What do the best tutors do?

Private tutoring is all about building a friendly, engaging and open relationship!

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Be an active listener

• As a tutor, you will also be a mentor for your students in some way.
• Be present with your student and listen to the meaning behind their words e.g. if they seem stressed about an upcoming exam that they seem prepared for, explore what else may be contributing to their stress.
• Lessons should not be a lecture - make sure you are checking your student's understanding along the way.
• Idea: Ask your students a brief recap of what you covered last week at the beginning of each lesson - listen for any misunderstandings.

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Be cool, calm and collected

• Take the time to prepare for lessons - a flustered tutor does not inspire confidence.
• If you are asked a question that you don't know the answer to - that's okay! Let your student know you will look into this question over the next week and get back to them.
• Speak with clarity.
• Be patient and understanding.

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Be creative

• How can you make learning more engaging?
• Personalise each lesson to the student’s upcoming assessment task and knowledge gaps.
• Mix up your teaching strategies (past paper questions, oral responses, mind maps, syllabus terminology tests, videos, real world examples, graphs, get them to summarise what you have said in their own words, ask them follow up questions, etc).

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Be a cheerleader!

• Encourage your students to overcome obstacles e.g. difficult topics, procrastination.
• Encourage your students to develop self-trust and self-belief.
• Provide your students with regular feedback so they are aware of how they are tracking against their goals.

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