4 Effective Instructional Styles: How Tutors and Parents Can Adapt to What the Student Needs
Tutoring is more than just presenting material. Great tutoring inspires students, guides them toward answers without giving them away for free, and makes a lasting impact by giving students the habits and confidence to succeed on their own.
But different students respond to different styles! That’s why one-on-one tutoring can create a more effective learning environment than the classroom. This article expands on our four favorite tutoring styles and what kind of students they work for.
1. Positive Feedback — The Growth Mindset Approach
A healthy Growth Mindset is a combination of acknowledging shortcomings and weaknesses head on with a strong belief in the student’s ability to overcome them. The best way to instill that confidence in a student is with consistent positive feedback at each positive step towards the goal. Emphasize progress, not perfection. A tutor who embraces a Growth Mindset approach helps tutees build confidence, develop problem-solving skills, and take ownership of their learning.
Who this works for: the anxious student who second-guesses themselves, or a strong student who has lost their confidence due to a new challenge
2. Democracy Rules — Empowering Students to Take Responsibility
Democratic tutors create an open and collaborative learning environment where students have a say in how they approach their studies. As a tutor, this means involving your tutees in decision-making—allowing them to set goals, choose between study method options, and take an active role in their learning journey. It’s important to give students directed options where any choice is effective, rather than leaving things completely up to the student and ending up with ‘reading over notes on the couch’.
This approach works well for students who feel constrained in the classroom and are yearning for some independence. Tutoring can provide interactive, discussion-based sessions where student input matters.
3. Learning by Doing — Putting Theory into Practice
Watch one, do one, teach one. Forcing students to prove their expertise (and identify weak points) is important in any tutoring context. This approach takes it to the next level by asking students to not just complete their work, but explain to the tutor why it works. Tutors who apply this style focus on active learning, using real-world examples from student interest areas to engage students. They can also pressure test student knowledge by changing components of the problem and asking how that would change the student approach or solution.
This method is especially effective in test prep, where success relies on critical thinking, quickly identifying effective problem-solving strategies, and adapting to setbacks. Students who do well on homework but struggle on quizzes or tests often benefit from these test reps (unless there is a test anxiety issue, in which case return to strategy 1: Growth Mindset).
4. Transformational Leadership — Inspiring Change Through Habit Building
Transformational tutors set high expectations and push their tutees to reach beyond what they believe is possible. As a tutor, adopting this leadership style means being an example and mentor as well as an educator—motivating students to challenge themselves and strive for excellence through building lasting habits.
This strategy works especially well for students at either end of the spectrum: both struggling students who have lost confidence and high-achievers who find themselves bored or uninspired. Transformational tutors leave a lasting impact on their tutees, in their academics and test scores and far beyond.
A Few Notes:
Core Competency in the Subject
It’s important to note that style cannot replace substance or overcome a lack of substance. Teachers, tutors, and parents must ensure they deeply understand both the core material and also scientifically validated learning methods like Mastery Learning and Active Recall. As tutors, this means we continuously improve our methods and subject expertise. Only once this foundation is solid can we move on to tailoring teaching styles to suit students’ needs.
Why Teaching Style Matters in Test Prep
Test Prep is hard. It is a lot of work for students who already have many competing priorities (school, sports, friends, internships, hopefully some sleep, etc.). Over our collective decades of tutoring, we have consistently seen that it is the engaged student who is able to muster the grit and persistence to do that hard work for months to improve their scores.
It is our job as tutors to engage the student, and tailoring style to the student makes a world of difference in student engagement. At Now Test Prep, we understand that students perform best when they’re guided by effective teaching, encouraged to think critically, and given the tools and confidence to take control of their own learning journey.
How to Learn What Style Works for Your Student
I always ask students who their favorite teachers are in the first meeting, and then ask why. If there is more than one favorite teacher, we try to figure out together what common traits the teachers share. It is also helpful to speak with other tutors or teachers about the student to see what they have noticed works for the student. It’s important to remember that what a student needs changes over time, and even by subject depending on level of confidence and knowledge.
Good luck! And if you have any questions you want to discuss, drop us an email.
