As you seek additional academic support for your child, it’s helpful to understand when certain strategies – tutoring or brain training – is the ideal option. Let’s look at the advantages of each:
Tutoring
Tutoring is focused on delivering academic content and can help students learn by teaching new information or repeating subject matter. This makes tutoring a great choice when information hasn’t been delivered or when the information wasn’t delivered properly the first time.
If your child is behind in school due to a sickness, a substitute teacher, or a move to a new school, hiring a tutor can make sense.
However, if your child is experiencing attention issues or consistent struggles with reading, math or executive function, simply repeating information from class might not help. In these situations, brain training is often a better fit.
How Brain Training Works
LearningRx Eagan training is focused on strengthening core cognitive skills which makes it easier for students to understand, process, and remember what they learn. Rather than simply repeating information from class, brain training can address the root cause of learning difficulties.
By strengthening core cognitive skills, brain training can help students understand and retain information the first time it’s taught. It can also help them become more confident and independent learners, giving them new tools for studying and homework assignments. Most important of all, brain training can identify and address the root cause of learning struggles and help students overcome these difficulties.
Brain Training vs. Tutoring in Action
This was the case for Johnny. He excelled in math, but his parents were seeking reading help and assistance with writing as Johnny’s standardized tests uncovered difficulties. They were planning to look for a tutor until a friend recommended LearningRx cognitive skills training as an alternate approach.
Johnny’s initial assessment revealed that his reasoning skills were very strong (the reason he excelled in math), but his auditory processing and memory skills were weak and causing his reading struggles. This was an important discovery as typical reading tutoring does not strengthen these core skills or address the root cause of consistent reading difficulties.
The result was a significant jump in Johnny’s reading and writing skills. Another benefit of cognitive skills training (brain training) is that the cognitive gains achieved are long lasting. Meaning, Johnny did not need to come back to LearningRx for additional help, and he also did not need on-going reading tutoring given his significant reading improvements. Had they not addressed the root cause, Johnny may have needed reading tutoring year-after-year to try to keep up and not fall further behind.
As you seek help for your child, tutoring will likely be recommended given it’s the most common and known approach. However, before moving forward, call LearningRx Eagan to learn more.
You can also schedule a cognitive skills assessment (currently only $99) to help determine if tutoring or brain training is the best approach for your child.
Results are from past clients. You or your loved ones may or may not achieve the same outcomes, but you can learn more about our research and results here.