How Long Should The Tutoring Sessions Last?
There are two main types of tutors, the first being tutors who work with students on a dedicated tutoring day once per week and tutors who work multiple hours per week. Some tutors may only work with students once per month, while others work with students several times per week.
A tutoring session should not be less than 45 minutes long. Less than that is insufficient time for kids to learn and internalize new material. This is especially true if tutoring occurs only once a week.
You’ll want to consider setting the duration of tutoring to at least three-hour tutoring sessions for those who tutor once weekly. However, if you find yourself working with students for regular tutoring, your hours of tutoring will have to adjust accordingly. You might want to try scheduling 6 hours per session instead of 8.
Regardless of how often you work with students, there are specific guidelines you should keep in mind.
First, you should never expect to teach a student anything new during a single session. Instead, it would help if you focused on helping them master concepts they already know.
Second, you should avoid teaching topics that require extensive research.
Third, you should always give students plenty of feedback throughout the session.
Finally, you should always end each session on a positive note.
It would help if you didn’t worry about whether or not you’re doing enough. Instead, you should enjoy the experience and look forward to seeing your students grow.
Age Of Your Child
For children under five years old, 45 minutes to an hour works well. After that, you’ll probably want to keep the sessions at least half an hour. Older students can usually handle working longer sessions.
You can extend the length of the sessions as your child grows older. For instance, if your child is six, you might have them attend a 90-minute tutoring session every Monday. You might expand the session to 120 minutes at nine years old on Tuesdays.
This way, you can still fit in plenty of learning during the week without feeling rushed. You can also plan out your weeks to maximize the number of tutoring sessions you can squeeze in.
Homeschooling Vs. Regular Schooling
There are two types of homeschoolers: those who attend regular public school and those who don’t. Both options have pros and cons, so it’s essential to consider your situation before making any decisions.
For instance, if your child attends regular school, you’ll need to find a tutor who works well with the schedule at their school. You may also need to adjust your teaching style to fit your student’s needs. On the other hand, if your child doesn’t attend regular school, you won’t have to worry about matching your lessons into the school day. However, you will still need to find a tutor that works well with your schedule.
Make sure you consider this when scheduling your tutoring session.
Regular Schooling
For students who attend regular schooling, tutors provide an excellent opportunity to boost their learning experience. Students can significantly benefit from the additional support provided by a tutor. One hour per week is a solid starting point, but you may consider adding another session if your student needs more assistance.
Homeschooling
You may want to consider getting extra tutoring sessions if you’re homeschooled. You can schedule them either during the day or after school. Just remember to allow enough time to accomplish the tasks you’d like your tutor to achieve, including teaching your child’s curriculum.
To improve engagement, you can also try experimenting with longer sessions divided by practice exercises. A two-hour session works well in this case.
Pick A Time Of Day That Is Productive
There are two main times of day that are ideal for tutoring sessions. First, immediately following school tends to be very successful. Children are still fresh and haven’t had enough sleep yet. Second, if your child is homeschooled, late mornings and early afternoon sessions are the most productive. These are peak hours of productivity, giving your child a head start on success.
However, there are exceptions to every rule. Sometimes children are tired at night, and sometimes they wake up early in the morning. You’ll have to experiment to find out what works best for your family.
Frequency Of Tutoring
If you can only meet your tutor once a week, then you should plan on spending at least two to three hours with them. You’ll need enough time to complete the work you must cover during the session.
However, if you feel that you need more time than that, then consider scheduling longer sessions. Having as little as an hour a week may not be enough time to cover the topics you need to cover.
For most students, having between 1 to 5 hours of tutoring each week and about 2 to 6 sessions per week is the optimal frequency. The ideal amount will depend on the student and their specific needs.
You might need to schedule more frequent meetings if you struggle with certain concepts. If you have trouble understanding an idea, you might want to spend more time explaining it to your tutor.
Make sure you track how much time you spend teaching each lesson. By doing so, you can determine whether you need to adjust the length of your studies accordingly.
Time Between Sessions
This tutoring time works well if you’re working with a private tutor. However, if you’re working with an online tutor, you may not have enough time between sessions to cover all of the topics that the tutor covered during the previous session.
Try spacing out the tutoring time by at least 2-3 days to avoid missing anything. During the earlier session, you should review what was discussed during the previous session and fill in any gaps. Then, during the second session, you can focus on studying your homework assignments and practicing the new concepts introduced during the previous session. This way, you’ll never miss anything.
Ask Your Child: How Much Tutoring Is Enough?
Asking your child what they think about how long the tutoring sessions should last is a great idea. You’ll find that they may not realize how much time they spend learning at school. Ask them if there is anything else they’d like to add about how long the tutors should stay or if they would prefer shorter sessions.
You might notice that your child wants longer tutoring sessions. That’s okay! Make sure you give them enough time to work through the material. If you keep giving them extra time, they won’t feel rushed and will enjoy themselves more.
Make sure that you ask them what they prefer about regular tutoring. What topics interest them most? Do they like working with the tutor during class breaks? Would they instead study at home? These questions will help you decide whether you should continue offering individual tutoring sessions after school or switch to another method of instruction. This would greatly help in drafting your perfect tutoring schedule.
A Wife, a mum and a Tutor! I am the Lead Editor at TheTutor.Link & also the Head Tutor there. I love teaching seeing young minds flourish. I also love blogging and sharing my experience on the world wide web.