When researching math tuition centres to enrol your child in, you might be stumped by one crucial question: Should you opt for one-on-one tutoring or group tuition?
Contrary to popular belief, group tuition is not the low-cost, less effective alternative to individual tuition; it offers a unique set of benefits that one-on-one classes cannot provide. Read on to learn what they are.
Supportive Atmosphere for Learning
Group tuition allows students to collaborate and interact, with discussions and insightful conversations encouraged. When students find their ideas to be valued, they will likely become more engaged, thus improving their knowledge retention and understanding of critical concepts.
Moreover, it is comforting for some to know that their peers are going through the same learning experience—the camaraderie of group tuition can do wonders for a student’s motivation. In comparison, being in a one-on-one class with just a math expert by your side can be disheartening.
Encourages Group Discussion
In group tuition, tutors often encourage students to share their opinions and answers with the rest of the class. This helps students brainstorm, build on each other’s ideas, and analyse their perspectives, cultivating their critical thinking skills.
In addition, group discussions help students figure out what exactly they don’t know—sometimes, students are not aware of their blind spots; discussions might introduce and contextualise challenging concepts to expand a student’s breadth of knowledge.
Boosts Confidence
Small group tuition enhances students’ mathematical skills and boosts their confidence as tutors can provide each with personalised guidance and support.
Additionally, group tuition allows students to have their efforts recognised by both tutors and peers. This acknowledgement reinforces student’s belief in themselves, motivating them to become active learners. It might also make learning more fun and gratifying.
Sense of Accountability
It is much easier to give up when on your own.
On the other hand, students in a group are more likely to press on—after all, they don’t want to be the one person who throws in the towel and drops out. As such, the sense of community built in group tuition adds a layer of accountability, motivating students to focus on reaching their academic goals.
Structure, Pacing, and Examination Revision
In one-on-one tuition, students learn at their own pace; their conceptual queries make up a significant portion of the classes.
However, learning at a student’s pace has its drawbacks. When focused on clarifying doubts and working on areas of weakness, students may not be able to catch up with the later topics in time or may not have the opportunity to hone their exam skills.
Group tuition is typically more structured and comes with a greater sense of urgency. Therefore, students are better able to keep up with their peers and prepare well for their exams.
Develops Social Skills
During group discussions, students learn to express and explain their ideas clearly, thus improving their communication skills, which are invaluable as they grow older and enter the working world.
Less Pressure
One-on-one tuition can be daunting as the lessons focus solely on the student, which can be overwhelming and discouraging for those who are shy and self-conscious. Students may, therefore, feel more comfortable in groups where the attention moves between various individuals.
Conclusion
Group tuition is often perceived as a step down from one-on-one tuition, but that is not true; it offers different benefits. Hence, parents should not overlook the merits of group tuition when supporting their child’s academics.
Miracle Math is a math tuition centre in Singapore offering group tuition classes consisting of 8 to 9 students. We offer primary 5 and primary 6 math tuition for PSLE preparation. You can also engage our secondary mathematics tutor for E-Math and A-Math tuition.