Investing in Nationwide Tutoring to Close Learning Gaps
Every educator and parent knows that kids are falling behind given the disruption to learning induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s no arguing that every age group — elementary, middle, and high school — has been negatively impacted by the severe limitations of distance learning, coupled with the lack of social connections to teachers and friends.
One concept gaining momentum is the idea that a concerted investment in tutoring could help close the COVID-19 learning gap. A recent EdWeek piece pegs the cost of a national tutoring program between $5 and $15 billion annually, and notes that recent college graduates and current college students could be tapped to do the tutoring. The big question posed by EdWeek: “What mechanics would need to be in place to make such a program work?”
Similarly, a post from The Brookings Institution highlights the potential impact that a national tutoring roll-out could have on bringing children back to grade-level. Like EdWeek, Brookings argues for using college students to help scale tutoring nationally — creating a tutoring corps analogous to the service organization AmeriCorps. Further, Brookings’ authors emphasize key elements to scaling: 1) “Cut the red tape” which refers to weaving tutoring seamlessly into the operations of public K-12 education, 2) “Be selective about tutors” which sounds pretty obvious, but is perhaps harder to define, and 3) “Conduct constant assessment and feedback” which means we need a way to measure whether tutoring is actually effective in closing learning gaps.
At Remind we’ve seen first hand across our nearly 30 million users the struggles with distance learning and the effects of ever widening learning gaps. Well before the pandemic sent students home last spring we were already working on Remind Coaching, a tutoring service that connects Remind teachers right on Remind with students and parents. We’re early in scaling this important extension of the Remind communication-first learning platform, but a few important themes are already emerging as relates to how a national tutoring offering could be rolled out.
Bring certified teachers into the mix. Parents will feel even more confident knowing professional educators are involved and these teacher-tutors will ensure curriculum continuity which will enhance outcomes. Paying teachers to do this tutoring also helps augment salaries in a profession where second income sources are often required to make ends meet.
Leverage mobile technologies that allow for anytime, anywhere delivery of tutoring. Onsite tutoring has many benefits, yet students struggle most in the evening at home trying to finish homework or adequately prepare for an exam, so delivering sessions via video with virtual white boarding can be critical to keeping a student on their learning journey.
Ensure the lines of communication are always open. Everything Remind does is built on a foundation of 2-way communication, which is why Remind Coaching is more than just the live video session. A tutoring session that doesn’t include an integrated way for a teacher and student to connect for needed follow ups only limits the full range of what tutoring can provide as a learning enhancement.
Finally, make sure parents are involved. This starts with communication between the tutor and the parent, including sharing information about the student’s learning style and the delivery of post-session reports so parents know the progress their child is making, and where they may still be struggling. Ultimately, deepening the teacher-tutor and parent relationship benefits the learning outcome for a student no matter the grade level.
Learning gaps have always been a challenge in education. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the concerns if only because they are more widely distributed to essentially every student in the U.S. Focusing on the combination of teachers, communication, and technology-based delivery can ensure that the optimal tutoring experience is delivered to every student when and where it’s needed. If federal and state leaders are willing to provide funding to districts, educators can implement accessible and efficacious tutoring offerings that help close the learning gap for every student.
Originally published on Medium on January 11, 2021. This Substack version is maintained as the canonical archive.