uncommon for students or groups of friends who already know each other to opt to learn together.

In such a case, it is important that you set up the room so that the students aren't given the opportunity to converse and disrupt the session for others.

With this in mind, it is also important that your classes allow for engagement and class discussions where required.

If you’re uncomfortable in the space, this will come across to your students. Arranging the workspace so that it’s tidy, purposeful and appropriate for the task at hand will show that you’re in control and make it easier for students to settle into the lessons.

Using the group dynamic to your advantage

This is a simple idea: if the activity you’re doing could be done either with a full class or just one student, you could probably do something better with a small group.

Students benefit much from studying with their peers, whether they are debating, competing, or taking quizzes together. Accept them and make use of them because you can't receive these advantages from a class of thirty pupils or one alone.

Consider how you may modify activities so that they demand cooperation from the kids. Can it be made more game-like to foster healthy competition? Can they possibly be collaborating to find a solution? As a result, the lessons will feel fresh, well-rounded, and enjoyable to the students, allowing them to appreciate the group dynamic and get more from the lessons.

Reflect on and learn from your classes

There are ample benefits of teaching students in smaller groups that help to facilitate a better learning experience for all involved. As an educator teaching smaller groups of students, you should certainly look to take advantage of the opportunities for input that are possible with fewer students.

Learning is a process that is by no means exclusively enjoyed by students, teachers should also be looking for ways that they can improve their lessons and competencies within the classroom.

As an educator, it is important to reflect on what you've learned from your time teaching. Of course, this process is made a lot more effective with input from the very students you are teaching.

The reflective process shouldn’t only take place at the end of a learning block but can also be adopted incrementally. Given that you will have fewer students than in a traditional classroom setting you should spend time covering the material that they are having difficulty with. The only way to find this out is by asking your students for their input.

Additionally, this information will be absorbed best by your students if it is thought in a manner that suits their style of learning. This will also have to be communicated by the students at the beginning of your initial sessions.

Teachers who conduct revision sessions for students in smaller group sessions can adopt multiple modes of teaching in order to cater for all of the different students in the session.

Quick understanding checks, open questions, and closing reflective questions are all useful in small group settings to make sure that no student is left behind. Make sure to implement these in your next group session and reflect on their effectiveness.

Getting all students to contribute

Part of designing effective group activities means understanding your group – particularly thinking about whether a certain approach will allow louder, more confident students to dominate. When planning for lessons or just asking questions, make sure to get responses from every member of the group equally. Students that are less confident will not speak up without encouragement and will slide all too comfortably into letting more outgoing students do the heavy lifting for them. 

You should keep an eye on your students as they work if they don't know how to ask for assistance or don't feel confident raising their hands. Instead of requesting help, they frequently visit their peers and get second opinions on their work.

You may always pose interesting questions that are manageable for the student to respond to. By asking the class, "What did you come up with for this?" you can engage the pupils. Give me more details on that, please.

You'll soon identify which students actually require your assistance, and the teaching staff will be quite appreciative.

There are various causes for a student not to ask for assistance. As a result, it is challenging for educators to determine where each student is in their learning process. It also makes it challenging for the teacher and support staff to determine how to organize their time going forward and what topics they would need to review.

Some students are highly adept at seeking help when it is required. You'll know them right away. They will raise their hand when they are stumped by a question.

With only 2-4 students in the room, there should be no place for quieter students to hide and the habit shouldn’t be allowed to develop. That said, it’s important to take different confidence levels into account and ask students to contribute in a way that they’re comfortable with. The loudest, most confident student shouldn’t necessarily be used as the model for all contributions.