A U S T R A L I A N T U T O R I N G A S S O C I A T I O N ( A T A ) L T D . 1

withintuition Volume 8 | Issue 1 March 2013

Inside this issue...

Tutoring at the CrossroadIn many ways tutoring nationally and internationally is at a crossroad. At the same time as there has been sustained growth and a rising recognition of the phenomenon of private tutoring, there has also been disquiet from mainstream schooling authorities who have an ambivalent attitude to the industry. This ambivalence belies reality and seems disingenuous. Apparently private tutoring for the purpose of remediation is fine, but private tutoring for the purpose of boosting academic chances on tests such as scholarship and selective schools tests and even NAPLAN is somehow abhorrent. This, even though on internationally standardised tests the literacy and numeracy standards of Australian children is falling. The NSW Teachers Federation was quoted recently as saying that preparation for the (NSW) selective school test is “absurd” and that preparation defeats the purpose of the test. This is an interesting stance. Clearly preparation, for anything where an outcome matters, is always better than not. The question of whether preparation subverts testing or, in the alternative, improves overall standards is an open one. People have always used coaches and mentors - to acquire skills in and hone athletic ability, to develop the capacity to sing and for dance and drama. Many parents also pay for driving instructors for their children who are learning road rules and to practice driving. Why should these endeavours be supported and encouraged but academic pursuits disparaged?

The ‘no-need-to-prepare’ approach to testing is at a crossroad as parents increasingly opt to invest in private supplementary education, as a preparation not only for academic success but as an entry into a meaningful life. The other aspect of the crossroad is the issue of technology. Since the roll out of laptops in schools and with the falling cost of tablet devices, the use of technology both to assist in tutoring and in providing possible opportunities has arisen. Most tutors will integrate technology and ICTs into their preparation and many will utilise technology for the purpose of internet-based research during the actual tutoring session(s). These are obvious uses of the technology. The overarching question for the industry is ‘where to now?’ Subsidiary questions are:

Is it time and is the market ready for wholly online solutions to become the norm or will that never be the form private tutoring takes? Will face-to-face tuition be displaced or replaced with technology offering flexible modes of

delivery? What form should websites take and how much if any content should be free and how much

paid for? What are the IP implications arising from the increased use of technology in respect of

original materials and resources produced by tutors and private tutoring businesses?

It is important that tutors and tutoring businesses begin a cogent dialogue in respect of these matters. The market must be both responsive to the challenges presented by new technologies and also harness the best such technologies can bring to enhance student learning. A special contribution in this newsletter comes from Louisa Chan, a digital marketing expert from Malaysia. In her article she provides tips to tutors and tuition businesses in regards to use of the digital space. Tutors and private tutoring businesses are experienced change and the presence and implications of the digital space for the private tuition market are yet to be understood.

Tutoring at the Crossroad 1

The Growth of the ATA 2

ATA in the Press 2

Welcome to a New ATA Member 3

Grow Your Practice 4

Global News 6

News from Europe 6

News from USA 7

News from Vietnam 7

News from Canada 8

Malaysia Tutor Association 8

Press Release 8

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The Growth of the ATAThe ATA continues it growth and as at end of February had 433 members. The ATA Board set a goal to reach 450 members by 30th June 2013 and we seem substantially on the way. Growth for the peak body has come at a significant time. Private tuition in Australia and abroad is experiencing sustained growth and this has been attracting the attention of regulators. In Australia, the ATA enjoy a good relationship with government and the consumer protection bodies as well as the Department of Education tend to view the idea of responsible self-regulation favourably. Growth in interest in the ATA has meant that we are attracting interesting new businesses and tutors. Nadine Teffaha, a homeopath has recently joined. She is profiled in this newsletter. We have had our first Samoan language teacher join the ATA recently as well.

The Public Service news reported as follows in Issue Number 304, 6 February 2013

With NSW school students facing the public schools selective schools test on March 14, the Fairfax media reported that the nature of exams leads to financial opportunities for tutors. The article by Josephine Tovey and Amy McNeilage is titled, “Testing times are big business” and may be read at: Source: http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/testing-times-are-big-business-20130223-2ey2q.html#ixzz2Mtw75xfT

The New ATA Website

ATA in the Press

The new website, whilst still undergoing some ‘fine tuning’ is helping to attract a larger member base. The capacity for people to sign up on-line means that we have broadened our reach and attracted members who visit the site.

