Every classroom has students who struggle to keep pace, despite a teacher’s best efforts. To tackle this, AI tutors can offer schools an additional support layer that strengthens teaching, reinforces learning, and keeps teachers at the centre of instruction rather than replacing them.
What Is an AI Tutor?
An AI tutor is a technology-enabled learning support system that guides students through concepts, practice, and feedback based on their individual needs. These support systems work alongside teachers by offering them real-time data and performance insights for early intervention.
Related Read: AI Ethics in Education
How Can AI Tutors Help Students Who Are Falling Behind?
Students fall behind for different reasons, including gaps in foundational understanding, slower learning pace, or lack of confidence. AI tutors can help struggling students by addressing these issues without disrupting classroom flow.
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Adaptive Learning at an Individual Pace
AI tutors adjust content and assessment difficulty levels based on each student’s performance, ensuring learners neither feel overwhelmed nor disengaged. This personalised pacing allows repeated practice until concepts are mastered.
Extramarks uses adaptive algorithms to adjust practice questions and revision paths based on student responses, supporting steady progress while teachers monitor outcomes.
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Step-by-Step Guidance
Many struggling students know where they are confused but do not know how to proceed. AI tutors provide guided steps rather than final answers, strengthening reasoning and confidence.
The Extra Intelligence feature “Help Me Solve It” breaks problems into logical steps and offers hints at each stage. Students learn how to think through a solution while teachers retain oversight of learning quality.
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Instant & Targeted Feedback
Delayed feedback often causes struggling students to repeat mistakes. AI tutors provide immediate, concept-level feedback, which accelerates improvement and builds confidence.
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Bite-Sized Lessons
Large chunks of information can overwhelm students who are already falling behind. Short, focused explanations help learners absorb concepts gradually.
The Extra Intelligence Teaching Deck Generator helps teachers create structured, bite-sized lesson explanations and revision decks that simplify complex topics without reducing academic depth.
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24/7 Access to On-Demand Learning Support
Another benefit of AI for students is that they get 24/7 access to a tutor. Struggling students often need help outside of classroom hours, but constant teacher availability is not realistic. AI tutors extend learning support beyond school time.
The Instant Doubt Solver enables students to ask questions using text, voice, or images and receive step-by-step explanations, ensuring learning continues without replacing teacher guidance.
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Early Identification of Learning Gaps
One of the strongest benefits of AI technology to help teachers manage struggling students is early gap detection. Performance data highlights patterns teachers may not immediately see in large classrooms.
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Engaging & Interactive Learning Experiences
Students who fall behind often disengage emotionally. Interactive learning rebuilds interest and motivation.
The Extra Intelligence “Ask While Learning” feature allows students to ask questions directly during videos, turning passive viewing into active learning and supporting confidence-building.
Explore how Extramarks Extra Intelligence supports teachers with responsible, personalised AI tools that help struggling students learn better without replacing the human touch.
Conclusion
Understanding how AI tutors help struggling students allows schools to support learners more effectively without compromising teacher authority or classroom values. When used ethically and thoughtfully, AI tutors for struggling students reinforce understanding, improve confidence, and enable teachers to focus on what matters most: guiding every learner towards progress.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How can teachers identify struggling students early?
Teachers can identify struggling students by monitoring class participation, homework patterns, assessment performance, and behavioural signals that indicate confusion or disengagement.
Can AI tutors replace teachers in the classroom?
No. AI tutors are designed to assist teachers by providing personalised practice and insights, while teachers continue to lead instruction, mentoring, and decision-making.
Priya Kapoor
Priya Kapoor is an accomplished education professional with over 18 years of experience across diverse fields, including eLearning, digital and print publishing, instructional design, and content strategy. As the AVP – Academics at Extramarks, she leads academic teams in creating tailored educational solutions, ensuring alignment with varied curricula across national and international platforms...Read More
