A lot of younger students may not need as much regular help with homework and assignments as high school students, but enrichment can be just as important. Enrichment helps students solidify the concepts that they learned in class. It also helps them get ahead of their classmates so they are more prepared for the next step.
Tutors will always go over any of the current homework the student has by going through problems that they have not solved with them and checking the student’s work on problems they have already finished. Reviewing the material makes sure that the student has a full grasp on the concepts that they are expected to know in class. Next, they try more difficult problems that take their concepts to the next level. Doing more challenging practice problems boosts student’s confidence and makes the problems they have been doing in class seem like a piece of cake.
Many students also work ahead with their tutors. This is especially helpful for student’s whose learning styles do not mesh with the teaching style of their teacher at school. They will go through the lesson and do example problems as well as a few practice problems. Learning the content before the material is presented in class gives students the confidence they need to participate in class discussions without being afraid of getting a wrong answer. It also makes sure that the student has someone one-on-one guiding them to make sure that they completely understand the key concepts they need to succeed.
A person’s ability to learn something depends on a wide variety of factors ranging from the content being taught to the teacher. But one thing that makes a huge impact is someone’s personal learning style. Many students get frustrated because a teacher seems to be unable to teach them, and the material is just not getting through. A common mistake that a lot of teachers make is that their lesson plans and their style of teaching only cater to one learning style. So while students who click with that style excel in the class, the majority of the students are left confused and stranded at the back of the pack.
At Study Hut, we customize each one-on-one tutoring session to fit each individual student’s needs. For visual learners, there are plenty of whiteboards and flashcards through out the Hut. Tutors can diagram content for the student, and give them instructions while writing out each step. If your student does better with teachers who write on the board or give detailed powerpoint presentations, your student is probably a visual learner. For aural learners, tutors make sure they clearly talk the student through each step and area they are confused about. If teachers who spend most of the class lecturing or doing verbal exercises with the class are your student’s favorites, your student is probably an aural learner. Going through and writing down notes and exercises with pen and paper instead of digitally will help students who are kinetic learners. No matter what your student’s needs are, we have a tutor for that at Study Hut!
It happens all too often: we pour ourselves a cup of coffee, sit down in front of our computers and books, ready to study, but find ourselves staring blankly at the blinking cursor. When it comes to studying, a lot of us don’t even know where to begin. This is not an issue of motivation; it is simply that we have never learned how to study. Sure, teachers give us all the information we need in class and we take copious notes, scribbling dates and facts down in our notebooks furiously. But what do we do when it comes time to remember all those little bullet points at the end of the semester? At the Study Hut, we specialize in the science of how to study. It may seem trivial, but we have found that most students really have no idea where to begin when it comes to preparing for exams. Unfortunately, this is something that can damage your grades irrevocably. Often final exams are worth fifteen or even twenty percent of your final grade. So what should you do, you might ask. Here are a few pointers to help you stay on track:
1) Flashcards are your friend. Sure, they’re annoying and seem to take forever, but just think: most of the time, once you’ve finished actually writing them out, you already remember them!
2) Define your terms. The best way to instantly forget something is to not understand it to begin with. When you are learning about a new concept or reviewing an old one, have a dictionary close at hand. That way, when you read over a word that doesn’t even look like English, you can figure out what it means and make it stick.
3) C.M.T.W.F.Y.: Create Mnemonics That Work For You. When you are desperately trying to remember something and it’s just not happening, try some mnemonics. Often times, if you create a silly song or jingle, the information will permanently imbed itself in your brain. Don’t believe me? This writer learned the quadratic formula over a decade ago and I still remember it perfectly. Why? I learned it to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel.” It may sound stupid, but it really works!
Of course, nothing can replace one-on-one tutoring for educational roadblocks, but with these simple tips, you should be on your way to A’s. Final exams can be scary and intimidating, but there is no reason why you can’t seize the opportunity to boost your grades! So go pick up your pencils and crack open those books! Good luck and happy studying!
It’s summer time! The much anticipated vacation time, where school becomes a distant memory, and the beach and the sun the relevant priority! While vacation time is extremely important in rejuvenating the academic soul, a total abandonment of study and study skill practice can prove harmful when the first day of school arrives. Over the summer, it is highly recommended that a basic study routine be established to keep up the academic brain. If you know you have a difficult subject encroaching the following school year such as chemistry or physics, setting a designated time aside each day to familiarize yourself with the content before class actually begins can give you a head start when school begins. Here at Study Hut we can help you maintain and continue developing your study skills through individual one on one sessions where one of our expert tutors can help design an introductory approach to any academic subject that will be taken the following school year. Summer time is also an excellent time to brush up on literacy skills, especially for those in the younger academic grades. Regular scheduled reading, as well as vocabulary cards, created to memorize and understand newly introduced Summer relaxation is important in maintaining a healthy balance in the pursuit of rigorous academic endeavors, however, it’s important to always keep the study mindset sharp!
