Tutoring Programs
Evidence on tutoring points to practices that are found in the most
successful tutoring programs.
BY EDWARD E. GORDON
T
that schools use to reinforce class-
room teaching and improve stu-
dent achievement. That’s espe-
cially been the case because of No
Child Left Behind (NCLB) and
its provisions for supplemental
education.
No matter what the future holds for NCLB, prin-
cipals and other educators will still need to know what
kinds of tutoring are effective and for what purposes. The most promising results in improving
Principals and other educators will benefit from
learning more about promising tutoring practices long-term student achievement were seen
drawn from the best available studies and field re- in home-based tutoring programs.
search (Gordon et al. 2007). What follows are practi-
cal recommendations that educators can apply imme-
diately to improve school tutoring programs. vidual learning obstacles. Using a diagnostic/develop-
mental approach will help the tutor discover underly-
#1. USE A DIAGNOSTIC/DEVELOPMENTAL
ing, perhaps subtle student cognitive processing issues,
TUTORING PROGRAM.
such as learning disabilities (i.e., dyslexia, visual/audi-
Evidence indicates that when individual diagnosis tory perceptual issues, attention-span limitations, etc.)
is structured into a tutoring program, long-term stu- (Gordon et al. 2004).
dent achievement increases. One effective way of ac-
#2. STRUCTURE THE TUTORING
complishing this is by having the tutor observe and
PROGRAMS.
record student learning skills on a session-by-session
basis. This aids in a more accurate diagnosis of spe- Design and implement a highly structured tutor-
cific learning disabilities (Vellutino et al. 1996). ing program for your school. This will help tutors im-
Accurate observation can guide the tutor in selecting plement more precise individualized tutoring, rather
short diagnostic tests and exercises to better detail indi- than generic “homework helper” or “drill-and-prac-
tice” tutoring that provides little, if any, assistance in
■ EDWARD E. GORDON is a researcher and author on diagnos- improving student classroom achievement (Cohen,
tic tutoring. He taught at both DePaul University and Loyola Uni- Kulik, and Kulik 1982; Ellison 1976; Rosenshine and
versity Chicago and administered Imperial Tutoring and Educa- Furst 1969; Wasik and Slavin 1993).
tional Services. His most recent book on tutoring, co-authored with
Ronald R. Morgan, Charles J. O’Malley, and Judith Ponticell, is
One example of such a structured program used re-
The Tutoring Revolution: Applying Research for Best Practices, searched, field-based curriculum scripts to build skill
Policy Implications, and Student Achievement (Rowman & Lit- competencies at an introductory, maintenance, or mas-
tlefield Education, 2007). (e-mail: imperialcorp@juno.com) tery learning level. The Individualized Instructional
Visual-Form Discrimination
Hours
Definition: The ability to differentiate visually the forms Tutored
Program (IIP) systematically de- and symbols in one’s environment. 10 25
signed into its curricula more than Illustration: Can match identical pictures and symbols such as
300 learning descriptors to docu- abstract designs, letters, numbers, and words.
ment academic skill achievement, Examples:
specific learning-how-to-learn skills, Prepare a page that has rows and columns of shapes or
symbols in which the symbol in the first column recurs
and personal motivational outcomes. somewhere in that row, such as:
These curriculum scripts used a test-
tutor-test approach by tracking tutor ■ ● ◆ ■ ◗
observations session to session and ♣ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥
using shorter diagnostic/develop-
mental measurement tools rather π γ ϕ ψ π
than lengthy diagnostic tests. Since Observe the following in the student’s writing:
many academically challenged stu- letter reversal word reversal
dents tend to exhibit test-phobic be- letter confusion word confusion
haviors, the results of this approach letter omission word omission
letter substitution word substitution
appear to be more accurate. (See Fig-
ure 1.) Such an approach also has the
advantage of increasing tutorial in- FIG. 2
structional time and reducing the Sample Learning Descriptors for Reading Comprehension
time spent on testing.
In these structured programs, tu- Skill Very Weak Weak Average Strong Very Strong
tors assessed students using learning Rating 1 2 3 4 5
descriptors in one of 52 subject ar-
eas. (See Figure 2.) On a one-to-one
basis, the typical tutoring program
included 25 one-hour sessions con-
ducted over about 13 weeks. Or on Hours Final
a one-to-five basis, tutors conducted Skills Tutored Grade Level
40 hours of instruction in two-hour 5 10 20 Attained
sessions over about 10 weeks. The Total Comprehension
1. Word Meaning
curriculum-script method allows
a. Synonym
the tutor to follow a more thought- b. Antonym
ful, sequentially arranged, system- c. Homonym
atic tutoring program based on a 2. Phrase and Sentence Meaning
written record, rather than on infor- 3. Following Directions
mal guesswork. This helps minimize 4. Context Clues
the risk that an individual tutor will 5. Key Words
6. Topic Sentences
overlook significant student learn-
7. Paragraph Meaning
ing issues. Also, diagnosis becomes
an ongoing process throughout the
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