At My Academy we are extremely proud to be considered one of the few Australian premium tuition providers, with a long history of serving clients in Perth, our first centre in Claremont being the first tuition agency in WA to be recognised by the Australian Tutoring Association, and our point of difference providing university-qualified teachers across all our primary school and many of our secondary school tuition offerings. In addition, we are considered the go-to for scholarship exam preparation.

These are important standards in providing your child with the best in education support… but what exactly makes up premium one-to-one tuition experiences for students?

Individual Education Programmes (IEPs) & Individualised Learning Processes

Australian curricula demand children are given the opportunity to benefit from IEPs in schools, not just for students with special learning needs but in recognising the diversity across any classroom.

This approach acknowledges the importance of truly knowing the individual’s needs – which in itself comes from individual attention from an experienced teacher who knows what to look for – and then using that knowledge to plan a programme that best suits that student. Think of it like employee development within an organisation – needs are identified, targets set, a plan of action is put into place with the help of a mentor, and meetings are scheduled for performance review and further planning.

Even in group settings, Individualised Education philosophy is expected to inform lesson plans and teaching practice in schools. Individual students’ needs and goals are identified, worked towards, and assessed.

Tuition centres have the unique opportunity to deliver even more individualised programmes than are sometimes available in schools, due to the high level of one-to-one teacher-student attention – this is what parents pay for. It follows that these one-to-one lessons should be planned exclusively with the particular child’s needs in mind.

For more information on IEPs and Individualised Education processes, see the resources at the end of this article.

Varying teaching styles and learning experiences

The premium service starts with the IEP that is then implemented through varied and flexible lesson plans. The individualised one-to-one lesson will have a proven structure and important outcomes to move towards, but within that, may include a range of activities, games, discussions and exercises, and may involve a nimble approach that allows for changes on the day, such as the child’s interest in a particular topic, the need to go over a concept in more detail, or a pressing learning need that comes up through school that week.

While some exercises, texts, worksheets and lessons prove to work with a range of students, a robust education environment does not ever limit itself to this, but relies on the teacher’s expertise to respond as needed, with the child’s best interests at heart.

Varying homework expectations

We now know that rote learning and piles of worksheets are not the optimum way that students learn. We discussed this in a recent article pointing to warnings in the media about the damage poor tutoring can do.

In another article on homework, we pointed to the importance of any homework being purposeful. While pages and pages of worksheets will fill your child with dread, the right focused activity will reinforce the day’s lesson and improve confidence.

And you guessed it… individualised homework works best. Assigning a specific practice exercise or research task can do a lot more to further learning, but even the right worksheet, chosen for its accessibility for the student, can be helpful. In some cases, homework is actually more detrimental than helpful, and this can include factors like a student’s current emotional challenges (e.g. stress levels, confidence levels) or what is going on at home (like how much time parents have to support homework, or if there is a big life event happening like a move or a new baby).

As you can see, individual attention to assessment, planning, teaching and resources is the hallmark of an excellent education service, and it is what you should be looking for in your tuition provider for your child to benefit from the best on offer.

Resources

Find general information about a school’s IEP process for students with special learning needs at http://allmeansall.org.au/iep-guide/

Learn about the process of Individualised Learning for all students at https://www.dreambox.com/individualized-learning

Related articles

How do I know I’ve chosen a reputable tutoring company?

ATA Report on what parents want out of tutoring

Don’t waste money and time on large groups and worksheets

Rachel Hayes