In December 2012 Katherine Danks, from News Limited, wrote a story on the use of tutors by parents seeking to have their child gain entry into a private school on scholarship. The notion of investment in private tutoring as a source of support and learning for children preparing for ‘transfer’ testing (public to private) was explored. The article titled, “Parents ‘buying’ place at schools may be found at:

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/nsw-act/parents-buying-place-at-schools/story-fndo4bst-1226533267747#ixzz2MuUMnny1

The new year always bring renewed interest and focus on private tutoring. The NSW Office of Fair Trading issued its annual Press Release on 8 February, which was followed up by a news story on Channel 10. Fair Trading Minister Roberts statement can be read on the NSW OFT website at:

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/About_us/News_and_events/Media_releases/2013_media_releases/20130208_warning_on_tutoring_products_and_services.html

Consumers Taught About TutorsParents and students are being warned about the need to check carefully before signing up for tutoring products and services. Commissioner for Fair Trading, Rod Stowe said tutoring businesses needed to be able to substantiate any claims they made and abide by the Australian Consumer Law and its guarantees in relation to any tutoring services or products.

“Fair Trading has issued a substantiation notice to one business about its marketing claims and all businesses should be aware of the need to be able to back up any claims they make to consumers,” Mr Stowe said. “Testimonials should be genuine and businesses selling products door-to-door should not take payments within the 10-day cooling off period and must abide by termination requirements.”

He said Fair Trading received 12 complaints and six enquiries about tutoring products and services in 2012. Mr Stowe said consumer detriment was a concern in non-English speaking communities where there was a great demand for tutoring and less inclination to make formal complaints to government agencies.

“We will be working closely with multicultural communities to get the message out to parents and students about their rights and the help that Fair Trading can provide if and when disputes arise,” Mr Stowe said.

Chief Executive of the Australian Tutoring Association, Mohan Dhall said the organisation’s membership had grown about 20 per cent in the last year. “We now have 428 business and individual members and the Association is the largest it has ever been,” Mr Dhall said. “Tutoring in all its forms is highly valued by parents and the sector continues to grow. However, in some non-English speaking background communities parents do not exercise their rights for proper accountabilities. They should ask whether their tutor is a member of the ATA.”

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A U S T R A L I A N T U T O R I N G A S S O C I A T I O N ( A T A ) L T D . 3

TUTOR MORE STUDENTS!

REGISTER NOW AT

Promote your services for free and let students find you!

Sell notesSell video classesList your contact details

Welcome to a new ATA Member - Nadine Teffaha

My name is Nadine Teffaha I am a Homeopath, a graduate of The Victorian College of Classical Homeopathy. I have always been fascinated and captured by the gentleness and simplicity of the homeopathic treatment yet its high efficiency.I am also a Medical herbalist, a graduate of the Southern Cross Herbal School. Plants have been used as medicines since prehistoric times. Our contemporary pharmacy of medical drugs contains more than one hundred drugs whose active ingredients are sourced from plants. Most plants are nature’s gifts for us to support our health and general well being.I have enhanced my health care provision skills with attaining the Bachelor in Health Science (Complementary Medicine) from Charles Sturt University. Health is a state of wellbeing. In order to achieve it, we need to seek treatment for what is ailing us as well as learning innovative ways of perceiving ourselves, our environment and implementing health promoting changes in our lifestyle such as our nutrition and activity.I have also trained at Health Traditions in the Eastern and Western Traditions of Cupping, Moxibustion and Gua Sha. These long established tactile therapies have proven to be a great adjunct to any other treatment in hastening the recovery to health.Our body is very intelligent. It is constantly capable of maintaining balance and harmony in all its systems and on all levels of its expression. However, there are times in our lives when certain challenges create stress, which can affect the fine balance that exists within us. It is at these times of disharmony and imbalance that Homeopathic and Herbal medicine can be a great support on their own or as an adjuvant to other complementary or conventional treatments.“Using the wonderful ways of healing that I have been privileged to learn and practice, it brings me great joy to be of service to my patients in helping them re-gain and maintain health and well being at an optimum level”.I have joined recently ATA as I was seeking the support and guidance of a professional body in relation to the tutoring service I provide to students of homeopathy. It is a great advantage to be a member of a professional association who can inform its members of the latest development in the field and encourage them to provide best practice by reaching and maintaining quality, consistent and ethical standards.The role of a tutor is very exciting and rewarding. I get very pleased when my client gives a sigh of relief when an area of learning or practice which was previously obscure becomes clarified and easy to comprehend.Through my experience as a student of natural medicine and as

an assistant supervisor in a homeopathy student clinic at a local college, I have found that time spent one on one by a teacher/tutor with the student ensures that areas of confusion or misunderstanding of the course theory and application are attended to swiftly.

