Online Tutoring vs Face-To-Face Tutoring: Which Is Best?

Tutoring can provide a range of advantages for students, from strengthening their academic abilities to building confidence, mastering assessments and exams and even helping them gain entry to elite schools.

However, not all tutoring is the same, and it is not automatically guaranteed to deliver all these advantages to your children right away. Different kids respond to tutoring differently - and different tutors have different approaches.

Online tutoring has been growing in popularity for some time, and since the pandemic, has really taken off. But is it as effective as face-to-face tutoring, and what are some of the key differences? 

If you’re looking to engage an online tutor for your child, understanding these differences and the benefits of each is highly important.

What Are The Benefits and Limitations? 

Face-To-Face Tutoring

Face-to-face tutoring is seen as the more traditional form of tutoring—one you may have even experienced when you were a kid! It requires students to go to a dedicated place or having a tutor come to your home to provide in-person tutoring support.

There are some great advantages to this, including enabling a strong interpersonal connection between tutor and student, with personalised attention and instruction, immediate feedback and response from the tutor, and hands-on tools and activities for those who prefer a more interactive way of learning.

However, face-to-face tutoring can be inflexible, requiring dedication to a set time and place and organising travel to and from—not always easy for busy family schedules. It can be hard to fit face-to-face tutoring in among other constantly changing commitments and activities, which means it can often end up moved, cancelled, or interrupted. Finding a tutor who also offers private face-to-face tutoring rather than group tutoring can also be harder—and more expensive. 

Online Tutoring

Online tutoring provides an anywhere, any time approach, allowing for flexibility around schedules. Neither student nor tutor need to commute anywhere, and everything they need is available right in front of them and shared digitally. This makes it highly collaborative and accessible for children of all needs and at all times of the year (like winter, when commutes take longer and there’s a higher likelihood of getting sick in face-to-face environments).

Digital literacy has skyrocketed over the last 20 years, with many schools now focusing on online learning. This has made students more equipped to participate in and benefit from online tutoring. However, some parents are concerned that online tutoring doesn’t offer the same personalised experience as face-to-face (although this is not always the case and will depend on the tutor).

How To Choose The Right Tutoring For Your Child

Deciding what the right tutoring format is for you will depend on your child, your goals and what works for your family. Some key factors you should consider when making your choice are:

Convenience

Do you have the time to dedicate travel to and from a tutoring session or to supervise a tutor in your home? Or would it be more convenient for you and your family to have flexible sessions online?

Learning Preferences

Is your child a more interactive learner, or are they digitally competent and comfortable using online tools to learn and grow? Would you prefer them to access resources online, or do they prefer physical study guides and resources?

Private or Group

Private tutoring allows for a stricter focus on your child's needs, goals, and learning styles, while small group tutoring allows your child to learn socially with others of a similar age and academic level. 

Goals

What is it that you and your child are hoping to achieve from tutoring? If you have a specific accomplishment in mind or are pursuing a certain type of tutoring (like scholarship tutoring or entrance exam tutoring), getting a private online tutor might be your best option.

Discover The Benefits of Personalised Tutoring

The choice is ultimately up to you and your child. These days, many are opting for online private tutoring because of its flexibility and the convenience of having everything you need on one device.

With the right online tutor, you won’t have to compromise on getting personalised lessons. A good online tutoring service will ensure a thorough introductory process that introduces your child to their tutor and ensures the tutor has a deep understanding of your child’s abilities, learning style and goals.

If you’re interested in exploring your tutoring options or have specific goals for your child, contact Little Geniuses to see how we can help.