Brain training (also known as mental or cognitive skills training) is different from tutoring at a very basic level. Tutoring is simply re-teaching material that a student missed the first time it was presented. The hope is that the material will stick this time. Here is how to tell if tutoring will work for your child.

If you've ever sat down with your child and gone over, or repeated, school assignments and he or she immediately got it and needed no more help then re-teaching or tutoring will work. But, if simple explanation did not solve the problem, or if a few days later the problem persisted or was repeated, there is most likely an underlying skill weakness that tutoring or re-teaching cannot correct.

Until the underlying skills required to learn are strengthened, tutoring can only produce temporary progress at best. Struggles will re-emerge because the root of the problem weak cognitive skills has not been addressed. If your child faces recurring problems with each new academic year or challenge, training (rather than tutoring) is your best answer.