Summer Learning in Colorado

Over their long vacation in Colorado, most students experience a phenomenon known as the summer slide where they lose much of the academic gains they made over the last semester. Summer academic losses are also cumulative so students who experience the summer slide will drop further behind every year.

The problem

According to the authors of a report from the National Summer Learning Association: “A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year.” While academic losses happen across the board, most of the studies which focus on the summer slide deal with reading and math abilities which are so important for today’s students who want to compete in an increasingly tough job market.

Better learning means a better life

The antidote to the summer slide is to take just a couple of sessions every week for in-home tutoring. Here your kids get personalized education that suits their personalities, abilities and learning style. Watch their confidence grow as they not only avoid the summer slide but fill in the gaps in their learning, and acquire the study skills they need to succeed in the new year.

At Tutor Doctor, we don’t want students to be dependent on our tutoring, so we teach the skillset they need to work independently and remove the academic anxiety that many families deal with on a daily basis.

Our programs

• Convenient, comfortable, one-to-one

We come to you, wherever you are, at a time that is convenient to you. In the comfort of your home, we provide individualized training and give your child the caring and confidence that they need to succeed.

• Everyone can learn with the right approach

We have a comprehensive, collaborative approach to learning and work together with your family and teachers to identify the right learning strategies and find the perfect tutors.

• Better learning, better life

Your education consultant and tutor have your student’s best interests at heart. We listen, understand, and build an educational support team and personalized coaching plan to help your student become an academic champion for life.

• Your goals are our goals

Whether your student’s needs are immediate – like passing the next exam—or long term, we build a tailor-made plan that gets results. We start with an in-depth assessment, then match the right tutor to your student to help your family improve the present and make the future possible.

Our tutors

At Tutor Doctor, we provide your children with affordable, professional academic coaching in the comfort of your own home. Our tutors undergo a rigorous selection process so we know that they are qualified, well-matched and passionate about really supporting families and helping your students to succeed. With a dedicated coach and a supportive academic team, every student can succeed.

With our Summer Success Program, your children can really get a head start on the coming semester so that they can bring their A-game. Our one-on-one tutoring style delivers results. In fact, 95% of our customers would recommend us to their friends and family.

Contact us to learn more about our summer programs!.

3 Tips for Colorado Students to Get Their College Application Noticed

As though your high school student didn’t have enough pressure to get a great grade point average, they also have to volunteer and get glowing recommendations from influential educators in order to get into a good college. With college applications becoming more competitive with each passing year, some students are coming up with creative ways to get their colleges of choice to notice them.

In his book “The New Rules of College Admissions,” Scott Ham, the former Admissions Dean of Northwestern University explains that gimmicks that seem clever to high school graduates are often just a pain to deal with and don’t help in any way. He has had students turn their college applications into jigsaw puzzles, write them backwards and send them in with a mirror and every year he gets some applications with a show (one foot in the door) or a balloon (so it will rise to the top). Here are some of his best tips for success with college applications.

Just be yourself

The best way to not be looked over is to be memorable and the only way to do that is to foster a personal connection with the admissions officer. While parents can offer advice about content, and teachers and tutors can help polish the grammar and vocabulary, the application must be written by the student.

When the application letter is sincere, from the heart and shows the real personality of the student, there is a far better chance of forging a real connection and a memorable introduction. As in all things, be yourself, be sincere and don’t try to write what you think they want to hear.

Show your stuff

Don’t send along a resume; these are almost always disregarded. Instead, showcase your talents effectively within the reasonable limits of the application form. Each university is looking for students who are talented and who will add to the eclectic tapestry of campus life.

If you can play a musical instrument, add a video of a recent performance or if you are an accomplished artist, include a slide show of your work. Whatever your unique talents, include them in your application even if they don’t pertain to the course you are going to study.

Show that you are serious

When the recruiting officer comes to you school, be sure to make contact with them and ask them to fill out an information card. Visit the campus and fill out an information card to show that you were there and ask for an interview while you are at it. Colleges want to be sure that they are your first choice when going through the application process, so show your commitment by making contact as often as possible.

When it comes to college applications, remember that your poor admissions officer has thousands to get through. Make their lives easier by sticking to the format and really trying to show them who you are, what you are passionate about and (above all else) be sincere.

How to Encourage Class Participation in Shy Students

Shy students are often a teacher’s dream as they work hard to avoid drawing attention to themselves. While this may be easier to deal with, no teacher wants your student to miss out on educational opportunities. Participating in class, asking questions and being part of school activities will help your student to have a richer educational and social experience. Students who apply what they have learned in class exercises are more likely to reach a deeper understanding of the material and retain more of the information they have garnered.

