As a tutor, the majority of the students I teach are younger kids, which can be both easier to teach in terms of content but also more difficult when undergoing the process of building a concrete understanding and comprehension of concepts. Content learned in primary school tends to be the foundational, skills-based learning that leads students to tackle more complex ideas and concepts later on. Because of this, it’s essential for students to understand this foundation and be taught it in a way where they actually understand and retain it.

A significant way that tutoring can benefit this process is through putting an emphasis on minimised pressure to get the ‘right’ answer within a certain amount of time. The environment tutoring creates where the student and tutor are given one on one time to work together allows a space to be created where there is no sense of a race against other students or class expectations. This allows the student to work at their own pace and build confidence. When working with younger students specifically, it’s important to be aware that there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to teaching, and each student might need a slightly different explanation or strategy to get the most out of their learning. This flexibility is often what allows real progress to happen. Additionally, catering learning to the child’s personal interests can make a huge difference when needing to engage a younger child. For example, with a year 1 who often needs to work on writing, we make a game of drawing whatever we write about and using the drawings to spark ideas for the next sentence. This allows for a sense of creativity and also gives the student control over their own learning.

Overall, creating a supportive, adaptable learning environment can really make a difference when guiding younger students to build strong foundations and develop a genuine confidence in their abilities.

Annabelle Molloy