Science tutoring - Find science help online

Science can be a fascinating subject--but also a tricky one, as it often incorporates other essential subjects, like math and reading. If you or your child are looking for science help, there's good news: a large number of science tutoring resources are available both online and in-person that could help support science achievement in many subjects and at any grade level.

Figuring out what science help is needed

For grades K-12, each state adopts science standards that can usually be accessed through the state department of education's website and are sometimes based on the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Benchmarks for Science Literacy and the National Science Education Standards. Science tutors can use the National Science Education Standards to identify areas, such as these, to assist students' learning:

• Elementary school tutoring: Students in kindergarten through 4th grade might have a tutor assist them with organisms' characteristics, environments and life cycles; heat, electricity and magnetism; and the differences between natural and man-made objects.
• Middle school tutoring: For students in 5th through 8th grade, tutors might help with lessons about ecosystems, reproduction and heredity; matter and energy; and the Earth, its history and the solar system.
• High school tutoring: The earth's origin and evolution; biological evolution;environment and population growth; and chemical reactions are topics that high school tutors can address. You can also look for science tutors that specialize in providing biology, physics or chemistry help.

College course descriptions should set the general expectations of science classes, and specific objectives should be outlined on class syllabi and assignments, which provide critical information for science tutors.

• College tutoring: Tutoring is available for college students enrolled in core or advanced science courses in astrology, biology, chemistry, physics, geology, environment and nutrition.
• Grad school tutoring: Because graduate students taking advanced science courses are typically pursing a master's or doctoral degree in a specific branch of science, such as those listed above, a tutor may be a peer, a professional mentor, a faculty advisor or a member of one's graduate committee with an advanced enough understanding of the subject to provide targeted guidance.

Science help for everyone

Your first stop for science help should be your school. For K-12 schools, talk to a science teacher or school counselor about what tutoring resources are available. Perhaps see if one of the school's regular substitute teachers might have the science know-how to help. Also check with your local school district. The Louisiana Department of Education, for example, offers several online tutorials and a tutoring hotline to help assist students in science.

College and grad school students may want to visit their class professors during office hours and check with academic advisors, campus student services and science departments for tutoring resources. For example, students at the University of Michigan looking for a chemistry tutor can request a list of tutors from the chemistry department. The University of Michigan also recommends the university's science learning center, peer tutoring groups, and the local chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma, a national, professional chemistry fraternity, as routes to finding a chemistry tutor.

The librarian at your school or local library may know about science study groups, volunteer tutors, local science organizations or online tutoring resources. The County of Los Angeles Public Library offers its patrons a service called Live Homework Help®, which is a free service patrons can access online from home with their library card. The service offers one-on-one online tutoring in science for learners of all ages.

Online tutoring resources

Visual and social learners might be surprised by the interactivity of today's online tutoring environments, which include "chat" discussions, option audio and an online tool that functions just like a classroom's whiteboard. Online tutoring services are also convenient options for student athletes and students living in rural areas without access to many other tutoring resources.

Live Homework Help® uses the same technology platform and offers similar services as Tutor.com. If you are military or a member of a military family, Tutor.com offers 24-hour, k-college tutoring services for free. Tutor.com also offers a mobile companion so that you can get the same one-on-one online tutoring from your iPhone or iPad. Students without military connections may consider these online tutoring resources:

• If you're looking for quick science help, search the NEWTON Ask-A-Scientist archive, a database of 20,000 science questions, courtesy of the Department of Energy Office of Science. Questions are tagged by age level and by subject area.
• Hundreds of the Khan Academy's free online tutorial videos, exercises and assessments cover high school- and college-level biology, chemistry, physics, cosmology and astronomy.
• TutorFinder is our tutor search tool that can help you locate an online (or in-person) tutor in for all grade levels of science.

Face-to-face tutoring resources

Learners who take their achievement cues from social interaction, advanced science students wanting to build relationships with possible mentors, and anyone who could use some time to "unplug" from the Internet might want to consider face-to-face tutoring.

• Search the tutor database of the National Association of Tutors by science subject area, geography and gender to find a tutor.
• Many nonprofit organizations specialize in tutoring. To find one in your area, visit VolunteerMatch.org and use the search term "tutoring."
• Our TutorFinder can also help elementary, middle and high school students, as well as college and grad school students find tutors in many cities for face-to-face or online tutoring.

Compared to funding the future of science education, finding a science tutor shouldn't be much of a challenge with the number of great resources available. Start with your school, look to your local community's resources and remember that online science tutoring is available for almost all students, in any grade, at any time.