Many people associate tutoring with low performing students who need help catching up and working at grade level. While tutoring can certainly benefit struggling students, it can also be a valuable resource for students who excel. Just because a student earns good grades doesn’t necessarily mean they’re working effectively or maximizing their potential.
Here are a few ways that tutoring can benefit high performing students in the classroom.
- Improved Study Skills
Students may be scoring well on exams, but they may be spending hours studying or staying up all night cramming because they don’t know the right strategies to prepare. A tutor can work with students on methods for reviewing, studying, and recalling different types of information, whether they’re getting ready for a math test or a history final. This can reduce stress because they are not wasting time on strategies that are inefficient or ineffective for how they learn.
- Improved Test Taking Skills
Sometimes high-performing students are quick to finish a test because they already know the information, but as content gets harder, they may become the last to finish. They may spend valuable time second-guessing their answers or focusing on a single difficult problem when there are easier ones they could have already answered. They may know the information when studying, but when sitting down for a timed exam, they freeze up. Working with a tutor can help them learn how to approach different types of questions, manage their time, and check their work.
- Improved Executive Functioning
Students may do really well when it comes to learning and recalling information, but their overall executive functioning skills may need work. They may have trouble staying organized, following directions, using their time effectively, prioritizing tasks, or focusing on their work. This can begin to take a toll on their performance. A tutor can work with students on these different areas so they are able to thrive in class while also mastering content.
- Improved Critical Thinking
A lot of times students can become fixated on doing something one way. They know that if they plug the numbers into a formula, they reach the answer. But when they have to extract those numbers from a word problem, it becomes more challenging. Or when they have to generalize what they learned to other situations, they may struggle. Tutoring can challenge students’ critical thinking skills and encourage them to look at problems from multiple perspectives. There is often more than one way to get to the correct answer – or more than one correct answer depending on the question.
Tutoring can provide a plethora of benefits to students of all ability levels. From reinforcing key concepts and skills to building more effective study and test taking strategies, there are always opportunities for improvement and growth. Contact Crafting Scholars to learn more about our customized approach and how we support students in maximizing their potential.