Tutor Doctor Longmont: Choosing the Right Tutoring Program for Success in School

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It’s back to school for Altona, Longmont Estates and Niwot High School students.  And as they hit the books, virtually all have the same goal: raise grades and test scores substantially to get into a good college and have a chance in an increasingly competitive job market. But the bad news is that many students are falling short of their academic goals.

“Low or failing grades produce shame, frustration, helplessness, hopelessness and peer group rejection,” says Larrie Reynolds, Superintendent of Mount Olive Township Public Schools. “This allows the student to convince even themselves that their lacking success in school is actually a personal lifestyle choice, rather than an inevitable fate.”

The good news is that through an effective tutoring program—such as Tutor Doctor Longmont-, students can overcome the academic and resultant social difficulties.

There are many causes of poor academic performance, but it almost always leads to negative consequences for the confidence of the student. "They may be upset with parental pressure, have no strong drive, lack confidence, have learning problems or face other apparent barriers. So to simply start 'tutoring' them so often backfires, turning out to be an exercise in futility,” says Frank Milner, president of Tutor Doctor, a global network of academic coaching companies.

"That's why our academic coaches begin with what our process refers to as a personal discovery. Our people find out what is in the student's heart and mind before we begin to deal with English, mathematics or history. If we know that there is something working against the learning process, we can address it quickly and effectively," says Milner.

The personal discovery looks for five key issues that can be blocking the student's academic success:

•     Working parents have little time to help students with academics.  
•      Students that “struggle in silence.” These students are too embarrassed to reach out for help at school. 
•      Too many extra-mural activities impede the student’s ability to perform academically.
•      Gaps in educational fundamentals.  These gaps need to be filled in while working on current studies.
•   Situations where moving is involved. Moving from state to state, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, public to private and vice-versa.

"We know that by conducting the personal discovery first and also by filling in gaps in the student's knowledge before trying to go to the next level, “says James Zazeski of Tutor Doctor, " our system proves that it is highly effective in accelerating the trajectory of learning."

Can you see your child’s classroom participation soar as self confidence grows? Can you imagine homework that gets completed in a timely and stress free manner?  Can you see your child enjoying school? WE CAN. Contact us  today for a free consultation so we can begin your path to the  best school year ever!

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Tutor Doctor Longmont: What’s your Student’s Learning Style?

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein

Students process and absorb information in different ways.  Teachers teach in different styles.  Is it the same as your student’s learning style?  Do you understand the math concepts at Erie
High School? The chemistry concepts at Mead high school? The writing concepts at Timberline?    If not, maybe your learning style is different from the teaching style.   Not every one learns in the same way. Some students like to see the big picture first and then learn the details and skills of each step while others can’t imagine what the big picture will be until they have learned each little step along the way.

Some students find diagrams and infographics helpful in learning information while others like to listen to the teacher’s lesson to get their facts and figures. Others like to build, measure, mix and experiment when they are learning. Knowing what your student’s learning style is will make it easier for you to present information in a format that they can relate to.

Visual learners

Visual learners like their information presented in an interesting visual format so videos, pictures, charts, illustrations, mind maps, and online presentations are a great way for them to learn. Presenting information this way makes it easier for them to see how things relate to each other. Visual learners should create their own mind maps and graphics when they are studying as this will help them to remember the information and see.

Auditory learners

These students are good listeners. They like teachers and tutors who explain, talk and read aloud. These students learn understand through a more traditional teaching method. When they are learning, auditory learners can benefit from reading aloud or listening to taped lectures and online podcasts.

Tactile learners

These students like to learn through action. They are great with experiments, measuring, observations, field trips, building models and other physically-oriented tasks. Activity is the way to get them to remember information or learn new skills.

If your student is having trouble with a subject, ask their teacher or tutor to help you ascertain their learning style and then present the information in a way that they will absorb best.  If you are curious about your student’s learning style, take a quick online test with sites such as  VARK. Tutors are great at understanding learning styles and they will be able to not only help your student to understand their learning style, but to convert information into a format that they understand best.

During our free initial consultation, our education consult can discuss learning styles and how it affects your student’s grades and school performance.  Our one to one and consistent tutor program allows for the presentation of information in the learning style of the student’s abilities – as opposed to the teaching style of the classroom teacher. Watch the confidence and abilities soar with our one to one approach!  Call today for a FREE initial consultation.

