What to Do When Online Tutoring Is Too Difficult or Too Fast
Online tutoring is a convenient way to study but, sometimes, a lesson can be too complex, the tutor can speak too fast, or introduce too many new concepts at once.
The good news is that there are several things you can do in this situation to improve the learning outcomes.
What Makes Lessons Too Fast or Too Difficult?
First of all, you may need to define what makes the lessons too fast or too challenging. Generally, there are several reasons for this to happen:
• You miss an explanation and cannot understand what the tutor is saying.
• You manage to comprehend the new idea but cannot repeat it after the lesson.
• You do not fully understand the new topic and the tutor moves on to the next section.
• You have limited time to process the information and there is no opportunity to practice.
• You are making the same mistakes over and over because of a certain misunderstanding.
None of these reasons means that you are a bad learner. In most cases, they indicate the need to change the study pace or clarify some information.
Challenging Lessons VS Confusing Explanations
Another important point is to distinguish if the lesson is challenging or you are simply confused by the tutor’s instructions.
A challenging lesson usually means that you have to put more effort into the learning process to achieve the desired academic results. At the same time, a confusing lesson means that an essential part of the information was not properly delivered. In this situation, you may ask yourself a few questions to identify the issue:
“Is the new topic challenging or is it confusing to me?”.
“Do I need more practice or additional explanations to fully grasp the main idea?”.
Once you have determined the main issue, you will be able to handle it much better.
Talk to Your Tutor About a New Explanation
You may also ask your tutor for a different explanation of the given topic. For instance, you may say:
“I keep missing this point. Can you please explain it again in a simpler way?”.
A new perspective on the issue might give you a better understanding of the information delivered.
Ask For More Examples and Practice
In addition, you may ask for more examples and practice. In some cases, one explanation is not enough, especially if the subject under study is quite complex (e.g., math, science, programming, or language learning).
You can ask your tutor to start explaining from plain examples and then move to more complex issues and tasks. One of the effective study patterns is Example – Guided practice – Independent practice – Feedback.
Practicing will also help you determine what exactly you do not understand.
Break Down The Topics Into Smaller Pieces
Furthermore, complex topics can be broken down into smaller pieces and studied separately. In this case, you do not have to learn everything at once but can determine what exactly you do not understand. For instance, when learning how to code, you should first learn the fundamentals of programming, then variables, followed by functions, expressions, and statements, and then move on to more complex issues.
This way, you will be able to see the bigger picture and understand how different concepts interconnect.
Revise The Necessary Foundations
Lessons can also become confusing if the foundations of the previous topics were not properly covered. This is especially true for math, science, languages, and other subjects with a structured approach to learning.
In this respect, it might be helpful to ask your tutor:
“Actually, which concept should I revise first before proceeding with the next topic?”.
Revising the foundations is not a problem and it will definitely pay off sooner or later.
Talk to Your Tutor About Your Current Difficulties
Finally, you may want to talk to your tutor about the current difficulties you are experiencing. In some cases, people try to hide their problems and concerns but this is not the best idea when studying.
When working with a tutor, you should clearly formulate your concerns and try to tell the person what exactly you do not understand. For instance, you may say:
“I perfectly understand what was explained but I cannot apply it in real life”;
“I am getting confused when there is more than one step”;
“Actually, could we get back to the previous topic first?”;
“Can you give me more time to figure it out myself?”.
The main idea is to let your tutor know that you are concerned about a specific issue.
Change The Study Pace and Set Specific Goals
Another thing you can do is to change the pace of the learning process and set realistic but attainable goals.
It is normal to feel overwhelmed when the study pace is too high. Therefore, you may decide to cover less material but understand it better.
You can agree with your tutor on the following plan:
• cover fewer topics per session,
• include short breaks,
• set specific goals for each topic (one or two topics per session),
• add practice tasks,
• study the same topics in several sessions with breaks.
Ultimately, you should not try to cram more information but rather set clear but realistic goals and work towards them.
What If It Does Not Help?
If the situation does not improve, you might want to get additional help from other tutors, revise additional materials, or switch to a different explanation method.
Sometimes, we need more time to practice, understand the fundamentals, or learn how to apply new rules in real life. A different approach or a tutor who is better at explaining things will help you learn faster.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, if online tutoring is too fast or difficult for you, the first thing to do is to define what the problem is and tell the tutor what exactly you do not understand. You can also ask for a slower pace, more practice, breaking down complex topics into smaller pieces, and revising the foundations as needed. These simple but effective measures will help you understand most of the challenging topics and improve your overall productivity. The key is not to rush but to work at your own pace to learn more productively and efficiently.
Looking for a personalized approach to learning? MyTutaSpace can help you find a tutor who will suit your specific needs and requirements.