Talk to your Teacher

If your student is shy, speak with your teacher about this and discuss ways in which to encourage participation. Teachers can ensure that shy students are seated at the front of the class so that they are more visible. Shy students may need a little longer to feel confident enough to answer questions or participate and teachers who understand this can be more accommodating.

Teachers can work to build a rapport with your student and can work one-on-one with them wherever possible. They can also encourage your student to participate and join in class activities.

Get a Tutor

The effects of student peer pressure are great and most students are shy because they don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their peers. Fear of failure may stem from the fact that they don’t know the answers to questions, feel overwhelmed by course materials or simply just don’t understand. You can overcome these academic issues by getting an in-home tutor.

An in-home tutor can work with your student one-on-one in an encouraging and safe environment. As your student fills in the gaps in their knowledge, their confidence will grow. When they understand what is happening in class, they will feel confident enough to ask questions and participate in activities.

Social Skills

Encouraging your student to participate in activities outside of the classroom will help them to gain the confidence to get involved inside the classroom. Sports, extra mural activities and social events are great places for them to mix with other students and form friendships. Social bonds are important in improving confidence.

Preparation

When students feel prepared, their confidence improves. Get your students to prepare some questions or read up on possible topics prior to class.

You can also role play with students so that they are more able to deal with possible situations that arise.

Be very encouraging and help to bolster their self-confidence by focusing on the positive rather than dwelling in the negative aspects of their social interaction and academic performance. You can improve their confidence by rewarding small successes and focusing on their achievements.

Back To School Traditions for a Great Academic Year

After the excitement and nervousness of starting a new school or a new grade has worn off, the new clothes have become old friends and your student is feeling more settled and at home, it’s time to start some new back-to-school traditions. New habits only take a couple of weeks to instill, but they will mean a happier home life and a better academic performance. Here are some back to school traditions that will help you and your students to have a wonderful semester.

Smooth Morning Routines

Get your family together and ask them to write down the things that they don’t enjoy about your morning routine. Perhaps they would like more bathroom time, or maybe they don’t like to rush in the mornings; whatever their gripes, write them down in a list.

As a family, find ways in which you can reduce the stress of morning routines. This means being more organized. If bathroom time is an issue, set out a schedule so that everyone has a fair amount of time. You can move hair and makeup to a different room so that the bathroom is free for showering.

If you don’t like rushing in the morning, get your students to start packing their bags and laying out their clothing the night before.

Make a lunch menu that everyone can enjoy and share out morning chores so that everyone has the same amount of stuff to do. If one of your students is a better morning person, they may want to take on more responsibility and chores in the morning and have a free evening.

Academic Goals

Knowing where you are going makes it so much easier to navigate. Get each of your students to set out clear academic goals for the year. You should provide incentives for the achievement of those goals in the form of rewards. Work with your student’s teacher and tutor to ensure that the goals are realistic. Short term and long-term goals will give a sense of accomplishment.

After School Activities

Discuss what activities your students wish to do after school and ensure that they have a healthy balance of work and activity. Try to encourage activities outside of their comfort zone so that they can meet new friends and get active. Sports help to foster friendships, teach discipline and teamwork and keep your students healthy and active while creative activities help relieve stress and develop higher cognitive functions.

Starting fun back-to-school traditions will mean that your students have set goals, rewards to look forward to and fun activities to anticipate. A little planning at the start of the semester will mean everyone develops habits that help to make this the best academic year ever.

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Student Inventors: Girl Power

Students can be creative innovators and inventors to whom we owe some of our most impressive technological breakthroughs. Today we honor three teen inventors who have achieved great success by thinking outside of the box.

Ann Makosinski

Ann has invented a hollow flashlight that is powered by the heat of your hand. Ann is a grade 10 student from St. Michael’s University School in Victoria, Canada who beat out hundreds of other entrants to get her flashlight into the finals of the Google Science Fair. “I’m really interested in harvesting surplus energy, energy that surrounds but we never really use,” said Ann.

Ann is interested in utilizing alternate energy sources for everyday tasks. While researching alternative energy sources, Ann stumbled upon Peltier tiles which create energy when they are heated on one side and cooled on the other.

She ordered some tiles off the internet and found that body heat produced more than enough energy to light an LED, but not enough voltage. Ann tried several transformers to up the voltage; she even built her own. Finally after months of research and experimentation (along with her regular schooling and extra mural activities) she finally found a circuit that worked.

You can see more on Ann’s invention here

Elif Bilgin

Elif comes from Istanbul, Turkey and is the country’s first winner of the 2013 Science in Action award at the Google Science Fair for her bioplastic which she developed from banana peels. It was a long process for Elif who tried 10 different iterations of plastics before she found one that didn’t biodegrade too quickly and was strong enough for commercial use. “Even Thomas Edison said, ‘I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,’” Elif said about the long road of trial and error that eventually led to a successful prototype.

