Why Private Tuition isn't always the answer & and how to know if brain training can help
Tutoring vs. Brain Training
What is Tutoring?
Traditional tutoring is usually built around revisiting material a child has already encountered in school. For many students, that approach works well. Many students benefit from extra repetition, and simple explanations as reinforcement to learn concepts.
For children with dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, or wider learning challenges, the difficulty often runs much deeper than any attempts at repetition or explanation can resolve. More specifically, when a child struggles to retain sounds long enough to blend them into words, or has weaknesses in sequencing, processing speed, or working memory, repeated phonics exercises or endless maths practice are unlikely to produce lasting change. Information may seem to go in one moment and disappear the next.
This is why some children seem to "hit a wall" with conventional tutoring: they are encouraged to push harder, rather than being helped to build the underlying skills they need to succeed.
What is Cognitive Brain Training?
Cognitive training follows an intentionally different approach than traditional tutoring. Rather than revisiting school content, it focuses on developing the underlying mental abilities needed to process, understand, and retain information.
At Thinkable Learning Centre, students take part in structured cognitive exercises designed to strengthen:
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Attention and concentration, helping focus to grasp new concepts.
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Working memory, enabling retention and the ability to work with information while reading, writing, or solving problems.
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Sequencing and directionality, which support reading accuracy, fluency, and mathematical understanding.
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Logical reasoning, increasing the ability that allows knowledge to become genuine comprehension.
As these cognitive skills improve, learning at school starts to feel more manageable. Reading and maths become less overwhelming, and the confusion and frustration that once dominated the experience are gradually replaced by confidence and curiosity.
The Explicit Difference Between Tutoring and Brain Training
To be really specific: tutoring focuses on teaching information, while brain training works to improve how the brain performs. Many learning difficulties are not caused by poor teaching or a lack of explanation though!
Studies show that weak cognitive skills are responsible for 80% (most!!) academic struggles. When these skills are underdeveloped, learning can remain difficult no matter how many times the material is re-taught.
This is why students continue to fall behind even after receiving extra tutoring support!
Although tutoring may help a child complete assignments or improve in a particular subject temporarily, it does not address the underlying reason for the struggle. If the brain skills connected to learning are weak, academic challenges can continue over time.
The use of a tutor is not a permanent solution to learning struggles when the reason for the struggles is a cognitive weakness. If you've tried tutoring and haven't found the solution to your student's challenges.... brain training can likely provide vital help to bridge the gap in cognitive skill weaknesses.
Want to be sure it's the right fit? So do we!
That's why we always start by assessing every student's cognitive skills with a simple, but engaging cognitive assessment. There's no guessing involved. The results show us exactly where the challenges are (as well as strengths and gifts!). Once we have that information, we can give you detailed assistance and recommendations on how to help and if we're the best resource or not.
That's another difference between brain training and tutoring. When tutoring isn't working, the answer can't just be more tutoring... even though it often is what you hear your student needs. Our goal is always to recommend exactly what you need -- nothing more, nothing less.
The Science Behind It
This approach is based on the principle of neuroplasticity - the brain's capacity to adapt, reorganize, and build new neural connections through repeated practice and experience. When a child consistently exercises a particular cognitive skill, such as recalling sequences or interpreting visual information, the brain pathways linked to those tasks become stronger, quicker, and more efficient.
A growing body of research has shown that improving foundational cognitive abilities can lead to meaningful gains in reading, mathematics, and overall academic achievement. In simple terms, when the brain's core learning processes are strengthened, learning itself becomes more effective and far less difficult.
We love neuroplasticity research and we've published several of the papers, dissertations, and presentations on the various neurocognitive studies here in case you'd like to read more.
From Struggle to Strength
For every student we have worked with so far, the transformation has been profound. Students who had fallen behind, now read confidently at grade level. Students who struggled endlessly with even basic maths now achieve above grade level in mathematics.
Most students' improvements begin small with their teachers or colleagues or family noticing stronger concentration, improved understanding, or a renewed excitement for learning.
These are the clear signs we look for to know that the core processes behind learning are beginning to finally function in harmony. Progress is not always immediate, but it does happen. Often times, we will see small incremental changes for a period of time before a large increase in cognitive capacity happens.
Every Journey is Unique
Each student's progress depends on their individual needs, consistency of attendance, and the combination of intense cognitive and appropriate academic training they receive. The important truth remains that tutoring can only review content that the student successfully takes on board. But it's cognitive training can build or rebuild those capacities and abilities.
For children who continue to fall behind despite receiving extra help, the key may not be more of the same - it may be a new approach to strengthening how the brain learns.
More about what we do...
Brain Training Targets the Source of Learning Challenges
At Thinkable Learning Centre, we first identify the cognitive skills that may be contributing to a child's difficulties. From there, we focus on strengthening those areas through targeted brain training exercises. As brain skills improve, students are often able to process, understand, and retain information more effectively, reducing the need for constant tutoring support.
Signs your child may benefit from Thinkable Learning Centre's unique approach include:
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Your child still struggles in subjects even after receiving tutoring
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Homework takes hours and often leads to frustration
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Academic challenges have continued for more than one school year
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Your child says they feel unintelligent or less capable than classmates
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Your child must work much harder than peers to achieve similar grade
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Your child finds it difficult to keep up in several classes at once
Lastly: Three Ways Brain Training Differs From Tutoring
Brain Training Addresses the Root Cause: Brain training strengthens the cognitive abilities linked to learning and reading success. In many students, weak brain skills are a major factor behind ongoing academic difficulties.
Builds Skills That Apply Everywhere: Thinkable Learning Centre's unique combination of brain training methods is designed to improve overall brain performance, helping students across different subjects and areas of life. These long-term improvements may lessen the ongoing reliance on tutoring.
Improves the Brain's Performance: Ongoing research continues to show that intensive mental exercises can create positive changes in brain function. Brain training programs are designed to provide focused cognitive workouts that help the brain operate more efficiently and effectively. New studies are continually being worked on and released, proving that intense mental exercises generate changes in the brain for improved performance. Our Learning Centre only uses research driven, evidence-based tools to deliver intense mental training so that you can see maximum results. That approach allows us to target cognitive weaknesses from 8 different angles and to affect all the cognitive processes at once. Tutoring only offers one method: revision through repetition.
Three Steps. That's All It Takes. Our expert team guides every student (and their parents/partners!) through a three-step process: Assessment, engagement about the Results, and then Training for Strength. Each step is entirely personalized and crafted to the student's specific learning needs as identified by our world-class assessment. This process allows us cater to individual cognitive skill combinations that are unique to each individual. The outcomes our students enjoy as a result of completing our brain training programs include: increased processing speed, memory, attention, and all aspects of the cognitive learning process -- benefits that group work and private tuition can never meaningfully offer. Most students also get the secondary advantage of a measurable increase in reading proficiency!
So How Does It Work?
Step One
Assessment is key. We evaluate every student's auditory, visual, memory, attention, language, & critical thinking skills. The cognitive skills results will outline their core strengths and areas for improvement (qualitatively & quantitatively), often validating concerns in specific & measurable ways.
Step Two
Programs are personalized. What you need -- nothing less, nothing more. Once skill differences are identified, we customize the brain training program that can target learning challenges. Interactive sessions keep students motivated and engaged, slowly building confidence in their new abilities.
Step Three
Train the brain! Repetition and intensity are the key to achieving a neuroplastic effect from brain training. Our trainers work with a singular focus of creating lasting outcomes by using the best neurocognitive methods available in our programs. Our activities are fun, engaging, and challenging.