It’s summer, and most kids cringe at the thought of spending their carefree days
in tutoring. However, a few hours here and there can help students stay sharp and
get one prepared for the coming year. This is especially true when it comes to reading
comprehension.
We live in a digital age, and many kids think anything over 140 characters seems
needlessly detailed. But reading comprehension is a skill that influences performance
in nearly every other subject. If your child is scoring low, it’s an issue better addressed
sooner than later.
We offer multiple approaches to reading comprehension for kids of all ages. Subjects/
topics include:
Identifying the main idea
Summarizing articles and passages
Paraphrasing
Making inferences and identifying faulty logic
Identifying unknown words and expanding vocabulary
Formulating summaries and responses
We have age-appropriate materials and can work with students of all levels.
Reading comprehension is important at all levels of schooling, but there are a few critical
ages to keep in mind. If your student is going into middle school or high school next year,
both curriculum and expectations are about to change dramatically.
It’s one thing to parrot the main points of an article, book or essay, but it’s quite another
to internalize and think critically about the material. Around middle school, essays
become as much about content as form, and your student will be consistently tested on
their ability to respond to a text in their own voice. Now is the time to prepare them for
that.
Call to schedule a session, and you’ll see the difference it makes to have an experienced
tutor working one-on-one with your student. Who knows – maybe they’ll even start
bringing current event articles to the dinner table or chatting with dad about The Great
Gatsby while they play Xbox. Dare to dream…
I walked into Study Hut in Manhattan Beach not knowing what to expect as a new tutor going from private in-home tutoring to this local tutoring center. What I found was a team of outgoing, energetic, friendly, and intelligent tutors who loved what they do and did it very well! This was inspiring and exciting because they instantly accepted me into their Study Hut family and made a comfortable environment with all the resources I needed to tutor my students well. I was also welcomed by the home-like setting with comfortable chairs, big tables, art on the walls, and beach-y décor. I found that all the tutors have the same strive and determination to help and see their students grow to achieve their academic goals. It is as important to us tutors that all of our students pass their classes, stay organized, and reach their maximum potential. The one student to one tutor ratio really helped me connect with my students and learn a lot about what their hobbies, likes/dislikes, learning style, and most importantly what their goals are. I met many students from schools across the Manhattan School District and found that they all enjoyed their time spent here. I can tell that they really feel comfortable here as some students reach for candy in the drawer, pop a bag of popcorn in the microwave, and chat with other tutors and students. The tutors can really relate to the students because sometimes the tutors had the same high school teachers as the students have now. It’s interesting hearing how through the years the teacher is still doing the same assignments and field trips. Study Hut really provides an amazing learning experience for their students and we love to cheer our students on as they continue to succeed.
Dont let these Manhattan Beach middle school students fool you. Please stay active with them and keep them engaged.
Go through his “edline” acct with him and talk to him about each of his grades. He could use practice quizzes and he can make them himself.
He needs to focus on his daily planner too, as do ALL of our middle schoolers, and even most of our high schoolers, and have all his tests written on the day they will be given, and have a detailed study plan written out for the days leading up to his test(s).
The study tasks should say, “Make 20 flashcards for spanish verbs” and that would be on Monday for example, even if his test isnt until friday. The next day should read, “review flashcards for 2 [20min] chunks”…. you can make him difficult practice quizzes where you will be able to see if he is not only comprehending the material, but retaining it.
You’re def going to want to make mini quizzes (they can be as small as 3-5 questions based on the material he just covered). If no practice quiz is given, there is no real way to ensure comprehension.
He can work on HW, but that shouldnt be his number 1 or even number 2 priority, unless the difficulty of the assignment is a pressing concern. He needs some management help, and probably a little conceptual help, you can evaluate the needs of all this at the beginning with an interview process. You will be able to gauge and feel more comfortable after working with him a second time…that kind of thing builds as you get to know your student.
