Global Trend in a Local Education Institution

The rise of individual tutoring has been increasing for some time, but it notably skyrocketed during the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020. The term Private Tutoring, however, can be defined in many ways and refers to a multitude of varying services (Türkan, 2022). The global closure of in-person schools and shift to online education left students needing supplementary support, increasing the need for “on demand” academic guidance (Lu et al., 2022).  High dosage tutoring has shown to be highly effective at providing needed academic support during and after devastating events, and the online tutoring world saw a significant increase in enrollment as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic (Carbonari et al., 2024). These results focus primarily on high-volume (also known as high-dosage or high-velocity) tutoring of three or more thirty minute sessions per week. This is in direct contrast to a more personalized, mentorship-focused, one-on-one tutoring style that many institutions have traditionally provided for continuing student success. 

 

This Personal Tutoring style has been the focus of Revolution Prep (RP) for the past twenty years. While RP offers some small group classes, they focus primarily on the one-to-one tutoring ratio that has been proven most effective (Kraft & Lovison, 2024). They train their tutors in executive functioning, study skills, multiple pedagogies, program planning, parent communication, lesson planning, and relationship building to foster long-term relationships of both personal and academic support. These strategies have also been proven successful (Kraft & Falken, 2021). However, with the rise of on-demand tutoring for academic support, RP has opened up their scheduling and “tutor matching” tools to offer this support. This has resulted in tutors communicating frustration with their roles and a lack of knowledge on how to approach programs that include multiple tutors to fit the students’ schedules, differing expectations from individual class structure and program management, and of communication requirements with families. Organization and availability of resources has also been a cause of tension. Tutors are reporting reduced satisfaction with the role and have requested additional training. 

 

The incorporation of on-demand tutoring alongside structured, personal tutoring is a change that requires adaptability, a growth mindset, and acknowledgement of shifting educational values. By identifying the value of a more academically focused tutoring session that meets the scheduling needs of the student, identifying systems of preparation for potential one-off tutor-student classes, coaching of quick identification of pedagogical needs, and elaborating on parent communication requirements, tutors will be provided the scaffolding and training to integrate this additional tutoring approach into their skill set. This Change Implementation Plan is guided by impactful Action Research on personal tutoring (Wakelin, 2021b). This integration of Change Implementation and Action Research has proven successful within this organization in the past and continues to inform further change initiatives.