Elif hopes that her plant-based plastics will replace some of the petroleum-based plastics on the market and improve the environmental impact that plastics have.

Eesha Khare

Eesha is an American student who has invented a supercapacitor. This incredible device will replace conventional batteries in everyday electronics. Eesha’s electrochemical supercapacitor can be charged in 20 seconds, hold a charge for longer and lasts for more recharges than conventional batteries. Eesha’s invention can be recharged 10,000 times as opposed to the 1,000 charges a conventional battery is able to endure. Eesha hopes that her invention will help to reduce waste and improve the environment.

Student inventors remind us that a good idea and a lot of hard work mean that anyone can be successful at any age. Inspire your students to greatness for their next science fair projects.

See Eesha’s interview with Conan O’Brian here:

http://teamcoco.com/video/young-scientist-award-winner-eesha-khare-pt-1-06-13-13

Why Students Fail Survey Yields Shocking Results

A recent survey conducted by Tutor Doctor showed that underachieving students did not achieve their academic goals because of a lack of motivation and not getting enough help at home. With bigger classes and working parents, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for struggling students to find the time and assistance they need to succeed.

 Tutor Doctor’s ‘Why Students Fail” Survey Results

Respondents of the “Why Students Fail” survey, estimated that only a shockingly low 2.6% of students reach their full academic potential. There are a number of reasons for this poor academic performance; nearly all of the respondents agreed that students freeze during test taking (96.8%) and cited an ability to handle pressure/stress (56.8%), being unprepared (54.1%) and lack of confidence (45.9%) as the most common stumbling blocks to academic success.

Deep financial cuts to education budgets have meant that many schools have had to cut tutoring programs. Working parents have no alternative but to seek help for their students elsewhere. Tutoring programs like those offered by companies like Tutor Doctor not only help build basic educational foundations, but also help to improve test taking skills and build confidence and self-esteem. In-home programs that offer one-on-one tutoring get the best results and produce marked improvements in very little time.

 Peer Pressure and Academic Anxiety

61.5% of the educators surveyed cite peer pressure as causing anxiety and stress which stirs up an unhealthy competition and ultimately causes poor academic performance. Pressure to get into a good college begins to impact students in their sophomore year, according to 37.1% of respondents, followed closely by freshman (34.3%).  Educators were divided on whether this pressure helps or hinders students’ performance, with 51.7% saying it helps and 48.3% believing it hinders.

As competition for the limited college openings increase, the pressure to excel academically in high school also exponentially increases. Boosting a student’s test taking ability, building confidence and self esteem can help to reduce stress, combat peer pressure and provide an environment where academic excellence is possible.

Another hurdle to academic performance is often the fact that students don’t ask for help. Catching issues before they get too far behind or before bad grades ruin their college dreams is the best route. Regularly meet with your student’s teachers to get a sense of where they are academically and how they are performing.

Tutors are also able to teach valuable organizational and learning skills which help your student to plan their academic years. If your student is active socially and plays a high school sport, they need to have great organizational skills to get everything done.

 Call us and invest in your student’s future today. (720-378-2989)

What's your Student's Learning Style?

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein
Students process and absorb information in different ways. Some students like to see the big picture first and then learn the details and skills of each step while others can’t imagine what the big picture will be until they have learned each little step along the way.

Some students find diagrams and infographics helpful in learning information while others like to listen to the teacher’s lesson to get their facts and figures. Others like to build, measure, mix and experiment when they are learning. Knowing what your student’s learning style is will make it easier for you to present information in a format that they can relate to.

Visual learners
Visual learners like their information presented in an interesting visual format so videos, pictures, charts, illustrations, mind maps, and online presentations are a great way for them to learn. Presenting information this way makes it easier for them to see how things relate to each other. Visual learners should create their own mind maps and graphics when they are studying as this will help them to remember the information and see.

Auditory learners
These students are good listeners. They like teachers and tutors who explain, talk and read aloud. These students learn understand through a more traditional teaching method. When they are learning, auditory learners can benefit from reading aloud or listening to taped lectures and online podcasts.

Tactile learners
These students like to learn through action. They are great with experiments, measuring, observations, field trips, building models and other physically-oriented tasks. Activity is the way to get them to remember information or learn new skills.

Most teachers present information in a number of different formats to accommodate the learning style of all of their students. If your student is having trouble with a subject, ask their teacher or tutor to help you ascertain their learning style and then present the information in a way that they will absorb best. The internet is a great resource tool for finding the information you need to share in a format that suits your student. There is a video, infographic and experiment you can try for just about everything.

If you are curious about your student’s learning style, take a quick online test with sites such as ID Pride or VARK. Tutors and teachers are also great at understanding learning styles and they will be able to not only help your student to understand their learning style, but to convert information into a format that they understand best.

- See more at: http://www.tutordoctorhelpsallages.com