Understanding Tutoring 101

Principles of Tutoring: First in a Series

What is unique about tutoring?
How is it different from teaching?
If someone knows how to teach, they can tutor, too, right?
I often hear these questions--or assumptions based upon on them--and I like to have the opportunity to answer them.
A very common misconception is that tutoring and teaching are interchangeable. Actually, tutoring is very different from teaching. Teaching is more focused on instruction and presenting new information to students. Tutoring, on the other hand, uses the one-to-one relationship of the tutor and tutee (hey, that's a great word!) to guide the learner to full understanding and interaction with what has been taught. It is more like apprenticeship or coaching in that the individual's pace and learning style are fully incorporated into the process. Further, skills such as critical thinking and study habits are emphasized in a way that is difficult to do in a classroom setting. With the distractions of others in the group, competition, challenge of authority, and inattention to individual needs removed, a student can focus in a very different way on learning.
This is not meant to be a criticism of classroom teaching, either, just to be clear. Tutoring and teaching can be very complimentary in development of successful education. And each role, that of a teacher and of a tutor, requires specialized training to be highly skilled in either practice. Students who make the most of access both teachers and tutors find greater benefits for their education.