Fully Online vs Hybrid Tuition: What Changes for the Student

In fully online tuition, every student sees the shared working, hears the teacher's explanation and joins the discussion through the online classroom. In simultaneous hybrid tuition, some students sit with the teacher while others join by video. Hybrid teaching coordinates the physical and online spaces so both groups can follow the explanation and participate.

For a child learning from home, good tuition means being part of the conversation: hearing classmates' questions, asking for help and having their own working checked. DeepThink chooses a fully online format so our tutors can build those exchanges into the lesson for everyone. Each student joins as a member of the class, with the same access to the explanation and the discussion.

What “online” and “hybrid” can mean

The same words can describe quite different lessons. A live video call, a recording and a camera pointed at a physical classroom all involve a screen, but they give the student different ways to participate.

This article compares the first two arrangements. DeepThink combines a fully online live class with independent practice between lessons. The tutor leads the teaching; practice helps identify what to work on and gives the student another opportunity to use the method afterwards.

If your broader decision is between attending physically and learning at home, our online or in-person maths tuition page covers those options.

Everyone needs the whole explanation

In maths, a small part of the working can carry a large part of the meaning. A minus sign, a label on a diagram or a correction to the second line may explain why the answer changed. Students need to see that detail as it is discussed.

In a hybrid lesson, students in the room and online need a clear view of the working. A shared digital board can provide that view for both groups. If the lesson uses a physical board, the camera needs to capture its writing and diagrams clearly. Sound from the room also needs to reach the students joining remotely.

Suppose a student in the room asks why a negative sign disappears. Hearing the question helps classmates understand which step the teacher is explaining. Room microphones or a teacher repeating the question can make that exchange available to the online group. These details help both groups follow the same reasoning.

Our tutors teach on Zoom, either sharing their screen and writing on screen, or using Zoom's whiteboard or another digital whiteboard. Everyone in the online group can follow that teaching. When a shared whiteboard is used, students can write on screen as well.

A student should be able to enter the conversation

In a hybrid lesson, turn-taking needs to include contributions from the room and from students joining online. An online raised hand, a spoken question in the room and a written response may arrive through different channels. Planning how the teacher brings those contributions into the discussion helps students know when and how to respond.

In a fully online group, the teacher can manage contributions within one call. At DeepThink, webcams stay on so our tutors can see each student and speak with them. A shared whiteboard also offers a way for students to contribute their working on screen.

Specific questions help quieter children take part. “Which quantity does this fraction refer to?” gives a named student something manageable to think about. A short pause lets the child prepare an answer, and the tutor can use that response to decide what to explain next.

Reading, calculating and listening are also parts of participation. A teacher can invite a quieter child to answer a specific question after giving them time to think. The purpose is to hear the student's reasoning, with a manageable step or idea to explain.

The teacher needs to see the student's method

Consider a lesson on equations. The class is solving 3x + 5 = 20. One student gets x = 5; another also gets the correct answer but cannot explain why subtracting 5 from both sides is allowed.

Asking each student to show the first step and explain why the equation remains balanced helps the teacher find out whether both understand the method. The second student may need another example before moving on.

In a mixed class, the teacher has to collect that information from desks in the room and from students online. Looking over a physical worksheet gives immediate access to one child's method; the remote child's work needs its own check. A fully online lesson can plan the same process for everyone from the outset.

On a shared digital whiteboard, a student can write a step where the teacher and classmates can see it. The teacher could then ask why that step is valid or explain a correction. For the equation above, writing the subtraction on both sides makes the reasoning visible. This illustrates how shared writing can support a discussion of the method.

What the research adds to this comparison

In an experiment by Raes and colleagues, published in Computers & Education, 14 Grade 12 economics students, with an average age of 17, experienced physical and remote attendance in different classroom arrangements. Remote participation in the hybrid setting produced the lowest reported connection with peers and intrinsic motivation among the conditions tested.

This was a small study of older students in economics, so its finding concerns participation and motivation in that setting. It helps explain why we pay close attention to a student's place in the discussion when designing tuition. Our choice of format is built around direct exchanges between the tutor and each child.

A well-planned hybrid lesson can use suitable microphones, shared digital materials and clear opportunities for both groups to speak. DeepThink chooses a fully online format for its small groups because it gives our tutors one shared setting for the explanation, discussion and feedback. It suits the individual exchanges our lessons are built around.

Small groups give the teacher time to respond

Keeping the group small gives our tutors time to speak with each student. Webcams keep the children visible during the Zoom lesson, while screen sharing or a digital whiteboard gives the explanation a common place on screen. The teacher can refer to a calculation or diagram while discussing a student's question.

At home, a usable screen, reliable sound and enough quiet to hear and be heard help the student take part. Position the camera so the child's face is visible while they follow the on-screen teaching. A younger child may need help getting ready until the setup is familiar.

A simple, repeatable setup lets the child settle into class comfortably: open the lesson, have the writing materials ready and check the sound before teaching starts. If the family needs help with the setup, our team can discuss it before class. Once the lesson begins, our tutors lead the explanation, questions and checks of working.

Fully online lessons remove close physical contact

Fully online tuition lets the teacher and students participate from separate spaces. Face-to-face lessons, whether at a centre or through private home tuition, involve shared indoor air and physical proximity. The relevant difference is the contact involved in the format.

Singapore's Communicable Diseases Agency explains that influenza spreads through respiratory droplets and tiny particles released when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks or sings. An online lesson keeps tutor and students in their own spaces while they speak, explain and work together. Children have other contacts in daily life, but the physical contact from tuition is removed.

Our tutors teach live on Zoom, with the teacher and students joining from their own spaces. The family has a regular lesson at home with on-screen explanations and a tutor the child can speak with.

Why DeepThink keeps the whole class online

DeepThink's live online tuition for Primary 1 to Secondary 4 is led by our tutors, with classes capped at 4. Students keep their webcams on during the live Zoom lesson. The DeepThink platform is used to assign homework and extra practice outside class.

We do not mix physical and remote attendance in the same lesson. During an ordinary week or a week affected by haze, everyone joins through the same classroom format. Our online maths tuition page sets out the programme details.

For parents, the reason for this choice is practical: the lesson is organised around the child participating from home. Our tutors see the students, hear their reasoning and use their work to decide where to help. For students, there is a familiar place to ask a question, try a method and get feedback from the teacher.