The Value of One-to-One Instruction

Imagine that you’re a first or second grade student in a classroom with 20 to 30 other children. Now imagine that while reading has always been hard, you’re getting the help you need to make genuine progress and reading is becoming something that you really like to do. The magic of Reading Rescue is that students not yet reading at grade level get special attention from instructors who know them well — instructors who understand what they need  to become powerful readers. Reading Rescue provides children with the academic and emotional support they require to become strong, engaged readers. 

Research suggests that one-to-one, individualized instruction may be essential for many children whose reading is below the benchmark for their grade. When a child works closely with a skilled instructor they receive focused, individualized teaching. That teaching is highly effective and powerful because in addition to personalized instruction, students are receiving the attention and nurturing that builds confidence and self-esteem.  Reading Rescue instruction can occur in person or via live online video conferencing. In this time of long distance teaching and learning, Reading Rescue provides the human connection that all children need to learn. Instructors often forge transformative relationships with their students laying the foundations of confidence that they need to become lifelong, engaged readers.

WHAT the RESEARCH and OBSERVATION TELLS US ABOUT THE POWER of ONE-TO-ONE INSTRUCTION

1. One-to-one teaching provides emotional support that fosters learning.

Think about the many needs that children have. They have the need to be safe, to be powerful and in control of their own learning, to be independent and to feel valued. Remember that these are needs, not wants.  When a child feels safe, that child is able to take the risks necessary to explore, and to try new things. Feeling safe makes learning possible. The relationship that the child and instructor forge is an essential factor in giving children the feeling that they are capable and can learn. Often, they have not experienced those feelings in the classroom but now they are learning with an instructor who is both an advocate and a friend.

2. One-to-one teaching promotes active participation and engagement

Engagement is everything! Without engagement, there is no learning. When the student feels personally invested in their learning, and is curious, interested, optimistic and passionate, learning will flourish.

In one-to-one teaching the instructor is able to really know the student and to understand what motivates and inspires them. It’s a unique opportunity to build on the child’s passions and interests that will have a huge impact on engagement.

3. One-to-one teaching provides highly effective Individualized instruction

In a one-on-one relationship, instructors can get to know their student’s fully and keep track of their progress, gauging their successes and challenges. The specificity of instruction that includes phonics skills, prompting the child while she/he is reading 3 to 5 books daily, writing sentences and ongoing assessment ensures teaching that will include data to guide the instructor to meet future instructional goals.

4. One-to-one teaching  provides Immediate and effective feedback

The purpose of feedback should be not to rate the quality of work, but to provide information on how to improve it. Feedback assists learning when an instructor provides enough information to send the learner into new territory; thinking and doing something differently than they have already done. Rather than providing exactly what to do, the instructor will prompt the child about what to use, or how to think about solving a task. This powerful feedback creates the opportunity for success and is precise enough to support new learning. The feedback in one-to one instruction goes far beyond “good job” and provides opportunities for problem-solving that can be employed with all learning.

5. One-to one teaching frees kids from fear of failure

Before a child can learn they need to feel safe and cared for. When this occurs, their affective filter is lowered allowing them to participate, even when it’s hard or means making a mistake.  Through one-on-one interactions, students learn to trust their instructors and are given a completely safe space to openly share. In classroom settings pressured by peers, some students fear answering questions, making mistakes or taking risks. With caring, supportive instructors, wrong answers are seen as an opportunity to learn and students do not have to fear being themselves.

So does one-to-one teaching really matter? 

Indeed, it does. Both research evidence and practical experience tell us that it especially matters for young learners who are falling behind. The sooner we can provide the special, one-to-one instruction for potentially vulnerable readers, the more likely they will reach grade level benchmarks and flourish as readers.

In these times of unpredictable and drastic school budget cuts, one-to-one teaching is almost nonexistent. By tapping into the resources already present in schools, Reading Rescue provides the resources and professional development to make one-to-one teaching a real possibility by including all members of the school community: paraprofessionals, teaching assistants, schools aides and families. Literacy Trust’s Reading Rescue partnerships creates a community of common purpose and shared responsibility that strives to see all children become fluent, motivated, self-confident readers.

RESEARCH

Amendum, S Liebfreund MD
Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts Teachers’ Experiences Providing One-on-One Instruction to Struggling Readers Volume 56 Issue 4 December 2017

Invernizzi, M. A. (2001). The complex world of One-on-One Tutoring. In S. B. Neuman & D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (pp. 459–470). New York: Guilford Press.

Shanahan, Timothy. On the Effectiveness and Limitations of Tutoring . First Published January 1, 1998 Research Article

About the Author:

Cheryl Tyler brings more than 25 years of experience with the New York City Department of Education to Literacy Trust. During her tenure at the DOE she was a classroom teacher, Reading Recovery teacher, staff developer, graduate of the Leadership Academy and principal of PS 277 in the South Bronx. Most recently, she was the Director of Reading Rescue at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University.

She presents at national conferences including Reading, Writing and Leadership Institutes at Teachers College: Columbia University, NCTE and National Reading Recovery Conferences.

Cheryl is the author of Purposeful Play: A Teacher’s Guide to Igniting Deep and Joyful Learning Across the Day (Heinemann 2016) and A Quick Guide to Boosting English Acquisition in Choice Time (Heinemann 2008) When she’s not reading and writing she’s a volunteer at Animal Haven a rescue group for abused and abandoned cats and dogs.