Understanding the Difference Between a Teacher and a Tutor

Have you ever wondered what is the difference between a teacher and a tutor? For many people, both terms are the same. For some, the only difference is that a teacher works at an educational institution.

However, this is far away from true. You may be surprised that there is a big difference between the two. 

While both roles are crucial in education, they have distinct differences in their approaches, responsibilities, and impacts on students.

Let’s consider what are those differences.

Professional qualifications and expertise

Let’s start with one of the biggest distinctions: professional qualifications, and expertise. 

Most countries and states require teachers to be certified or licensed. This often involves completing a teacher preparation program and passing standardized tests.

Therefore, teachers need at least a bachelor's degree in education or a specific subject area. 

Many pursue master's degrees and additional teaching certifications to improve their knowledge and career prospects.

When studying to receive a teaching degree, teachers go through extensive training in various topics. They include educational theory, classroom management, curriculum development, and teaching methodologies. 

Also, teachers must participate in continuous professional development to keep up with educational trends, technologies, and so on.

When it comes to expertise, teachers are expected to have in-depth knowledge of their subject areas and share it with their students. 

Tutors do not need to have any specific qualifications in many countries.

Therefore, tutors can come from diverse educational backgrounds. And while many tutors have different-level degrees, it's not a requirement. 

Different from teachers, we also don’t need to be experts, but we must have good knowledge of a subject or topic we tutor. 

Our profession requires us to excel in interpersonal skills, patience, the ability to explain concepts in multiple ways, learn methodologies, and how to engage students. 

To do that, we must become students ourselves and continuously learn and improve. 

Classroom settings

In general, teachers work with large classrooms, managing 20 to 30 students or more at the same time. 

They face a wide range of student abilities, motivations, and learning styles within a single classroom. 

In addition to a diverse group of people, they must find ways to adapt to varying interests and abilities, while maintaining a pace that covers the required curriculum.

On the other hand, tutors focus on individual students or small groups. Groups usually range between 2 to 6 students at a time.

We often work with more motivated learners who are actively seeking additional help. 

This allows us to provide sustained and personalized attention to each student. 

Different from traditional education, we are also able to adapt our approaches. As well as to address students' specific needs and learning gaps.

In their research, Blatchford et al. came to very interesting results. They found that smaller class sizes, like tutoring scenarios, allow for more individualized attention. They can lead to improved academic performance, especially for struggling students. 

That is why we see so many students coming to us, tutors, to help them keep up and succeed with their academic curricula. 

Scope of Responsibility

As we have already understood, teachers typically have a broader scope of responsibilities. 

They follow a standardized curriculum and are often responsible for grading, classroom management, and communicating with parents.

In addition to that, they manage entire classrooms, develop curriculum plans, and deliver lessons. They address the educational needs of diverse groups of students and assess their performance. 

On the other hand, as tutors, we focus on individualized instruction. 

There is no need for us to build either a standard curriculum or an adapted course for each student from scratch. 

Our primary role is to provide personalized assistance to help our students understand specific subjects or concepts and promote resourceful learning. 

This includes the identification of each student’s learning needs, lesson preparation, homework assignment, progress evaluation, and feedback provision.

Teaching Methods

Let me ask you a couple of questions. Most probably you have watched many courses or attended classes where instructors were experts and experienced professionals in their fields.

However, have you ever felt, that with one or some of them, you could not really learn anything? Have you ever thought why?

If yes, the answer is simple, they didn’t know how to teach.

But what should a person do in order to learn how to teach? This is a very good question. The answer is that it is a multiple-step process that involves developing a variety of skills and learning different educational methods and techniques, learning theories, etc.

As I have already mentioned, teachers are trained to teach. They employ a variety of instructional methods to serve the whole class. 

In lessons, they incorporate lectures, group work, interactive activities, and assessments to engage students to meet curriculum standards and ensure that all students progress at a similar pace. 

As tutors, however, we focus on providing individualized attention for each of our students. 

It does not mean that we, tutors, do not need to learn anything. On the contrary, tutors should learn how to teach and how to individualize teaching, but they do not need to go through formal education to do it. 

If we don’t do it, we may quickly end up losing students because they are not able to learn anything with us. 

Educational Settings

Another difference between the two is the educational setting.

Teachers work in formal settings, like public and private schools, middle and high schools, and some colleges and universities. 

They follow a structured curriculum designed by educational authorities. Their role often includes admin tasks and school activities beyond teaching.

Also, teachers have a set schedule, that follows the school calendar, including regular hours and academic terms.

In contrast, tutors can work in many places. These include schools, tutoring centers, online platforms, libraries, and students' homes.

Our schedules are more flexible, and we can adapt them according to the needs of a student and our availability. 

We have fewer, different admin duties than teachers. So, we can focus more on our students.

Assessment and Feedback

Assessments and feedback provision are where teachers and tutors do it in completely different ways.

Teachers use summative assessments. Its purpose is to evaluate and measure student learning at the end of an instructional unit. Teachers do it by comparing results against some standard benchmark.

This type of assessment includes standardized tests, exams, and end-of-term projects. 

When it comes to feedback, teachers provide it in a structured manner. And often do it through report cards, grades, and parent-teacher meetings.

Tutors use formative assessments. The purpose of formative assessment is to monitor learning and provide ongoing feedback. 

The purpose of such feedback is to both improve student’s learning and to improve our teaching.

This type of assessment is informal and includes short, frequent quizzes, interactive tasks, group work, or exit tickets at the end of a lesson.

We also strive to get feedback from our students. It helps us adapt to their needs and preferences. Which makes us better professionals and our lessons more enjoyable.

Student Engagement

This topic is very challenging for both, as student engagement plays a very important role in effective learning. However, they often approach it differently.

Here is an article, if you are interested to learn more, about practical and effective student engagement techniques.

Teachers work with a larger group of students. They use various teaching methods and management techniques to make the lessons interactive.

They need to differentiate instructions to meet the diverse needs of their students and at the same time follow the curriculum. 

Tutors have the advantage of focusing on individual instructions. That is why we are able to adapt our approaches to the specific interests and needs of each student. 

We can focus on the areas where the student needs the most help, making our lessons highly relevant. In addition, it is easy for us to adapt methods and materials based on student’s responses and preferences. 

On top of that, we can build strong personal connections with each of our students that greatly boost their confidence and motivation.

In summary, while both teachers and tutors are essential to the educational journey, they serve different roles. Teachers manage and educate large groups within a structured curriculum, while tutors offer personalized, focused assistance to improve individual understanding and performance. 

I hope this helps clarify the differences between a teacher and a tutor! And remember being a tutor or being a teacher means you are a student for life. Until next time, keep inspiring and keep learning!