The student:

of the material studied

material

supervised exercises.

One of the greatest obstacles for a student towards effective learning is developing a faulty understanding of the subject due to minimal individual supervision and guidance during the student’s education journey and later, building on that faulty platform further knowledge. The number of students, tight schedules and pressing curriculum deadlines can be quite taxing on time available and do not often allow the teachers to provide sufficient individual attention in the classroom. Tutors complement teachers’ work at school/college by offering this extra individual attention.

Scan here

www.examsuccess.org

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Grow Your Practice - Reach Out To An Explosive Online Market by Louisa Chan

Reach More Prospects, Help More PeopleWhether you are a private tutor or a business owner, reaching more prospects allows you to help more people. But where are these people and how do you find them?

They Are Actively Searching For Your Service OnlineWe have 2.5 billion people on the internet doing 3.3 billion Google searches every day. In addition to that 2 billion YouTube searches and 1 billion Facebook searches are done daily. These people are actively looking for information or solutions to their problems. And they are checking out service providers and vendors before they engage their services.

They may not all be looking for tutoring services, but that is potentially a lot of traffic that you can tap into. It makes sense for you to have some online visibility so you show up online when prospects look for your services.

So Where Do I Set Up My Online Presence?At the time of my writing, Facebook, the top Social Media Platform reports 1.06 billion active monthly users. LinkedIn hit 200 million users in Feb 2013 and YouTube has 800 million active users with 4 billion views per day. YouTube is the second largest online search engine after Google. Users go to YouTube and search for “How To” solutions.

Ideally we would set up presence on all major social media platforms. However, not many private tutors have the time nor the resources to do that right away. And promising new platforms are popping up every month!

So Here’s the Strategy - 2 Tips For Your Online Visibility

Tip # 1 - Set up your own website as a Hub and Focal Point for all your online activities.

your site regularly

This way you build your online Authority and the Trust Factor with your prospects. The more they read your material and know about you and your approach, the more they will see you as the go-to person in your area of expertise.

Grow Your Practice - Reach Out To An Explosive Online Market �– by Louisa Chan Reach More Prospects, Help More People

They Are Actively Searching For Your Service Online

actively lookingchecking out service providers

online visibility

So Where Do I Set Up My Online Presence? Facebook

LinkedIn YouTube

So Here's the Strategy - 2 Tips For Your Online Visibility Tip # 1 Set up your own website as a Hub and Focal Point for all your online activities.

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Show your Authenticity on your Website. You can do that by:

leave comments and communicate with you. So your website becomes active with engaging audience.

Build RelationshipsYou may also want to collect your website visitors’ email addresses so you can send them regular newsletters even if they may not have the time to come visit your site often.

Own Your Web AddressAnd one very important point is to build you website with your own Web Address using your own domain name. So you’ll have a website with an address of www.YourDomain.com instead of www.YourDomain.SomethingElse.com. This is for branding purposes as well as for having control of your content and positioning your site for online searchability.

Tip # 2 - Set Up Social Media Presence where your clients areDepending on who you want to focus on tutoring and where they hang out online you will dry up a strong Social Media presence. For example, if you want to tutor high school or college students you will set up a Facebook Page because that is where the students as well as their moms hang out. But if you want to run a guitar class you may want to set up a YouTube channel. And if you want to teach photography then you’ll do well to have an Instagram account.

Don’t Mechanically Auto PostBecause each social media platform has its unique character, different segments of people will meet up there. The tone and nuance of the conversations that takes place will vary among the platforms. It is therefore not advisable to use the same message on all social media platforms. You wouldn’t repeat the sentence you just said to a friend at the school board meeting, would you?

Listen First, Then Add ValueOnce you have a presence, you can listen in on the conversations and get to know your prospects. Pitching your audience on Social Media platform the moment you meet them will turn them off. Participating in their conversations and offering practical advice will add value to your prospects, build relationships and trust.

Then You Bring Them Home Once you have built some measure of credibility, you can then invite them to your page or group and build your community. Eventually you will want to direct your fans and followers to your website, your home base. From there, you can further nurture the relationship with your newsletter and turn them into loyal clients.

