Balancing tech with human insight
The government recently announced that artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring tools will be introduced in schools across the UK by the end of 2027 to support 450,000 disadvantaged students and narrow the educational disadvantage gap.
The move mirrors Tutorfair Foundation’s belief that one-to-one tutoring can help close the worrying achievement gap in a country that is admired for the quality of its education.
But is technology alone the answer?
In 2017, Tutorfair Foundation saw a large, untapped resource in volunteer tutors who were willing to help a student work through academic challenges and used technology to design a solution.
Supported by Nesta, as part of their Click-Connect-Learn Initiative, we built an app as a research pilot using open-source chat technology customized for safeguarding. The app, called On-Demand, connected students with a question to a tutor within 20 seconds, allowing them to text or draw the problem and work through it with a tutor. Behind the scenes, the team at Tutorfair Foundation used technology to manage a database of volunteer tutors to ensure the 20-second connect at any hour.
The programme was tested with 645 students across 34 schools and studied for impact by The Social Innovation Partnership. While the scale of the pilot was small, research showed that the tutoring helped students move closer to grades predicted by teachers. Students rated the programme well (3.9 out of 5) with 2 out of every 3 students saying that they would not have had access to a tutor without the app.
“The On-Demand platform has been very helpful for me when I’ve had homework and when I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Edward, the online tutor, has been very helpful and explains things very well and goes the extra mile to ensure that the student knows what to do. I feel that I am more confident and that I am definitely progressing in maths as a whole since I’ve used the service!”
This student’s response highlights the tutor’s crucial role in identifying where students might face a block, maintaining motivation on challenging days and knowing when a concept has been understood.
From a tutor’s perspective, “Tutorfair offers a really unique opportunity to provide students help as and when they need it. Whether that be with their evening homework, or a bit of last-minute exam prep, … the experience of tutoring on demand has taught me how to effectively explain mathematical solutions using only text and images. It has also helped me to develop my ability to include students in every step of my explanation.”
The On-Demand project helped connect people in a way that wasn’t possible before. Students had access to a homeseasoned mentors in a homework helpline. Volunteers had a channel to contribute meaningfully in short, manageable bursts. While the programme was small, it left us with valuable insights. Tutoring is much more than the transfer of knowledge. It is a two-way process that responds to an individual learner’s needs, emotions, and moments of uncertainty.
Technology alone cannot solve educational challenges, but it can connect people in ways that accelerate understanding and open doors that would otherwise remain closed.