13 (Better) Questions to Ask Your Child About School

By Bob Cunningham, Contributing Writer

When your child comes home on the first few days of school—or throughout the school year—there will be lots of information you want from him or her. Here are some important things to keep in mind when you’re talking to your child about school. The way you ask the questions matters. If you give your child the opportunity to answer with one word (yes, no, a name), then you’re likely to get a one-word response. Try to ask open-ended questions to keep a conversation going. Often kids are not specific, so you have to ask for specific information when you want it. Starting with factual questions is a great way to ease into conversation. Avoiding emotion-packed words (fun, happy, sad, mean) will allow the conversation to go on longer. Asking positive questions will give your child a chance to express concerns. Negative questions will stop a conversation. After-School Conversation Starters Avoid These Questions Try These Instead How was school? What’s the biggest difference between this year and last year? Did you have fun at school? What was the best thing you did at school? Who did you sit with? Tell me the names of the four kids who sat closest to you. Was your teacher nice? What was the most interesting thing your teacher said today? What class rules did your teacher say are important? What did your teacher say she likes to do? Did your teacher go over the daily schedule with the class? What is the best thing about your daily schedule? Did you have everything you needed for school? Was there anything you wish you had at school that you didn’t have today? Were the kids in your class nice? Who did you enjoy talking with the most? Did anyone have anything fun or interesting to talk about? Did you get your schedule? Which days look best on your schedule? Are your friends in your classes? Tell me two kids you remember from each class. Was the work hard? What was the best thing your teacher asked you to do  in ____ today? The most likely times for your child to experience negative social interactions at school are the less structured times, such as recess, lunch and during transitions from activity to activity or room to room. Asking questions specifically about these times will give you the best read on social circumstances. Avoid These Questions Try These Instead Did you play with anyone at recess? What were most kids doing at recess? What was the best game at recess? What did you talk about at recess? How was lunch? Who sat near you at lunch? What were the other kids eating for lunch? What was the funniest thing someone said at lunch? Did you get your locker? Where is your locker? Who has a locker near yours? Bob Cunningham, the former Head of School for The Gateway Schools in New York City, has been an educational evaluator and a teacher in general education and special education at both the elementary and secondary levels in several school districts. He was also an instructor in the Learning Disabilities program at Columbia Univerity's Teachers College.

Tutor Doctor Longmont: How to Choose the Right Academic Coach for Your Student

Struggling academically or doing a little extra academic coaching to bring up a grade point average is a natural part of growing up.  Academic coaches offer students that need a little extra help from time to time and getting a professional in-home coach is the best choice for improving grades. One-on-one academic coaching will mean that your student gets the all the help they need. There are so many benefits to academic coaching, but you must find the right academic coach to suit your student in order to for them to get the best out of the situation.

Benefits of academic coaches

• Academic coaches are able to identify the gaps in your student’s knowledge and fill in the building blocks for them.
• Academic coaches focus on teaching the skills your students need to excel, rather than just disseminating information.
• Each student has a learning style. Academic coaches are able to identify the learning styles of each student and then present information in ways that your student understands.
• The one-on-one academic coaching gives your student the opportunity to answer without fear of embarrassment which helps them to build confidence and improves performance.
• Academic coaches teach students study methods that work for them. They can help students to study for exams and tests, help with homework, help them to effectively manage their time and compile study schedules that leave enough time to study for each subject.
• In-home academic coaches come to you and fit in with your schedule, so you aren’t inconvenienced.
• Confidence gained through academic coaching will help reduce the anxiety your student feels in academic situations.

Choosing the right academic coach

Start by talking with your student and their teacher. This will help you to ascertain exactly what difficulties your student is having. Knowing exactly what the problem is will help you to find a academic coach that is the right fit.
The success of a academic coaching program depends on your student, so get their opinions and input so that they are part of the process.  Contact Tutor Doctor Longmont for free consultation to start the process to assess each student’s personality and learning style needs.  We ensure that the academic coaches have the right qualifications to teach your student.
If the academic coach isn’t a good fit for your student, feel free to ask for a different academic coach.  That is a benefit of using Tutor Doctor Longmont. Getting the right academic coach will exponentially improve your student’s performance.  In-home academic coaches are able to give your student their undivided attention.

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