What to Look For in a Tutor
Before, during, and after the school year, lots of students and parents recognize the need for amazing tutors. But once you start shopping around, you likely become a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options out there for academic tutoring and test prep. Should you go with a private agency? A fellow classmate? A retired teacher? After school, or only on weekends? One-on-one, or in groups? And what if you plan on taking both tests? Does it even really matter? If these are some of the questions rattling around in your head as you search for a tutor, maybe take a step back and ask some questions about yourself instead. You’re one-half of the student-tutor relationship, after all, and to know what to look for in a tutor, you should understand what you want out of tutoring. Consider the following: Have you ever taken the SAT or ACT? Just…
The Value of Test Preparation
Effective test preparation delivers so many benefits beyond the obvious improvement in test scores. This post is authored and published by the National Test Prep Association and shared here with permission.
Teachers Plant Seeds of Knowledge
Teachers plant seeds of knowledge that last a lifetime. From all of our educators to all the rest, Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
Tutoring in the Zoom Age
Clearly, 2020 has been a year of adjustments for students and teachers alike, but thankfully, technology and a little bit of creativity have gone a long way towards making it possible to tutor your children efficiently and effectively without losing that personal connection that one on one tutoring provides. When it was clear that the pandemic was going to keep me out of the office, I called my son who is a high school English teacher in Virginia and an admitted tech geek; his web site is appropriately titled teachernerd.com. I could see him smiling as he calmly walked me through my options. They ranged from simple and inexpensive to ridiculously complex and expensive. I chose an option that would make the most of what hardware I already had and only required a $100 purchase. I have Zoom loaded on my MacBook Pro. I recently upgraded my internet speed, so…
Chariot Learning Teachers Rocking Remote Instruction
To say we didn’t see the massive shift in education triggered by the global COVID crisis would be an understatement. For more than a decade, we at Chariot Learning have focused fanatically on working with students live and in-person. Sure, we’ve always been happy to tutor students across the U.S and the world at large, but home–meaning mainly greater Rochester and Syracuse–is where our hearts are… or were. Now that we’ve all been forced to learn to make the most of videoconferencing and online instructional tools, amazing new possibilities for better teaching and learning have opened up. This is exciting! When New York schools shut down in mid-March, we moved all of our classes and tutoring online. When libraries closed, we moved all of our free proctored practice tests online. When I realized how much I missed speaking to parents of high schoolers, we moved our free Parent SAT/ACT Q&A…
Face to Face or Facetime? Consider Online Tutoring
The traditional test prep tutoring session is not going the way of horse and buggy any time soon. In-person, private sessions are still the method of choice for many. But when tutors are locally scarce, when time or distance present their pesky challenges, or when situations beyond our control make meeting in person untenable, why not join the growing number of families who are turning to the digital convenience of tutoring through their online device. How does the live online experience compare to live and in-person? Live video conferencing platforms such as Skype, Zoom, and Facetime have improved real-time sound and video interaction, which allow for near-seamless communication. If both student and teacher have strong internet connections, they can chat as they would face to face, with high-tech screen sharing or low-tech white board to supplement the conversation. Screen sharing has become a common feature as well, which allows for…