High-Dosage Math Tutoring and Recovery (Grades 4-12)
We use research-informed approaches and cognitive science in our programming and instruction.
Why Do Students Struggle in Math?
Students who find math difficult struggle for different reasons. Some may lack confidence, have trouble focusing or staying on task, lack understanding about correct strategies, or are affected by other factors such as reading difficulties or language impairments.
Others may have deficits in cognitive processing skills that influence math ability, such as processing speed, executive function, or working memory, which can make it difficult to regulate attention or process and retrieve information effectively.
Math is hierarchical. Students require a solid foundation of math knowledge on which to build higher-level understanding. Math skills increase in complexity over the school-age years and are cumulative. For example, if a student doesn’t learn to master fractions, they will have a difficult time in high school when they begin algebra, which is grounded in fractions. Higher-level math frequently requires fundamental knowledge about underlying concepts that are necessary for success in sequential courses. The math trajectory includes some grades that are more critical than others. For example, in the years leading up to Grade 8, students transition from arithmetic into algebra. When students donʼt get enough practice with math concepts and skills, it can also make it harder for them to learn. Research has shown that if students donʼt understand basic math concepts taught in elementary school, they may have trouble with math in high school. At Evoke, our high-dosage tutoring program helps students who are behind in math by reteaching them critical concepts, providing them with extra time to learn and master them, and addressing their learning challenges. This helps bridge the gap and ensures that they donʼt fall further behind.
Unfinished Learning in the Wake of COVID-19 Is Most Pronounced and Troubling in Math
In September 2023, Ontario released the results of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) provincial tests. Math results remained low, according to data released by the EQAO. Only 60% of Grade 3 students met the provincial standard for math, up by only 1% from the year before (59%). Half of Grade 6 students met the provincial standard in math, and 54% of Grade 9 students met the provincial math standard. Ontario math scores saw little improvement in 2023. This trend is also reflected on international student assessments (PISA) where Canadian high school student scores in math have been falling over time.
As a result of the pandemic shutdowns, most students in Ontario suffered academic and social development setbacks. The most serious gaps were exposed in support for neurodiverse students (Gallagher-Mackay et al. 2021). Many students still require support to recover from the academic toll of COVID-19, the most significant disruption to K–12 education in history. Addressing the issue of learning disparities and associated psychosocial challenges requires proactive evidence-based intervention and direct instruction. It cannot be left to resolve on its own.
Tutoring Is the Best Intervention
Of all academic interventions, tutoring has been shown to help students gain academic ground the most rapidly. A recent meta-analysis reviewed studies of tutoring interventions that have been evaluated by randomized controlled trials in the past few decades and found that, on average, tutoring increased achievement by an additional three to 15 months of learning across grade levels. Tutoring also offers significant spillover effects, including greater school engagement and higher grades in other courses.
Current research has also shown that the most effective tutoring interventions involve three or more sessions per week with sessions that last for about 30-60 minutes. This type of tutoring is referred to as high-dosage. Studies have found little evidence that once-a-week tutoring is sufficient to generate meaningful gains. A recent meta-analysis found that high-dosage tutoring was 20 times more effective than low-dosage tutoring in math.
Following Research-Informed Principles for Effective Tutoring
Rigorous research provides strong evidence that high-dosage math tutoring can produce robust learning gains for students, including those who have fallen behind academically.
This type of math tutoring is an excellent strategy for addressing Covid-19 learning loss, academic deficits, and accelerating a student’s progress.
The most successful approaches to closing learning gaps and improving math proficiency require explicit instruction and intense and targeted intervention. Evokeʼs tutors build foundational skills while making connections to the content students are learning in class (during the school year) and help prepare students for the following academic year (when the intervention takes place over the summer). Their instruction is supplemental and focused on acceleration, not remediation. Sessions are held a minimum of three times per week for a minimum of 45 minutes and during this time, student data is used consistently to understand their strengths and challenges and to build sessions that focus on the student’s needs.
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The Math Diagnostic
Evoke’s math tutoring program begins with a diagnostic assessment that allows us to pinpoint the specific concepts and curriculum expectations with which a student is struggling and specifically what has been creating a barrier to their understanding of current grade content. The information collected from the math diagnostic is helpful in guiding our tutors so that they may effectively and efficiently develop a student’s skills and build fluency. The information from the math diagnostic also helps to monitor the progress made from the intervention program so that instruction is strategic, targeted, and adjusted as necessary.
