One-On_One

 

One-On-One

 

When the kids in my neighborhood were growing up, we shot a lot of hoops on driveway courts. My friend Barbara was a natural. Tall and talented, she reigned on the court. Often we’d play five against one — we five all failing to get past one Barbara. We’d stake out sections of the court while Barbara covered the whole court on her own. 

Gracious in victory (and she always won), Barbara spent many hours helping us hone our skills. Tirelessly, she worked one-on-one teaching each of us the skills needed to play well. I could have played in a million games and never gotten any better, but with Barbara’s tutoring, I learned how to set my feet, aim, and shoot at the target. Barbara cheered my small improvements and helped me make adjustments with focused suggestions and demonstrations. 

One of my greatest teaching challenges with primary students was teaching them to write informational reports. After some frustrating years trying to work with the whole class, I began to sit with small groups and work one-on-one with each student. Guiding and encouraging them individually made each a better writer.

One-on-one tutoring, in basketball or writing, is, as Ulrich Boser in his book Learn Better writes: “the most effective form of instruction ever known…. When people get one-on-one attention, they get a lot of feedback. It’s also easier to motivate students — tutors know what things someone finds meaningful… tutoring is tailored to a student’s level of knowledge. It’s highly focused.” Barbara helped me focus on my individual weaknesses. With my students, I knew who needed help with locating information and who needed help with forming sentences. 

To effectively develop skills, students must value the skill (making a basket or conveying information effectively), focus on particular skills (shooting stance or writing complete sentences), get and react to feedback (make or miss the basket, listen to the coach’s instructions, edit and revise), and practice in a structured way (take several shots from one position on the court or follow a report outline). 

Parents have an advantage when working with their own children. As controversial as homework is, its value often lies in the one-on-one time parents spend working with a child. Who knows a child better than a parent? Children whose parents encourage and guide them one-on-one learn more. Children focus on and improve skills when parents encourage and help them work through areas of need.  

A parent reading with a child on a lap shares more than letters and sounds. Cuddled in the warmth of an embrace, children learn to love both the experience of sharing books and the skills needed for reading them. 

Working one-on-one with Barbara, I became a better basketball player. Barbara became a great coach. Be a great coach for your children. One-on-one, help them hit the target of learning.

(For more information: Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything by Ulrich Boser)