So now that you know where your clients are and how you can reach them, start implementing these tips and attract some students!

online Authority Trust Factor

Show your Authenticity on your Website

Build Relationships

newsletters

Own Your Web Address

own Web Address

Tip # 2 - Set Up Social Media Presence where your clients are.

who where they hangstrong Social Media presence

FacebookYouTube

Instagram

Don't Mechanically Auto Post social media platform unique character segments of people

tone conversations

Listen First, Then Add Value.

listen in get to know

practical advice add value

Then You Bring Them Home.

direct your fans and followers to your

About Louisa ChanLouisa helps Tutors and Training Providers grow their businesses with Digital Marketing. She has project managed and consulted with multi-national corporations in 6 countries. Her Digital Marketing Courses are approved and accredited by the Australian Association of Massage Therapists of Australia. Louisa manages her own Marketing Agency and has been featured on national press and featured on national Business Radio. For more business growth tips, visit www.SynergyMarketingPro.com

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Global News News from Europe

Upcoming Conference Thessaloniki 6 and 7 July

There is much happening around the world in the field of private tutoring. Recent research conducted by the ATA revealed that at least 25 major news items had been in the Press in the last 6 months across the world. Some of these may inform ATA policy and planning. In Europe, the peak body, ENES convened in the German parliament in order to send a strong message to the Turkish government in regards to its ban on private tuition to commence on July 1.

The Extraordinary Congress of the European Network of Educational Support (ENES) took place on Saturday 19th January 2013 in Berlin. The main topic of the conference was the issue of the pending ban on Turkish Dershane (private tutoring bodies). The Turkish government, led by Mr Erdogan has announced a ban to commence after the middle of the year. The management of ENES with a letter from the President Mr George Hagitegas sent a formal protest to the European Union (EU) and organisations such as UNESCO.

Freedom in education is a requirement for progress and prosperity in all modern democracies. It was the main message of the Congress and the European national associations that make up ENES want the market of educational services. Many journalists from Turkey were at the conference and gave extensive reports in the Turkish press and TV networks.

The next Congress of ENES will take place in Thessaloniki on 6 and 7 July 2013 and many representatives of supporting education centers from many countries are invited. An important theme of the conference is to finalise the structure of the GTA (Global Tutorial Association) – an Australian Tutoring Association initiative - which will protect all forms of education by government interference and unfair competition across the world.

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News from Vietnam By Nam Nguyen, ATA Board Member

News from USA by Sandi Ayaz, NTA

The phenomenon of private tutoring in the Vietnamese education system exists alongside the official education system. In the private tutoring system, students attend extra classes (“di hoc them” literally meaning “to do extra study”) to receive further reinforcement or intense teaching in concepts they have touched upon in school. These private tutoring sessions have become widespread in both urban and rural areas in Vietnam with a current enrolment of more than 30 percent and 50 percent of primary and secondary students respectively. Private tutoring accounts for a considerable portion of Vietnamese household budgets allocated to education. There are many forms of private tutoring in Vietnam. Private tutoring can be organised by teachers, by schools or by private tutoring centres. The form private tutoring takes can range from one on one student teaching at either the student’s or the teacher’s home to very large classes of hundreds of students at private tutoring centres. The main driver of private tutoring in Vietnam is admissions examinations for public university placements in Vietnam. The most popular subjects tested on university entrance examinations and upper secondary school graduation examinations are Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry and consequently, these subjects are also the most popular subjects for private tutoring in Vietnam.Culturally, most high school graduates in Vietnam prefer to continue their education at university rather than do something else and consequently, they are fully prepared to invest in private tutoring classes to obtain university admission. As such, private tutoring has therefore become popular because passing admissions examinations has become a gateway to further education and career advancement in Vietnam.

National Tutoring Association Works with AT&T Aspire Program and LEAD to Keep Teens in SchoolThe National Tutoring Association (NTA), The LEAD Program and AT&T have teamed up to mentor and tutor over 1,000 students at risk of dropping out of high school. This six-city program will develop student academic and life skills as a project within the AT&T Aspire Mentoring Academy. The Mentoring Academy is the key community engagement program of AT&T’s $350 million investment in Aspire, focused on high school success and leading to college and career readiness. AT&T’s employees are helping their communities with a goal of providing 1 million hours of mentoring to students at risk of dropping out of high school. The NTA was chosen by LEAD, the organizer of this particular program, as the primary tutor training resource. With over 20 years of experience, NTA is the only US educational association accredited to train and certify tutors, tutor trainers, tutoring programs and centers, and academic coaches. The mentoring and academic readiness program incorporates NTA training and certification of high-school peer tutors at approximately 36 schools designated during this semester. AT&T employees may also elect to receive academic coach training and national NTA certification in support of their mentoring activities. In addition, “city champions” will have the opportunity to join the NTA Train-the-Trainer program, in order to conduct future tutor trainings in 2013 and thereafter. The tutor and academic coach training workbooks and on-line trainer development campus were developed by Crossroads of Learning (Los Angeles) in conjunction with the NTA and Fielding Graduate University (Santa Barbara). This curriculum is currently in use at hundreds of schools and tutoring centers throughout the U.S. and internationally from Bejing, China through Canada and Saudi Arabia. It is approved for continuing education units by Fielding Graduate University. The AT&T sponsored program kicked off in Chicago at Northwestern University on October 20, 2012 where high school students met with AT&T employees who will mentor them during the 2012-2013 school year. The five other cities (Raleigh/Durham NC, Bedminster NJ, Atlanta GA, Dallas TX, and Washington D.C.) will also begin operations in the coming weeks. The Chicago launch featured team-building exercises and one-on-one meetings between mentors and students. Karen Royster-James, Director of the Learning Studio - Science and Math Learning Center at Columbia College Chicago and NTA Vice President and Board of Directors Member addressed the group to prepare them for the tutoring and coaching challenges that lie

