Tutoring at short notice. Is there a demand for tutoring on-demand?
In a society where on-demand services are both the norm and expected, is there a need for the tutoring business to raise to the challenge of providing on-demand tutoring? Is this even feasible?
1. Don’t tutors need time to prep?
Many personal tutors may well shudder at the mere thought of teaching on-demand. How can I deliver quality teaching without the luxury of having time to prepare? How on-demand is on-demand? As tutors we are all well aware (even though our students and their parents may not be) that preparing before each and every tutorial is integral to what we do. Be it for a tutorial on a new subject, for a different awarding body or new specification objectives, or simply the routine tweaking of a slide set for online teaching for each particular student. It all takes time. And often lots of it.
2. On-demand tutoring is only for very experienced tutors.
Can I deliver a tutorial this afternoon? In an hour? Now? Really?
As a university teacher as well as a secondary education biology tutor, teaching on-demand is not such an alien idea to me. Within the university sector, doors are always open, students pop by as and when demanding your time (in the nicest possible way). Knowing your stuff and thinking on your feet is second nature. I’m not a school teacher, but I suspect this norm may well resonate with many of my fellow science tutors who are, or have been, in the classroom.
I believe there is a place in the tutoring world for such a service. But with an important caveat. This is only an option for those tutors who have the knowledge base, the resources at hand, and the experience to deliver quality on-demand teaching at short notice in different ways to different students. The key is being able to tune in quickly to a new student. This can only come form experience. Heaps of it.
On-demand tutoring could become the norm in personal tutoring and future-proofing is maybe something we may need to embrace.
For on-demand, exam technique, exam preparation or regular tuition sessions, contact Jude for further information.
