Advances in educational neuroscience over the past 30 years have greatly changed the way we understand brain development. We now know brain development is grounded in caring relationships and that educators have an enormous impact on their students’ cognitive development. Due to its one-on-one nature, tutoring is particularly well-positioned to build brain capacity that will help students achieve not only their immediate learning goals but become more resilient, confident, and successful in school and in life.
To understand how tutoring changes the brain, it is important to know the basics of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to rewire itself through growth and reorganization. These processes are the basis of learning, which is the creation and strengthening of connections between neurons. Neuroplasticity involves three processes:
- Proliferation – the formation of new neural connections
- Pruning – the elimination of connections that are not relevant or useful
- Consolidation – the building of anticipatory response patterns which increase speed, efficiency, and minimize effort.
Through present, engaged interaction, working with a tutor drives positive neuroplasticity through:
- Novelty: By presenting the subject in new and different ways, tutoring uses novelty to help consolidate brain changes.
- Reinforcement. The positive reinforcement from a tutor increases the chances that new skills and knowledge will be retained.
- Repetition. Practice makes perfect and by emphasizing and revisiting key content, tutors help students learn, and more importantly, remember, essential information.
- Attention: Learning happens most effectively when students are paying attention. The one-on-one interactive nature of tutoring boosts engagement by making it more difficult for students to tune out, play on their phone, or not pay attention.
- Well-being. The feeling of well-being is an important modulator of neuroplasticity. By promoting students’ confidence and self-esteem, a tutor helps promote well-being and reduce stress.
In conclusion, one-on-one mentorship relationships with caring, attentive adults provide young people with a supportive and nurturing environment that is critical for healthy brain development.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss how our services would benefit your family.
