Posts Tagged Help
How to Find the Ideal Tutor for Your Child
Posted on September 16, 2011 | Education Reference.
Finding the right tutor for your child can be a difficult and time-consuming task. There are a number of factors you must consider during the selection process and it can be difficult to evaluate some of these factors without your child actually receiving some tutoring from the tutor. This article will outline the steps you should follow when searching for a tutor for your child. I hope these steps will speed up your search process and help you find the ideal tutor for your child.
1. Determining the needs of your child
The first step in finding the ideal tutor for your child is to determine what type of help your child needs. If your child is weak in certain subject areas then you will likely benefit from finding tutors that specialize in those subjects. If your child has a learning disability then finding tutors specializing in learning methods for students with your child’s learning disability will likely produce better results. It’s also possible that you just want to help your child perform better in subjects across a wide range of subjects. Specifying the specific needs or combinations of needs for your child will help you narrow your focus when searching for qualified tutors.
2. Finding Qualified Tutors
You’ll want to find several tutors that meet your requirements as established in the first step. At this stage you’re just looking to build a list of companies to research further. There are several places you can look to find potential tutors. School guidance counselors are good resources – they are likely to know several tutoring companies in your area and can help you find tutors that meet your child’s needs. Asking other parents with children is another good source for finding tutoring services. They may have experience with tutoring companies and can vouch for the quality of different tutoring services. Online tutoring directories are also an excellent resource. Tutoring directories tend to have a large selection of tutors, reviews and they allow you to search by city or subject.
3. Evaluating Tutors
You should now have a list of tutoring companies that meet your basic requirements (subjects, teaching methods, etc.). The next step is to go through the list and evaluate each tutoring service in more detail. Search online to see if the company has a website with more information. Search for reviews. In addition to your basic requirements there are other variables that you should consider such as the experience of the tutor, education, and their performance track record for past students. You can create a list of questions you want answered and call the tutoring company or tutor to find out the answers. Before you commit to anything you and your child should have a preliminary meeting with the tutor who would be teaching your child. This will help you evaluate how the tutor and your child interact, which can have a big impact on how well your child responds to the tutoring. After you have met with a few tutors weigh their strengths and weaknesses and make your final decision.
4. Agreeing on goals and measures
It’s important to have established methods for evaluating performance. Many tutoring companies have their own systems in place for establishing a baseline and evaluating performance over time. If the company you select does not have a system like this in place you should bring this up and create a list of goals and how you will measure improvement. This might include increasing test scores by at least one grade, advancing to a higher reading grade, etc. Once the goals and measures have been established make sure you regularly check the performance of your student against the goals. Keep in mind that improvement isn’t instant, but if your child still hasn’t improved over a month or two you should probably meet with the tutor to discuss a different approach that will get results or you should begin searching for a different tutor.
Finding the ideal tutor for your child can be a time-consuming process, and it can be frustrating if you don’t find a good tutor; however, by following the steps listed above you can greatly improve your odds of finding a good tutor on the first try.
5 Strategies to Help College Students With ADHD
Posted on August 28, 2011 | Education Reference.
College success depends on the student’s ability to juggle and prioritize competing demands, form new routines, and follow through with plans. Executive functioning skills, specifically time management, organization, and planning are key components to collegiate success, but are areas that many students with ADHD struggle with. These skills are not only critical to college success, they are also required in the post-college, professional world.
Following are 5 strategies to help college students with ADHD achieve academic success in college:
Use a system for time management
College students lacking a time management system tend to experience a great deal of stress. Get in the habit of using a calendar to track and manage time. You should record work schedules, plans with friends, plans with family, when you need to get prescriptions refilled, appointments, errands, and even downtime. Technology makes this very easy and prevents a messy paper calendar full of eraser marks and also eliminates the risk of a lost calendar full of important information. Great options include the free online calendar system offered by sites such as Yahoo and Google. Many of the calendar systems allow you to synch the calendar to your smart phone.
The regular use of a to-do list is a key companion to the calendar system. Trying to remember various tasks and obligations throughout the day is exhausting and not effective. Find a method for keeping track of new tasks as they arise. Some people like to use the Notes page on their smart phone or jot things down on a notepad; others prefer different free apps for this, such as Evernote. At the end of the day transfer the list to the Task/To Do section of your calendar along with a due date, so you can integrate it into your time management system.
Break down big projects into smaller ones
As soon as you receive a syllabus, enter the due dates for major assignments and tests into your calendar. Next, write down each project and make a list of what is involved in getting it done. For example, some of the steps for writing a paper would be choosing a thesis, doing the research for the paper, writing a rough draft, and proofreading. Studying for a test should include organizing your notes and creating a study guide from your notes. After you have written the steps for each assignment, give them due dates and put them on your schedule so you have a game plan for the semester. This will help you avoid trying to write a paper in a week or pulling an “all nighter” cramming for a test.
Anticipate and plan for obstacles
Think about what tends to get you off track. Is it forgetting to plan ahead? Plan a time to consistently review your schedule at the end of each day and put sticky notes to yourself in key places to remind yourself. Did a friend ask you to lunch when you were planning to study? Leave enough free time in your daily schedule that you have some flexibility to move things around and reschedule your study time to a free spot in your schedule.
Be Smart About Using Technology
Technology provides wonderful external structures that can help students with ADHD. Livescribe is a “smart pen” that records lectures while you are taking notes and allows you to review the part of the lectures you weren’t attending to. You can use alarms on your computer and phone to signal when it’s time to get off Facebook and resume studying, when you should leave for class, etc. There are also apps like Task Timer that help you figure out help you stay on task. It’s a good idea to turn off notification when a new text or email arrives during study time.
Don’t wait until you’re behind to ask for help
Many students with ADHD had a number of support system in place that helped them succeed in high school. Having supports is even more important in college. Explore the resources your school offers. It can also help to hire someone in an intermediary role, such as a college success consultant who can teach these skills and more while keeping you on track throughout the semester. A small investment can pay big dividends when it comes to your happiness and success in college.
To find out more you can visit his website at http://www.deliberateliving.org/