How long should your tutor sessions be?

 Most students will require more than one hour per week to any number of hours per week depending on the reason for a tutor.  Less than one hour per week would probably mean the tutor is not really needed and the student can handle the material on their own. A student with learning disabilities almost certainly will need a few hours a week or more to keep up with a class. 

A good tutor will use the first session to assess the needs and goals of the student to determine how much time it will take to achieve success. 

 

How to determine how long sessions should be

 There are many things to consider when setting up the length of tutor sessions. 

 What is the age and ability. The younger the student the shorter the concentration. An half an hour a couple times a week may be enough for a student under grade one.  No matter what the age of a student, if sessions are too long then there is a reasonable risk of losing students’ focus.

 What is the purpose of having a tutor and what are the goals will be main factors in determining the length and number of tutoring sessions. Is this tutoring just to do well on a test? 

 Also when the sessions will occur will affect how long they might be. After school the amount of time available after school might be quite limited. Will the sessions be on the weekends? Tutoring over the summer vacation might be a good idea. The sessions can be longer and studying over the summer months might help the student retain their gains for the next years classes. 

 If the tutoring is done to prepare for a particular test then it might be best to prepare in the fashion of the test so that might determine the length a session would be.  If the tutoring is done so a student can keep up with a class, then the gaps that need to be filled will determine how long and how often sessions need to be. 

 Determining how long tutor sessions require knowing what is being done in a “session.” Is the tutor actively engaging the student? Is the tutor spending time correcting a students homework? When are reports being made? Is the tutor spending time making practice problems? 

 The bottom line is there are many variables to consider when considering how long sessions will be and how many. It will take the input of the tutor, the student, and the parents to come up with a good plan that doesn’t waste time or bore the student.