Why Tutoring Can Turbocharge Education Outcomes
It seems obvious that having the advantage of personalized tutoring gives a student a distinct advantage. What’s better than one-on-one direction by someone who understands the educational materials and has the ability to effectively transmit that knowledge? But the benefits of tutoring actually go way beyond that. There’s a special magic in collaboration that fuels the speed of learning and the ability to retain information for longer periods of time. It’s no secret. Ever since Professor Sugata Mitra conducted his famous learning experiments in India, we’ve had definitive proof that when you introduce technology and collaboration into the learning process, something magical happens. And the reason tutors are so effective isn’t just because they’re academic superstars who relay good information and study techniques to students. Tutors are the most effective when they act in a collaborative fashion with their students. It’s less about pushing knowledge and more about providing friendly and gentle nudges toward an education outcome and then giving students the tools they need to get there.
New Tools for Tutoring
There’s been a recent trend toward online education options, especially in post-secondary education. Although touted as an alternative to traditional classroom models which offers a lot of flexibility, there’s reason to believe online learning environments actually offer a lot more than that. In a study released by the U.S. Department of Education, online learning actually came out ahead of the traditional classroom model in terms of slightly higher education outcomes. “Students in online conditions performed modestly better, on average, than those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction.” But an interesting finding relevant to tutors is the results about blending an online educational aspect with the human element. A mixture of face-to-face interaction and online learning conditions provided the best outcomes of anything the study could measure. And that means that tutors have a new tool at their disposal.
The Technology Factor
Tutors can already capitalize on their unique ability to work collaboratively with students to achieve better learning outcomes than traditional classroom time alone. But what this study highlights, just like Professor Mitra’s experiments did, is that where technology and collaboration collide, magic happens. This gives tutors another valuable tool to work with to accelerate knowledge acquisition as well as long term knowledge retention. Individual students have different needs and strengths, and good tutors who are flexible can adapt strategies to accommodate that. Teachers who use Moodle in the classroom to reinforce knowledge acquisition from materials initially presented in lectures find that the online element helps cement the information in a way that lectures alone can’t accomplish. Introducing an online component to the tutoring process increases the ability to adapt and fine-tune what works best for each student. Collaboration is a huge part of tutoring success. But when good tutors use collaborative tutoring methods and introduce the technology factor inherent in an online learning environment, students will continue to perform better. And reaching true student potential is what tutoring is all about.
Of all of the summers I have been tutoring, this year’s crop is by far my most energetic, enthusiastic, and eager to learn and get ahead for next year.
While there are always those students that need to play a little catch up and fill in some of the holes that were created due to poor teaching or a lack of attention during school last year, this year, more than ever, I have been tutoring students who just want to get ahead. Even cooler is that most of these students are self-driven, meaning that they are signing up themselves and getting appointments adjusted on their own, rather than having mom force them to come in for some summer enrichment.
The result is that these students are getting far more out of each session than the average student. While some of these young achievers come here for tutoring from West Los Angeles schools like St. Bernard’s, Corpus Christi, Loyola High School, Notre Dame Academy, and Westchester Lutheran, more of our summer tutoring students are from El Segundo High School and El Segundo Middle School.
We have been tutoring El Segundo students in all sorts of subjects, but I have been doing mostly math tutoring, critical reading tutoring, and writing tutoring. It is definitely going to pay off for these guys come Fall.
From 3rd graders to high schoolers to college students, there seems to be a major misconception about what it truly means to “study for a test.” The common definition seems to be “that thing you do the night BEFORE you actually take a test.” And you know what? Sometimes that works. If you’re studying spelling words, or memorizing a list, studying close to the test is definitely beneficial. But let’s face it, high schoolers and collegiates: you’re not studying for spelling tests any more. The subjects you’re working on are harder, and the ideas you’re learning are more complex. The material has changed, so the way you’re studying for it has to change too.
Here at the Study Hut, we try to find out tests dates as soon as is humanly possible. Most tests require AT LEAST a week of prep time to be truly prepared (especially if you’re in an AP or Honors class). Some tests require more, some less. Of course, as the class goes on, you’ll discover how much time you need to prepare. But that amount of time is NEVER one evening. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t guarantee a good grade off one night of studying.
My most successful students are the ones that make a plan, and follow through with it. For example, I recently had a student who had a Social Studies chapter test coming up. He wasn’t doing particularly well on tests, so we set up a plan. We set aside a certain amount of time each night so that he’d be studying only one section at a time. That way, the night before the test, HE HAD ALREADY STUDIED THE WHOLE CHAPTER! All he had to do that night was review the concepts he was having trouble with and strengthen his understanding. No cramming, no headaches. And he did markedly better on his test! He broke the work down into manageable bits over the course of a week, instead of stuffing everything into his head the night before. And it made all the difference.
