Today I observed Airi’s mathematics session with a younger student, navigating through a topic which can be very confusing for younger students, working with money, Airi made each problem easier for the student by explaining the problems in a way they can better understand, asking “how much did you get from the tooth fairy?” and outlining how many teeth they would need to lose to save up a certain amount.

What I specifically noticed which I will try add to my own tutoring is how she communicates with her younger students to better guide them through questions and help them reach their own conclusions. Instead of pulling the student up on mistakes, she instead continues to ask them questions that work up to the final answer – by breaking down the larger question into smaller, more digestible parts the student is able to work their way up to the final answer easier.

Additionally, instead of using negative language such “no” or “don’t” when the student would make an error, she instead would ask questions such as “why?”, to make the student think about why they are performing certain actions and would often realise their mistake themselves – allowing them to find the solution on their own accord.

Charlie Curran