By Dr. Lynn Kepp
To address the educational gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and districts are exploring new approaches to expand learning opportunities and support students’ academic and social-emotional needs. Recent reports show many states are directing federal relief funds toward tutoring initiatives. While each state and district is designing programs to fit local contexts, it is important to align those efforts with evidence-based practices to maximize impact.
High-dosage tutoring—typically defined as regular, intensive instruction such as about 75 minutes per week over a sustained period—has the strongest track record for accelerating student learning. The most effective tutoring models do more than provide answers: they engage students in inquiry, reflection, and productive struggle so learners build the skills and confidence to take ownership of their learning.
The Power of Question-Driven Learning
Tutoring works best when it becomes a collaborative setting where students use guided inquiry and Socratic conversation to resolve confusion and deepen understanding. Productive struggle—working through challenging ideas with appropriate support—shifts cognitive effort toward students over time, increasing engagement and helping them discover how they learn most effectively.
Design a tutoring process that scaffolds students’ inquiry skills. Organize sessions into three phases: before, during, and after the tutorial. Before the session, students prepare by identifying specific questions or problems and gathering notes or resources. During the session, they present the question, describe attempts they’ve made, and engage in academic discussion with a tutor or peers to clarify misunderstandings. After the session, students reflect on what strategies and resources helped them, and they practice applying new strategies in their classes. Whether one-on-one or in small groups, this inquiry-based structure promotes deeper learning and sustained progress.
Tutoring programs achieve the greatest educational return when they both accelerate content mastery and develop students’ academic skills for long-term success. To assess quality and guide continuous improvement, educators should ask four practical questions about their tutoring approach:
- Do students learn how to ask for help? Developing the ability to pose focused, thoughtful questions is a core academic skill. Students should be taught how to identify a point of confusion, gather relevant notes and resources, outline what they have already tried, and bring that specific question to the tutoring session. Successful sessions start with students prepared to articulate the exact problem they need help resolving.
- Does the program promote higher-order thinking? Rather than simply giving answers, tutors and peers should use probing questions to guide students toward solutions. Over time, questions should become more complex and content-specific, encouraging analysis, reasoning, and application. This approach helps students develop the thinking routines they will need beyond the tutoring setting.
- How are students building academic language and confidence? Reflection on participation and language use is essential. As tutors gradually reduce their amount of talk, students should do more explaining, debating, and justifying. This steady release of responsibility fosters confidence with academic vocabulary and discourse, allowing students to engage in meaningful conversations about complex content.
- Are tutors prepared to support productive struggle? Effective tutors know how to scaffold thinking with leveled questioning, helping students move from feeling stuck to clearly articulating their misunderstanding and identifying next steps. Training should emphasize facilitation skills—how to prompt reflection, model metacognitive strategies, and support perseverance—so students learn to personalize their learning processes.
As districts allocate additional resources and expand tutoring services, keeping student agency and confidence at the center will increase long-term benefits. High-quality tutoring should do two things: address students’ immediate questions and equip them with strategies to ask better questions and advocate for their learning across subjects and settings.
About the author
Dr. Lynn Kepp is the Vice President of Executive Communications and Project Management Office at AVID, a nonprofit that trains thousands of educators to close opportunity gaps and prepare students for college and careers. She holds a Doctorate in Education from UC Riverside with a research emphasis on teacher development and a Master’s in Science Education from Cal State Fullerton.
Across AVID’s history, many students have participated in its inquiry-based, student-led tutorials, which are designed to accelerate learning and build academic skills. For educators planning or refining tutoring programs, focusing on question-driven practice, reflective routines, and tutor training will help students recover lost ground and develop the skills they need for lasting academic success.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media hub focused on providing context for the shift in education to digital curriculum.