The tuition industry is becoming increasingly modernised. What exactly that means varies from centre to centre, but there is a definite shift in how tuition centres operate. The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped countless industries, and the education sector was no exception. Lockdowns and social distancing forced tuition centres and private tutors to rapidly adapt, leading to things like online classes / remote learning, and an overall increase in the use of technology to enhance the learning of our students. In today’s technological climate, we even see tutors adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make learning a more efficient experience. As we evaluate the modernisation of the tuition industry, it is crucial to consider whether these changes have improved its efficacy or introduced new problems. To what extent is this modernisation really helping our students?
The Shift to Zoom Classes Post-COVID
The transition to online tuition, primarily through platforms like Zoom, was initially seen as a temporary measure that would only last the duration of the pandemic. However, it has since evolved into a preferred mode of learning for many. Zoom and other such platforms (Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams) offer flexibility and allow students to attend classes from home without the need for travel. This convenience is one of the biggest plus points for Zoom classes, as taking travel out of the equation saves hours of valuable time, an IB student’s most valuable resource. Zoom also takes pressure off students. Being at home allows them to learn in a comfortable environment, without the pressure from peers and tutors around you.
In my experience, having online tuition classes was beneficial in terms of convenience as well as my learning (to some extent). As my tuition centre was about an hour away from home, the 2 hours saved daily were much needed, even if only used to rest and relax.
However, this shift is not without its challenges. Online classes often lack the personal touch and immediacy of face-to-face interactions. Without being in the same environment, students and tutors find it difficult to build rapport with each other. Communication as a whole just becomes more difficult because instead of just talking to the tutor in class you now face the daunting task of unmuting yourself to speak (harder than it sounds for most students!). Moreover, technical issues such as poor internet connectivity or hardware limitations can disrupt classes, and tutors that are not tech-savvy may simply be unable to adapt.
Having lessons at home can also be too comfortable, and students that need a certain level of pressure to pay attention may easily lose focus or even fall asleep. Being without your peers and tutors takes out the unspoken expectation that is paying a decent level of attention, and so students may opt to simply not.
Online lessons 100% save time and energy for the students and seem like a much more efficient way to learn from that perspective. From an educational perspective, however, considering the actual amount of knowledge transfer happening, online learning demands a high degree of self-discipline and time management skills from students, which not everybody has. While students that are highly motivated may thrive in this environment, others may find it difficult to focus without the structured atmosphere a physical classroom provides.
Increased Use of Technology as Teaching Aids
The adoption of technology as teaching aids in the tuition industry has brought about numerous advancements. Interactive whiteboards, virtual labs, and gamified learning platforms have made lessons more engaging and accessible. In the modern era, tutors can be found using such tools as Kahoot, Quizlet, and PollEverywhere. These are platforms for tutors to create interactive quizzes and facilitate discussions between students. These tools are helpful because they help keep students engaged. Any student will tell you that getting the hotly contested top 3 “Podium” spots on Kahoot is a joy like no other, and so most students pay twice as much attention when told a Kahoot awaits them at the end of the lesson. Ultimately, this is a tool that enhances engagement in the classroom, proven to work over and over again.
Technology has also enabled more personalised and convenient learning experiences. One new concept is the availability of recorded lectures and supplementary resources all on a shared Google Drive, that allows students to revisit concepts at their own pace.
In traditional approaches, a tutor might give a lecture on a specific topic, and students will have to take notes by hand. This is an approach that may not work for everybody because if you miss one part of the teacher’s explanation, piecing together the rest of the puzzle might become difficult. This creates a certain level of pressure and expectation that forces the student to pay attention the whole time and be present in the lesson as much as possible. As such, having recorded lectures and source material relieves some of that pressure as they can easily rewind and rewatch portions of the content as many times as they want. It allows them to reinforce this content at their own pace.
However, the reliance on technology also introduces new challenges. The effectiveness of these tools depends heavily on the competency of the tutor in using them. Not all tutors are equally tech-savvy, and inadequate training can lead to a great idea, poorly executed. Furthermore, the overuse of digital tools risks reducing the human element of teaching, which is still essential to the overall learning experience. The issue of false security also needs to be addressed – Having a ready supply of resources builds the impression that students have access to knowledge whenever they need. While this is true, it may lead to a sense of false security that reduces the pressure to actually absorb that knowledge. Students need to be reminded that they do still need to study the content and that they will not have access to recordings in the exam.
There is also the concern of screen fatigue. Extended exposure to screens during online classes and digital homework sessions can strain students’ eyes and negatively impact their mental health.
It is hence vital to draw a balance – Technology should be used as a medium for learning just as textbooks and lectures are, it should not replace the act of diligently studying and revising content on your own.
Artificial Intelligence in the Tuition Environment
The integration of AI in the tuition industry has been one of the most transformative developments. AI tools such as ChatGPT are revolutionising how tutors and students interact. AI can provide instant feedback, answer student queries around the clock, and generate customised practice questions based on a student’s learning profile. While I was part of the generation that graduated before the worldwide adoption of such chatbots, it is easy to see how AI has integrated itself into the learning of my juniors.
AI has many benefits, but AI should never be used to replace a teacher. It greatly improves efficiency, by reducing administrative tasks like grading assignments or creating lesson plans. This gives tutors more time to focus on the things that matter, like mentoring students individually. AI can also analyse large datasets to identify trends, allowing teachers and even the tuition centre itself to analyse the state of their students’ learning. It may allow a centre to, for example, deduce that Chemistry students across the board have been particularly weak at Energetics, or long calculation questions such as Stoichiometry. Tutors can then re-evaluate how they teach students and make the necessary improvements.
However, the use of AI is not without ethical and practical concerns. Over-reliance on AI tools undermines students’ problem-solving skills as they become reliant on the instant, and often accurate answers that bots can provide. Heavily integrating AI into a tuition centre to the point where the robot controls the syllabus structure and plays and even bigger role in teaching students than the tutors themselves defeats the purpose of having a tuition centre in the first place, and can even lead to worse outcomes in students as they are less actively engaged in the content with a real life tutor.
AI should therefore be used to reduce the need for tutors to perform repetitive, time-consuming tasks. With the time that this frees up, tutors can pay more attention to their students and enhance the overall learning experience, targeting students’ individual strengths and weaknesses and personalising their approach as much as possible.
Is Modernisation Truly Beneficial?
While modernisation has undeniably introduced numerous benefits, its impact is not wholly positive. The shift to Zoom classes, for instance, has made education more accessible and flexible, but it carries its own issues like poor engagement and inefficient content delivery. Similarly, the use of advanced teaching aids and AI has enhanced the learning experience for many but risks taking out the personal touch that a tutor has.
The industry will no doubt continue to modernise as the years go by. The onus is on tuition centres to ensure that they can still keep up and provide an invaluable learning experience.
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