After school education, better known as coaching classes, private tuitions or learning academies, have created a visible and transformative impact on the education industry. While tuitions have been existent in India for a long time, in the recent years, there has been a phenomenal rise in the number of coaching institutions. In fact, after school tuitions have emerged as a strong alternative to mainstream education owing to the superior quality of academic infrastructure, including teaching resources, available at these centers. Students are exposed to a variety of learning content, practice and assessments as well as new ways of mastering the vast curricular material required for their exams. In the process, they also develop skills essential to their growth as effective learners.
Technology is playing a major role in this transformation of after school education. Particularly, technology-assisted instruction has made it possible for students to access learning material anywhere, anytime. Technology tools such as tablets, iPads, smartphones, in addition to providing easy access to content, are also making learning engaging and interactive. They provide the benefit of offering customised learning paths catering to students’ individual learning styles and abilities.
Here are some of the methods being adopted in coaching classes today—
Diagnostics to identify and fix gaps in students’ understanding: Diagnostic assessment tools are widely used in coaching classes, typically when a student joins a course. They are used to check understanding of pre-requisite knowledge and identify areas where a student needs additional help. This allows the tutor/learning system to prepare a remedial plan for the student and create a customised learning path.
Personalised learning plan for students: Every student opting for coaching classes has unique needs and requires a personalised learning plan. These personalised plans should consider the student’s performance on the diagnostic, the learning methodology adopted by the student’s school, as well as the ability of the student to learn on his/her own. While the end goal for every student is the final exam, the path to get there might be different for different students.
Multi-modal learning: Along with personalised teaching techniques, coaching classes also make use of technology to provide a multi-modal learning experience to their students. Students can choose to learn from textual material, audio visual content or interactive experiences, depending on which of these cater to their preferred learning style. With the advent of smart, tech-enabled classes, teachers can familiarise students with concepts or their practical applications by virtually demonstrating them.
Get help, anytime, anywhere: Technology tools have transformed communication between the tutor and his/her students. Students can message and get help from their tutors at any time without the need for physical presence. Technology has also allowed coaching classes to leverage peer support by giving students a platform to collaborate with their peers outside of the school environment through dedicated chat groups and forums.
After school education has definitely come a long way from the times of mass tuitions with huge classrooms and lectures by experts. The use of technology tools, both for instruction and personalised learning, have drastically changed the teaching-learning experience by making it more intuitive, interactive and engaging. It has empowered tutors to be more effective in their instruction and students to be more efficient in their learning. Coaching classes are here to say and will continue to change the way India learns.
(The writer is Pradeep Singh, founder and CEO, Vidyanext).