Recent Studies: The Case for Online Math Tutoring
Current studies have found that interactive online math tutoring results in learning and achievement benefits for underperforming students (Beal, Walles, Arroyo, & Woolf, 2007; Chappell, Nunnery, Pribesh, & Hager, 2011; Nguyen & Kulm, 2005). Tutoring online allows for more than just instructional support. Evoke’s online math tutors can connect with students from busy families, those living in isolated areas that do not have access to local tutoring support, and students who prefer the privacy of online math tutoring. In fact, a meta-analysis of out-of-school-time math tutoring indicated that organizations offering online math tutoring were more effective than those providing only face-to-face services (Chappell et al., 2011). A study by Beal et al. (2007) revealed that students showed significant improvement on math problems after receiving online interactive math tutoring. These findings suggest that students benefit from consistent, online, real-time math tutoring (Nguyen & Kulm, 2005). In fact, studies also show that students struggling with math achievement benefit the most from online math tutoring (Maloy, Razzaq, & Edwards, 2014; Beal et al, 2007).
A March 2023 study conducted by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University highlighted that virtual learning offers the potential to provide stronger matches between student needs and tutor skill sets by expanding the potential supply of tutors, and that online intensive tutoring programs improve academic outcomes, effort, and the aspirations of participating students. These students also benefited from significantly increased standardized test scores and end-of-year math grades. In terms of non-academic outcomes, online academic math tutoring interventions also contribute to improved student self-reported effort and aspirations. The study highlighted that online math tutoring programs can be provided to any student with an internet connection, including those in remote places where traditional tutoring programs are harder to deliver. A finding from the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance at Concordia University highlights that there is “no empirical evidence that says that classroom instruction benefits students (compared to alternatives) from a learning achievement perspective.”
Who Are Evoke’s Online Math Tutors?
Evoke’s online math tutors are well-qualified and well-trained teachers and paraprofessionals who have completed pure math programs at the university level and have experience working with neurodiverse learners.
Some of them have completed postgraduate degrees and are very knowledgeable about math content and provincial math curricula. This allows them to teach using a variety of explanations and representations to develop mathematical understanding. Our online math tutors are skilled at relationship-building and understand when and how to press students, which resources to use, and how to employ strategic questioning in lieu of providing answers. At Evoke we understand how important it is to cultivate positive relationships with our learners. Ensuring that our students have a consistent tutor over time facilitates productive student-tutor relationships and a stronger understanding of the student’s learning needs. When students have a positive, caring relationship with their tutor they become more motivated and develop a more favourable mindset toward school. Evoke pairs each student with a consistent online math tutor for the duration of their online math tutoring program so they can get to know the student’s strengths and difficulties.
What Makes Our Online Math Tutoring Program Unique?
Evoke uses research-informed approaches and cognitive science in our programming and instruction. We believe there are barriers to learning and situations that hold individuals back, and that it is our job to understand their needs, identify those barriers, and help students address them.
We believe in the science of learning, and that it takes time and requires effort and practice. Evoke’s approach to online math tutoring includes the use of effective research-informed methods for supporting and improving the performance of neurodiverse learners, such as explicit instruction when teaching specific concepts, procedures, strategies, and rules, and reciprocal teaching. We consider the student’s neurobiology when creating their individualized learning plan to ensure students with executive function deficits, reduced working memory, and slow processing speed are supported and the student’s overall cognitive load is reduced.
Engaging Students Online
Student engagement is essential for a high-quality learning experience. The goal of Evoke’s online math tutoring program is to create a virtual tutoring environment for students that emulates a face-to-face experience and helps them achieve success.
Neurodiverse learners struggle with lessons that are repetitive, long, and require sustained mental effort. They are easily bored and distracted. At Evoke, our online math tutors create an engaging and interactive learning environment for students. Concepts are explained through real-life examples and engaging and effective web tools to enhance conceptual clarity and improve retention. Lessons are chunked and our online math tutors provide active learning opportunities that hold student attention. We offer short breaks to sustain focus, as required. Our online math tutors connect with and obtain regular feedback from their students to check for understanding.
