More Than Tutoring - Teaching
At Firefly Education, we draw a distinction between the familiar notion of “tutoring” and what we actually do, which is teaching:
Tutoring
Tutoring usually involves completing homework, working on projects, and studying for upcoming tests with a tutor, using the textbooks and teaching materials provided by the student's school. While tutoring can be effective when a student encounters difficulty in a particular subject, it often does not solve the underlying cause of the difficulty, and may create a reliance on the tutor for ongoing support with day-to-day schoolwork.
Teaching
In contrast, we work toward the goal of academic independence with our students by building strong core academic skills in subjects such as reading and math using the Direct Instruction teaching method, chosen for its unmatched effectiveness in teaching skills to a high degree of mastery. Through careful assessment and placement testing, we uncover the exact areas that need attention, and address any underlying gaps in learning with focused teaching.
Our Scope
Our programs, which we offer both online and at our learning centre located in Essa, Ontario, include reading, math, writing, spelling, and comprehension. These core skills are the building blocks required for a strong foundation in learning. Once a student has mastered these key areas, learning content area subjects such as history, geography, or social studies, or pursuing higher level studies in English, writing, or mathematics, is just a matter of applying the core skills mastered at Firefly.
Highly Customized Learning
By offering teaching instead of traditional tutoring, we are able to customize a course of learning for a broad range of students working toward an array of different goals, teaching students exactly what they need to learn at their ideal pace. Students with special needs such as learning disabilities, Autism, and developmental disabilities are able to make continual progress with us. Those who need to catch up in school are able to make up ground at an accelerated pace. Students who are gifted or are looking for enrichment are not restricted to following the school curriculum with our program, and are able to work to their fullest potential, often beyond their grade level.
Results
Students and their parents report that by working on subjects such as reading and math at Firefly Education, they quickly begin to see results at school. Not only do they see increased achievement at school and better grades, the whole process of learning at school and completing homework becomes easier... and at Firefly Education students learn faster:
You will see results within the first five lessons.