Consider a very traditional business: specialized tutoring of children in high school. Little has changed in this relationship for decades. Students attend classes at predetermined times. Typical lessons are broken into periods of one hour, each devoted to a particular subject, such as language, mathematics, and history. Students around the world get homework assignments, which they do on their own, with their parents, with study groups.
Periodic tests and quizzes provide feedback to the teachers and the students about how well they are doing. This system assumes that one learning process will suit all students. Any debate about individualized attention rapidly turns into a discussion of class size and cost. Now, consider an alternative called TutorVista, a small startup. Here, each student chooses the time when he wants to be tutored. He also chooses the subjects in which he will receive help. He prioritizes his needs. He can also determine how many hours and how intense the tutoring has to be on any topic.
He can also choose his teacher! His tutor may be geographically located in India or some other remote location. The tutor will begin the orientation with specific tests to evaluate the student’s understanding of the subject and then develop a specific course of study oriented for that student. The lessons are personalized for that student. All the tutors are independent, well-educated men and women who do this as a part-time activity.
To qualify as TutorVista tutors, all potential candidates have to go through a training program briefing them in effective practices in providing remote personalized education. This process, including accent training for teachers, can take from 60 to 100 hours. Initial results show that U.S. students participating in this system have dramatically improved their understanding of the subjects and their performance in them. It is also not expensive. Students can take as much tutoring as they want for $99 per month. The affordability is only one reason for the success of the approach so far.
Tutors cocreate a “learning plan” with each of their students, and by executing that plan, they co create value through improved grades and better retention.TutorVista had access to at least 600 tutors and counting. These tutors are geographically dispersed, and each one is an independent contractor but is bound by the common standards of behavior, ethics, and quality imposed by TutorVista.
The tutors can choose to work as much as they want. Resources are accessed as needed from a global resource pool (R=G). TutorVista focuses on screening tutors for credentials and providing them with basic training, developing scheduling algorithms, and creating instructional methods.TutorVista currently has over 10,000 paying students, and it is expanding its tutor base of over 5,000 tutors to countries outside India, including the United States.
Periodic tests and quizzes provide feedback to the teachers and the students about how well they are doing. This system assumes that one learning process will suit all students. Any debate about individualized attention rapidly turns into a discussion of class size and cost. Now, consider an alternative called TutorVista, a small startup. Here, each student chooses the time when he wants to be tutored. He also chooses the subjects in which he will receive help. He prioritizes his needs. He can also determine how many hours and how intense the tutoring has to be on any topic.
He can also choose his teacher! His tutor may be geographically located in India or some other remote location. The tutor will begin the orientation with specific tests to evaluate the student’s understanding of the subject and then develop a specific course of study oriented for that student. The lessons are personalized for that student. All the tutors are independent, well-educated men and women who do this as a part-time activity.
To qualify as TutorVista tutors, all potential candidates have to go through a training program briefing them in effective practices in providing remote personalized education. This process, including accent training for teachers, can take from 60 to 100 hours. Initial results show that U.S. students participating in this system have dramatically improved their understanding of the subjects and their performance in them. It is also not expensive. Students can take as much tutoring as they want for $99 per month. The affordability is only one reason for the success of the approach so far.
Tutors cocreate a “learning plan” with each of their students, and by executing that plan, they co create value through improved grades and better retention.TutorVista had access to at least 600 tutors and counting. These tutors are geographically dispersed, and each one is an independent contractor but is bound by the common standards of behavior, ethics, and quality imposed by TutorVista.
The tutors can choose to work as much as they want. Resources are accessed as needed from a global resource pool (R=G). TutorVista focuses on screening tutors for credentials and providing them with basic training, developing scheduling algorithms, and creating instructional methods.TutorVista currently has over 10,000 paying students, and it is expanding its tutor base of over 5,000 tutors to countries outside India, including the United States.
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