ahead. The following weekend saw the first group of peer tutors trained by NTA Certified Master Tutor Trainer Avery Austin who found that “these are highly motivated students are willing form a vanguard for educational change within their schools. It was a pleasure to engage them in the crucial development of the skills and understanding of effective peer tutoring.” Throughout the program year, the student participants will meet regularly with their AT&T mentors and receive regular tutoring at their schools. The goal will be accomplished through utilization of Inspired by LEAD’s TRIAD program, one-on-one mentoring with AT&T employees and individual and small group peer-tutoring to develop skills and plan careers.

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Within Tuition Editor Mohan Dhall Email mdhall@ata.edu.au Phone 02 9704 5724 Mobile 0408 619 714

Contacting Us For contributions and comments please email the ATA mdhall@ata.edu.au or office@ata.edu.au

Alternatively, mail us at: Australian Tutoring Association (ATA) Ltd. PO Box 256, Croydon NSW 2132 Phone 02 9704 5724 or Mobile 0408 619 714 Fax 02 9744 0519

News from Canada Jennifer Roselli, Vice President of Operations, Tutordoctor

Malaysia Tutor Association...?

The need for tutoring services worldwide does not seem to be slowing down! Tutor Doctor’s expansion into Mexico, Columbia, Chile, Panama, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and the UK markets continues to grow as the need for help with education is international and families are the main driver. Parents all over the world are ensuring that their children not only attend school, but also engage in extra-curricular activities, and that includes tutoring! Tutor Doctor sees these markets as a big driver in their growth and are excited at all the attention tutoring is receiving as a means to move forward.

Some ATA research has revealed the existence of a “Malaysia Tutor Association” - http://www.mta.org.my/

The MTA has set up but there is no reference to the lifting of ideas from the ATA website! Huge sections of text have been lifted and they even purport to have a “Newsletter” but no link to a newsletter exists on their site. The ATA has been aware for some time that occasionally members have raised concerns about breaches of copyright occurring between rivals. We did not think that the Association as a whole would have its material copied! The ATA will be in contact with the MTA who presumably will change the webcontent or offer some explanation.

Interestingly, the ATA has been involved in the past with people in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to set up a tutoring organisation for each of those nations. Indeed we even offered to assist. It seems as though some action has been taken - alas not quite in the way envisaged.

PRESS RELEASE:Selection and merit 12th March 2013

In 2013 4,158 children in NSW will be offered a place in a selective school following the NSW Selective Schools Placement Tests an increase of 21 places from 2012. However 13,512 children will sit the entry test on Thursday March 14th having applied to get into selective schools - an increase of 147 over last year. Most of the children sitting the test will have had private tuition. Whilst the schools will be the beneficiaries few if any will acknowledge the important role of private tutors and coaching colleges in supporting children and their families to prepare for the tests.

Preparation for entry into academically selective schools is similar to entry in any other selective school, sporting, dramatic or musical: it requires that students demonstrate merit in the chosen field and application in order to succeed. All of the following notable Australians went to selective schools: Michael Clarke, Jaryd Hayne, Israel Folau and Usman Khawaja (Westfield Sports) Lindsay Farris (Newtown Performing Arts) Justice Michael Kirby and Sir Douglas.

ATA CEO, Mr Mohan Dhall said, “Just as academically selective schools benefit from the excellent work done by tutors to prepare students for exams – including the test to get into such schools – so too do other schools benefit from coaches and mentors. An element of the success of selective schools comes from the work of private tutors and coaching specialists”, he said. “It is time for these schools to acknowledge the important input private tutors, mentors and coaching make to students.”