Today I observed a tutoring session led by Oliver with a year 11/12 student studying the Bohr’s model of the atom (and radiation) in chemistry.
Oliver began the session with a friendly welcome and checked in on the student’s homework progress and concepts from the previous session. I enjoyed the structure of the session as Oliver and the student worked through the content booklet, looking at theory and then applying it to practice questions.
I particularly liked how he clearly explained each question and the notes within the workbook, allowing his student to fully understand what is required. Working through questions, Oliver and his student were very comfortable discussing topics with each other, and he prompted her to call upon her own learning. Working aloud and discussing practice questions was great because Oliver was able to assist the student and identify mistakes, correcting them in real-time.
I especially liked how Oliver would reinforce learning by providing practice problems, in particular, harder examples of the content so that his student was challenged to problem-solve and apply her new knowledge independently. Working aloud together enabled Oliver to identify areas that the student was less confident, or the content was more difficult to understand and required extra practice.
It was also great to see the use of the whiteboard and stimulus to engage the student, assist them to visually comprehend concepts and to problem-solve harder questions. The larger visual representation was super helpful for his student, and I will definitely try to use it more in my own sessions. Oliver did an amazing job of clearly conveying several complex, intertwined concepts and encouraged a deeper knowledge of topics within the work.
His tutoring approach is noteworthy, and I enjoyed witnessing how attentive and engaged his student was, asking questions and working hard when she struggled with concepts. Oliver was very patient and worked throughout the session with continuous positive reinforcement and clear explanations.
Molly Espie
