Tutoring focuses on what your child is learning. Arrowsmith changes how they learn.
At Arrowsmith, we are often asked: What is the difference between what tutoring can provide my child and how my child can benefit from the Arrowsmith Program’s neuroplastic approach? Here is our answer and it is important to note both are of benefit and can work collaboratively to support students.
Tutoring can help younger students acquire basic academic skills, providing strategies to learn to read, spell and memorize math facts. Older students often turn to tutoring to prepare for exams, relying on a tutor to provide strategies and techniques to structure their studying. For many students, tutoring is required year after year as academic subjects and content change and academic demands increase.
Arrowsmith works on the principle of strengthening the brain so that learning becomes easier and more efficient. It changes a student’s fundamental capacity to learn across academic subjects.
At Arrowsmith, students strengthen and enhance critical cognitive functions that are the building blocks of learning. Stronger cognitive ability means a transformed learning experience and a greater capacity to benefit from all learning, including tutoring. Change the cognitive capacity of the learner and learning goes forward more efficiently and with more joy.
Given tutoring accommodations and modifications are not available in the workplace or in adult life, the benefit of a changed brain is it transforms one’s future reality.
Tutoring VS. Arrowsmith - Cognitive Enhancement
Tutoring Focus
Acquisition of academic skills and learning strategies.
Arrowsmith Focus
Strengthens a range of cognitive capacities that are the building blocks in the learning process.
Tutoring Focus
Subject or Skill Specific, for example, focuses on learning academic skills and subject matter such as English, mathematics, science, reading, spelling, and writing.
Arrowsmith Focus
Builds an enhanced capacity to learn which transfers across academic subjects and skill acquisition.
Strengthens
reasoning
working memory
processing speed
attention
comprehension
critical thinking
mathematical reasoning
Tutoring Focus
Focus is on the current curriculum.
Arrowsmith Focus
Focus is on lifelong change.
Where is the focus?
When the focus is on the curriculum
Compensatory
use of technology to support learning. For example, voice recognition software to aid the writing process or text-to-speech to support reading
Content/Skill Based
modify and scaffold the content into simpler and more accessible units
reinforce the learning
match the method of teaching to the learning profile of the student
Strategy Based
teach strategies to be applied to the learning process (meta-cognition)
Frequency
required when the curriculum or grade changes
Arrowsmith focus is on lifelong change
Capacity Based
uses individual targeted cognitive programs to positively change the brain of the learner
changes the cognitive abilities that underly learning
changes the capacity to learn
changes academic performance
changes the ability to be independent in learning and life
changes social-emotional well-being
Frequency
life-long change after completion of the program
Premise
The curriculum
Each student has their own unique learning profile of strengths and weaknesses.
The content, method of teaching and tools used are modified to best suit the learning profile and needs of the student.
Uses the student’s strengths to work around and compensate for any areas of challenge.
The learner’s basic cognitive abilities remain fixed.
Arrowsmith
Each student has their own unique learning profile of strengths and weaknesses.
The learning capacities of each student can be strengthened and enhanced. Curriculum does not need to be modified as the strengthened and enhanced learning capacities allow the student to learn the curriculum as taught.
Areas of challenge are transformed so the
student does not need to use their strengths to support areas of challenge. The strengths are freed to operate more fully.
The learner’s basic cognitive abilities can be
enhanced.